Alex Ovechkin felt gratified for being able to pass Gordie Howe on the NHL’s all-time goals list, but so did many of his teammates for just being a part of the moment. One of those players was Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who was especially grateful for being the goalie of record in the historic game.
Lindgren, a journeyman goaltender, signed a three-year contract with the Capitals over the offseason to be Darcy Kuemper’s backup. But he became way more than that for the Capitals in the month of December. With Kuemper out due to an upper-body injury, Lindgren started eight consecutive games, winning seven of them and earning NHL Player of the Week honors (for the week ending on December 11). Kuemper came back for the Capitals’ back-to-back before the holiday break, splitting the two games with Lindgren.
The game Lindgren got ended up being Ovechkin’s ‘Passing Howe’ game against the Jets. Lindgren was also in net for Ovechkin’s hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks which gave the Russian superstar 800 career goals.
“That was an incredible honor to be a part of that,” a clearly amazed Lindgren said to Al Koken on NBC Sports Washington’s postgame show. “I mean, I can’t believe it. Growing up watching him, seeing him hit 800 in Chicago, knowing that he was one behind Gordie Howe, which is just crazy, that was unbelievable. It was unbelievable. The tribute on the jumbotron. Big-time goosebumps. It’s hard to wrap your head around. To be a part of that and just to be a part of the same team as Alex Ovechkin, I mean that’s pretty freaking cool to be a part of.”
Inside the locker room, Lindgreen expanded upon his feelings with the press.
“When I signed with Washington, getting to play with Alex Ovechkin, I thought that was the coolest thing in the world,” Lindgren said. “To come here and see the type of guy he is, he’s so easy to talk to. He’s really such a happy-go-lucky guy. Everyone just loves him. To see him get it done tonight, I think we were all waiting to see him get the tie-er and then for him to score with a minute left.
“That tribute on the jumbotron… it was so well done,” Lindgren said. “I don’t really know how you can write a better script than that. What Mark Howe said there. Again, what Alex means to the whole community and the game of hockey, the National Hockey League, he’s such a special human (and) hockey player. It’s so cool to be a part of. Never in a million years would I have thought I had been a part of it… I couldn’t be happier for him.”
During the game, Lindgren stopped 25 of 26 Jets’ shots (.962 save percentage), giving him a 4-1 victory and his eighth win in the last nine December games. He also had a front-row seat to Ovechkin’s historic goal.
“He was being unselfish (passing back to Evgeny Kuznetsov),” Lindgren said. “Maybe he didn’t want to beat Gordie with an empty netter. Who knows? Then he made a pretty crafty shot (to get) it in there. He wasn’t even looking at the net it looked like. The whole group here, we couldn’t be more happy for him. He’s certainly our leader and he’s someone we all look up to. He’s a legend of the game, just an incredible guy.”
Full Coverage of Alex Ovechkin’s 802nd goal
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
