Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette announced on Sunday morning that goaltender Charlie Lindgren would be getting the team’s Super Bowl Sunday start against the San Jose Sharks. Lindgren returns to the cage after Darcy Kuemper beat the league-leading Boston Bruins in Boston on Saturday.
Puck drop for the cross-conference, matinee matchup at Capital One Arena is at 1:30 pm. It will be the first time the Caps and Sharks do battle this season.
Lindgren started the Caps’ last game before their extended break on January 31 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He made 31 stops on 34 shots in that victory which was only his third start in the entire month of January.
He finished 1-2 overall in the month with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .870 save percentage.
Laviolette also told NBC Sports Washington’s Matt Weyrich that other lineup changes have not been ruled out. Multiple players are “working through some things”.
One of those players could be TJ Oshie who came out on the worse side of a collision with Conor Sheary in Boston on Saturday.
grosse collision entre TJ Oshie et Sheary deux joueurs des Capitals. Oshie rentre sur le banc secoué. #Capitals pic.twitter.com/yqs4lrEoIA
— Jeudepuissance (@jeudepuissance) February 11, 2023
Oshie has dealt with back-related injury issues this season that he developed while trying to play through a broken foot last year. The 36-year-old forward missed 17 games over two separate periods of time before the All-Star break.
The only healthy extra forward the Caps are currently carrying is Aliaksei Protas. Protas was recalled from the Hershey Bears on Friday. Tom Wilson is also on the roster but has not practiced a single time since the Caps resumed regular work at MedStar Capitals Iceplex last week.
Alex Alexeyev remains the sole extra defenseman if any changes were to be made to the blueline that took on the Bruins.
The Sharks come into Sunday’s game just three points above the Anaheim Ducks for last place in the Pacific Division. They lost their last game on Thursday to the Florida Panthers.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
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