The Washington Capitals will get early-season MVP Charlie Lindgren back into their net against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. Lindgren has not made a start since November 29 due to an illness he came down with on the team’s five-game road trip out west.
Lindgren was the first goaltender off the ice at Thursday’s morning skate and head coach Spencer Carbery confirmed in his post skate presser that Lindgren would be getting the nod. Carbery also spoke about the team’s goaltending situation as a whole, notable because Lindgren has outplayed regular starter Darcy Kuemper to start this season.
In Kuemper’s last start, the 33-year-old veteran was pulled against the Arizona Coyotes after allowing three goals on just five shots. On the season, Kuemper has amassed a 5-6-2 record with a 3.23 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage.
Those stats pale in comparison to what Lindgren has been able to produce for the Capitals. Lindgren is 5-2 on the season with a sparkling 2.46 goals-against average and .928 save percentage.
“I think it’s game to game,” Carbery said Thursday. “It was unfortunate that Chuckie got sick and that sort of threw off the way things worked on the road trip and gave Kuemps a couple extra starts. Potentially one, two starts where Charlie wasn’t able to go but he’ll go back in the net.”
The more “advanced” goaltending stats also favor Lindgren. According to MoneyPuck, his 10 goals saved above expected rank fifth in the entire NHL while Kuemper is below water there, stopping 1.6 less goals than expected. That total sees Kuemper rank 49th in the league out of 76 eligible netminders.
Earlier this season, Carbery started Lindgren in back-to-back games while Kuemper was healthy and deployed as the team’s backup. The rookie bench boss was well aware of how that could look then given Kuemper’s perceived role as the number one.
“I understand the optics and questions and Darcy and how that will come into question, but at the same time it’s an 82-game schedule and I know that we’re going to need multiple goaltenders,” Carbery said before that game. “And Charlie’s playing well and Charlie deserves to play again. I’m sure the roles will be reversed at some point but Charlie’s going to start tonight.”
The Stars are one of the teams that Lindgren has faced most in his career. He has been highly successful in four starts against them despite a 2-2 record. Among teams he has started against more than two times, he has the highest career save percentage (.948) and lowest goals-against average (1.52) against the Stars.
Dallas comes into the game stumbling a bit, losing five of their last seven outings. They will be playing the second half of a back-to-back on Thursday after dropping a game in Florida to the Panthers 5-4 on Wednesday.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
