Charlie Lindgren, the Capitals’ unrecognized full-time starter, will be in net for a second-straight game against the St. Louis Blues, Saturday night. The game marks the completion of a home-and-home between the two teams with this contest held at St. Louis’s Enterprise Center.
The Caps beat the Blues 5-2 at Capital One Arena on Thursday with Lindgren in net. Lindgren made 18 saves against his former team, posting a .900 or above save percentage in his sixth straight game.
“We’re in the meat of the season of where every game becomes very significant and Chuckie has played at such an elite level where he’s earned the opportunity,” Carbery said of his decision after the Capitals’ morning skate. “When you sustain that and play at that level time and time again, it’s nothing that Darcy did, it’s just that Chuck’s played at a very, very elite level so as a coach, putting him in positions to be the goaltender for the night. That’s the reason behind that and the significance of the game comes in as a factor because this is the time where games mean a whole heck of a lot.”
The start for Lindgren marks his fourth start in the Capitals’ last five games, dating back to last Saturday. Among goaltenders that have played 10 or more games, Lindgren has the second-best save percentage in the league (.927) and the fourth-lowest, goals-against average of 2.22. According to Money Puck, Lindgren ranks third in the NHL in goals saved above expected (15.5), sitting 39 spots ahead of Kuemper (1.3).
Kuemper’s last start came against Anaheim on January 16 where he shut out the Ducks 2-0 in a low-event game. Carbery said recently that he has spoken to Kuemper “quite a bit” about the team’s choices.
“I think open lines of communication of why we’re making decisions, thought process, I never shy away from that,” Carbery explained. “I’ll be an open book when it comes to why we–or I–make decisions when it comes to who’s starting and when. Sometimes they agree with it, sometimes they don’t. But they’ll always know why and the rationale behind them, right or wrong.”
Lindgren is 9-4-3 on the season and with a win tonight, will secure double-digit victories for only the second time in his NHL career.
