Charlie Lindgren will be right back in the Washington Capitals’ crease after posting a 22-save shutout of the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night. The win in Seattle was Lindgren’s first game action since suffering an upper-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens on January 10.
According to the Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson, Lindgren was the first goaltender off the ice at Washington’s morning skate ahead of their game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. The matchup with Vancouver will represent the first time this season that Lindgren has taken the Capitals’ cage in back-to-back games.
Head coach Spencer Carbery has given Lindgren and Logan Thompson alternating starts for most of this season. He only recently bucked that trend, with Thompson making five straight starts due to Lindgren’s injury and recovery process.
Per Johnson, Carbery’s decision this time is fueled by his desire to get Thompson in net against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. The 27-year-old netminder was born in Calgary and started his junior hockey career in Alberta.
“Him being a local guy and him having an opportunity to play in Alberta,” Carbery said pregame. “There’s no question that we think about that and take that into account.”
The switch in the crease also leaves Thompson on target for a one-on-one matchup with Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck next week. Hellebuyck is currently regarded as Thompson’s biggest competition for the Vezina Trophy this season. Per MoneyPuck, only Hellebuyck (27.5) has saved more goals than expected than Thompson (26.8) this year.
Lindgren gets the nod in Vancouver after the win in Seattle improved his season record to 11-8-2 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. The 31-year-old backstop has faced Vancouver just once previously in his career, making 21 stops in a 2-1 Capitals win last season on March 16.
