The Washington Capitals are set to finish their season series against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. Charlie Lindgren will get the start in net after winning two previous appearances against the Flyers this season.
Lindgren will be back between the pipes for the first time since Caps head coach Spencer Carbery effectively ended the team’s alternating goaltender rotation strategy earlier this week. Logan Thompson started back-to-back games against the Sharks and Red Wings, the fourth time he saw consecutive action in the past 20 games.
“To be honest, it really doesn’t change much,” Lindgren told RMNB’s Katie Adler on Wednesday. “I know where I stand. Honestly, I have a lot of confidence in the things I’ve done this year, and [I’ve] been a little bit bummed from a results standpoint. I feel like I’m playing really good hockey, honestly. Been really consistent. And obviously, sometimes I’ve noticed that before, I think statistics can be misleading sometimes.”
Lindgren, who signed a three-year, $9 million extension with the Caps earlier this month, is 15-11-3 with a 2.65 goals-against average, a .899 save percentage, and one shutout this year. Per MoneyPuck, he has been a slight positive for the Capitals in net, saving 0.5 more goals than expected. However, that’s 30.1 less than Thompson, who ranks second in the NHL (30.6).
Results-wise, the numbers are a significant step back from what he accomplished last year when he took the team’s starting job from Darcy Kuemper and led them to an improbable playoff appearance. In 50 games last season, he was 25-16-7 with a 2.67 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage, and six shutouts.
“I just know from an internal belief, I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Lindgren said. “Whenever I get the net, my job is to go in and give the team a good chance to win. Obviously, Logan, every time he’s stepped in net, he’s given the team a great chance to win as well. It’s been a really good dynamic. But as far as my mindset and everything, nothing changes for me.”
Lindgren’s involvement is expected to be the only change for the Caps from the lineup that beat the Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday. The Capitals have won seven of their last 10 games and can potentially become the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season if they earn at least one standings point and get some help from other Eastern Conference teams.
After sticking around in the East’s wild card race for much of the season, the Flyers have dropped out of the running in recent weeks. Philadelphia has won just two of their last 10 games and are nine points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final postseason bid.
Thursday night’s matchup is the first between the two teams since Matvei Michkov tried to cap off his first career NHL hat trick with a Michigan goal against Lindgren. Alex Ovechkin later praised Michkov’s rookie season performance after the game but wished he would “show off a little less.”
