The Washington Capitals saw Logan Thompson, arguably their best player of the postseason, go down with an injury in Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens.
With 6:37 remaining in the third period Friday night, Dylan Strome barreled into Thompson as he failed to stop a shot from Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovský. The pair slammed into the net and Thompson remained on the ice as the Canadiens celebrated the 5-3 goal.
Though Thompson’s hand went to his head immediately hitting the ice, the injury appears to have affected his lower body: he needed help from his teammates and Capitals head athletic trainer Jason Serbus to get off the ice and put very little weight on his left leg.
Thompson previously missed the last seven games of the regular season with an upper-body injury after taking a puck to the mask against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 2. He returned to start the playoffs and put up strong performances in Games 1 and 2, allowing just three goals in the two games.
“That’s a crappy, crappy play,” John Carlson said postgame. “You never want to see anybody go down. How well he’s played for us through this first little while. Hopefully he’s fine.”
Before the collision with Strome ended his night, Thompson had an injury scare late in the first period of Game 3, going down and clutching his head after taking a stick to the mask from Nick Suzuki. He later appeared to take a shot to the neck in the second period, with Monumental Sports Network’s Devante Smith-Pelly noting postgame that he had a visible bruise on his neck later in the night.
Charlie Lindgren replaced Thompson in net for the remainder of the game, allowing one goal on five total shots. Clay Stevenson, who the Capitals recalled on April 14, is also available to play if needed.
Per the Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson, head coach Spencer Carbery did not offer an update on Thompson postgame.
Both teams ended the game without their starting goaltender. Montreal’s Sam Montembeault left the game midway through the second period, and though the Canadiens did not disclose the specifics of the injury, he did not return to the game.
The Capitals and Canadiens will return to Bell Centre for Game 4 on Sunday night.
