Charlie Lindgren started 2024-25 as the presumptive starter and ended it as an afterthought.

By the Numbers

Saving Diagram by HockeyViz

About this visualization: This image by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com show how likely to become a goal shots against this goalie are, based on their locations on the ice. If the hexagon dot is red, then the goalie is weaker against those shots compared to league average. If the hexagon dot is blue, then the goalie is better against those shots. Blue is good; red is bad.

Goalie Metrics by Evolving Hockey

About this player card: This image from Josh and Luke of Evolving Hockey shows how the goalie compares to league averages in various statistics. At left is even-strength play; at right is shorthanded play. If the bar is blue and goes up, then the player is better than league average; orange and down means worse. The first bar is expected shooting percentage, the second is actual shooting percentage, then the difference between the two, then – effectively – shot danger faced.

Fan Happiness Survey

About this visualization: At three times during the season, RMNB conducted an open survey with readers, asking the following question for each player: “On a scale from 1 to 5, how HAPPY are you to have this player on the team?” The numbers above show the average score for the player in each survey period.

Slavoj Žižek on Lindgren

Peter’s Take

Coming off a strong .911 all-situation save percentage, Charlie Lindgren exited 2023-24 as Washington’s presumptive starting goalie. But when the Caps got Logan Thompson from Vegas just under one year ago, we knew it would be a 1A/1B-style tandem until one player distinguished himself. That distinguishing happened fairly early, and by January it was dramatic.

While Lindgren was fine, just fine, his partner was superb — the primary driver of Caps wins through much of late fall and early winter. And yet Spencer Carbery’s starting preference remained ambivalent until very late in the season. That was a curious choice, and one we covered with rapt attention.

Of the 50 goalies who played at least 1200 five-on-five minutes this season, Lindgren ranked last in save percentage against high-danger shots — 0.731, well below the average of .816. That cost the Caps about 15 extra goals, and it’s the most concerning part of his season. Among dweebs, high-danger save percentage is considered a strong predictor of performances in future seasons.

With a three-year, three-million AAV deal starting next season, there’s an obligation for Lindgren to improve. He’ll be the 34th highest paid backstop in the league, and he’ll need to play like it. An even showing (i.e. zero goals saved better than expected) would be fine, but to accomplish even that he’ll need to improve core parts of his game. It’s on him.

Chucky on RMNB

• Charlie Lindgren’s new mask is great.
• The plan at the start of the season was to split starts between Lindgren and Thompson. Let’s see how that plays out.
• Carbery on the split: “If they’re both playing well, they’re both going to play”

Own goal: Charlie Lindgren backhands puck into his own net giving Brayden Point bizarre hat trick

• He got the gold chain for player of the game that night. Haha.
• Ovechkin asked Lindgren for that stick. Lindgren’s inscription: ‘O, thanks for teaching me how to score goals.’
• On that play: “It was obviously the worst mistake I’ve probably ever made in my life.” Obviously a guy who never frosted his tips and worn a puka-shell necklace.

Charlie Lindgren’s flashy windmill save on Tyson Jost could be Capitals’ save of the year

• He threw up after that.
• In January, Lindgren got hit by Nick Suzuki and went on injured reserve.
• Lindgren came back, but Thompson was playing pretty much every game at that point.

Capitals play Charlie Lindgren’s cover of ‘Talladega’ after goaltender shuts out Seattle: ‘I can’t overstate how much I love this team’

• The Superman save. Please watch this one again.
• Lindgren fell off the Capitals bench twice this season.
• In March, the Caps signed Lindgren to a three-year deal worth $3 million per season.
• On the deal: “Obviously I think you guys all know how I feel about this place and the people here, from the trainers, the staff, right through security, teammates. It’s really just a home run organization, so just really, really happy to sign the deal.”
• In mid-March, Carbery signaled the end of the goalie rotation, favoring Thompson.
• On the down season: “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.”
• At the start 0f April, Logan Thompson got hurt, and Lindgren became number-one again.
• But Thompson was ready in time for the playoffs.
• The Lindgrens welcomed their first child 15 hours after the Caps were eliminated.

Your Turn

What will the starting split be next season? 50/50? More like 70/30 Thompson?

Read Japers Rink’s review