WASHINGTON, DC —Saturday night’s game between the Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators got heated, and even the goaltenders got in on the action. Charlie Lindgren and Linus Ullmark came within spitting distance of a goalie fight late in the second period, both ready to throw down after a fracas behind Lindgren’s crease.
After Lindgren left his net for the scrum, Ullmark streaked down past center ice, dropping his blocker and attempting to grapple Lindgren. Unfortunately for goalie fight enthusiasts everywhere, officials pulled Ullmark away before he and Lindgren could properly drop the gloves.
Ullmark had plenty of praise postgame for Lindgren’s willingness to jump into the fray for his teammates. When he saw that Lindgren was ready to get his hands dirty, he knew he wanted to do the same.
“Well, what can I say? I love Charlie,” Ullmark said postgame. “I think he’s a heck of a goaltender. Obviously he’s very fired up, ever since I think it was the second goal that was allowed as well. So he shows a lot of emotions.
“So when he goes in there and sticks up for his guys, I could have stood waiting as well. But as soon as it kind of kept going, it’s not really about the actual fight. It’s more about showing up for the guys and showing your presence. It’s not like I’m looking for it. I don’t want to instigate or anything like that in my game or anything. It’s just what the situation was devolving to.”
Neither Ullmark nor Lindgren have gotten into any fights at the NHL level, though Ullmark previously tried to fight Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk during the Boston Bruins’ 2023 playoff series against Florida.
Lindgren had plenty of things to be upset about when he finally boiled over on Saturday. The Capitals had hung him out to dry early in the period, allowing goals from Shane Pinto, Dylan Cozens, and Nick Cousins in just over three minutes to put Washington in a 4-0 hole. Lindgren had taken offense to Pinto’s goal, which came after he and Jakob Chychrun collided into the net, but a failed coach’s challenge led only to another goal from Cozens on the ensuing penalty.
“He’s a heart and soul team guy and you never want to hang any teammates out to dry like that,” Tom Wilson said of the Capitals’ play in front of Lindgren on Saturday.
For skaters, starting a fight is a tried-and-true method to try and swing momentum in a losing game. Trevor van Riemsdyk credited Lindgren for trying the same strategy as a goalie.
“I mean, he’s a competitor, he wants to win,” van Riemsdyk said. “The game wasn’t going the way we wanted, and it gave us a little spark, seeing him going after it like that.”
The Senators had similar praise for their own netminder. Cozens, who was grappling with Alex Ovechkin at the time, could hardly believe it when he saw Ullmark flying into the Capitals’ zone.
“I didn’t see it, and then all of a sudden I saw him jump in the pile and I was like ‘Holy –‘ so that was awesome to see,” he said. “Their goalie gets in there; our goalie comes and gets in there too. So I think that fired up the boys a lot for sure.”
“I loved it,” added Nick Cousins. “I absolutely loved it. Especially when their goalie’s in there. No hesitation. I love how our team stuck together, stuck up for each other.”
Ultimately, the near-miss goalie fight couldn’t turn the tides of the game, with the Caps collapsing even further in the third period to end the game 7-1. The Capitals know they’ll have to do better going forward, if nothing else to stand up for the goaltender who was willing to throw down for them.
“You feel for him because he’s being thrown to the wolves there, which I know his teammates — they love him and don’t want him to be in that situation. But yeah, you feel terrible for him,” said Carbery postgame.
