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Top 3 Capitals studs against Kings

By Michael Marzzacco |
Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
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The Washington Capitals got a huge win last night against the Los Angeles Kings. It was a big bounce back from their loss Monday night to the San Jose Sharks. The road trip continues with the conclusion of the California portion tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Capitals would hang on for a 2-1 win thanks to timely goals from the third line, a good performance in goal by a player we’ll talk about in this post (spoiler alert) and some calls by the refs that actually went in their favor. Yeah it was odd.

Here are the top 3 studs from the win:

Anthony Mantha, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Mantha, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports /

#3 Anthony Mantha

You have to give the third line of Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael, and Anthony Mantha credit. They were the entire offense of last night’s game. Protas had two assists on the night in which both were secondary.

For Mantha his goal came when McMichael fed him a pass on the two on one rush. Mantha got it and finished it off for his fourth goal of the season. Three of Mantha’s four goals have come in the opening period.

Mantha also had an assist on McMichael’s game winner which was his third multi point game of the season which is tied with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome for the most on the team.

Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports /

#2 Connor McMichael

Connor McMichael was all over the ice. He has taken tremendous strides this season since getting a well deserved expanded role in the NHL. After shining with the Hershey Bears which was bad for the Caps but great for the Bears, he’s more than graduated from prospect to young NHL stud.

McMichael set up the Caps first goal of the night which was his fifth assist of the season. Four of his five assists are primary helpers. That’s tied with Aliaksei Protas for second on the team and only Alex Ovechkin has more with six.

McMichael gave the Caps the lead finishing off a rebound from a Mantha shot with a bat in. He now has seven points in his last nine games with three goals and four assists. The goal was his fifth of the season and with that along with the assist earlier, it was his second multi point game of the season and the fourth of his career.

McMichael told the media after the game, “I went to the net and saw it just hanging in the air. I just tried to get my stick on it, and I’m lucky I did.”

While Mantha and McMichael did excellent on the third line this next player really stood out.

Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports.
Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports. /

#1 Charlie Lindgren

The number one stud and star of last night’s Capitals win over the Kings was none other than Charlie Lindgren. We said before the season that he would establish himself as the NHL’s best backup and so far he is proving us right. May have been our best player prediction ever.

Lindgren finished with 38 saves on 39 shots that he faced for a .974 save percentage. That included stopping all 13 shots he faced in the second period and all 15 shots he faced in the third period. The Caps were outshot 15-3 in that final period but Lindgren was a brick wall.

After the game, Lindgren told Al Koken of Monumental Sports Network:

“That’s a character win. We’re finding ways to get it done. …It’s fun winning hockey games like that. You can see the will and determination from the guys in front of me. That keeps me going. It fires me up.”

Lindgren’s 38 saves are the fifth most he has made in a game in his career. It was his fifth win of the season as he improves to 5-2-0 with a 2.30 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.

Trending. Capitals 3rd line and Lindgren dethrone Kings. light

The Caps play the Ducks tonight at 10 p.m. eastern on Monumental Sports Network. Before we set the stage for that we have one more breakdown coming up from last night’s win.

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