Charlie Lindgren could be getting ultra-hot when it matters most
Alex Ovechkin has been the Capitals perennial MVP, and that has been the case for two decades. But Charlie Lindgren may have put a dent into that narrative this season, thanks to a string of performances that may have ultimately gotten this team into the 2024 playoffs.
Sure, Ovechkin came on strong in the second half of the season, and there is no denying the value he continues to give the Caps. Regardless of Ovechkin’s heroics, and even those of Dylan Strome, neither helped the Capitals get any higher than 28th in the NHL in scoring, yet Lindgren became an elite force in the net time and again down the stretch.
His numbers following the trade deadline when the Caps moved three players are 11 wins, six losses, two overtime losses, a 0.913 save percentage, 530 shots against, and 46 goals allowed, good for just 2.42 goals allowed per game. Sure, we need to give the entire team credit, as Lindgren faced just 27.89 shots on net per, but either way, he came up big when they needed him to.
Of his six shutouts, two also came in that span, and he allowed just one goal on seven different occasions. Like all goaltenders, he had his bad games along with a couple of ‘really bad starts,’ but if he keeps playing the way he did down the stretch, there’s a good chance Lindgren will stifle the high-scoring Rangers.