This Season Has Had Plenty Of Interesting Things For The Capitals Already
By CJ Witt
Lindgren Has Been Fantastic, Kuemper Has Not
I don't think it is even up for debate anymore. If the Capitals top two goaltenders are healthy, that being Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren, Lindgren is the teams starter. Throw away contracts, throw out the names, toss everything. The Capitals need the guy playing the best to be playing on more nights. They are not a great team, they cannot afford to wait out a middling goalie.
That's what Kuemper has been this season. Average. Probably slightly below average. The stats would tell you he has been not good. I don't fully agree with that, but stats don't lie at the same time. He currently has a 3.15 GAA coupled with a .893 save percentage. Not good.
Lindgren on the other hand has been terrific. Outstanding even. Where would the Capitals be without him? He has been one of the best goalies in the entire NHL.
Unfortunately right now he is currently injured. Lets hope he comes back very soon. But while he was healthy he was playing incredibly well and put up very good numbers. His GAA was 2.27 and he had a .928 save percentage.
Goaltending has been interesting to say the least for the Capitals for years now. Holtby was great, then he wasn't, the team moved on. Samsonov was good, then he wasn't, the team moved on, same can be said for Vanecek mostly. The Capitals can get good goaltending, but they have not gotten consistent goalie play for a bunch of years now.
We'll see if Lindgren can return and play at the level he did before he got injured. We'll also see if Kuemper can raise his game. But one thing is for sure, goaltending remains interesting for the Capitals.