A splendid start by goalie Charlie Lindgren went a long way in helping the Washington Capitals get back on track on Monday night at Capital One Arena in Washington.
With Lindgren in front of the net for the Capitals, the visiting Los Angeles Kings had a tough time generating offense, as Washington came away with a 2-1 win to snap a two-game losing skid.
The 31-year-old Lindgren gave up just one goal on 31 shots faced versus the Kings in a stellar performance that earned him praise from teammate and Washington forward Nic Dowd, who also used to play for the Kings.
“He played really, really well and made some big saves that kept us in that game when we weren’t foot on the gas,” Dowd said of Lindgren after the game, per Harvey Valentine of the NHL's official website. “That’s a tough team to play and they’ve got a great record on the road.”
The Caps needed Lindgren to be great in the game, especially with the Kings winning the possession battle. Los Angeles had 31 shots on goal to just 25 by Washington. Lindgren was perfect on even strength, with the only goal he surrendered coming via one of the Kings' three power-play shifts. Meanwhile, the Capitals were 0-for-2 on the man advantage.
The Caps gave Lindgren an early cushion when Matt Roy scored the only goal of the contest in the first period. Alex Ovechkin then found the back of the net for the 903rd time in his NHL career in the second period to put Washington ahead, 2-0. Anze Kopitar scored the only goal of the game for the Kings with under seven minutes left in regulation.
On the season, Lindgren has a 2-3-1 record, a 3.16 goals against average and a .893 saves percentage through six starts.
