The Washington Capitals became the first team in the league this season to hit 100 points after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 last night. The game got off to a stellar start for the Caps when Alex Ovechkin scored his 35th goal of the season and the 888th goal of his career. They kept the good vibes going through the first two periods with goals from Brandon Duhaime and Andrew Mangiapane in addition to a pretty solid defensive performance from both forwards and defensemen.
Things took a turn in the third period, however, when the Flyers came out with renewed energy. All of a sudden, Philly was getting way more shots on goal—in particular, more high danger chances. The Flyers ended up outshooting the Caps 16-2 in the final frame, so how did Washington hold them off? Two words: Charlie Lindgren.
Lindgren wasn’t tested much through the first 40 minutes, stopping all 12 shots he faced. He got quite the wake-up call in the third though, and he barely missed a beat. The final 20 minutes felt like an entirely different game, which can be incredibly difficult for a goaltender who had been having a quieter outing for the first part of the night. Fortunately for Washington, this didn’t seem to bother Lindgren much. It’s no secret that his season hasn’t gone how he or the team had hoped—although Chuck feels like his stats don’t tell the full story—so last night’s performance was encouraging to all parties involved. He looked like a man on a mission, determined to remind everyone that he’s still a reliable option in net for Washington. Mission accomplished, Chuck.
Without Lindgren, there is a decent chance the Capitals would have found themselves tied with the Flyers after regulation or even in the loss column. However, thanks to him, the Caps won their 46th game of the season and hit triple digits in the standings points.