Stellar goaltending has given Caps a chance to win every game originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Peter Laviolette’s answer was brisk and unwavering.
“Awesome. They were fantastic. They’ve been fantastic.”
The question the Washington Capitals’ head coach was answering was, “How do you feel about your goaltending right now?”
Laviolette isn’t wrong. Despite the fact the Capitals have now dropped two consecutive contests in the shootout and overtime respectively, including Tuesday night’s OT loss to visiting Vegas, they have been given a chance to win night in and night out thanks to the efforts of Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren.
Numbers support the notion that the netminding duo has been everything the Capitals’ front office had hoped they’d become this season, and more. Kuemper boasts a 2.39 goals against average and .922 save percentage across his eight starts, four of which Washington has won. Backup Lindgren posts similarly admirable marks, with a 3.03 GAA and .919 SV% in his three starts, split evenly with a 1-1-1 record.
But if you base your assessment on Washington’s goaltending purely on the eye test, you’d perhaps be even more impressed with what’s been going on between the pipes.
Take Kuemper’s latest start, for example—a shootout loss to the NHL’s best forechecking team, the Carolina Hurricanes, on Monday. Carolina peppered the 32-year-old with 35 shots, several of which came during a late barrage in the closing minutes of regulation, including a few power play opportunities.
Kuemper stood on his head to keep the Caps in the contest, pushing it to a shootout where his luck would eventually run out. His efforts were the focal point of postgame comments from teammates, as forward Dylan Strome said he ‘locked it down’ in the closing stages.
“Your goalie has to be your best penalty killer and I thought that was the case,” Strome said of Kuemper.
Lindgren’s performance on Tuesday night’s loss was no different. He made 28 saves on 31 shots, including a heartstopping robbery of Jonathan Marchessault when the game was just two minutes old. He’d continue that trend for the rest of the night but came up short in OT as Shea Theodore put the game away for the Golden Knights.
“He was awesome,” Laviolette said of Lindgren. “He played great. He gave us every chance to win the game. It was 2-1 [Capitals’ lead] with six minutes to go.”
Neither Kuemper nor Lindgren truly deserved to have an L posted next to their name for either of their most recent starts. Sadly for the Capitals, mounting injuries to both the forward lines and defensive pairings make it exceedingly difficult to put games away. But if Washington’s goalkeepers maintain their current level of play going forward, the team has a chance to win each time they hit the ice.
“[Vegas] got one eventually. I think Chuckie played unbelievable for us in net,” forward Marcus Johansson said postgame Tuesday. “We were trying to stick with it. We played last night, too, and it’s no excuse but I think we battled really hard. Just couldn’t come out on top tonight.”
