Charlie Lindgren has come into his own in his three seasons with the Capitals, going from a bubble player who spent much of his time in the AHL to a bona fide NHL goaltender. After taking the reins to become the Capitals’ starter in 2023-24, he played his first NHL playoff game in net last spring, more than eight years into his professional career.
Most of that time was spent in the Montreal Canadiens organization — Lindgren made his NHL debut there in 2016 and played for both the Habs the Laval Rocket over the following years. He remained with the club through the 2020-21 season before signing with the St. Louis Blues.
Lindgren appeared set to return to a backup role for the Caps this postseason, but an upper-body injury to presumed starter Logan Thompson has put that up in the air. If Thompson remains out of the lineup, Lindgren will face his former team when he takes the ice in Game 1.
Seven of Lindgren’s former teammates remain on Montreal’s active roster, including captain Nick Suzuki, who Lindgren played alongside in the COVID-shortened 20219-20 season. That added familiarity with the team gave Lindgren some extra juice as he prepared for the postseason.
“It’s obviously exciting,” he said Saturday. “I spent six or seven years of my life there. I still know a few of the guys on that side. I know a lot of the training staff. So it certainly adds a fun element for sure, just with the old team. But yeah, it’s just going to make for a really exciting series, a really exciting brand of hockey.”
Though Lindgren spent more than half a decade in Quebec, he was usually either on the bench or in the minors. He played in just 24 games for the Canadiens over five seasons, compared to 137 AHL games, and never took the net while on the Habs’ taxi squad in 2020-21, his final season before signing with the Blues.
But while several of Lindgren’s old teammates remain in Montreal, most of the team’s upper management has changed since he left. The Canadiens have hired a new general manager, head coach, and goaltending coaches since Lindgren’s days — the decision-makers who kept Lindgren out of the lineup have largely left.
Lindgren pointed to those changes when asked if he had something to prove against his old team, though he still had plenty of motivation ahead of the series.
“I think yes and no,” he said. “They’ve turned over a heck of a lot since I was there, especially management-wise, coaching-wise. They’re totally different. Certainly I felt that way when they had the old people still in place.
“But I think still, obviously my mindset is always I want to prove to people that I can be a game-changer, I can be a difference-maker. So that’s always my mindset.”
While serving in a tandem role alongside Thompson this season, Lindgren played 39 games for the Capitals — more than his entire tenure in Montreal. He put up a record of 38-20-14 in those games, earning a .894 save percentage and a 2.91 goals against average, and signed a three-year extension in Washington in March.
Whether Lindgren will get that chance to prove himself in the playoffs has yet to be seen. After taking a shot to the mask on April 2, Thompson missed the final seven goals of the regular season. Thompson has been a full participant in practice on both Saturday and Sunday, however, and could be ready to return for Game 1.
Asked about his goaltending plans, head coach Spencer Carbery gave nothing away.
“You will find out tomorrow night,” he said Sunday.
