USA Hockey has announced that Charlie Lindgren of the Washington Capitals has been added to the team’s roster. He replaces Alex Lyon, who has already been sent home after being injured in the USA’s second game of the tournament against Germany.
Lindgren, 30, is coming off the first season of his NHL career where he played a majority of his team’s games. In 50 games with the Capitals, he had a record of 25-16-7 with six shutouts, a goal-against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .911. He also played in all four of Washington’s playoff games this year, a four-game first-round sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers.
According to Slovak media outlet Šport.sk, Lindgren initially declined the invitation to play in the tournament in the aftermath of Washington’s elimination.
If he gets into action, Lindgren would be the fourth goaltender used by the Americans in this tournament. Lyon along with Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Trey Augustine were the initial two goaltenders named and split duties in a pre-tournament game against Slovakia. Just before the start of the World Championship, Alex Nedeljkovic of the Pittsburgh Penguins was also added.
The Americans have two group stage games remaining against Kazakhstan on Sunday and against Latvia on Tuesday. They currently sit second in Group B with 10 points and will, in all likelihood, advance to play a quarterfinal game on Thursday in either Ostrava or Prague.