Lindgren On Shutting Out Rangers, Facing His Brother: 'We Definitely Don't Take For Granted The Opportunity'

WASHINGTON — Saturday was sweet for the Washington Capitals, but even sweeter for Charlie Lindgren, who stayed red-hot to shut out the New York Rangers and his younger brother, Ryan, in a 4-0 win.

It wasn't his first time ever playing his younger, as both faced off over four years ago in a Oct. 25, 2019 AHL game. Four years later, though, the eldest would emerge victorious with a 31-save shutout en route to the win.

"Obviously really cool for my family. Big thanks to them obviously, my parents, wouldn't be there without them. But yeah, it was fun," Lindgren said with a smile. "I think we play them three more times this year so I don't want to get too high but that's a really good team over there. So every time we play against them we gotta make sure we're ready."

Before the game, the two took a picture together, with civil words shared before the puck dropped. But, with the exception of a Charlie-cooked dinner on Friday, it was all business.

"He just said good luck. That was it. Yeah, we're very competitive but we definitely don't take for granted the opportunity that was, being able to be on the same NHL ice together, that was obviously really cool," Lindgren said. "Before the game, there were certainly no friends, so to speak. No family. But obviously my dad wanted a picture of me and him at center ice. We had one back in Montreal as well so new franchise, new team and it'll be a pretty cool picture to look back on down the road. He's a competitive kid. He's a great hockey player, too. It was fun to win tonight."

Three of those 31 shots came from Ryan, including the first of the game for New York.

"[It's] kinda fujnny. I know I had a good piece but it kinda popped up," Lindgren laughed. "I didn't know exactly where it was but then he had another decent look in the second period. So certainly I knew when he was on the ice, let's just say that.

"I think I really do try to treat all pucks the same and he had a couple good looks tonight but I was able to see the puck, so that's the most important thing."

The victory snapped a three-game losing skid for the Capitals and moved them into third in the Metropolitan Division. For Lindgren, the win wasn't just special because of the sibling rivalry; it was because of the all-around performance, as D.C. got scoring from all four lines and beat one of the NHL's top clubs.

"They're obviously a really good team. I think they have the best record in the NHL. You look at their lineup, they got a lot of skill guys, a lot of guys that play hard," Lindgren said. "I thought right from puck drop tonight, first shift, we really set the tone and I thought everyone else followed. So it was a really good team effort tonight."