The Capitals netminder has the second-best save percentage in the league and the third-most goals saved above expected.
The Washington Capitals have hit a critical point in the 2023-24 campaign, and with every point a big one, they're putting their faith in the goaltender who started the year as the backup: Charlie Lindgren.
Head coach Spencer Carbery, who has repeatedly emphasized the importance of this four-game road swing for D.C., has picked his starter and will be going with Lindgren over Darcy Kuemper to start things off. And for Carbery, the reason's simple.
"We're in the meat of the season or the schedule where every game becomes very significant," Carbery told reporters in St. Louis. "And Chucky has played at such an elite level that we feel he's earned more opportunity. I've said that for a while."
Through 18 games this season, Lindgren is 9-4-3 with a .927 save percentage, the second-best in the league, and 2.22 GAA. His mid-range save percentage of .957 ranks in the 99th percentile league-wide, and his 15.5 goals saved above expected are the third-most in the league behind only Connor Hellebuyck and Thatcher Demko.
Lindgren has also posted a .900 save percentage or higher in over 75 percent of his starts.
His red-hot play this season has forced Carbery's hand, leading him to go with No. 79 over Kuemper, who signed in D.C. specifically to be the No. 1 after a couple of years of inconsistency in the crease in Washington.
"When you sustain that and play at that level as a goaltender time and time and time again, it's nothing that Darcy did, it's just that Chuck's played at a very, very elite level," Carbery explained. "As a coach, putting him in positions to be able to be our goaltender for the night, that's the reasoning behind that. The significance of the game comes into a factor of this is the time of year where games mean a whole heck of a lot."
Lindgren has been able to take his play to a whole new level in his second year in D.C. and second full season at the NHL level after a productive offseason of training that saw him work with Jake Oettinger and a mobility coach to improve some of the details in his game. It's paid off, and now, it's turned him into a starter.
The 30-year-old will be between the pipes on Saturday in his former home arena as the Capitals look to sweep the Blues.