ARLINGTON, V.A. — For the 10th straight time down the stretch, the Washington Capitals are turning to Logan Thompson.
Thompson will get the start in goal against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday as Washington looks to gain ground and stay in the playoff race with six games to go in the regular season.
It’s been a heavy workload for the 29-year-old goaltender, who has started each game since March 14 and 13 of the last 14 overall.
“Logan’s earned the opportunity to play in these games,” coach Spencer Carbery explained. “That’s as simply put as I can phrase it. He’s earned the opportunity to play in as close as you’re getting to do-or-die situations for our team.”
Having played in 10 consecutive games, Thompson has done what he can to help Washington secure points, going 6-3-2 over that span.
Carbery did acknowledge that it’s difficult on backup Charlie Lindgren, who hasn’t played since stopping 29 of 30 against Buffalo back on March 12. While the weekend back-to-back could be an opportunity for him to draw back in, Carbery didn’t commit to it.
And, while Carbery also said Thompson starting this much is “not ideal,” it’s what D.C. needs to do down the stretch with every point on the line.
“It’s not ideal him playing this many games in a row. It’s not ideal that Chucky hasn’t played in a while. I don’t like that. I know he’s an unbelievable teammate, but deep down he wants to play games,” Carbery said. “Even for management of fatigue and whatnot, it’s not ideal. But at the same time, this is all hands on deck, and we have to find a way to get two points tonight.”