Charlie Lindgren did everything he could to thwart the Boston Bruins’ great machine on Tuesday night, with the Washington Capitals goaltender even going so far as to parry with his bare hands.
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The former Montreal Canadiens showed courage and put the interests of his club, already eliminated from the playoffs, ahead of his own health.
In the third section of the duel, the American found himself without a fist and bat after contact with a teammate. Lindgren got up quickly and had time to stretch his unprotected arm in front of Pavel Zacha’s shot. Then he motioned for the official to stop the game.
“He was amazing tonight [mardi]said defender Nick Jensen after the game. There were certainly times when we personally, and I think a lot of people think so, could have helped him a bit more. But he kept us in the game throughout that big game and it was a shame to see him fall in the fight like that after what he showed.
Lindgren effectively gave way to Darcy Kuemper after this miraculous save. He blocked 33 of 36 shots for the Bruins, who won 5-2.
The 2022-2023 season is the 29-year-old goaltender’s first full season in the National Hockey League. He went 13-11-3 with 3.05 goals against average and .899 save percentage.