Capitals Not Worried About Charlie Lindgren, But Goalie Taking 'A Lot Of Ownership' As He Looks To Pull D.C. Back Into Series vs. Rangers

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren has been powered by belief all year long. And despite being down 2-0 in the first-round series against the New York Rangers, his belief hasn't faltered, but he does think there's more to give.

Through the first two games of the series against New York, Lindgren has given up eight goals and has a save percentage of .864. Despite the numbers and the fact that he's — uncharacteristically — given up four goals in each of the last two outings, he's feeling on top of his game.

"To be quite honest with you, I've felt pretty good out there. I've had no nerves at all the whole series. I think I've been seeing the puck really well," Lindgren said. "I think Game 1, there was a couple odd bounces and even last game, a couple bad bounces, too. Honestly, I feel really good."

Still, he knows that four goals against per game isn't going to cut it, especially in the playoffs, and is taking accountability.

"Obviously, I've got to cut down. I can't be letting in four goals. I know that, so I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that I can put the team in a good spot," Lindgren said. "When we score three goals last game — I think when we score three goals, we should win a hockey game. So I take a lot of ownership. I'm going to do everything I can do."

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Though Lindgren was critical of his performance, head coach Spencer Carbery said that he is confident in his starting netminder and said that the goals against boils down to a collective team issue.

"I don't worry about Chucky. I worry about what we need to do to help him out," Carbery declared, adding, "We have to do a better job in front of him, whether it's penalty kill, whether it's keeping it 5-on-5, whether it's coverage stuff, whether it's a breakaway. All these different things, we've got to help him out."

Alex Ovechkin agreed, adding that the team can do a better job in front of him.

"Yeah, blocking shots, give him time to see where the shot goes," Ovechkin said.

The 30-year-old netminder's confidence and faith in himself and his team remain high despite the circumstances, and that faith is something that might just help Lindgren do what he's done throughout the year: steal a game — or maybe two — to keep the Capitals in the thick of it against New York.

"(My confidence) stems from obviously work ethic and working hard and feeling good on practice days... obviously, there's a lot of self-belief, and then I've got a lot of people in my corner," Lindgren said. "I've got unbelievable teammates here that have been pushing me all year long and making me a better goalie. I got a great wife, great family that keeps me motivated and keeps me going."

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Lindgren and Washington will host the Rangers in Game 3 on Friday, and he believes that home-ice advantage will go a long way for the Capitals and allow them to control the matchups a bit more.

But ultimately, regardless of location, there's work to do if Washington wants to stay in the thick of the fight, and Lindgren is ready for the challenge.

"At the end of the day, we've got to go out, and we've got to take care of business," Lindgren said. "So far, we haven't done that... we've got to make sure that every shift we go out there, when I'm out there, we've got to make sure that we don't leave anything to chance. We've got to go give it our best shot tomorrow."