Washington Capitals golden goaltender Charlie Lindgren was selected to represent his country during the IIHF Men’s World Championship 2024. Initially, the goalie declined the invitation, but the Capitals announced last weekend that he would be joining the team in Prague. Fellow Team USA goalies Alex Lyon (Detroit Red Wings), Trey Augustine (Michigan State University), and Alex Nedeljkovic (Pittsburgh Penguins) have been playing for the team so far. Team USA needed a replacement goaltender after Red Wings’ Alex Lyon suffered an injury earlier in the tournament, leaving the team with only two goalies. After arriving in Prague, Czechia on Monday, Charlie Lindgren got his first start on Tuesday, May 21st as the USA took on Team Latvia in what proved to be an elimination game for the European team.
Lindgren took the ice for the first time since the Capitals were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the first round of the Stanely Cup Playoffs. He donned his full Capitals goalie gear and made the team proud as he made 27 saves–allowing just 3 pucks into the back of the net. While that number is, arguably, rather high, team USA helped out their goaltender by recording 6 goals. Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield notched a four-point game to easily push the team toward success and onto the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, Lindgren and his team could not rally against the hometown team in their quarterfinal game against Czechia. The netminder saved 27 of 28 shots on goal and was named the US Player of the Game. Team USA was shut out, but they finished the tournament with an impressive 5-0-1-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record.
Charlie Lindgren has previously represented Team USA on the international stage, as he was selected for the team in the 2018 IIHF World Championships. However, he did not appear in a game during that series, so Tuesday’s performance was his first appearance in international play at the senior level. Lindgren played alongside Capitals prospect Ryan Leonard, the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft.
