Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren had a shutout on Saturday, topping his brother, Ryan Lindgren, and the New York Rangers, 4-0 at Capital One Arena.
“Chucky is an awesome guy, an awesome teammate,” Tom Wilson, who had a goal, said after the game. “And when he’s in there, we want to get the win, and I think there was a little extra family rivalry tonight so he’s pumped he got his money, and we’ll keep it rolling.
The brothers posed for the camera ahead of the game, as they played each other for the first time in the NHL.
“It was really cool, obviously, really cool for my family,” Lindgren said. “It was fun. I think we play them three more times this year so I don’t want to get too high. It’s a really good team over there, so every time we play against them, we gotta make sure we’re ready.”
Lindgren faced 31 shots on net, including the first shot against him by his brother.
“I know I had a good piece of it but it kind of popped up. I didn’t know exactly where it was. Then he had another decent look in the second period, so certainly I knew when he was on the ice.”
According to the NHL, Charlie became the fourth goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout while his brother appeared for the opposing team, but it was the first time since 1974. The others are Tiny Thompson (12x vs. Paul Thompson; last: Jan. 7, 1937), Tony Esposito (4x vs. Phil Esposito; last: Oct. 16, 1974) and Billy Smith (vs. Gord Smith on Oct. 20, 1974).
As for the pre-game photo, Charlie said there wasn’t much to it. “He just said good luck. We definitely don’t take for granted the opportunity that was, being able to be on the same NHL ice together, and that was obviously really cool. But before the game, there was certainly no friends, so to speak, no family. It’ll be a pretty cool picture to look back on down the road.”
Ryan Lindgren, a defenseman, is four years younger than Charlie. They previously faced each other in the American Hockey League several years ago.
