Charlie Lindgren didn’t spend the summer dwelling on what went wrong. He spent it resetting.
That matters for the Capitals goalie, who enters his fifth season in Washington feeling as good as he has in a long time after a rough 2025-26 campaign. Lindgren finished 9-8-3 with a .879 save percentage, and most of his appearances came in the second half of back-to-backs behind a tired team. Even so, he wasn’t interested in using that as cover.
“I’m going to complain about any start that I get in the NHL. That’s just my mentality. Anytime I get a chance to get out there and prove myself, I want to take full advantage,” Lindgren said, adding, “Coming away from last year, I wasn’t overly thrilled with the way it went.”
After returning home in April, Lindgren took about a month away before getting back into training. He again worked with Jake Oettinger and other Minnesota-grown goalies, focusing on post play and the little technical details that can separate a solid night from a sharp one. But the biggest emphasis, by his own telling, was simpler than that: trust the game, trust the reflexes, and stay contained.
“You can almost work too hard, where you find yourself almost overplaying things,” Lindgre said. “It was just finding that balance where you’re competing as hard as you can, but you’re also playing inside your posts and covering the 6-by-4.”
That approach left Lindgren feeling refreshed both physically and mentally.
“I feel like I put in some really darn good work this summer and feel like I’m in a really good spot physically and in my headspace,” Lindgren said. “Just excited to be back here with the Caps.
I love this place, I love this team, I love the city... I just feel very blessed.”
Coach Spencer Carbery said the Capitals believe that fresh start can show up on the ice.
“The opportunity to come back this year fresh, feeling healthy and try to show that he’s still capable of playing at the level that we’ve seen in the past, we’re confident that he’s going to be able to do that,” Carbery added.
Lindgren’s first start of the season will come in a tough spot: the second night of a season-opening back-to-back on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s been there before, though, and he sees it as another chance to build on what he laid down this offseason.
“We’re all human, so I think there’s definitely times where the brain can get overinvolved. I’m playing my best when I’m not thinking and just going out and relying on my instincts and playing,” Lindgren said.
“I think my mental fortitude is probably one of my best assets. I put so much work into getting where I’m at, I don’t take really any second for granted, one day for granted.”
For Lindgren, the goal is straightforward: prove the Capitals right, and prove it to himself. He says the formula is the same every day - work, compete, repeat.
“Every time I get a chance to go play, I feel like I can be a difference maker. My goal always is to make sure that when I get a chance, I want to give the team the best chance to win as I can,” Lindgren said.
“I’m a guy that the team knows what they’ll get from me. I’m going to compete my butt off, I’m never going to give in, never going to give up and just go out and play my game.
I got a lot of trust in what I’ve done... I just feel awesome.”
In Other News...
Capitals Get A Brutal First Test For Their New-Look Roster
The Capitals open their new NHL season with no easing-in period, stepping right into a meeting with Carolina and a roster that looks noticeably different from a year ago. Boone Jenner, Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Vincent Desharnais are among the additions head coach Spencer Carbery is folding in, while Cole Hutson, Timothy Liljegren and Ilya Protas are also set for their first opening-night look in Washington, giving the night a fresh feel even before the puck drops.
It is a demanding first test for a group trying to settle quickly, especially with the matchup coming in Carolinas home arena against a team that has already played once and is carrying the weight of a championship banner raising. Carbery and players like Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson have already acknowledged the challenge, and the bigger question for Washington is how fast all those new pieces can start looking like a coherent lineup against the defending Stanley Cup champions. [Read more 🡒]