Charlie Lindgren Pro Reads 3
With Charlie Lindgren
Importance of Proper Reverse Mechanics on Backdoor Plays
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Much like his ascension to the starting job with the Washington Capitals, Charlie Lindgren has quickly climbed the ranks of reader favourites with his first two Pro Reads, so we didn’t want to wait too long to get back to him for a third video review session.
THE SEQUENCE
This time Lindgren is facing a Detroit Red Wings power play late in the season, in a game that was crucial to their late season push into a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He’s yet to see a shot in a game loaded with pressure, something he talks about in his breakdown below, but before we get to that, look at what he’s seeing from the Red Wings:
With the puck on the stick of the right shot above the left face-off circle, can you identify the most dangerous threats? What factors matter the most at this point?
What do you make of Lindgren’s positioning relative to it all in the photo above?
Skip ahead less than a second and the puck is down near the goal line and Lindgren is transitioning into a Reverse on his right post, with passing options at both the short-side hash mark and cutting hard to the far post: Which one is more dangerous?
What do you need to know about both of those options?
What do you make of the decision to transition into Reverse?
If the pass goes through the crease to the backdoor at Robby Fabbri, should Lindgren target his push out at the shooter, or straight across to his left post?
THE SAVE
Watch the sequence play out in real time and replays, ask yourself the same questions, and see if you can identify Lindgren’s keys to making this save:
First off, were you able to predict which of the two passing options was most likely? Why?
Second, did you foresee how this was going to play out even after that back door pass, with Fabbri cutting back across the crease rather than shooting? If so, what were the tells?
Lastly, what key elements in how Lindgren played this allowed him to make the save?
THE PRO READ
Listen in now as Lindgren explains those keys himself:
Still ahead in this article:
Lindgren breaks down exactly how he spotted Fabbri cutting backdoor before the play developed — and the two-word cue he says triggered his read comes next.
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