Charlie Lindgren

Charlie Lindgren grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, went undrafted, and built his way to an NHL starting job without the conventional path of a draft selection. The right-catching goaltender, now 32, stands 6'2" and weighs 190 pounds and currently wears number 79 for the Washington Capitals.

Lindgren's professional career has taken him through the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues before he established himself in Washington. His first podcast appearance with InGoal came during his time with the Canadiens ^[1], and he has since returned to the show twice more as his role with the Capitals grew ^{[2] [3]}. Over the course of his career, he has appeared in 170 NHL games, posting 82 wins, 61 losses, 18 overtime losses, a 2.87 goals-against average, a .902 save percentage, and 10 shutouts.

In the 2023-24 season, Lindgren appeared in a career-high 50 regular-season games for the Capitals, plus four more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and then traveled to Czechia to represent USA Hockey at the World Championships after Alex Lyon sustained an injury ^[4]. Following that season, he sat down with InGoal Magazine for both a podcast interview ^[3] and an extended Pro Reads video session — a series that has since grown to eleven entries and continued into a second video session the following summer ^[5].

That run of Pro Reads coverage, which InGoal Magazine has described as "insightful and open," covers a wide range of in-game situations. In his debut session, Lindgren broke down how he uses zone scans on a New York Rangers power play, identifying Mika Zibanejad preparing for a one-timer before the pass arrived. "I know where he is and I know he's cocked and he's looking to get this stick on and off his stick in a heartbeat," Lindgren said ^[4]. Across multiple sessions, he has returned repeatedly to the theme of visual scanning, describing it as a habit accessible to goalies at any level: "Even if you are a Squirt, Pee Wee, Bantam, you probably have more time and space than guys at the NHL level, so you are able to look off plays" ^[6].

His Pro Reads have also addressed rush management, post play, and the Reverse-VH. On working through a Detroit Red Wings power play during a critical late-season game, Lindgren credited his goalie coach Scott Murray with helping him develop his comfort in the Reverse position. "Scotty Murray and I kind of went to work on the Reverse this year and it made a big difference because it's a position you are in a few times a game at least," he said. "I'm 30 years old but I am always still learning and working and just trying to figure out how to be the best goalie that I can be" ^[7].

On managing breakaways, Lindgren has discussed the importance of controlled backwards momentum rather than an early aggressive push toward the shooter. "I would have started further out in the past, which makes it harder to time that retreat," he noted in one session breaking down a save against Pittsburgh's Michael Bunting ^[8]. On a separate angled-attack breakaway against Pierre-Luc Dubois, he described the approach as staying compact: "You just essentially run them out of space and you're not chasing the game at all" ^[9].

In his fifth Pro Reads entry, Lindgren addressed mindset when a team is trailing badly — making a point to connect the professional and youth game. "Every goalie can work hard and battle, I don't care if you are 10 years old or 30 years old — you have the opportunity and chance, every goalie is going to go down in a hockey game, you have a chance to battle and work" ^[10]. That theme of controlled execution under pressure recurs across sessions, including a breakdown of a 2-on-0 chance where Lindgren described the central challenge as resisting the impulse to panic: "I put myself in trouble. But I'm about as patient as I can get here" ^[5].

A three-year contract extension with Washington kept Lindgren in Capitals colors heading into 2025-26, a season in which he has appeared in 21 games, going 9-8-3 with a 3.52 goals-against average, an .879 save percentage, and 1 shutout through 1,246:02 of ice time.

InGoal Magazine has covered Charlie Lindgren in three podcast appearances and twelve Pro Reads.