Logan Thompson is a key piece of the Capitals’ early season success
The Washington Capitals are off to a strong start to the season, posting a 13-4-1 record through their first 18 games. A big reason for their success early on this year has been the play of goaltender Logan Thompson.
The 27-year-old netminder is enjoying a stellar start to his Capitals’ tenure, going 8-0-1 so far this season, along with a 2.63 goals against average and .913 save percentage. Washington traded for Thompson this past offseason, sending two third-round picks to the Vegas Golden Knights in the deal. At just $766,667 against the cap, Thompson is providing quite the return on investment for the Capitals.
Fellow southpaw Charlie Lindgren continues to split the duties in the Capitals’ crease. Lindgren has registered a 5-4-0 record so far this season, with a 2.59 goals against average and .900 save percentage.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli were joined by former QMJHL head coach Jon Goyens for the latest Coach’s Room segment, and discussed Thompson’s impact so far this season in Washington.
Yaremchuk: Today Jon, we are zeroing in on the Washington Capitals. We were just talking about goaltenders who are off to good starts and Logan Thompson certainly fits that description. They go pick him up in the offseason from Vegas, they get that dirt cheap cap hit, they only gave up third-round picks. The knock on Thompson has always been his ability to stay healthy, but hey, through a month and a bit here this season, Washington’s reeking the rewards of that trade. I want to know, with Thompson in this strong defensive system, is he a by-product of this team’s structure, or is he more of a key element as to why their goals against is so low?
Goyens: I’m going to go with he’s more of a key element right now. They spend more time in their zone, their in the bottom two or three teams in the league that tend to spend time in their zone defending. They’re good at collapsing towards the net, and getting into those battles, and trying to box out. They’re pretty efficient with the puck, but they spend a ton of time, and are still giving up a lot of slot-driven plays, whether it be a pass to the slot, or players carrying pucks to the slot.
Having an opportunity to break down Thompson like this, I didn’t realize the cat-like play and body language that he has. He’s a big guy, but he gets all low and then he’s very flexible, his head is on a swivel like crazy. There’s not a lot of surprises, and he makes eye contact with the puck early and often before he reacts. It’s not just a free-for-all in that crease.
For more on the Capitals’ hot start, trade chatter, and all the very latest from around the NHL, watch the full episode here.