Capitals At Worlds: Lindgren Backstops Team USA To Quarterfinals, Leonard Back In Lineup

The Capitals goaltender was busy in his 2024 Worlds debut.

The Washington Capitals will see two of their players continue their runs at the IIHF World Championship, as Charlie Lindgren and Ryan Leonard are moving on to the quarterfinals after both helped Team USA top Latvia, 6-3, on Tuesday.

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Tuesday's contest marked Lindgren's debut, as he agreed to join the United States following an injury to Alex Lyon. He practiced with the Americans on Monday before getting his first start.

It was a bit of an adventurous start to his run in Prague, as Latvia was making a strong push and had two goals in a span of 16 seconds in the third period. John Hynes called a timeout to calm his group, but the 30-year-old remained collected and ended up stopping 27 of 30 shots (.900 save percentage) en route to the win.

Lindgren is coming off an impressive season with the Capitals that saw him play a career-high 50 games and boast a .911 save percentage, 2.67 GAA and six shutouts to become Washington's No. 1.

Meanwhile, Leonard, who had been a healthy scratch for the last handful of outings for Team USA, got back in the lineup as he dressed as the extra forward for the elimination game. He didn't get on the scoresheet, but did take a tripping call late. He got just eight shifts and ended up skating 5:11 minutes as the young guys continue to battle for ice time in Czechia.

The United States will move on to play either Czechia or Switzerland in the single-elimination quarterfinals at Worlds on Thursday. This is the 13th straight year that the Americans have qualified for the QFs at the tournament.

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Capitals At Worlds: Lindgren Backstops Team USA To Quarterfinals, Leonard Back In Lineup

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