Stephanie Scarbrough / AP
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 | 6:44 p.m.
WASHINGTON — The scoring chances were there.
But the reigning Stanley Cup champions were simply unable to overcome a stellar performance from reserve goaltender Charlie Lindgren as the Vegas Golden Knights dropped their second away game on the season in their first shutout loss as they fell to the Washington Capitals 3-0 Tuesday at Capital One Arena.
Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson was nearly just as outstanding, stopping 20-of-21 shots from the Capitals. But Thompson’s lone blemish came at the 16:39 mark in the first period, after center Dylan Strome beat two-on-one coverage on a wrist shot from the near edge of the left circle. The goal marks Strome’s seventh of the season and fifth in his career against the Golden Knights, which ties him with star winger Alex Ovechkin for the most in franchise history.
It was just the fourth game of the season for Lindgren (3-1-0), who stopped all 35 shots on net and was 1-0-1 previously against Las Vegas. Along with the 4-1 series win over the Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, the Capitals (8-4-2) now improve to 3-9-0 overall against the Golden Knights in the regular season.
Washington’s last two goals came in desperation time for Vegas, who pulled Thompson with under a minute to play, allowing the Caps to score two empty netters.
Washington held a one-man advantage for nine minutes, but were 0-for-3 on the power play opportunities, while the Golden Knights were called for four total penalties — two of which were against defenseman Paul Cotter. Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar and Washington defenseman Dylan McIlrath were also each called for five-minute roughing penalties after a brief fight that was broken up by refs after Kolesar fell to the ice.
After an official review, Cotter was called for a second penalty — this one a five-minute major — 5:18 into the second after shoulder-checking forward Evgeny Kuznetsov in the head near Washington’s goal. Cotter was ejected form the game after the play.
But Vegas successfully killed the penalty, in part because of Thompson stopping four shots on goal and a few costly Capitals turnovers.
The Golden Knights resume their four-game Eastern Conference road swing on Thursday with a visit to Montreal to play the Canadiens (7-6-2), followed by games at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Puck drop is for Thursday’s game in Montreal is scheduled for 4 p.m. PST.
Check back for updates.
This content was originally published here.