MONTREAL — The morning after Game 3 — a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens that included injuries to both teams’ starting goaltenders, a fracas within the Washington Capitals’ bench and many unforced errors as the Capitals struggled to handle the atmosphere at Bell Centre — dawned with a mix of no news and good news for Washington.
The good news? Winger Aliaksei Protas took contact at Saturday’s optional practice and was “full go,” Coach Spencer Carbery said. Protas was cut on the top of his foot by a skate blade April 4, and his return appears to be imminent. He would be welcomed back to the Capitals’ lineup with open arms for Game 4 on Sunday night.
There was no news, though, on goaltender Logan Thompson, who left Game 3 in the third period after a collision with center Dylan Strome.
“I don’t,” Carbery said when asked whether he had an update on Thompson. “I’ll get an update later on today from our training staff.”
Strome met with reporters and explained what happened from his viewpoint.
“Started in the neutral zone with not a great pass I made to [winger Taylor] Raddysh. Just got on the wrong side of [Montreal forward Juraj] Slafkovsky, kind of guessed wrong,” Strome said. “I just tried to get under his stick. And then [Thompson] was right in front of me. I obviously didn’t see LT.
“Never a good feeling when you hit your goalie or you run into your goalie or you hurt a teammate, whether it’s with a shot or whatever. Hopefully he’s all right. I know he’s a pretty tough guy. Hopefully he’s good. Just an unfortunate break and one that you don’t like to see happen.”
Thompson needed assistance to stand up, then was helped off the ice and appeared to be putting little to no weight on his left leg as he departed.
“I think that was just, I don’t know, a balance thing,” Strome said, perhaps wishfully. “I’m not sure. I actually haven’t talked to him too much about it. It’s never a good scenario, especially when a guy gets hit like that and then kind of stumbles. But I think it was more of a balance thing.”
The Canadiens also didn’t have an update on Sam Montembeault, who left midway through the second period with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. Montreal Coach Martin St. Louis said Montembeault is still being evaluated.
If Thompson can’t play in Game 4, the Capitals will turn to Charlie Lindgren, who was part of a goaltending tandem with Thompson for most of the season. Lindgren started his NHL career in Montreal and played five seasons in the Canadiens organization.
“Next man up for us,” Carbery said. “I won’t comment on [Montreal’s] situation, but it’ll be next man up for us. We know Chuckie Lindgren, and he’s done a great job. He’s a great goaltender. There’s no concern there of our group having a letdown or our staff having a lack of confidence. We’ve got two great guys.”
“Felt bad for Logan. I thought he had a really good game,” Lindgren said. “He made a lot of big saves, kept our team in it. That was a bummer to see. And then, yeah, it’s six minutes left in the game or whatever. We’re down by two. I guess [I] got my feet wet. I haven’t played at the Bell Centre since I essentially left.
“Obviously, it’s quite the place to back up, especially in an environment like yesterday. You’re essentially just sitting with the fans. I’m probably just as energized as anyone. Like I said, tough to see Logan go down. But if you get a chance to go in the net, you want to go and do your job.”
The atmosphere at Bell Centre undoubtedly played into the difficulties Washington had Friday night. The Capitals made uncharacteristic turnovers — many of which led to goals for the Canadiens — and appeared to struggle to communicate amid the din.
“Not our best, obviously. Just didn’t make the most of the moment,” defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “Obviously, it was a big opportunity for us, and they seemed to take that momentum from the crowd. They played well. They played hard. We kind of just got on the wrong side of some pucks and some bad breaks, and they capitalized.”
Washington is, as Carbery said, an “emotionally invested” team that can thrive on environments such as Friday’s. But at times, the team’s emotional involvement crossed the line — particularly in the scuffle at the end of the second period, which earned winger Tom Wilson and Montreal’s Josh Anderson $5,000 fines for unsportsmanlike conduct — and indicated the Capitals weren’t fully prepared to handle the moment.
Having experienced it once, Strome said they will be better prepared Sunday. And they’ll need to be as Montreal rides the momentum from an emphatic win.
“Part of that I’ll put on myself, finding the structure, the X’s and O’s and the tactical part,” Carbery said. “How can I help us work through the anxiousness, the crowd noise, not having last [line] change, all the things that go into playing in a difficult environment? And then the other part is trying to make our players feel as confident as possible. Make it as normal as possible and be able to be successful in a difficult environment.”
“If you can’t handle the losses, especially in playoffs, you’re not going to win too many. It’s going to be hard this time of year,” van Riemsdyk added. “You obviously want to play well every night, but some games just aren’t going to go your way, and your ability to deal with those losses and come back in the next game and play better and get some positives from those losses is key. … Now we have to refocus and find that desperation again in our own game.”
