Logan Thompson’s evening was over 5:43 into the second period, with the Dallas Stars leading Washington 4-0. Charlie Lindgren came in to handle the emergency portion of the job, and he did it well enough to give the Capitals a chance. It was simply too late to erase what Dallas had done before the switch.
The Stars won 6-5 Tuesday at Capital One Arena, improving to 9-5-1. Lindgren stopped 9 of 11 shots in relief, a clear improvement on Thompson’s 7 saves on 11 shots. Yet both goals Lindgren allowed arrived through a changed path for the puck, while Thompson had already conceded the opener and all three Robertson goals.
The goaltending change moved Washington’s problem around; it did not solve the scoreboard.
Robertson supplied the part of the performance Dallas could trust. His first goal came at 0:23 in the middle frame on a power-play wrist shot from the left circle. Three minutes later, he scored at even strength after working free near the right boards and releasing from the upper-right faceoff area.
At 5:43, his third arrived on a shot from the point that traveled through traffic and struck the right post on its way in.
That 5:20 burst was more than a hot scorer piling onto a helpless opponent. The three goals came from different situations and locations: a man advantage, an even-strength attempt near the circle and a point shot that found a route through bodies. Robertson finished with three goals, an assist and five shots, giving Dallas its separation before Washington could change the terms of the night.
Lindgren’s first real setback was less clean. Mikko Rantanen made it 5-1 at 14:50 of the second period, but the puck glanced off the knob of Lindgren’s stick. The goal counted, as it should, and it also gave Rantanen his 800th NHL point.
Still, the altered flight matters when judging what the relief goalie actually changed. Lindgren was not being carved open repeatedly; he was dealing with a puck that did not arrive exactly as it began.
Roope Hintz’s goal just 1:23 after the final period began had a similar wrinkle. An intended pass struck Washington defenseman Martin Fehervary and went past Lindgren, restoring a three-goal Dallas advantage at 6-3. Hintz finished with three points on the night, and the play became the winning goal after Washington scored twice more.
It was productive hockey from Dallas, though hardly a finish that can be ordered from a catalogue.
This is where the Stars made the goalie change matter. They finished the chances that came before it, then accepted two altered pucks after it. Dallas scored six times on 22 shots, while Washington generated 25 shots and kept applying pressure long after the game appeared to be decided.
Lindgren’s relief work helped the Capitals climb back into the contest, but the deficit demanded more than competent goaltending could provide.
