The Capitals netminder was named player of the game by his team and congratulated for his "first NHL tuck."
Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren found himself with the puck on his stick in a 3-3 third period, and in front of 20,000 Tampa Bay Lightning faithful at Amalie Arena, lived out his worst nightmare.
Lindgren backhanded the puck to play it, and put it right in his own net, giving the Lightning a 4-3 lead with 12:35 minutes left in regulation.
"It was obviously the worst mistake I've probably ever made in my life in terms of on-ice," Lindgren admitted to reporters postgame. "I know better than that, I can't go back there, I don't know what I was thinking."
An own goal like that can be a deflating moment for any team, but instead of faltering, he and the Capitals regrouped after the play and forgot about it.
"You obviously got two choices in that moment, you can go in your shell or go out and battle. The guys rallied around me," Lindgren said, later adding, "If we weren't a close team we could've been frustrated and packed it in. I knew there was no chance (we would), We're too good.
"When I made that big mistake, the boys we all pretty much laughed it off. Even me; I chucked that puck out of the rink and I kind of chuckled to myself."
Soon after the own goal, John Carlson tied things up, and with under four minutes left in regulation, Tom Wilson scored the game-winner late for a 5-4 victory.
"It's character," Lindgren said of the rally, adding, "Wholeheartedly, everyone on this team has bought in... The guys picked me up, and I got a lot of respect."
Ultimately, Lindgren, who stopped 25 of 28 in the win, was awarded the gold chain as "Player of the Game," and congratulated for his "first NHL tuck."
"It was a pretty sweet victory, I'm not gonna lie," Lindgren said.
