The Washington Capitals moved on to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday after defeating the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5. During the series, the Caps got huge contributions from Alex Ovechkin (4 goals), Tom Wilson (5 points and a series-altering hit), and goaltender Logan Thompson (2.23 goals against average and.923 save percentage).
Though, the fact that Thompson was able to start all five games and finish the series in net is in itself remarkable. During Game 3, Thompson took a high stick to the helmet and a shot to his neck. Then, he left the game early in the third period after the Canadiens’ young star Juraj Slafkovský scored on a two-on-one break, giving Montreal a 5-3 lead. Dylan Strome, trying to stick-lift Slafkovský near the crease, didn’t see Thompson and barreled him over.
Thompson needed help off the ice and later said in an interview that he got his “bell rung” and had to go through concussion protocol. The Capitals lost Game 3, 6-3.
The ever-empathetic Strome felt bad then — “Never a good feeling when you hit your goalie or you run into your goalie or you hurt a teammate,” he told the Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson shortly after Game 3 — and that continued days later even after Thompson ended up being fine and the Capitals secured the series in Game 5.
“He’s a rock,” Strome said of Thompson’s performance. “He kind of did what he did all year. We feel really confident with him back there… I thought he was awesome all series, including when I ran him over. He bounced back pretty good from that, so I’m very thankful for that, that he was able to bounce back. But he was great. He kept us in it, made the big saves when we needed it.”
For Thompson’s part, he never held any ill will toward Strome after the hit, taking the blame for how out of position he was.
“Stromer was back-checking, I didn’t read the play well, and I got caught with my head down, and unfortunately, Stromer didn’t see me there,” Thompson said. “It’s a crappy play to be a part of, and it wasn’t intentional.”
Thompson’s performance during the first round was notable. Per MoneyPuck, he stopped 5.6 goals above expected, second most in the NHL and 0.1 behind first-place Jakob Markstrom. Ahead of the games on Thursday, Thompson also owned the second-best five-on-five save percentage, 0.938, and the fifth-best high-danger save percentage, 0.857, among playoff goalies who played in five games or more.
“I think it definitely could have been a lot worse,” Thompson said.
