Story by
Capitals' Decision to Pull Logan Thompson Was Exactly What He Needed
- Story by
- Capitals' Decision to Pull Logan Thompson Was Exactly What He Needed
Logan Thompson has earned plenty of trust in Washington, but even the Capitals' go-to netminder has a breaking point.
After back-to-back starts in which he struggled to give his team a chance to win, Thompson finally got the hook Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars, raising some questions about his form since returning from injury.
Advertisement
Since coming back from a lower-body injury, Thompson, to put it mildly, hasn't looked particularly sharp in net.
There was some encouragement in his first start back, as he stopped 23 of 25 shots against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 28 in a 5-2 Capitals victory. His two most recent outings, however, have been considerably less convincing.
Thompson surrendered four goals on 27 shots in Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, with the fifth coming on an empty net. Things didn't get much better Tuesday, when he allowed Jason Robertson to score three times in just 5:20 during the second period of Washington's eventual 6-5 loss to Dallas. It was the first natural hat trick Thompson had allowed in his NHL career.
There's no reason to panic just yet. It's still early in the season, and four subpar starts out of 10 aren't necessarily cause for alarm. Still, seeing Thompson struggle in consecutive outings is concerning, particularly for a goaltender Washington relies on as heavily as he does.
Advertisement
Spencer Carbery deserves some credit for recognizing that, too.
Some coaches are willing to give their starting goaltender a longer leash, even when things are unraveling, in hopes that he'll find his composure and work through the struggles. Carbery has generally shown that kind of patience during his time in Washington, which made his decision to pull Thompson all the more notable.
In this instance, though, it was the right call. Sometimes a goaltender needs to know that his performance isn't good enough, and Carbery wasn't willing to let things get any worse. It was a message worth sending, especially with the way Thompson had been playing.
The question now is whether Thompson receives it.
Advertisement
To be fair, Robertson's natural hat trick wasn't entirely on the Capitals netminder. On his first goal, Robertson was able to carry the puck into the offensive zone with virtually no resistance before getting a clean look at Thompson. The defense certainly didn't do its goaltender any favors as Dallas scored yet another goal on the power play.
But that's also a save Thompson needs to make. The same could be said about the other two goals, particularly when you consider the expectations that come with being Washington's starting goaltender.
Thompson knows what's required at this level better than most. He won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 alongside Adin Hill, and he's established himself as a capable NHL starter since then. But those credentials don't buy a goaltender much room when the puck starts finding the back of the net. You have to come up with the saves your team needs, especially when the game is starting to slip away.
That's the reality of playing in this league.
Advertisement
Hopefully, Thompson can use these last two outings as a wake-up call rather than allowing them to snowball into something bigger. Washington needs him at his best, and with a matchup against one of the NHL's toughest teams in the Florida Panthers coming Saturday, he'll have an opportunity to start putting these struggles behind him.
