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Capitals forward still feels bad for hurting Thompson
Photo credit: TSN.ca
The Washington Capitals advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday with a Game 5 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Although they did manage to get past the first round, it didn't come without a few bumps and bruises for a particular Capitals player.
Capitals forward Dylan Strome still feels guilty for hurting Logan Thompson.
Ian Oland from RMNB writes that Thompson endured a tough night in Game 3, first taking a high stick to the helmet and then a shot to the neck. He exited early in the third period after Montreal's Juraj Slafkovský scored on a two-on-one to put the Canadiens up 5-3. As Dylan Strome attempted a stick lift near the crease, he failed to notice Thompson and collided with him hard. Thompson needed help off the ice and did not return to the game.
Strome immediately felt remorseful afterwards and had this to say to the Washington Post's Bailey Johnson shortly after Game 3.
«Never a good feeling when you hit your goalie or you run into your goalie or you hurt a teammate." -Strome
As for Thompson, he had no hard feelings toward Strome after the collision, instead taking responsibility for being out of position himself.
«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. It's a crappy play to be a part of, and it wasn't intentional.» -Thompson
Oland also writes that Thompson stood out in the first round with an impressive performance. According to MoneyPuck, he recorded 5.6 goals saved above expected, second in the NHL and just 0.1 behind leader 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." -Oland
Dylan Strome acknowledged how confident the Capitals felt throughout the entire series with Thompson in goal.
«He's a rock. 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.» -Strome
The Capitals are set to face the Carolina Hurricanes in second-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
| POLL | ||
MAI 2 | 49 ANSWERS Capitals forward still feels bad for hurting Thompson Did you think Logan Thompson's injury in Game 3 of the first-round was a lot worse than it seemed? | ||
| yes | 24 | 49 % |
| no | 25 | 51 % |
| List of polls | ||