Lost in the offensive explosion from the Washington Capitals in their 7-1 blowout of the San Jose Sharks was a great game from the team’s goaltender, Charlie Lindgren.

Lindgren not only stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced, and, per MoneyPuck, saved 2.01 more goals than expected, but he also recorded his second career assist on Ryan Leonard’s third-period goal.

The 31-year-old backstop stopped a clear-in from the Sharks behind his net and played the puck to Matt Roy, who sprung Leonard with a breakout pass.

“It feels pretty good,” he said of the assist postgame. “It feels pretty good, not going to lie. You know, I think that was maybe my second career apple in NHL, but a heck of a play by Lenny there.”

Lindgren registered the assist in his 10th appearance this season after going without one for a combined 100 games since the end of the 2022-23 campaign. He recorded his first career point against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 21, 2023, assisting on a Nick Jensen goal in a 7-6 overtime loss.

After the game, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery made a point of recognizing Lindgren’s overall effort during his customary victory speech and added a special shoutout to Lindgren’s newest playmaking exploit.

“Chuckie, great job,” Carbery said. “You picked up an apple! You got an apple tonight!”

“Yeah, first apple in a while,” Lindgren responded.

Lindgren was particularly excellent early in Wednesday night’s win, which Carbery made sure to highlight during his postgame media availability.

“The save on Goodrow, it’s 0-0 game, there’s a couple big saves,” he said. “If they go up 1-0, I’m not saying that’s going to change the entire game, but it’s a different game. You’re chasing it now, and you’re down 1-0, back-to-back. Does that change the outcome? I’m not sure, but it certainly would change that first period and how it went.

“For him to make those saves at 0-0, to keep it like that, and then us to be able to build a lead, and [he] made some other big saves throughout the game. He’s been fantastic. Real happy for him because of the start he had and playing back-to-backs. It just looks like he’s in a real groove now.”

Lindgren, serving in the backup role to Logan Thompson this season, is now 5-3-1 on the year with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .893 save percentage, and one shutout. He has won four starts in a row after allowing four goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-3 loss on November 6.

The win was also Lindgren’s 63rd career win as a member of the Capitals, passing Jose Theodore (62) for the eighth-most wins in franchise history. He is four wins away from tying Pat Riggin for seventh on that list.