Logan Thompson started for the Washington Capitals in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Sunday.
The goalie's status had been in question after he was injured with 6:37 remaining in Game 3 on Friday.
Capitals forward Dylan Strome barreled into Thompson just as Juraj Slafkovsky scored to give Montreal a 5-3 lead. Thompson appeared to struggle to put any weight on his left leg and nearly fell over when he tried to stand on his own before Strome, forward Brandon Duhaime and Capitals head athletic trainer Jason Serbus helped him off the ice.
Charlie Lindgren replaced Thompson and stopped four of five shots in what resulted in a 6-3 loss.
The Capitals, who lead the best-of-7 series 2-1, were still without Aliaksei Protas in Game 4. The forward hasn't played since April 4, when he sustained a skate cut on his left foot against the Chicago Blackhawks. He's missed the last six games of the regular season and the first four games of this series.
Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault, who is day to day, did not play in Game 4.
Montembeault left Game 3 with 8:21 remaining in the second period after having a conversation with director of sports medicine and performance Jim Ramsay during a television timeout.
Montembeault, who appeared to be favoring his left leg, allowed two goals on 13 shots and was replaced by Jakub Dobes, who stopped seven of eight. Emergency backup goalie Patrick Chevrefils was in uniform a short time later.
Cayden Primeau was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on Sunday and backed up Dobes in Game 4.
Dobes, a 23-year-old rookie, was 7-4-3 with a 2.74 GAA, a .909 save percentage and one shutout in 16 games (15 starts). He made 34 saves in his NHL debut, a 4-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 28, which was one day after he was recalled from Laval. He won his first five starts and backed up Montembeault through the end of the season.
"I think you look at his first three or four games, I think they're all some of the top teams in the League and he played well, so I have all the confidence in the world in Dobes," Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle said Saturday. "He has all the confidence in himself, which I think you need as a young goalie coming into the League. I think he believes that there’s no moment too big for him. I think he wants this moment. I think he’s ready for anything that was thrown at him. Obviously I don’t know what’s really going on with 'Monty,' but if Dobes is in the net tomorrow I think all the boys have confidence in him."
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen and independent correspondent Sean Farrell contributed to this report
