It’s like facing the Blue Jackets all over again. After becoming the first team to qualify for the 2025 playoffs, the Capitals finished the regular season with a nightmarish trail of defeats. Among those losses, the grueling 7-0 loss to Columbus won’t be going away from Washington fans’ minds anytime soon. However, while it was Hunter Shepard guarding the Caps’ net on that fateful day in April, Logan Thompson didn’t fare much better tonight.

Washington went into Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2 with the series tied 1-1. But the PNC Arena turned out to be a stage that saw Spencer Carbery’s boys fumble as Logan Thompson let the puck fly past him and into the net four times. For an answer, the Caps could come up with nothing. As the fans scurry to look for solutions, one Washington star might have an explanation that could satiate their needs.

The Hockey News‘ beat reporter Sammi Silber took to X on May 10 to reveal how Thompson’s colleague saw what went down during the Canes’ second goal of the night. “His glove gets kind of stuck on his pad a little bit. I mean, he makes that save nine out of 10 times,” the social media update quotes Nic Dowd, the Capitals’ star center, who only managed to produce two shots on goal tonight amidst the team’s embarrassing 4-0 defeat on the road.

Interestingly, though, Thompson made 24 saves tonight. That’s actually three more than the number of saves the Canes goalie, Frederik Andersen, pulled off. Bad luck, we guess? “Just another kind of a quirk, and playoffs are like that,” Dowd admitted that his goalie, Logan Thompson, didn’t have total control of the situation despite the latter’s best attempts.

The Hurricanes picked up the lead in the second period when Andrei Svechnikov scored a snap shot. Jack Roslovic extended the lead with a power-play goal that beat Thompson on the short side. Two more goals by Eric Robinson and Jackson Blake sealed the fate of the Capitals, and all Logan could do by the end of the night was feel the pressure mount ahead of Game 4.

But it was always going to be like this. After all, it’s the playoffs, and expecting your opponents to be merciful is a fallacy you cannot afford. Only yesterday, Washington’s Tom Wilson mentioned that it’s going to be a tough battle against Carolina. “The games are so tight this time of year, especially playing against Carolina,” admitted the forward, after winning Game 2 of the second round of the playoffs. With the stakes high, can Logan find it in himself to pull up his socks before the action resumes for the best-of-seven-game series?

Can Logan Thompson and the Caps turn things around?

Despite several defeats in the final days of the regular season, the Capitals qualified for the playoffs with 111 points and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Carbery’s squad started off Round 1 strongly and ultimately ousted the Montreal Canadiens from the Cup contention by taking the series 4-1. And yet, the momentum took a battering as soon as Washington stepped onto the ice with the Canes. In the first match between the Metropolitan Division heavyweights in Round 2, the Caps blew an early lead to lose the game. Naturally, the fans were livid by the display of poor skill with the stick.

And still, despite all the fumbles, you’d think the Caps have all the reasons to win their second Stanley Cup. After all, Captain Alex Ovechkin did attain something historic this season, which could easily work as the motivation that his teammates need. In early April, the Moscow native finally scored his 895th career goal to break the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky’s long-standing record. Even then, even after the seminal feat, the Russian was determined not to lose sight of the bigger prize.

“The most important thing for us is to win another Cup. It’s not about the record. It’s win another Cup,” Ovie said. But will his dream be something to help Logan Thompson find his mojo back? In the 2024-25 regular season, Thompson posted an incredible .910 save%, and in the postseason, the stats have only gotten better (.922%). But will Logan be able to reach within and bring out his A-game for the remainder of Round 2? We’ll have to wait to know!