Dylan Strome, Aliaksei Protas and Sonny Milano scored, and Lindgren made 21 saves for the Capitals (6-5-1), who have lost four straight (0-3-1).
“I still think we’re trying to find ourselves a little bit,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “I know the record was what it was early on, but I’m not fooled by that. We’re still trying to find our identity; some guys are trying to get into a rhythm with their seasons. It’s not a secret, we have a lot of guys that are struggling right now, but they’re trying to fight their way through it, so that’s what I take from this game. You’re going to have to find a way to grind out points and take steps in the right direction. I thought tonight was one.”
Strome, back in the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury, gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 1:07 of the first period when he snapped a rebound from the slot past Luukkonen glove side.
“Pretty good. Felt good with the puck, making some plays,” Strome said. “Ultimately would have liked to capitalize on a few more chances but, like I said about the whole team, just kind of a step in the right direction, and for myself, too, just nice to be back out there with the guys playing.”
Protas finished off a give-and-go down low on a 2-on-0, receiving a return pass from Connor McMichael and lifting it over Luukkonen’s left pad to make it 2-0 at 2:15.
Thompson scored 15 seconds later to cut it to 2-1. Jason Zucker won a battle behind the net against Martin Fehervary and sent the puck to Thompson, who one-timed a snap shot from the slot at 2:30.