“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting
it. Skillful pilots gain their
reputation from storms and tempests.”
-- Epictetus
When Braden Holtby won ten of 14 decisions in his first NHL
season, including eight of his last nine in which he had a goals against
average of 1.01 and a .964 save percentage, in 2011-2012, Fans of the
Washington Capitals might have been forgiven if they thought they were looking
at their goaltender for the next decade.
However, over the next three seasons his goals against
average inched up each year, while his save percentage dropped. In 48 games of the 2013-2014 season, Holtby
was 23-15-4, a respectable win-loss record, but his goals against average rose
to 2.85, and his save percentage was a quite average .915.
Then came the 2014-2015 season. Finally given the responsibilities as a
number one netminder after backing up or sharing duties with Semyon Varlamov,
Michal Neuvirth, and Tomas Vokoun, Holtby appeared in a league-high 73 games
and 4,247 minutes, posting a 41-20-10 win-loss record while finishing with a
2.22 GAA and a .923 save percentage. It
would be the first of three straight 40-plus win seasons, becoming only the
third goaltender in NHL history to win more than 40 games in three consecutive
seasons (Martin Brodeur did it from 2005-2006 through 2007-2008, and Evgeni
Nabokov did it from 2007-2008 through 2009-2010). It was a run that included a 48-win season in
2015-2016, Tying Martin Brodeur’s NHL record, set in 2006-2007.
Holtby came into the 2017-2018 season seeking to become the
first goaltender in NHL history to win more than 40 games for a fourth
consecutive season. When he started 13
of the Caps’ first 18 games, posting a 10-3-0, 2.35, .927 record, he seemed on
his way to doing just that. But then,
the wheels got a bit wobbly. Starting
with a disastrous six-goals-on-25-shots effort in 40 minutes of a 6-3 loss in
Nashville to the Predators on November 14th, Holtby split his next
six decisions, posting a 3.21 GAA and a .900 save percentage.
With the calendar turning over to December, Holtby appeared
to right himself. In 13 appearances from
December 2nd through January 7th, he was 11-2-0, but the
win-loss record outperformed his performance numbers, a 2.78 goals against
average and a .913 save percentage. The problem
with his underlying numbers caught up with Holtby with a vengeance starting in
mid-January. In 14 appearances from
January 11th through February 26th, he went 4-6-4, 3.84,
.887, and was relieved by Philipp Grubauer three times. It was arguably the worst stretch of his
career.
Any dreams of a 40-plus win season had long been dashed, but
Holtby did recover to go 6-2-0, 2.83, .904. It was not a return to numbers one
had become accustomed to with Holtby.
Not only was the regular season an overall disappointment (of 45 goalies
with at least 1,500 minutes played, he was 36th in GAA (2.99, his
worst in eight NHL seasons) and save percentage (.907, also a career-worst)),
his role as number one goaltender heading into the postseason was in jeopardy.
Fearless’ Take… Even with “only” 34 wins this season, Holtby
became just the eighth goaltender in NHL history to post 225 wins in his first
eight seasons. His 225 wins is one fewer
than Marc-Andre Fleury recorded with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his first eight
seasons and two fewer than Jacques Plante recorded with the Montreal Canadiens
in his first eight years, although in those days seasons were only 70 games in
length. As for this season, Holtby
thrived on work. In 16 games in which he
faced at least 35 shots, he was 13-2-1, 2.68. .929.
Cheerless’ Take… At the other end of that shots spectrum,
Holtby was just 3-7-1, 4.46, .871 in games in which he faced 25 or fewer shots,
including games in which he was pulled.
And he had quite a difference between his home and road numbers
overall. He was very good at Capital One
Arena (22-7-2, 2.41, .927 in 31 games), but his road record was pretty poor
(12-9-2, 3.90, .889).
Odd Holtby Fact… Braden Holtby was pulled early (not for an
extra attacker in a late-game situation) seven times in 54 games. Every one of the seven instances was a road
game.
Game to Remember…
November 10th vs. Pittsburgh
Braden Holtby came into the 2017-2018 season with an
unenviable record against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 17 career regular season games against the
Pens, Holtby was 7-7-2 (one no-decision), 2.77, .914, with two shutouts. When the Penguins came to Washington in November,
they already had a win on their side in the season series, a 3-2 win in
Washington on October 11th, Holtby taking the loss.
The rematch proved to be different. In the earlier meeting, Pittsburgh took a
first-period lead, added to it mid-way through the second, and then they added
an insurance goal early in the third period, earning the win with never having
trailed. In this game, it was the Caps
who would open the scoring on a late first period power play goal by John Carlson. The Caps kept the hounds off Holtby, holding
the Pens to seven shots on goal, all of which Holtby turned aside, including a
stop on a Conor Sheary breakaway late in the period. Holtby kept the Caps in front early in the
second period with a save on a point-blank shot from the low slot by Greg
McKegg before Phil Kessel tied the game in the ninth minute of the period. The Caps rebounded when T.J. Oshie restored
the Caps’ lead late in the middle frame.
Holtby preserved the lead when he made a couple of sparkling
saves on Phil Kessel and Patrick Hornqvist on a Penguin power play early in the
period. The Caps took advantage of
Holtby’s fine play, scoring mid-way through the third period on a goal by
Chandler Stephenson, and then adding a Jakub Vrana empty net goal for the final
4-1 margin. Holtby stopped 27 of 28
shots in helping the Caps avoid slipping to a .500 record in the early
going. More important, and perhaps more
satisfying, the win was Holtby’s 200th in the NHL, earned against perhaps
his most difficult foe.
Game to Forget… February 26th at Columbus
Braden Holtby’s shortest outing of the season came against
an unlikely opponent. Before facing the
Columbus Blue Jackets in late February, Holtby had compiled a solid 14-3-2,
2.47, .918 record with one shutout. On
this night, though, the Blue Jackets would buzz Holtby relentlessly. Columbus scored on their third shot of the game,
a goal by Artemi Panarin 5:31 into the first period. They scored on their fifth shot (Sonny
Milano), their ninth shot (Mark Letestu), and their 13th shot (Sean
Jones). When the period was over, Holtby
had surrendered four goals on 14 shots, and his night was over in what would be
a 5-1 loss, just 19:28 of work to show for it.
It was the tenth time in Holtby’s career he played 20 or fewer minutes
in a game and the first time it happened on the road in more than three years
(November 29, 2014 at Toronto, in which he skated 20 minutes and allowed three
goals on nine shots in a 6-2 loss).
Postseason… Braden Holtby’s late-season slump and Philipp
Grubauer’s superb play gave head coach Barry Trotz little choice, based on
their respective numbers, but to start Grubauer in Game 1 of the opening round
series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The plan did not go as one might have hoped. Grubauer allowed four goals in each of the
first two games, stopping only 41 of 49 shots in two overtime losses. Grubauer escaped being tagged with the loss
in Game 2 when Trotz then turned to Holtby for the third period of a 4-3 game,
Columbus in the lead. The Caps tied the
game, but Holtby surrendered a goal to Matt Calvert in overtime to give
Columbus a 2-0 lead in the series.
Holtby got the start in Game 3, and he was brilliant,
stopping 33 of 35 shots in a 3-2 double-overtime win. He stopped 23 of 24 shots in Game 4 to draw
the Caps even and give them a footing to close out the Blue Jackets in six
games.
That meant facing Pittsburgh in the second round, again, for
the third straight season. And if Holtby
had problems with the Penguins in the regular season, they were multiplied in
the postseason. Going into this series
he had a career playoff record of 5-8, 2.57, .908, in 13 games against
Pittsburgh. The first four games of the
series seemed to play to the usual script.
The Caps played the Pens even, splitting those first four games, even as
Holtby put up decent, if not spectacular numbers (2-2, 2.27, .913). However, in Games 5 and 6, Holtby dug deep,
stopping 36 of 39 shots in a 6-3 Game 5 win, and then turning away 21 of 22
shots in the Caps’ 2-1 series clinching overtime win in Game 6.
Holtby was solid in the conference final against Tampa Bay,
posting a 2.04 goals against average and a .919 save percentage in the Caps’
seven-game win. It was his effort in
Games 6 and 7, with the Caps trying to overtake the Lightning and their 3-2
series lead, which was critical. He
shutout the Lighting in both games, stopping all 53 shots he faced to secure
the win, becoming the first goaltender in more than 80 years to pitch
consecutive shutouts in elimination games in the postseason after not having
had a shutout in the regular season (Earl Robertson did for the Detroit Red
Wings in 1937).
That left only the Vegas Golden Knights in the final, where
he would face Marc-Andre Fleury, who got the better of Holtby in earlier postseason
meetings. Holtby was lit up for five
goals on 33 shots in the series opener, a 6-4 Vegas win. But he was superb thereafter, winning the
next four games with a 2.00 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. One of those stops came in Game 2 with the
Caps nursing a 3-2 lead with the clock ticking toward two minutes left to play in the third period in an effort to tie the series at a
game apiece. It will be forever remember
in Capitals Nation simply as, “The Save”…
In the end…
In four seasons preceding this one, Braden Holtby
established himself as an elite goaltender in the NHL, a goalie one might
include annually in the conversation about a Vezina Trophy winner, an award he
won in 2015-2016 and for which he was a finalist in 2016-2017. This season was far more difficult, one that
included ups and downs of a sort not seen much from Holtby in his previous
seven seasons.
The experience seemed to temper him, though. He took his demotion to open the postseason like
a professional, and like a true pro was ready to assume the duties of number
one goalie once more when called upon.
His playoff body of work in 2018 was not of the spectacular sort such as
that in 2015, when he led the league in goals against average (1.71) and save
percentage (.944) in 13 games. However,
in the 23 games in which he played and the 22 in which he started, he was
solid, giving the Caps a chance to win on most nights and being the player to
lean on in the late stages of the conference final against Tampa Bay.
Holtby skillfully navigated the difficulties that led to the
season’s hills and valleys, and perhaps it was necessary, the final trial – for
him, not to mention the Capitals – to finally win a Stanley Cup.
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America
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