“Happiness is brief. It will not stay. God batters at its sails.”
-- Euripides
On Opening Night of the 2013-2014 season, there was Philipp Grubauer standing between the pipes as the puck dropped.
In Hershey.
That was as it was supposed to be and might have been for
Grubauer in the 2013-2014 season, being the number one goaltender as the Bears
set off in pursuit of their 12th Calder Cup. Things, however, took a turn. First, Grubauer appeared in only nine of the
Bears’ first 17 games. In those nine
games Grubauer was 4-4-1, 2.60, .910, with one shutout. This work profile is one to which we will
return, but at this point in the season Grubauer was about to undergo a
significant change in his duty station.
On November 30th Grubauer was recalled to
Washington after Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth was injured in warm-ups before the
Caps’ November 29th contest against the Montreal Canadiens (the Caps
won, and Brett Leonhardt got another turn as emergency backup goalie to Braden
Holtby).
Holtby would get the next start, on November 30th, but Grubauer got
his chance, so to speak, on December 3rd when he relieved Holtby for
the third period of a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Grubauer got his chance to start in a Sunday evening game at
Madison Square Garden on December 8th against the New York
Rangers. Not exactly being eased into a
start. Grubauer stepped up, though, and
held the Rangers to one goal on 31 shots, outdueling Rangers’ goalie Henrik
Lundqvist in a 4-1 win.
It would be an important performance in Grubauer’s
development. That start, coupled with
the struggles of Braden Holtby, would begin a run in which Grubauer would
appear in 13 of 17 games, posting a record of 6-2-5, 2.11, .934. He was, for the moment at least, the Caps’
number one goaltender.
Not that Grubauer’s run was without its moments, but much of
it (as so much seems to have been with respect to goaltenders on this club) was
outside of his control. Grubauer’s run
started with Holtby struggling and Neuvirth injured. Neuvirth was sufficiently rehabilitated from
his injury by mid-December so that the Caps were carrying three goaltenders on
the parent roster.
That was a problem that the club inflicted on itself,
but a solution presented itself when, as fast as Grubauer assumed the number
one role it disappeared. On January 17th
in Columbus, Grubauer allowed three goals on 14 shots in less than 22 minutes
of work in a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.
He was put right back in the saddle in the Caps’ next game a rematch
with the Rangers. It did not prove an
effective therapy. Grubauer allowed three
goals on eight shots in less than 18 minutes.
The following day, he was reassigned to Hershey, but only after then
general manager George McPhee decided that enough was enough with the
three-goaltender arrangement.
Grubauer would get one more appearance in Washington, a
relief stint in early March after Braden Holtby allowed four goals on 18 shots
in a 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, but it was a brief respite from pursuing
his apprenticeship in Hershey.
Fearless’ Take… There were 12 rookie goaltenders in the NHL who appeared in five or more games this season. Philipp Grubauer finished fourth in goals against average (2.38), and third in save percentage (.925).
Cheerless’ Take… This is a goalie that needs to show he can
handle a heavy workload. Well, in one
place, anyway. In 2012-2013 he spent 26
games with the Reading Royals, 28 games with the Hershey Bears, and two games
with the Caps. This season he spent 28
games with the Bears and 17 with the Caps.
What was more curious than his 17 games with the Caps was his 28 games
with the Bears. He played in just 19 of
the Bears’ last 37 regular season games.
And, he got progressively worse over time as the season wore on. In two games to close January he was 2-0-0,
0.50, .982. He followed that up in
February with a record of 5-3-0, 3.09, .900; then a record of 0-4-0, 3.31, .909
in March. He closed strong as the Bears
tried to grab a playoff spot in April (2-2-1, 2.14, .933), but it was not
enough to lift the Bears into the post-season.
Odd Grubauer Fact… Philipp Grubauer is one of only five
goaltenders since the 2004-2005 lockout to appear in 15 or more games and post
a save percentage of .925 in either their first or second year in the
league. The others are Cam Talbot,
Martin Jones, Niklas Backstrom, and Jonas Hiller. No, Henrik Lundqvist did not do it; he had a
.922 save percentage in his 2005-2006 rookie season.
Game to Remember… December 27th versus New York Rangers. In the Capitals’ last game before the
Christmas break, Philipp Grubauer was given a 2-0 lead to protect against the
Anaheim Ducks. He didn’t. The Ducks
scored single goals in the last half of each of the three periods, the last one
coming with 5:36 left in regulation as the Ducks took a 3-2 win. It made for an interesting prologue to the
first game coming out of the break. How
would the youngster respond to that setback?
Grubauer answered the challenge in the first game after the
holiday break. The Rangers peppered him
with 14 shots in the first period without finding the back of the net as the
Caps took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on a power play goal by Mike
Green. The Rangers scored on their first
shot of the second period, a power play goal by Benoit Pouliot on a deflection
of a Brad Richards shot. However,
Grubauer turned aside the last 17 shots he faced in the period, allowing the
Caps to regain the momentum. The Caps
took advantage of Grubauer’s strong play to score late in the period on a goal
by Nicklas Backstrom.
Grubauer was victimized early in the third period on a
shorthanded goal 17 seconds into the period by Carl Hagelin to tie the game,
but it would be the last time the Rangers would celebrate a goal that evening. Grubauer turned aside the next seven shots he
saw, and Eric Fehr scored what would be the game-winning goal for the Caps with
5:09 left in a 3-2 win. For Grubauer it
was a 38 save effort, including 35-for-35 at even strength. After sustaining what was his first
regulation loss of the year against Anaheim and the Caps looking to stop a skid
in which they lost three of four games, it was a fine effort on the young
goaltender’s part.
Game to Forget… January 17th versus
Columbus. When Philipp Grubauer led the
Caps onto the ice at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, he was in the midst of
staking a claim to be the Caps’ number one netminder. He had a record of 6-2-5, 2.06, .936. When he left the game 21:44 into the game the
Caps would lose by a 5-1 margin, having allowed three goals on 14 shots, his
goals against average jumped to 2.21, and his save percentage dropped to
.931.
It was the first time Grubauer had been pulled after
starting an NHL game. It would not be
the last. Grubauer was pulled after
allowing three goals on eight shots in just 17:49 of work in his next start,
that coming against the New York Rangers in what would be a 4-1 loss. Grubuaer was reassigned to Hershey the
following day.
In the end…
It was quite a journey for Philipp Grubauer in 2013-2014,
not one without its twists and turns.
But one thing seemed to be consistent this season, his game developing
cracks as his tenure wore on. It
happened with the Caps, when he started strong but ended up being pulled in
consecutive games before his reassignment to Hershey. Then, it happened in Hershey as the weeks
wore on after his reassignment. It
suggests that there is still some development to be made with respect to
Grubauer, even if one considers him as a bona fide candidate to be a backup in
Washington next season. What fans saw in
2013-2014 was a goalie with promise, but one who remains a work in progress.
Grade: B
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America
No comments:
Post a Comment