The Washington Capitals are on a seven-game winning streak and have won 10 of their last 12 contests. Many would believe that head coach Bruce Boudreau has a problem that every coach at any level of hockey would die to have.
Boudreau has three goaltenders aged 22 years or younger and all three have played well in Washington's last 10 wins. Semyon Varlamov, Michael Neuvirth and recently Braden Holtby have all stick saved their way into the win column within the last three weeks.
Holtby, the youngest of the three, is the current flavor of the week. In net for the last three Caps wins, Holtby has stopped 173 of the last 177 shots he has faced. In his last six starts he is undefeated, going 5-0-1 with an astounding .977 save percentage.
In nine starts spanning three call-ups from the AHL Hershey Bears this season, Holtby is 7-2-2 with 1.84 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. Holtby began his recent span of wins when he relieved a woozy Neuvirth last Monday night in Tampa. Neuvirth was hit in the mask with a crisp first period shot and did not return to start the second period.
Holtby in rel ...
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Article written by Alan Zlotorzynski
Washington Capitals: Goaltending Situation a Coach’s Dream or a Big Nightmare?
March 12th, 2011 by Alan Zlotorzynski Leave a reply »
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