Holtby saving Capitals again
Goalie racking up wins playing behind Washington's new-look defense
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The past two seasons, Holtby excelled playing behind one of the steadiest defenses in the NHL, winning the Vezina Trophy in 2015-16 and finishing second to Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets in Vezina voting last season. But following the offseason departures of defensemen Karl Alzner, Nate Schmidt and Kevin Shattenkirk, the Capitals began this season as a team in transition.
While working in rookie defensemen Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey and trying to establish their team identity, the Capitals have relied more heavily on Holtby to get them through some rough patches. With Holtby holding up his end, the Capitals (21-12-1) are again in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 43 points as they head out on a three-game road trip that begins against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday (8:30 ET; FS-SW, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV).
"You're only as good as your goaltending," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said Monday. "We've had pretty good goaltending for the most part this year, so I don't have too many complaints."
Some might look at Holtby's numbers and think he hasn't played as well as past seasons. Although the 28-year-old is second in the NHL with 19 wins (two behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning), his .919 save percentage and 2.63 goals-against average are not in the top 10 and he has yet to record a shutout.
Last season, Holtby tied with Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot for the League lead with 42 wins. He also led the NHL with nine shutouts, ranked second with a 2.07 GAA, and fourth with a .925 save percentage among goalies who played at least 25 games.
"Numbers don't always tell everything," center Jay Beagle said. "Sometimes they tell a little bit of the story, but not everything. [Holtby] has played unreal for us and been our rock."
The difference this season is the number and quality of scoring chances Holtby has faced. Last season, the Capitals ranked fourth in the NHL in allowing 27.83 shots per game. This season, they're allowing about four more shots per game at 31.82, which ranks 18th in the League.
"It's been high-quality saves, especially," defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "We're giving up a few more shots this year and, I'd say on average, some games lots of them."
That's changed Holtby from being a goaltender who simply had to manage the game behind a strong defense and make some key saves at key moments to one that's needed to hold down the fort at times with a series of saves.
That was the case in a 4-3 win against the Blue Jackets on Dec. 2, when the Capitals were outshot 17-3 in the third period, but the goals were 1-1 in the period.
It was similar in the second period of a 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 6. The Blackhawks took the first 12 shots of the period and outshot the Capitals 16-6, but the Capitals scored the lone goal in the period.
In the second period of a 5-3 win against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 14, the Capitals were outshot 13-3, but the goals were 1-1 in the period, and the Capitals emerged from it leading 2-1.
"Good goalies cover up a lot of mistakes," Niskanen said. "It's easier to be patient with younger players and it doesn't affect the way your team plays. If every time you make a mistake it's burning you, it affects the rest of your game. [Holtby] gives us a chance to just play.
"Obviously, we want to play better defensively and not give up as many quality chances, but you're not thinking about changing what you need to do."
Ultracompetitive, Holtby believes he can be better in this area. There were games he thought got away from him when a save or two might have changed the momentum. An example of this was a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 14. The Capitals didn't play well in front of Holtby and he allowed four goals on seven shots in the second period.
"More times than not, it's worked out in our favor so far, but there's been a couple of instances where I felt like I played more of a role in a loss than I should have," Holtby said. "But that's going to happen. That's what you learn from and move forward."
Holtby has been good at doing that, too. In his seven starts following losses this season, he's 7-0-0 with a 2.14 GAA and .932 save percentage.
"The biggest thing with [Holtby], the strength of his game is when he's had a bad game, that next game he's money," Trotz said.
Wins have always been the statistic that matters most to Holtby, who picked up his 200th NHL victory on Nov. 10 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in his 319th game, making him the second fastest goalie in League history to that milestone behind the Montreal Canadiens' Ken Dryden (309 games).
After reaching the 40 wins in each of the past three seasons, including an NHL record-tying 48 in 2015-16, Holtby is on pace to finish this season with 46. That would make him the first goalie in NHL history with four straight 40-win seasons.
Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils (2005-06 to 2007-08) and Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks (2007-08 to 2009-10) are the only other goalies with at least 40 wins in three consecutive seasons.
"That's always my main goal going into a regular season, that 40-win mark," Holtby said. "There's never been a 40-win goalie that missed the playoffs, so that's the goal."
