Holtby was caught off guard by a bad bounce off the end boards and had committed to the shooter on his left when the puck went to his right, onto the stick of the streaking Tuch.
"Some of them you have no choice but to be desperate," Holtby said.
The willingness to battle beyond a technically sound save is something scouts look for in a goalie.
"I remember going back years ago, I had a scout high up with an organization ask me how many head saves I had made in the last year and I had no idea," said Minnesota Wild backup goalie Alex Stalock, whose more aggressive positioning and style can lead to more extended saves. "And he said, 'Well, you should know because that's not giving up on a puck, that's desperation, you are not giving up on any play.' So you think about it and it actually does kind of make sense. If you are competing and fighting for every puck, sometimes you are out of position and you do take one in the head."
However, most NHL goalies would prefer to take the puck in the chest.
Sprawling saves may look athletic in a reactive sense, but goalies know real athleticism is harnessing the lateral power they train for all summer and maintaining body control while beating side-to-side plays, preferably while still on their skates.
"I find more satisfaction in making a big save or a great chance look like nothing, than a medium chance look like a lot more than it should be," Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk said, adding that he "takes pride" in not making the highlight reels.
So what kind of saves get NHL goalies excited?
Most point to getting across on some type of lateral pass, often on an odd-man rush, to make the save. Nilsson talked about making a reaching glove save in that type of situation, but for other goalies even that still sounded a little too desperate.