Holtby practices with Capitals, is available after eye injury

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Braden Holtby practiced with the Washington Capitals on Sunday after the goalie left their 2-1 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday when he was poked in the left eye with a stick.

"Obviously anything with your eyes is a little scary," Holtby said. "It's fortunate that it wasn't anything too serious. You just move on."
Holtby, who has a red mark on his eye, will back up Pheonix Copley against the St. Louis Blues at Capital One Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSWA, FS-MW, NHL.TV). Capitals coach Todd Reirden said that if all continues to go well, Holtby will start Tuesday against the Nashville Predators.
"It's progressing the right way, obviously," Holtby said. "Like anything, a scratch to your eye takes a bit to heal. … Eyes heal quicker than anything in your body."

Holtby left at 8:43 of the second period after Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson's stick blade went through the cage in his mask and struck his eye. After being checked by the athletic trainer and using eye drops to attempt to clear up his vision, Holtby went to the locker room and Copley played the remainder of the game.
"I didn't have the sight to keep going." Holtby said. "I just wouldn't have been a benefit to the team. It was one of those things. Eyes heal quickly, so just 24 hours and I'll be back to normal."
That's a relief for the Capitals. Although Copley has played well in his first season as their backup (10-2-3, 2.56 goals-against average, .916 save percentage, one shutout), Holtby is their No. 1.
Holtby, the 2016 winner of the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the NHL, is 17-10-2 with a 2.85 GAA, .912 save percentage and two shutouts in 31 games this season. He was selected to represent the Capitals, along with defenseman John Carlson, in the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center in San Jose on Jan. 26 (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS). It will be Holtby's fourth All-Star Game.
"That's a scary situation anytime you're dealing with eyes and vision, especially for your goaltender," Reirden said. "It's something you've got to be extremely careful with, precautious. … It was a serious situation for us at the time. We needed to make sure we handled it properly and went through all the proper steps to make sure there was not further issues and I was really happy to see him be able to go out partake in practice today."