Capitals goalie Braden Holtby found out he’d been recalled from AHL Hershey around 9:30 a.m. on Monday. He arrived in Washington by 2 p.m. after the short drive from central Pennsylvania – less than 14 hours after stopping 34 of 35 shots in a 5-1 Hershey win at home – and by the time he arrived at Verizon Center learned he’d actually be starting against the San Jose Sharks.
Didn’t quite work out as planned, though, in a 5-3 loss that included a goal that was tipped from 69 feet out. Tired? Nervous? Too much on short notice? Holtby wasn’t buying any of it afterwards.
“Well, this is where I want to be. I don’t want to look at those types of excuses,” Holtby said. “They could tell me 10 minutes before the game and I’d take it and try and be as prepared as I could. That’s not the factor tonight. I think there’s just some technical stuff and that’s it.”
Interesting move considering Holtby hadn't played in an NHL game since last March 26 when he shut out the Montreal Canadiens. Veteran Tomas Vokoun was out with the flu and Michal Neuvirth had played the afternoon before in New York in a 3-2. But still was a surprise to see them turn to Holtby. As defenseman Karl Alzner told colleague Steve Whyno of the Washington Times Monday morning, Holtby’s ability to play the puck is a bonus against a hard forechecking team like San Jose.
“[Holtby has] been playing well down there in the minors and we give him a chance,” coach Dale Hunter said. “[Neuvirth] played the night before there, so we figured he hasn't played much of back-to-backs, so Holtby was ready to go. So we tried him.”
Holtby was recalled as an emergency measure with Vokoun incapacitated. That meant that for 48 hours the Caps could have 24 players on the roster, instead of just 23. They hit that mark by also recalling forward/enforcer Joel Rechlicz. So no one had to go on injured reserve to make room for the two recalls. NHL teams are permitted two such goaltender exemptions each season by the collective bargaining agreement. But that lasts just 48 hours so Holtby is likely headed back to Hershey. Washington’s next game is Friday against first-place Florida.
Hunter dismissed the notion that the move could upset Neuvirth, who has already found himself on the short end of ice time behind Vokoun this season. He was finished his work on Sunday well before Holtby was, after all.
“No. We're all professionals here,” Hunter said. “It's coach's decision. You got no control over it.”
The move looked shrewd early as Holtby made a handful of fine saves to keep the Sharks off the scoreboard, including snaring a Tommy Wingels shot just in front of his crease at 2:57 of the first period and cleanly cradling a Dan Boyle blast on the power play at 3:17. He also gloved a Joe Pavelski shot on that same power play 21 seconds later. He was in good position to block a Jamie McGinn tip in the slot 24 seconds after that. Good start, right?
Holtby helped kill off that penalty and then another after an Alex Semin hooking penalty at 10:03. But nine seconds after that one ended, Boyle’s shot from just inside the “Capitals” logo at center ice – on the far side of the red line – was deflected off Pavelski’s stick about 69 feet away and skipped past Holtby. Just like that the Caps were down 1-0.
“It kind of put us on our heels,” defenseman Jeff Schultz said. “But it could have been a bang-bang goal and it would have been the same thing. So a goal’s a goal and it’s just figuring out a way to battle back from it.”
Schultz noted that the team has plenty of experience playing with Holtby last season when he started 12 games, appeared in 14 and was 10-2 with a .934 save percentage. Hunter invoked the “hockey gods” for why the Caps have had three goals scored on them against three different goalies from outside their own defensive zone the last seven games.
“[Holtby would] like the first one back. Everybody knew that,” Hunter said. “But he made some good stops before that and the one that bounced over him, definitely a veteran goalie would rile you up a bit. He battled back and made some good stops.”
With Vokoun on his way to feeling better it’s unlikely Holtby is here to stay. But who knows at this point? When the day began no one thought he’d be the one getting a chance to start a critical game. Holtby himself hopes it’s at least the start of a similar run to the one he posted last season. The team isn’t telling him much otherwise.
“No, I was just happy to get today’s game, try to make an impression and hopefully work towards some more starts,” Holtby said.
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