Washington Capitals forced to play inexperienced goalies in playoff opening match –NHL Update
Not having a proper goalie playing for them was one of the major reasons for the downfall of the Washington Capitals as the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season came to a close.
Now, in a move of desperation, Washington has recalled inexperienced minor league goalie, Braden Holtby, to start for them in game-one of the playoffs against Boston Bruins.
According to many, this is more than a dream come true for Holtby, who now has a perfect opportunity to show his worth to club and if he does manage to have a breakthrough performance with Washington, his value is sure to go through the roof.
With both goalies, Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth unable to make it to play after being unable to practice on Monday, April 9, 2012, it leaves Washington with no choice but to gamble on a rookie goalie. Neuvirth faced injuries last week against Florida,
which seemed to do something with his left leg while Vokoun is still recovering from a groin injury.
Washington general manager, George McPhee, has had to make tough decisions before and this was certainly one of them.
"We've done it before, and we have no choice," GM McPhee said. "If the other guys aren't ready to go, he's playing."
Playing in game-one of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Boston Bruins would be the first for Holtby, a goalie for the Capitals American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate club, the Hershey Bears. The 22-year-old has played in 21 games with Washington
over a span of two seasons and only seven this time around. Out of those 21, Holtby has a record of 14 wins and four losses with three going into overtime and three being decided in shootouts.
Holtby holds save percentage of .929 and 2.02 goals against average, which if looked at closely, is not that bad if he holds himself together against a team like Boston. The rookie goalie will now have all the weight of the Stanley Cup thirst team on his
shoulders and if he manages to lead them towards it, Washington will definitely compensate him in a way he could never have imagined.
It will certainly be exciting to see how the young goalie manages to tackle the playoff pressure when Washington and Boston meet on Thursday.
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