The Washington Capitals are on a seven-game winning streak and have won 10 of their last 12 contests. Many would believe that head coach Bruce Boudreau has a problem that every coach at any level of hockey would die to have.
Boudreau has three goaltenders aged 22 years or younger and all three have played well in Washington's last 10 wins. Semyon Varlamov, Michael Neuvirth and recently Braden Holtby have all stick saved their way into the win column within the last three weeks.
Holtby, the youngest of the three, is the current flavor of the week. In net for the last three Caps wins, Holtby has stopped 173 of the last 177 shots he has faced. In his last six starts he is undefeated, going 5-0-1 with an astounding .977 save percentage.
In nine starts spanning three call-ups from the AHL Hershey Bears this season, Holtby is 7-2-2 with 1.84 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. Holtby began his recent span of wins when he relieved a woozy Neuvirth last Monday night in Tampa. Neuvirth was hit in the mask with a crisp first period shot and did not return to start the second period.
Holtby in relief made 18 saves, many at point-blank range and then shut out Tampa in overtime and in the shootout to earn the win. He then collected his first official NHL shutout against Edmonton on Thursday. Last evening Holtby bailed the Caps out of a dismal offensive performance making 40 saves against Carolina.
Neuvirth also requires some butter, as he too has been on a roll prior to being knocked silly. The 22-year-old native Czechoslovakian boasted 1.66 goals against average in winning six of his last eight games. He earned his first two NHL shutouts in posting back-to back whitewashes against the Penguins on Feb. 6 and then again on Feb. 21.
Although Semyon Varlamov is currently nursing a lower-body injury, the 6'2", 210-pound Russian native was as good as his counterparts in his last 15 starts. Varlie has been stingy at times over that span, surrendering a paltry 1.93 goal against but his win-loss record does not reflect his effort.
The Capitals were 6-4-4 over those 15 games but failed to score more than two goals in every game they did not win. They were shut out three times and scored one goal in two other contests.
All three have combined to put the Capitals in the record books this season. Washington is the only team in NHL history with three goalies aged 22 years or younger to record four or more wins in a season.
So, once all three are healthy, who stays and who plays? That is where the nightmare for Boudreau starts. This is not an easy decision because once the playoffs begin Boudreau cannot continue to play musical goalies.
Caps fans will remember the days of Mike Liut and Don Beaupre and even Olaf Kolzig and Jim Carey. Rotating them in the postseason never amounted to much success. In Washington’s only run to the Stanley Cup Finals in franchise history, it rode one goalie: Olaf Kolzig.
How many Stanley Cup winners have rotated goalies during the playoffs? In last year’s Cup Finals, the Blackhawks stuck with Antti Niemmi in 22 out of 23 playoff games. The Flyers rotated goalies Brian Boucher and Carrie Leighton. Boucher factored in 12 postseason games with Leighton playing in 14.
Philadelphia never settled on one goalie through its magical run as an eighth seed, and it was coincidental during the Finals that the goaltending situation caught up with them. Boucher and Leighton both made appearances twice in the same game during the Finals—both losses.
In recent playoff years, Boudreau always started with veteran Jose Theodore but always ended up going with Semyon Varlamov. Virile has had postseason success. He is 10-9 with 2.49 goals against and a .915 save percentage. He has two postseason shutouts and one Game 7 victory. So obviously, it has to be Varlamov, right? Not so fast.
All Michael Neuvirth does is win championships. He was the mainstay between the pipes for the Washington Capitals' top minor league affiliate, the Hershey Bears in their back-to back Calder Cup championship seasons.
Neuvirth was the Jack Butterfield winner as the playoff MVP in the first of Hershey’s recent consecutive championships. In two seasons of AHL playoff hockey, Neuvirth was 30-10. He posted an unbelievable 1.98 goals against average and a save percentage of .927 to match.
Therefore, it is Michael Neuvirth and that is final. Neuvie should be given the shot in another month considering Varlie cannot stay healthy and despite Holtby's recent success, he has never really won anything.
Neuvirth finally established himself as the No. 1 goalie in the season-long competition before getting knocked silly last Monday night. Good players should never lose their starting spots because of an injury—just ask Wally Pipp and Don Majkowski. So Neuvirth it is; end of argument.
I would hold that thought for just a moment too. For argument's sake, let's throw in Mr. Holtby...I certainly hope Boudreau will do the same. Holtby doesn’t really have any playoff experience to speak of so why would he even factor into the equation, you ask? He has the "IT" that Neuvirth and Varlamov do not. He has that swagger.
Holtby has similar size and ability to that of Carolina's All-Star goalie, Cam Ward. Both seem to make the hard saves look routine. Holtby is tough and, for a young goalie, he handles the puck extremely well outside of the crease.
"Being here I've had to get used to it, but on the same token if you've got a goaltender that can play the puck well, what an added bonus," Bruce Boudreau said following last night's game. "That forces teams to not be able to dump pucks in. When (Rick) DiPietro was at his best there was one game we played them we only had 13 shots on goal because every time we shot it in he got it out and on the tape. It's a real big help if you can get a goalie that can play the puck."
He needs to have better awareness at times outside of the little semicircle but that will come with experience. He has an uncanny ability of reducing the opposition's second chances and unlike Neuvirth and Varlamov, he does not seem predestined to surrendering a soft goal during a game.
Holtby challenges shooters and stays on his feet. He simply never seems out of position to make a play. I also believe the Caps play with more confidence in front of Holtby, taking more chances.
It is no coincidence the Caps have had more odd-man rushes in the last three games than they have in quite some time.
I like Holtby for the long run in DC and it probably would not hurt Boudreau to ride him for as long as he can. Boudreau has nothing to lose in doing so and what is the worse that can happen? Holtby becomes the second 21-year-old goalie in the last five years to lead his team to a Stanley Cup victory.
The last to do that would be the above-mentioned Cam Ward back in 2006 when he led the Carolina Hurricanes to a Game 7 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Whatever Boudreau decides, he needs to make sure that his decision is firm and decisive. These guys are still young and psyches can be fragile on young goalies. Rotating two or even the three of them come playoff time is not in the best interest of a team now firmly considered as a Cup contender once again.
It is important to remember that whatever confidence or lack of confidence Boudreau shows in any one of the three will carry over to the five that play in front of them. This decision could also loom large for Boudreau's future. A first-round playoff exit is sure to see Boudreau out of Washington, so he too has a lot on the line.
If I were Boudreau, I would continue to ride the guy that has stopped almost 98 percent of his shots in the last four games. Braden Holtby can eliminate or include himself in the Caps' postseason plans and Boudreau would be wise to allow that to happen.
One thing is for sure: This year’s postseason success is definitely going to lodge itself squarely on Boudreau’s shoulders and his decision-making process, which has been questionable at times this year.
He will need to be more consistent and confident in his line combinations and which one of the three great young goalies he chooses to play come mid-April. After years of playoff futility, Boudreau can finally help this organization and its fans realize the dream of winning a Stanley Cup, or he can add to the nightmare that has been Washington Capitals postseason hockey.
Phil Hughes Damaso Marte Mariano Rivera Kerry Wood Francisco Cervelli Chad Moeller
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