The record crowd of 19,337 at Nationwide Arena serenaded him all night with chants of “HOLT–BY HOLT–BY,” but it didn't seem to matter to the goalie.
When Lars Eller scored the game-winner for Washington nine minutes into the second overtime of Game 3 Tuesday night, Braden Holtby had given his team something they hadn't had in the first two games of the series: a wall in front of the net.
Holtby, winner of the Vezina Trophy as the league's best netminder just two years ago, lost his job down the stretch this season to Philipp Glubauer. He watched Game 1 from the bench in Washington as Grubauer surrendered four goals on 27 Blue Jackets shots on the way to a 4-3 loss.
In Game 2, Grubauer again allowed four goals and was yanked for Holtby at the end of the second period. In 106 minutes of postseason action, Grubauer had given up eight goals for a hefty 4.57 GAA and stopped only 84% of the shots he faced.
“He made some real big saves late in the game and in overtime – you name it, he was real solid.”
Although he gave up the winning goal in overtime of that game, Holtby looked solid in relief, stopping seven of the eight shots he faced. It came as no surprise when Washington head coach Barry Trotz announced Holtby would start for his team in Game 3.
In that game, he stood tall, stopping 33 of 37 shots (.943) and giving up just two goals in 89 minutes of hockey . That's a 1.35 GAA over the course of 60 minutes.
“Braden was solid,” Trotz said after the game. “I thought he made some real big saves late in the game and in overtime – you name it, he was real solid. He handles the puck really well and saved our defense from a few extra hits and whacks.”
Holtby received help Tuesday night – notably from the goal posts, which stopped a handful of Blue Jackets' shots – but he was a rock when Washington needed him most, particularly during a Blue Jackets power play in the first overtime.
He helped stymie four Blue Jacket power plays and held his own against Sergei Bobrovsky (.933 SV%, 2.02 GAA in Game 3), improving to 13–3–1 all-time against last season's Vezina winner.
For nearly 90 minutes Tuesday night, Holtby put the Capitals on his back. He'll look to do it again in Game 4 Thursday night, while the Jackets will look to solve him to take a commanding lead in the series.
