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Should the Washington Capitals start Grubauer or Holtby in the playoffs? |
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In this edition of the hotstove, we discuss whether the Washington Capitals should use Philipp Grubauer or Braden Holtby as their starter come playoff time.
Todd Cordell
I think I'd go with Grubauer.
He has posted an impressive .934 save percentage since the turn of the calendar, which is good for 2nd among 50 eligible goaltenders (600+ minutes played) during that span.
Holtby has posted an .894 save percentage over the same period of time and has looked downright awful on some nights. Obviously, he's better than he's been playing right now but I don't know how you trot out an ice cold goaltender during the most important games of the year when you have an alternative playing at an elite level.
It's not like Grubauer's stretch is some fluke, either. Maybe he's playing over his head a little bit but he's appeared in 99 NHL games and owns a .924 save percentage. He's not some average backup running hot (like we're seeing with Keith Kinkaid in New Jersey). He's always posted above average numbers.
James Tanner
The Washington Capitals do not (or should not, anyways) have a goaltending controversy. Braden Holtby may be in a bit of a slump, but he's one of the NHL's best goalies and has the ability to steal games on his own. Sitting him because of a luck-based stretch of bad play would be completely asinine. The Capitals are not a good defensive team, and if not for Holtby's early season performance, may not even be in the playoffs anyways. His numbers weren't that good, but considering how defensively inept the Capitals generally are, his season from October to about mid February was excellent. He kept the team in a ton of games they had no right to be in, and was actually playing better than last year when he had superior numbers but was playing behind the league's best defense.
Peter Tessier
You start with Holtby because if things go wrong with Grubauer you might never be able to go back. This isn’t so much about who’s better right now as it is how you manage the psychology of the situation for the goalies and the players.
There’s an old saying ‘Don’t change horses in the middle of a stream’ and the Capitals could do just that for all the wrong reasons. Start Holtby, get a read and adjust after. Don’t over complicate this situation.
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