The Washington Capitals will keep star goaltender Braden Holtby on the bench to open the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Instead, former back-up Philipp Grubauer will take the starting assignment against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first-round showdown. The highly-skilled Capitals are favored to win the series.
Grubauer was 15-10-3 with a 2.35 goals-against average this season and a .923 save percentage this season.
“Trust me, it wasn’t an easy decision,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz told reporters Tuesday. “I put a lot of factors in. Braden has been the guy for a long time, his body of work, especially since I’ve been here. I talked to him yesterday and said to him that weighed heavily on me, because he’s done so much for us.”
HOLTBY’S FALL FROM GRACE
Holtby won 41, 48 and 42 games the previous three seasons. He posted goals-against averages of 2.22, 2.20 and 2.07. He posted save percentages of .923, .922 and .925.
In short, he was the NHL’s best regular season goaltender for three years running. He won the Vezina Trophy for the 2015-16 season.
But this season Holtby’s ratios ballooned to 2.99 and .907. Washington’s firepower allowed him to post a 34-16-4 record, but he faded down the stretch.
Holtby suffered an ugly 3.75 GAA and .886 save percentage in his final 17 appearances while losing his spot to Grubauer.
GRUBAUER EARNED THIS OPPORTUNITY
In February and March Grubauer played in 17 games, including 13 starts, and went 10-3-0 with 2.11 GAA.
“It helps playing more and more,” he told reporters. “The more you get on the ice, the more experience you get there. If you sit on the bench, you’re not going to get good from watching.”
In his final 10 starts of the season Grubauer went 7-3-0 with a 2.32 GAA and .925 save percentage.
Trotz is under much pressure to deliver a deep playoff run this spring, so he is riding the hot goaltender. “I just think Gruber deserves the opportunity,” he said. “The body of work, especially this year, presented itself.”
Grubauer took the news in stride.
“It’s a privilege to start for sure, but it’s just like any other game,” he said. “We treat it as Game 1 or Game 82. It’s not going to change any of my approach.”
