ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Even though Washington is the seat of democracy, the home of the elected president of the United States, we still like to crown kings in this town — stars of their respective sports who have achieved a level of excellence that bring a sense of pride to the city.
Robert Griffin III, he was a king, at least for a year. The starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins typically will have a place of royalty in this town, particularly if he can help bring some sort of title — even an NFC East title.
He’s gone, now, though, banished to Cleveland. And Kirk Cousins, who brought the same division banner that Griffin did, doesn’t quite feel like royalty yet.
John Wall, he’s one of the kings, the Wizards point guard who was anointed such the day he arrived with fanfare as the franchise’s No. 1 draft pick. He appeared to be on his way to being king of kings by leading the Wizards to consecutive playoff appearances — both ending with second-round exits — and particularly with his valiant display of court courage by playing with a broken hand against the Atlanta Hawks last year.
He lost that chance, though, with this year’s disappointing season and reports that he engaged in a shouting match with recently-fired coach Randy Wittman at the end of the season.
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The king of kings now has to be Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper, last season’s National League MVP, who appears to be on his way to a second such honor with a team that is off to a historically great start. Still, the crown is missing the biggest jewel — a world championship.
Alex Ovechkin knows this. He’s been a king in this town since 2008, when he won the first of three Hart trophies, the league’s most prominent MVP award. He has a host of trophies to go along with his crown. There is no more decorated king in Washington sports history than Ovechkin, but there is no crown jewel — and he may have to welcome a teammate.
We may need to make room at the table of kings. Wall may have to step aside as well. Harper, make room for a new king — Braden Holtby.
The Capitals’ 26-year-old is in the conversation for the best goaltenders in the NHL. He has had a career year, a historic season, tying the great Martin Brodeur’s record of 48 wins. He is a strong candidate not just to win the Vezina Trophy for the league’s top goaltender, but also the Hart Trophy.
Bryce Harper, John Wall, Alex Ovechkin — and Braden Holtby. The four kings.
An NHL goaltender can achieve a special place among a fan base. He can become the face of the franchise, ironically while wearing a mask — Brodeur with the New Jersey Devils, Henrik Lundqvist, “King Henrik,” with the New York Rangers.
For a number of years, the most recognizable and most beloved Washington Capitals player was goaltender Olie Kolzig, who took the team down its farthest path in franchise history when he was in the net in 1998 when the Capitals won the Eastern Conference and went to the Stanley Cup Final.
Goalies take the best that an opponent has to offer, and, if successful, make perhaps one or two mistakes a game. For that, they are celebrated.
On Saturday night at Verizon Center, Holtby took the best the Philadelphia Flyers had to offer — stopping 41 of 42 shots for his 18th playoff win, tying him for second with Don Beaupre and two behind Kolzig on the franchise’s goaltender win list. He stopped 19 shots in the first period alone without allowing a goal, setting the stage for the team’s 4-1 win over the Flyers, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“He was fantastic,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said after the game. “We knew that they were going to have a real big push. We expected it. They came hard. I thought we were handling it OK. We had a little bit of an exchange that we sort of mishandled and took a penalty and then sort of ramped up from there, but they were going to the net hard. I mean, we knew that was going to happen. We talked about it, and they did. They were throwing pucks from everywhere, trying to create a lot of chaos around the net. Obviously, we had to kill some penalties, and they got some shots there, but Holts was good. He was outstanding tonight.”
The Capitals knew that Holtby would be outstanding. They are counting on it.
If this is indeed a different Capitals playoff team — one that can get beyond the second round and not collapse — it will be Holtby who gets the credit.
The king of kings.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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