Braden Holtby is not a stats guy. If he hasn’t made that clear with his stoic demeanor after wins throughout his NHL career, he spelled it out Monday night.
Holtby was seated right next to T.J. Oshie when he was asked about Oshie’s two goals in the Washington Capitals’ 3-0 Game 6 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The goalie gave a typical hockey player answer.
“Team success means a lot more than personal statistics, and T.J. showed that today, just doing anything, whatever it was,” Holtby said. “Good players find a way to have an effect on the game no matter if they’re scoring or not, and I think that’s why he’s one of our main leaders.”
But Holtby is another leader for the Capitals, and one who also had a statistic jump off the page Monday: 24 shots saved, zero goals allowed.
Holtby’s first postseason shutout since April 24, 2016 — and his first shutout of the entire year, even regular season — came on the most-important, highest-pressure stage.
Credit the goaltender for not changing his tune when asked about the shutout.
“The only reason it’s good is we won,” Holtby deadpanned. “Aside from that, it’s just good for you guys. I guess you can write about it. But for us, it’s just that W.”
Before Monday, Holtby’s last shutout came April 5, 2017, against the New York Rangers at the end of the regular season. In contrast, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights, who will be awaiting the Capitals if they win Game 7 Wednesday, has four shutouts in this postseason alone.
But the Capitals’ veteran was in the zone in Game 6. In the third period, before the Capitals extended their lead to two goals, Holtby inched to the front of the crease and snagged a glove save that got Capitals fans particularly fired up:
Holtby grabs it with the glove to keep the @Capitals in the lead. pic.twitter.com/pB6Wj8zB6q
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) May 22, 2018
Holtby kept his chill when describing it after the game.
“I mean, that’s one of those that probably looks more difficult than it actually is,” he said. “It was just the position, where the puck was. I was just trying to stay in the moment, focus on one puck at a time and made the save on that one.”
Capitals coach Barry Trotz has answered similar questions about Holtby after every solid outing. After Game 6, he ramped up his usual praise.
“I’ve been here four years, and Braden has grown, and Braden has been the backbone of our hockey club,” Trotz said. “You can’t go anywhere without goaltending and he’s been solid. … Braden is a true pro. He works on his game. He finds ways to make a difference, and he does.”
Devante Smith-Pelly was among the teammates who joined the chorus.
“Obviously an up-and-down year for him personally, but the way he’s bounced back, he’s been amazing all throughout the playoffs and (I’m) really, really happy for him,” Smith-Pelly said.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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