Between Braden Holtby being benched for the first two games of the Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup playoff run, and the insane stretch of hockey Marc-Andre Fleury is playing, it might be kind of difficult to remember just how insanely good Hotlby has been in the postseason over his career.
So let's dive into some of that dominance.
The 2017-18 regular season was not Holtby's best in the NHL -- statistically, it was actually his worst. Holtby's .905 save-percentage was the lowest of his eight-year career, down 15 points from when Holtby won the Vezina in 2016, and 18 points from the .925 mark he posted a year ago when he finished second in the Vezina voting. Things got so bad for Holtby he conceded the crease to backup Philipp Grubauer, who was between the pipes for Game 1 one of the first round when the Capitals opene up at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But about 105 minutes into that series, the Capitals were trailing 1-0 and down in Game 2, 4-3. Head coach Barry Trotz made the change in the third period of that game, going back to Holtby, and while the Capitals went on to lose in overtime, Holtby stopped 7-of-8 shots in his relief appearance, and then 130 of 139 shots he faced in Game 3 through 6 to lead the Capitals to a comeback victory over Columbus.
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And that's kind of par-for-the-course for Holtby, who entering the 2018 playoffs had a career .932 postseason save-percentage. During this current run, helping the Capitals reach a place they have failed to do so since 1998, Holtby has a .924 save-percentage, but more recently posting consecutive shutouts in Game 6 and 7 against the Tampa Bay Lighting to help Washington win the Eastern Conference finals.
But again, this is nothing new for Holtby. For goaltenders who have appeared in at least 50 career Stanley Cup playoff games, Holtby's career .930 save-percentage is the second-highest of all time, trailing only former Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas. While the Capitals have struggled to get past the second round in Holtby's tenure in Washington, the one things that's been consistent is strong goaltending, and scoring from Alex Ovechkin. But much like his dynamic, offensively minded teammate, great Holtby performances have also been for nought thanks to some early playoff exits.
I promise you I’ve never seen anything like this at a #Caps practice. Beyond standing room only crowd at Kettler Iceplex losing its mind as Braden Holtby takes the ice. pic.twitter.com/fz4nnI5l5s
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) May 26, 2018
In 2015, Holtby stopped 389 of the 412 shots he saw in the Capitals 13 playoff games, only to run into the New York Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist in the second round. In that series, Holtby had a .945 save-percentage, allowing two or fewer goals in five of the seven games of that series. But Lundqvist was slightly better (literally the slightest of margins) with a .946 save-percentage, including stopping 35 of 36 in a do-or-die Game 7 the Rangers took 2-1 in overtime (Holtby turned away 37 or 39).
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That's kind of been the margin for Holtby who, like Ovechkin, has been massively good in the playoffs but has had a bounce here or there go against him, and kept one of the best playoff performers of all-time at his position from advancing deeper and chasing a Stanley Cup.
And of course, this season specifically, Holtby's playoff exploits have been talked about less and less because he started the postseason on the bench, and because one of his former divisional rivals, Fleury, has been so great. In Vegas' 15 playoff games, Fleury has a .947 save-percentage which, if the playoffs ended today, would be the highest mark of all-time in a single playoff run for a goalie who appeared in at least 15 games. (If you lower that games-played threshold to 10, which encompasses many more of Holtby's playoff appearances, he appears a few times on that list, at eighth, 12th, and 29th).