Braden Holtby inspiring confidence with Capitals

WASHINGTON – The shot began in the shadows and traveled into the sunlight. Braden Holtby didn’t see when Patrick Sharp released it, and he didn’t see it as it flew past him.

“When you play a hockey game in a baseball stadium, the conditions might not be ideal,” said the Washington Capitals goalie.

And yet it was an ideal day for Holtby, 25, and the Capitals, winning the Winter Classic in front of more than 43,000 fans, stopping 33 of 35 shots from the Chicago Blackhawks.

“The emphasis we put on this game is the two points in our locker room.  It means a lot more to us as professionals, as the Capitals, than anything else. So, realistically, the next game we play, it's the same mindset, that's the main goal,” said Holtby. “Obviously different circumstances create different problems, but in the end the two points count the same.”

Different circumstances create different problems, but also different solutions.

Like, for example, when a team fires its head coach and goaltending coach.

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Holtby's sophomore campaign saw his numbers struggle – a .915 save percentage and a ballooned 2.85 goals-against average – even as he won 23 games for the second straight season. There were holes in his game, flaws in his body control. Some claimed Olaf Kolzig’s coaching “broke” Holtby, having him play deeper in the net.

“It’s obviously been well documented the changes that we tried,” Holtby said to CSN Washington last April. “Nothing against what the philosophy was, it just didn’t coincide with my personality and my natural instincts. The changes led to a lot of second guessing myself and over-thinking things. The moment you start doing that you start to struggle, and when you struggle your confidence goes down a bit.”

Holtby’s third season as an NHL regular began with Barry Trotz replacing Adam Oates and, more important, goalie guru Mitch Korn replacing Kolzig.

Korn immediately worked on rewiring Holtby, making his movements more compact and attempting to rein in the body control for the athletic 6-foot-2 netminder. Manically enthusiastic and creative in his approach, Korn and Holtby worked well together.

“You have to be a little crazy to play our position,” said Holtby. “The goaltender coach relationship has to be really close. It’s fun to pick his brain.”

Through 32 games this season, Holtby has a .920 save percentage and a 2.27 GAA. He’s making saves he wasn’t making last season, but the learning curve is such that he might give up one now and again he’d like back.

‘I think so. It’s always a give and take. It’s frustrating because I know I can make some of those saves. But I might make three more when I give up that one,” he said. “There’s definitely some improvements that I made. I don’t get as spread out, to make sure pucks don’t get through me. It’s been a process, but it’s definitely coming.”

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It all came together for Holtby in December, when he only lost twice in regulation. He wasn’t perfect, giving up four goals on four occasions, but he balanced that with six games in which he gave up one goal or less.

“He’s been outstanding. He’s won us a whole bunch of games in this last month,” said defenseman Mike Green. “As a defenseman, it’s been a lot better for us: We feel like we can make plays and have the confidence that he’s going to be there to stop the puck. He’s come up with some saves that have been game-changers.”

As much as Holtby has regained form, there’s also the matter of the team in front of him.

The Capitals were an embarrassment at even strength last season, posting a 47.7 percent corsi at 5v5 close; their possession numbers have jumped to 52.1 this season. They’re currently 11th in the league at 5-on-5.

“The whole team’s been more consistent,” said Green.

It’s a shared confidence between goalie and team right now. The Capitals know the steady netminder who couldn’t locate consistency last season is back. Holtby knows the team in front of him won’t make as many miscues as it did under Oates.

He’s still working on body control and better using his athleticism in the crease. Even Holtby admits it’s a work in progress. But even when his numbers weren’t there, his teammates knew Holtby was putting it together under the new regime.

“It looks so effortless at times. Square to the puck, making plays, smothering rebounds and cleaning up his own mess,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “I thought he was playing better than people were giving him credit for earlier in the season. Maybe his numbers didn’t say that. But you could see his ability to make big saves was there.”

Now he's making them. Sometimes, in front of a baseball stadium full of fans.

“I really didn’t think much about it. I’m more of a day-by-day guy," said Holtby. "But it really shows you how many people appreciate this game.”