Since Olaf Kolzig minded the net in the 1998 Stanley Cup final, the ice between the pipes in the Nation’s Capital has seen a varied cast of characters, from Craig Billington to Brent Johnson to Tomas Vokoun, with tons of names peppered in between. But it was Braden Holtby who guarded the goalposts when Evgeny Kuznetsov buried a breakaway chance to put away the Penguins and advance the Caps into the third round of the NHL playoffs for the first time in two decades.
And while it’d be easy to pin some of the more recent Spring disappointments on Holtby’s lapel, he’s elevated his standard of play this time around, and could very well be the Caps’ MVP through twelve playoff games (only ten of which Holtby started).