Justin Williams was gliding backward through the right faceoff circle during warmups on Monday night when a stiff jab caught him in the back of his left leg. Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had been splayed out on the ice, stretching his groin muscles, when the blade of his stick caught Williams behind the knee and sent Williams crashing down on top of him.
“I was skating backwards, and all of a sudden, I was on his head,” Williams sheepishly explained afterward. “It happens. … It was pretty sharp, wasn’t it?”
The collision wasn’t particularly graceful, but Holtby’s play was.