Three games into the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Washington Capitals have started a different goaltender in each game. If you knew goaltending was going to be a question mark, could you have possibly known it’d be quite like this?
Despite the rotating assignment, the goaltending at large hasn’t been terrible. In fact, Ilya Samsonov and Craig Anderson are two of the NHL playoff leaders in goals saved above average, although that’s a metric that can be inflated by a high volume of dangerous rubber headed their way. But despite strong play, neither goaltender was able to get through a game without costing their team a goal - Craig Anderson was wildly out of position on the opening wraparound in Game 2, and Ilya Samsonov’s blunder in the second overtime last night is one scarcely anyone reading this needs reminding of - and with both of those games being decided by a single goal, it’s easy to point fingers.