Washington goaltending situation

Absolut

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Holtby has been horrible this year. He leaves the juiciest rebounds and creates dangerous situations out of nothing. The young kid Samsonov is very athletic but he's also quiet erratic. Better rebound control definitely helps the Caps. It's the difference between winning and losing. But I noticed that Samsonov's fundamentals aren't awesome. He's all over the place. I don't think it's the nerves - doesn't seem like a nervous type. Bottom line, I don't think he's ready to be a starter. But with Holtz in the net, the Caps keep losing games they should be winning. The Caps window is closing; while Samsonov is obviously the future, who's the present?
 

SherVaughn30

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Holtby has been horrible this year. He leaves the juiciest rebounds and creates dangerous situations out of nothing. The young kid Samsonov is very athletic but he's also quiet erratic. Better rebound control definitely helps the Caps. It's the difference between winning and losing. But I noticed that Samsonov's fundamentals aren't awesome. He's all over the place. I don't think it's the nerves - doesn't seem like a nervous type. Bottom line, I don't think he's ready to be a starter. But with Holtz in the net, the Caps keep losing games they should be winning. The Caps window is closing; while Samsonov is obviously the future, who's the present?
Samsonov is the far better goalie right now. He's still fresh, but he's making saves that Holtby is not even capable of making. It might be a bit premature, but Samsonov has the potential to be Binnington good(regular season) this year. I think Holtby needs to play for a Trotz/Tippett type team again to regain his good form.
 

SherVaughn30

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Holtby will be fine.
I'm a die hard Caps fan and I disagree. This is by far the worst Holtby has ever played. The speed game is really giving him fits right now. The fact he plays more like an old school goalie, it's hurting him. His narrow butterfly and lack of taking advantage of the VH/Reverse-VH style are making it more difficult for him to keep up with the fast skating and quick passing. He needs to play in a very structured system like what Trotz/Tippett coach.
 

MessierII

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Actually, not really.
Yes absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt those are solid starter numbers. 7 goalies won more games than Holtby last year. Bobrovsky had a .913 save %. Martin Jones a .896 Fleury Hellebyuk and Dubnyk had a .913. All these goalies were top 10 in wins along with Holtby. His numbers were fine if not good last year.
 

Blitzkrieg365

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He’s a rookie though. Play off time they will ride the experienced guy unless he’s completely done

They didn't ride Holtby come playoff time. As a Jackets fan you know Grubauer lost the net to Holtby with poor performance. Samsonov could roll into the playoffs and perform just as well as he has been. Who knows, it's too early to suggest one way or the other.
 
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ViD

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They didn't ride Holtby come playoff time. As a Jackets fan you know Grubauer lost the net to Holtby with poor performance. Samsonov could roll into the playoffs and perform just as well as he has been. Who knows, but it's too early to suggest one way or the other.
You are correct, he can, but too early to write off a proven veteran like Holtby
 

Absolut

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Samsonov is NOT Grubauer. You're talking about a top 3 goalie prospect drafted in the 1st round with Samsonov.
Samsonov is raw. Somewhat erratic lateral movement, not great positioning. He's strong and fast enough to compensate, but he needs to figure things out. He does seem to be even keel, which is good. One thing that's drastically different is the lack of rebounds. Slows down the game and make it a lot easier on the defense.
 
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Matty Sundin

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Other then 2018 playoffs, Holtby has seemed to be in decline since 2015-2016 when he was a stud in net.
 

King Mapes

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Yes absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt those are solid starter numbers. 7 goalies won more games than Holtby last year. Bobrovsky had a .913 save %. Martin Jones a .896 Fleury Hellebyuk and Dubnyk had a .913. All these goalies were top 10 in wins along with Holtby. His numbers were fine if not good last year.
No they weren’t. Wins? Really? Out of all registered goalies he ranked 32nd in save percentage. 29th in GAA. How is that good?

The fact Jones was listed with a 896 save percentage should tell you not to go by wins.
 

MessierII

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No they weren’t. Wins? Really? Out of all registered goalies he ranked 32nd in save percentage. 29th in GAA. How is that good?

The fact Jones was listed with a 896 save percentage should tell you not to go by wins.
Your using backups who play 15-30 games and then criticizing my use of wins? There are only so many goalies in the NHL who can play 50 games and have a .910 save %. 13 did it last year and Holtby was one of them.
 

King Mapes

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Your using backups who play 15-30 games and then criticizing my use of wins? There are only so many goalies in the NHL who can play 50 games and have a .910 save %. 13 did it last year and Holtby was one of them.

There’s 3 goalies ahead in GAA with “15-30 GP”. 3. One goalie up there in wins, again, had a 896 save percentage. That’s terrible.

He played so much because they didn’t have many options. 19 in the whole league played 50 and he was one of the worst who did it and it’s not like He’s on a bad team.
 

MessierII

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There’s 3 goalies ahead in GAA with “15-30 GP”. 3. One goalie up there in wins, again, had a 896 save percentage. That’s terrible.

He played so much because they didn’t have many options. 19 in the whole league played 50 and he was one of the worst who did it and it’s not like He’s on a bad team.
Nothing you said here really refutes the fact that if you can start 50+ games and have a save % over .91 and GAA under 3 you are a good starting goalie.
 

Sam Spade

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This is the last hurrah for Holtby as a Capital before he signs somewhere else in the summer, he knows it, that's got to be tough mentally.

He's made some nice saves and let him some clunkers early in the season. Hopefully he gets it figured out and goes out on a positive note in D.C.

The Caps window is closing; while Samsonov is obviously the future, who's the present?

Also, this is not true at all. With this past draft and the goalie and D prospects the Capitals have percolating, AND with four picks in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft, the Capitals have managed to position themselves decently. The high flying days of Backstrom/Ovechkin may be ending soon but no Dman under contract is over 30 and Samsonov being the future means they should stay competitive through the transition.
 
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Lindemann

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Holtby has been bad for the past 3 seasons, outside of 14 games in the cup run

it’s not just this season

Holtby is the definition of anti clutch and Holtby will be traded/gone at the end of the season

And I’m fully okay with that, he’s the most polarizing player in terms of consistency on the Caps
 

Prairie Habs

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Nothing you said here really refutes the fact that if you can start 50+ games and have a save % over .91 and GAA under 3 you are a good starting goalie.

.911 isn't very good among goalies who started 50+ games last season. It was 13th of 19 ahead of Jones, Koskinen, Anderson, Hutton, Howard, and the ghost of Lundqvist. I think those names should help show that simply showing up in net doesn't make you a high end starter. Being 8th in wins just means that he was on a good team. Zaitsev played 20+ minutes a night on a 100 point team last year, would you take him in your top 4?
 

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