Washington goaltending situation

[Rass]

No it’s not. Last year he was 8th in wins with a .911 save % and 2.82 GAA. Those are solid numbers with a starters load.

Seriously? That's the most laughable comment I've seen on here in a while and hey, it's hfboards...

Having nearly a 3.00 GAA and a .910 SV% as a starter in 2019, on a cup winning team, is near atrocious! Average #1 are around .915 pretty easily. Good ones over .920, and to me to put up solid numbers, we're talking .925+ range.

To be 8th in wins and have - 28 goalies who played 30 or more games, or 18 who have played 41 games or more before you argue - who posted better SV% is a huge proof Washington carried Holtby despite his poor play. You exposed him with these stats trying to stand for him...

 

[PensandCaps]

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.

they were just okay.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

Talking about guys with 4 starts and 2 starts respectively. Some of you clowns are acting like half of the season has been completed.

Calm down and let some of the season play out. People make snap judgements off of a couple games usually end up looking foolish in the end.

 

[895]

If Edmonton or Calgary give Holtby a 7x8 they're going to regret it.

 

[895]

Talking about guys with 4 starts and 2 starts respectively. Some of you clowns are acting like half of the season has been completed.

Calm down and let some of the season play out. People make snap judgements off of a couple games usually end up looking foolish in the end.

Hotlby has been bad for 3 years except for the 2018 playoffs. Holtby was the biggest reason we lost to Carolina in game 7.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Has OP considered that guy currently on .961 Sv% might be the present? Not only this claim is hotheaded it's also not supported by anything at all.

 

[Fataldogg]

Holtby hasnt been good in the regular season for a couple years now. He had a very strong playoff the year they won the Cup, but honestly I was extremely underwhelmed by him last year in the post season. If he was average they beat the Hurricanes.

Hopefully he bounces back.

 

[Absolut]

Talking about guys with 4 starts and 2 starts respectively. Some of you clowns are acting like half of the season has been completed.

Calm down and let some of the season play out. People make snap judgements off of a couple games usually end up looking foolish in the end.

Have you not watched Holtby play for the last 3 seasons? If not, take a moment to look at his stats - while playing on a stacked Cup-winning team.

 

[Absolut]

Has OP considered that guy currently on .961 Sv% might be the present? Not only this claim is hotheaded it's also not supported by anything at all.

What claim? That the kid is fantastically talented but still raw? It's supported by watching him. His positioning obviously can be better. That will come with time and good coaching. Samsonov is very young. Young goalies that do well as starters are usually positionally sound. The ones that rely on the athleticism take longer to adjust to the NHL game. Sometimes you get both (Vasilevskiy) but that's very rare.

 

[Legionnaire11]

ITT: every goalie who doesn't post top-5 numbers is trash

 

[SoundAndFury]

What claim?

This claim: "The Caps window is closing; while Samsonov is obviously the future, who's the present?". Nobody is arguing Samsonov will get better, it's obvious. But you have no evidence to support the fact he isn't ready to play in the NHL now. Because from what he has shown so far he can.

Furthermore, you are stating it in a way ("tHe WinD0w iz clOsiNg") which implies Washington should go out there and do something or have done something wrong. While in reality, neither is the case and they have made/are about to make pretty much picture perfect transition from one goalie to another. They don't need to trade for anything, they don't need to buy out or carry a bloated contracted, they haven't overpaid Holtby either. They aren't in the situation Canucks were, or Rangers are, or Kings are, or Canadiens are going to be sooner or later.

Yes, it would be nicer if Holtby played well but it's all hindsight. And regarding Samsonov's "not awesome" fundamentals, you know who else didn't have awesome fundamentals? Hasek, Quick, Tim Thomas, etc. You don't always need to look pretty to get it done, what you are writing about him is all conjecture.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

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.

Holtby for Koskinen, Puljujarvi, and a 2020 2nd round pick

 

[Chips]

6 games definitely is a spot-on indicator of the other 72. Holtby is done, trade him for a 3rd round pick. It’s not like Holtby doesn’t often start weak and get better, or generally have ups and downs.

Same thing happened with Grubauer and Copley last couple years, and both of them were considered very good by the end of the season. Both their numbers were awful half the season cuz they’d get left behind.

Combination of the goalies just starting weak, and the whole Caps team tends to play 20 minutes a game through the first quarter of the season. Then they sit back and let the other team come at them. It’s an offensively gifted team that mostly plays good defense when they’re aggressively attacking. But they stop playing with a lead. They’ve blown more leads than games played this season and it’s not just the goalies fault.

 

[Absolut]

And regarding Samsonov's "not awesome" fundamentals, you know who else didn't have awesome fundamentals? Hasek, Quick, Tim Thomas, etc. You don't always need to look pretty to get it done, what you are writing about him is all conjecture.

You completly missed my point. Hasek, Quick, Thomas (and many others, specifically Grant Fuhr) had all become very successful despite the perceived lack of fundamentals. One common thread with all them? It took a little while for them to become solid (first) and than great NHL starters. Samsonov is wildly talented. But at 22 may not be ready for a starting NHL job given his style of play. Or he may in fact be ready, and the positioning issues are due to nerves. He is a rookie and a young one after all. So I don't know.

 

[maacoshark]

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.

Samsonov is still a prospect. He has played 2 career games both against weak offensive teams. And the team has played a more defensive game when Samsonov has been in net. In a way they are throwing Holtby under the bus.
The original poster hit the nail on the head. Samsonov is very quick and athletic but he moves around way too much. He needs to work on the fundamentals. He could be a good one but he isn't ready to be an NHL starter and rushing him could hurt his development.

 

[StephenPeat]

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?

Here’s the key to anyone who actually cares = probably not anyone in this thread. There are two ways to read this statement. Caps keep losing games they SHOULD be winning. Caps keep LOSING games they should be WINNING. Holtby is Part of the team. Losing 3RD period leads once or twice is on the goalie, consistently is on the team. In this early part of the season, the Caps have been easily rattled and
Holtby hasn’t been helping. Samsonov provides young blood. There is NO goaltending situation in Wsh today. Holtby IS the incumbent 50+ game Starter. Samsonov is the green newcomer who needs to reign himself in, Holtby allows him the breathing room and mentor ship to do just that. Let’s re-evaluate after Samsonov has played more than 10 games in the NHL.

 

[StephenPeat]

Holtby for Koskinen, Puljujarvi, and a 2020 2nd round pick

I wouldn’t trade Copley for that mess, Holtby (?) think again.

 

[StephenPeat]

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.

Good Lord if I didn’t know that you know better I’d call this a hot take. I get it, you have a chubby for Samsonov, it’s fine but don’t get stupid. Holtby has always been erratic but Samsonov is just as erratic there just isn’t a book on him yet. Give it a few weeks and Sammy will have to go back to the fundamentals that got him where he is today that he’s NOT demonstrating in the NHL. There are multiple instances every game where he dramatically overcommits. Just last night he used a lazy cross-crease butterfly slide in anticipation of an even lazier dump on net which never materialized. If the STARS could manage the discipline to shoot 12in off the ice Samsonov would have been chasing rebounds all night. The ENTIRE TEAM demonstrated a far more solid commitment to minimizing second chances against last night than they have heretofor this ENTIRE season. Result, Samsonov is GOAT, Holtby can rot. It’s not new but it’s also not smart.

 

[HockeySniper]

Samsonov looks much better at the moment. Holtby makes some crazy saves but then let’s easy ones in. His rebound control is pretty bad and he’s bad with the puck sometimes. I’ll take the kid right now

 

[izzy]

hes really murdered me in fantasy hockey

even carter hart cant reverse the terrifying things holtby has done to my stats

 

[DCRedhawk21]

Holtby has had slow starts before, but there’s no denying that he has been largely middle of the pack since the 16-17 season. His play during the 18 cup run kept this from becoming too loud of a narrative. Samsonov is clearly the guy they’re hoping to look to in the future - but he’s played 2 RS games in the NHL. Ideally they can get him 25-30 starts this year and see what he really has - because losing holtby is likely a salary cap reality after this season.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

Hotlby has been bad for 3 years except for the 2018 playoffs. Holtby was the biggest reason we lost to Carolina in game 7.

That is just a laughably bad take. “Bad” you say? Haven’t the Capitals won the division that last 3 years?

Capitals defense played a big hand in their collapse against the Hurricanes also. It’s not all on Holtby.

 

[MessierII]

Seriously? That's the most laughable comment I've seen on here in a while and hey, it's hfboards...

Having nearly a 3.00 GAA and a .910 SV% as a starter in 2019, on a cup winning team, is near atrocious! Average #1 are around .915 pretty easily. Good ones over .920, and to me to put up solid numbers, we're talking .925+ range.

To be 8th in wins and have - 28 goalies who played 30 or more games, or 18 who have played 41 games or more before you argue - who posted better SV% is a huge proof Washington carried Holtby despite his poor play. You exposed him with these stats trying to stand for him...

Where are all these starters with .925 save % over 50 games? Name them.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

Have you not watched Holtby play for the last 3 seasons? If not, take a moment to look at his stats - while playing on a stacked Cup-winning team.

The Capitals had a much better roster in 15/16-16/17 than they have had in their cup year or last year.

Is he somehow discredited from leading them to a Cup? And like I already said to someone else, how horribly is he playing if the Capitals have won the division all those years?

I’m assuming you Capital fans are blaming him for all of the playoff losses every year?

 

[Foots]

The Capitals had a much better roster in 15/16-16/17 than they have had in their cup year or last year.

Is he somehow discredited from leading them to a Cup? And like I already said to someone else, how horribly is he playing if the Capitals have won the division all those years?

I’m assuming you Capital fans are blaming him for all of the playoff losses every year?

Calm down, chief. You take anything Capitals very personally.