The Associated Press
Jeff Seidel
WASHINGTON—Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals patiently turned away the Ottawa Senators last night.
Holtby made 26 saves in Washington’s 2-1 victory—lowering his NHL-best GAA to 1.83 and improving to 20-4-1.
“He’s an eraser,” said Capitals’ coach Barry Trotz. “Good goaltending erases a lot of mistakes.
“I think his mental toughness is off the charts,” Trotz added.
“I think everybody would agree in our room that he’s the most valuable player for us so far this year.”
Holtby has allowed just three goals in his last three games, making 35 saves in a 2-1 victory at Tampa Bay on Saturday night and 44 in a 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Monday night.
He credited his team’s steady defence for making his job easier.
The Capitals stayed away from turnovers in their zone or mistakes that gave Ottawa chances off scoring rushes.
“They are a pretty good offensive team and we did a good job,” Holtby noted.
“Those guys have some pretty good shooters over there so if you turn it over at the wrong times, they’re going to make you pay,” he stressed.
Holtby has helped the Capitals earn points in the standings in his last 13 games.
That’s the longest in the NHL this season.
The Capitals, meanwhile, improved to 22-6-2 (46 points)—the franchise’s best start ever in terms of wins and points.
Eastern Conference-leading Washington now has won three-straight games and four of its last five.
Ottawa has dropped three of its last four.
Holtby battled Ottawa goalie Andrew Hammond, who made 23 saves in his first game since Nov. 12 and did not look rusty.
Hammond gave up a first-period goal to Michael Latta and John Carlson’s second-period score but nothing else.
“I felt like I settled into it pretty quick,” he noted.
“It was one of those games where it was pretty easy to get into it early on.”
Latta opened the scoring in the first period, then helped set up Carlson’s second-period goal.
Washington’s Tom Wilson was hit with a late match penalty and Bobby Ryan scored for Ottawa on the power play with 4:14 left.
Holtby made some key stops during that stretch.
A shaky first period cost Ottawa as it never caught up after Washington took the early lead.
“A bit of a slow start,” admitted Ottawa coach Dave Cameron.
“We were much better in the second and third period, but not good enough,” he added.
“Pretty good hockey club over there and they took it to us [early].”
Boston blanked Pittsburgh 3-0 in the only other NHL game last night.
