Holtby’s heroics have Caps on verge of advancing

WASHINGTON » It was like watching a heavyweight title fight on Saturday night, with boxing gloves replaced by a catching glove and blocker.

Silly as it may seem to say after a contest in which seven pucks found the back of the net, but the last two winners of the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in the National Hockey League showed why they’re considered among the best in the world at what they do in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Capital One Arena.

Both Washington Capitals netminder Braden Holtby and Columbus Blue Jackets standout Sergei Bobrovsky were excellent in Washington’s dramatic 4-3 overtime win, particularly Holtby, who was superb in keeping his team in the game in the third period despite a whopping 16-1 shots on goal differential in favor of the Blue Jackets in that 20-minute span.

Bobrovsky stopped 25 of the first 28 shots he saw before Nicklas Backstrom’s deflection at 11:53 of overtime eluded him, while Holtby made 39 saves on the night.

“He’s one of the best goalies,” Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov said. “I feel like this series is all about the goaltenders, and they’ve played unbelievable.”

“We knew they were going to make a push, but it’s playoff hockey,” added Alex Ovechkin. “You have to be ready and you have to be focused, and one mistake can cost you the game.”

After Oliver Bjorkstrand’s goal at 2:30 of the third period tied the game at 3-3, Holtby made none. Curiously, he didn’t start either of the first two games of the series, with head coach Barry Trotz electing to use backup Philipp Grubauer, who had clearly outplayed Holtby for the majority of the regular season.

But, after Grubauer faltered, Holtby was put back in, and has played a huge role in turning a 2-0 series deficit into a 3-2 lead. Goal aside, that third period on Saturday may be as well as he’s played all season long, but instead gave credit to those around him.

“They were going well; they were skating and sometimes teams just click and that’s where they were at in the third,” Holtby said. “I thought it wasn’t an ideal period for us, but we played well under the pressure. When we had breakdowns, we still supported and trusted each other to do the job. We didn’t give up multiple options at once, and I think that’s something we’ve learned throughout the year how to do better. It paid off that period.”