Home / News / Braden Holtby has been pulled in three of the Caps last six games. Barry Trotz says Philipp Grubauer may start ‘for a bit.’

Braden Holtby has been pulled in three of the Caps last six games. Barry Trotz says Philipp Grubauer may start ‘for a bit.’

By Donya Abramo

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March 7, 2018 5:57 pm

During Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, Braden Holtby was pulled for the third time in six games. After an excellent outing against the Maple Leafs in Saturday’s Stadium Series game, the Capitals were hopeful that Holtby’s recent shakiness – exacerbated by a woeful and inept defense – was a blip, rather than the new normal.

Instead, Holtby let in three goals on nine shots, and was given the hook in the second period by Barry Trotz.

No one is a bigger critic of Holtby’s performance than the man himself and he did not handle the pull well. Per the Washington Post’s Isabelle Kurshudyan, Holtby took longer than usual to return to the bench and was understandably frustrated with his performance.

Barry Trotz also commented on Holtby’s recent struggles during his post-game interview with the media.

“He hasn’t had a real good stretch. He’s going to work with our goaltending coaches and get his game in order,” Trotz said. “He’s won a lot of games for us. He’s an elite goaltender in this league. Everybody goes through some dry spells and he’s having one right now really.”

Barry Trotz is open to starting Philip Grubauer while Holtby works things out.

“Because he’s number one doesn’t mean you don’t go with Grubi for a bit just so he can settle his game,” Trotz said. “We’ll sit down with Scott [Murray] and our goaltending coaches and just see what the best thing for the long haul is.”

After not recording a win in his first eight games of the season, Grubauer has won eight of his last 12 starts. He’s also been much better at stopping high-danger shots, which Holtby has struggled with, especially lately.

Recently NBC analyst Mike Milbury reported that goaltending coach Mitch Korn, who stepped away from day-to-day operations with the organization this season, has returned to directly help Holtby.

Milbury mentioned during NBC’s broadcast of the Stadium Series game. “Well, [Mitch] Korn, the goaltending consultant was brought in,” Milbury said. “It’s been a while since Holtby’s been the top of his game. You can see the shakiness in it and the team recognized that Korn was out and about doing other aspects of his job. But they brought him back in and tried to get this thing straightened out before it’s too late.”

Working alongside Korn, as well as giving a handful of consecutive starts to Grubauer, could help take pressure off Holtby and get him back to his usual form.

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