Alex Ovechkin’s slap shot is already in midseason form and so is Braden Holtby’s fiery temper.
Friday night in Carolina, the snarl of the Holtbeast made its return after the formerly-furry goaltender got bumped in the crease.
It was the third time in the first period that Holtby had a visitor in his den and he had an ingenious solution to solve the problem.
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Holtby: "Get that stick outta here!"
Stream the #Caps live here: https://t.co/NGTPHxGvna pic.twitter.com/C7g8GOkmfG
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) September 22, 2018
Holtby took Warren Foegele’s stick out of his hands and backhand-tossed it into the neutral zone.
“Holtby is run over one more time and he’s furious,” Al Koken said during the telecast. “His stick is knocked out and the referee will not make a call.”
That reminds me of one of my favorite hockey sayings. Hit me once, shame on you. Hit me twice, shame on me. Hit me three times, your stick gets angrily hurled down the ice.
The Capitals would lose their fourth-straight game to open the preseason, 5-1. Holtby would end his evening in net after two periods, stopping 15 of 18 shots. Holtby’s worst moment was the Hurricanes’ third goal where got his signals crossed with Matt Niskanen.
Guess @Martyman17's been working on his puck handling over the summer. Jeez. pic.twitter.com/P3NhrkAN00
— NHL (@NHL) September 22, 2018
The Capitals only have three more games left in the preseason to get their groove back. Let’s hope they do.
