On Friday the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames in five games to move on to the second round of the playoffs. The goaltender that led them to this upset series win is a familiar one for Capitals fans: Philipp Grubauer.
The Caps’ former backup-tendy was sensational in the first round, posting a 1.89 goals against average and a 93.9 save percentage. He also was a good teammate while doing so.
Over the weekend, the Avalanche’s Twitter account noticed that Grubauer skated over to the bench after goals to fistbump his teammates–a celebration started by Braden Holtby and shared by Grubauer in Washington.
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WE LOVE THIS!
Grubi’s getting in on the fist bump line tonight 👊 #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/xt83g8Fktg
— x- Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 20, 2019
When the Avalanche beat the Flames 5-1 on Friday, Grubauer joined the team in congratulating Mikko Rantanen on his second goal of the night. Rantanen even gave Grubi an extra headpat on his way.
It’s typical for all the players on the ice to skate by the bench to fistbump and high-five their teammates after scoring goals. It’s less typical for goalies to join in, but during the Braden Holtby-era in Washington, Caps’ tendies have taken part.
It’s believed Holtby started the tradition when he was playing for the Caps’ AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears. At some point, it appears that Grubauer followed in Holtby’s footsteps–or skate tracks?–in picking up the ritual.
the arena's shaking but holtby still skates to the bench for a hat-trick fist-bump pic.twitter.com/vYcx0Uhcak
— b. (@youripides) January 23, 2019
The two goalies were close during their time with the Capitals and that doesn’t seem to have changed after the trade.
spiritually, grubi & holtby are fist-bumping each other right now 🙏 😭 pic.twitter.com/MrPBxpnvJi
— b. (@youripides) April 20, 2019
The Avs will have a few days to rest as they wait for the Sharks and Knights to battle it out in Game 7 of their series.
Headline photo: @Avalanche
