Braden Holtby is behind one of the greatest saves in NHL history. Nicknamed The Save, Holtby reached his stick out and turned away an Alex Tuch one-timer in Game Two of the 2018 Stanley Cup. The Save preserved the Capitals’ late lead and propelled them to four straight wins, clinching the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup. There was nothing Holtby had done in the past nor would do in the future that would ever elipse the importance and brilliance of that stop.
With that context established, Holtby did his absolute best to outdo himself in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. Holtby, who signed a two-year deal with Vancouver Canucks over the offseason, went absolutely mad scientist and turned himself into a human windmill to make a pad save on Wayne Simmonds FROM UPSIDE DOWN ON HIS BACK.
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As Simmonds approached the Holtbeast’s lair with speed, the forward tried to deke the puck onto his backhand for an easy goal on the far side of the net. Except! Holtby poke-checked the puck off of Simmonds’ blade. But there was one tiny problem. The momentum and speed of the play caused the biscuit to bounce into the air and careen towards the yawning net. So Holtby, now on his back, flung both of his legs one-by-one at the puck until it hit his right pad and was knocked out of the crease.
Come for the poke check, stay for the kick pad save 👏 pic.twitter.com/kX5ESTTHFC
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) April 19, 2021
The photos are certainly something.
Holtby’s mother Tami took to Twitter to salute her son. She said Holtby’s dad Greg, who played junior hockey with the Saskatoon Blades, had made saves like that before in his career, “but (I) didn’t know B had it in him!”
Well I’ve seen his Dad @grholtby makes those saves but didn’t know B had it in him! 🤣 #didntgetitfromme #Canucks
— Tami Holtby (@Meemaw_Tami) April 19, 2021
The Canucks would comeback to tie and later win the game in overtime 3-2, meaning Holtby’s windmill save sparked the team to victory. Holtby on the night stopped 37 of 39 shots for a sterling .949 save percentage. Bo Horvat scored the OTGWG – his second of the game.
Welcome back #Canucks! It was a gutsy effort as Vancouver took down Toronto 3-2 in OT Sunday.@budweisercanada Highlights | https://t.co/Y8DYWazwpV pic.twitter.com/bZk1cyRhrx
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) April 19, 2021
After the game, Holtby spoke about what he saw as he tried to make the stop.
“When you kind of anticipate the pass you try to cut it off,” Holtby said. “It kind of just popped up and luckily I was able to keep my eyes on it and keep it out of the net. I don’t know. Those ones are fun to make sometimes. [sly smile]”
“That was a great save,” Horvat, the Canucks captain, added. “Sometimes he does that in practice. Just seeing it live in a game, it was pretty funny actually. We always tease him in practice to pull it off in a game. It was pretty special. I think it did give us some energy.”
The game marked the Canucks’ first game back after the team had a severe COVID-19 outbreak which saw 21 players players test positive for the disease. The Canucks, after a three week pause, will finish the season with a brutal 19 games in 32 days. The team currently sits 10 standings point out from the last playoff spot in the North Division with four games in hand on the Montreal Canadiens.
“It was a gusty effort from our group,” Holtby said. “We all just decided, when you go out there you give it absolutely all that you have. Stick together and we believe we’re going to have a chance to win. It was a fun one to be a part of. Everyone had to contribute in different ways to get on the ice and compete.”
Screenshot courtesy of Sportsnet
