Will Capitals Goalie Braden Holtby Have a Successful NHL Career?

by NESN Staff on Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 2:59PM

The Bruins have found themselves in a dogfight with the Capitals. And Washington goaltender Braden Holtby is a big reason why life's been difficult for the B's.

The Bruins have been unable to crack the 22-year old goaltender, as Holtby has allowed just 10 goals in five games. Hardly anybody expected a rookie netminder to have such an impressive performance against the the defending Stanley Cup champions. What some may have viewed as a weakness for Washington has quickly turned into one of its greatest strengths.

In limited playing time during the regular season, Holtby had a 2.50 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. In the postseason, however, he has drastically improved on those numbers, compiling a 1.86 goals-against average and boasting a save percentage of .946.

One of the hardest things in sports is determining whether a player's performances are indicators of their true skill or merely fluke occurrences. With such a small sample size to work with, it's not easy to make a judgement on Braden Holtby just yet.

Will he continue to be a excellent goalie in the NHL or will he come crashing back down to earth?

Is Braden Holtby the real deal?