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Washington Capitals: Top 5 observations so far in 2019

By Michael Marzzacco

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals gets focused prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals gets focused prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 20: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals throws water in the air during a stoppage of the second period of their game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 20: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals throws water in the air during a stoppage of the second period of their game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

Goaltending

It was a mystery before the season. It was a position battle for the ages. The backup spot behind Braden Holtby. It came down to Pheonix Copley, Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov. As for the Holtbeast, in the middle of a contract year he’s upped his value.

Holtby carries an 11-2-3 record in 17 starts. That’s good for a .904 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average. He’s tied three-ways for the league lead in wins with the likes of Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues and Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights. Elite company all whom appeared in the Finals the last two seasons. Well I guess four if you count Fleury’s years in Pittsburgh.

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 15: Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals in action in the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at Capital One Arena on November 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 15: Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals in action in the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at Capital One Arena on November 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Back to the backups, Samsonov would turn out to be the better of the three and win out the spot. He won his NHL debut on Long Island with 25 saves on 26 shots. He followed that p with a win in Dallas before losing his first game to the Colorado Avalanche.

Samsonov rebounded to win his next three games against Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary. Although he dropped his last two.

Samsonov’s record is about where you’d expect it to be for a rookie goaltender. 5-2-1 with a 2.65 GAA and a .912 save percentage. The Capitals showed they draft smart when it comes to the crease.

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