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Capitals: Top 10 greatest goalies of all-time

By Michael Marzzacco

Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitals (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitals (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Michal Neuvirth, Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Michal Neuvirth, Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

#7 Michal Neuvirth

Coming out as number seven is Michal Neuvirth who was one of the top goaltenders pre-Holtby era that was sandwiched between that and the Olaf Kolzig era. He primarily served as a backup goalie but he was a pretty reliable one.

Before he was on the Capitals he starred on the Hershey Bears and led the team to back-to-back Calder Cups. He was named started netminder of the Caps that fall of 2010. He made 27 saves on opening night on Oct. 8 against the Atlanta Thrashers in a 4-2 loss. He beat out Semyon Varlamov for the starting position that whole season.

Despite a solid season going 27-12-4, he was demoted to backup in favor of Tomas Vokoun that next season. To make matters worse, he dealt with an injury at the end of the season. So did Vokoun. This made way to Braden Holtby manning the net in the 2012 playoffs and we all know what happened there.

Neuvirth spent six seasons with the Caps playing in 134 games. He finished with a 59-41-13 record in a Caps sweater with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.

Neuvirth wasn’t really a starter but a solid backup deserves a spot on this list nonetheless.

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