Barrie Trotz starts his backup goalie after a rough stretch to end the regular season by allstar Vezina winning goalie Braden Holtby. The goalie who holds the second best playoff save percentages in NHL history.
In 60 career playoff games heading into this season, Holtby was among the best of all time.
So Trotz, of course, went with Grubauer, which is what you do when your team is psychologically damaged from years of playoff failure.
Predictably, Grubs was bad and the Caps went down 2-0 at home, which is basically automatic elimination. Of course it's not fair to blame Grubauer, since only Sergei Bobrovsky's superhuman performance in game two allowed the Jackets to escape Washington with a lead.
But then, Holtby was inserted into the lineup and he has been great.
The Capitals - who could have swept this series by doing nothing differently and just getting some luck - have their home ice advantage back.
And, even better, this game isn't on up against the Leafs game, which, for personal reasons has been problematic.
So anyways, I think game previews are lame and if you care enough to read this you probably already know everything you need to know.
But just in case: Alex Wenberg is back for the Jackets, and Andre Burakovsky is out for the series with a shoulder injury that required minor surgery. The NHL is a joke when it comes to these things, but based on the obscure clues dropped by members of the media and Capitals coaching staff, there seems to be a chance he'll play should the Caps advance.
With Oshie playing injured and Burakovksy out, the number of actual quality NHL forwards the Capitals can dress at one time is dwindling. This isn't good, but then again, logic went out the window a long time ago with this team. What they probably need is just more Chandler Stephenson. Play him for 25 minutes and watch the team score 8 goals.
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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