The Washington Capitals are having a season for the ages.
With a 49-13-5 record with just 15 games left, the Caps sit at 103 points, and have a 15-point lead over the second place Chicago Blackhawks (88) for the best record in hockey. Washington could, statistically speaking anyways, break the Detroit Red Wings record of 62 wins (1995-96) if they win 14 of their last 15 games. (Hey, anything is possible.)
The team is playing the most consistent hockey of the Alex Ovechkin Era. Head coach Barry Trotz has them playing sound defense while suffocating teams with a "wear-them-down" forecheck. The emergence of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky have fueled the Caps offense and taken a load off of Ovechkin, who is vying for another Rocket Richard Trophy.
But every team has its hiccups, and Washington is no stranger to defensive lapses.
Which is why their last line of defense is also their team MVP for the year.
Braden Holtby has quieted critics with yet another 41-win season. With his win against Anaheim on Monday night, Holtby became the only active goaltender with two straight 41-win seasons and joined an elite list of NHL goaltenders with more than one 40-plus win seasons. If that isn't enough, Holtby has at least 10 games left to play to break Martin Brodeur's record of 48 wins in a single season.
In his Hall of Fame career, Martin Brodeur had eight 40-plus win seasons between 1998-2010, winning four Vezina Trophies for the leagues top goaltender and five Jennings Trophies for lowest goals against. Brodeur was also host to three Stanley Cups Championships with New Jersey.
As a team, the Caps have dominated the standings with a plus-62 goal differential which is 32 goals more than the next team, the Blackhawks. It's almost impossible to fathom considering the amount of one-goal games the Caps have played in the last couple months, but it is also a testament to Holtby as he gives his team the ability to win every-single-night.
At the moment, Holtby sits with a total 41-8-0-4 record in 55 games played.
What's important about this year compared to last is that Holtby will finish the season with at least 10 less games played that last year. The emergence of Philipp Grubauer as a reliable back-up has given Barry Trotz and the Caps the luxury of having two quality goaltenders. Holtby's ability to rest, especially in back-to-back games, is a huge bonus going into the playoffs.
Holtby had 20 losses last season in 72 starts. But this season, if all goes well in his last 10-plus games, Holtby may not even get into double digits in the loss column.
As a long-time Capitals fan, it's exciting to see. Olaf Kolzig's 41-win season in 1999-2000 ended with a Vezina Trophy, and it would be great to see Holtby start a new tradition of great Caps goaltending, something we haven't seen in over a decade.