*****UPDATE********* According to Chuck Gormley of CSN Washington, two Caps players told him that Holtby will be starting tonight despite being sick.
Holtby missed practice this morning, but Trotz said he will play, although there was no indication on what exactly was ailing Holtby.
We'll let you know if anything changes. Again.
******UPDATE*********
The Caps may be without Braden Holtby tonight as the star goaltender has fallen ill. No word on whether or not this means Holtby will be out, but Grubauer has been brought in for insurance.
Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post twitted earlier that Grubauer was manning the "starters side net" during practice today.
************************************************************************ The Washington Capitals announced they have called up goaltender Philipp Grubauer from the Hershey Bears. There is no indication yet of what other roster moves the Caps will make, but it's might be safe to say that Grubby will be backing up Holtby against the Islanders.
From Monumental Sports:
'Grubauer, 23, has appeared in 20 NHL games with Washington, posting a 7-6-5 record with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. The Rosenheim, Germany, native made his 2014-15 regular season debut on Feb. 6 against Anaheim, stopping 23 shots in the Capitals 3-2 shootout victory to earn his first win of the season.'
The Islanders had just 7 scoring chances in Wednesdays game and scored on 3 of them. The Caps defense will have to do a much better job tightening up their zone and Braden Holtby will hopefully rebound from a below-average performance. With Grubauer possibly on the bench, it leaves open the idea that Trotz is not afraid to pull Holtby, whom he's relied so heavily on all year, if the Caps fail to up their standard of play.
The Caps held an optional skate yesterday after a disastrous game one against the Islanders. As to why it was optional after a tough loss, Barry Trotz had this to say:
“It’s playoffs,… Trotz said. “We generally do that. We've skated three days in a row. We’ll let guys heal up from any bumps or bruises or strains. Guys who played a lot of minutes can get a breather.… (CSN Washington)
The Caps hope that a good rest will make a difference going into Game Two tonight at 7pm.
More to come...