NHL Playoffs 2012: Braden Holtby Will Be Capitals' Key to Taking Down Rangers

As Bruins fans saw during the first round of the playoffs, Braden Holtby may be a rookie with no playoff experience, but he is not to be taken lightly.

The Capitals goaltender entered the postseason as a very late-season fill in for Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth, both of whom were injured. As such, no one expected much of someone who had played in just 21 NHL games—seven this season—entering his first playoffs appearance.

After Holtby outplayed reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas, going 4-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage, no one is making the mistake of discounting him anymore. At this point, the Rangers would probably rather face Vokoun or Neuvirth in the second round.

The Capitals get back to work on Saturday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with complete confidence in their netminder, mostly because Holtby has complete confidence in himself. He always has, whether he's facing the No. 1 seed, the No. 2 seed or the No. 7 seed.

Heading into the playoffs, the Capitals were essentially dismissed because of their goalie injuries, especially going up against Thomas and the second-seeded Bruins. Strangely enough, looking back, it's hard to believe the Capitals would be in this position without Holtby, as defenseman Roman Hamrlik told the New York Times' Tim Wendel: 

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He was the best player for us against Boston. I didn’t really know him when the season began. But he was so relaxed, so familiar with the game, in that first-round series. He always had our back. 

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Hamrlik, and the rest of the Capitals, know him now.

The young goalie has some experience in the hostile environment New York will bring, having started at Madison Square Garden in Washington's regular season finale three weeks ago. He stopped 35 shots in the Capitals' 4-1 win.

It'll take mental toughness for him to be able to hold strong on the Rangers' home ice, but that won't be a problem. The most impressive aspect of Holtby's first-round performance was the way he hung in there mentally in the first-round series against Boston, even in four overtime games, two of which he and the Capitals won.

He credits his mental fortitude to the fact that he was sent down to the minors prior to the 2011-12 season, telling Wendel: 

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I learned to stay in the moment. That’s something I’ve battled with in the past. I’ve learned it’s important to keep your emotions on the same level, no matter what happens out there. 

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Holtby may have been sent back to the AHL before the beginning of the 2011-12 season while the two goalies left standing battled for the starting job, but that certainly won't be the case before next season begins—no matter how the rest of the Capitals' playoff experience turns out.