As Braden Holtby Gets Healthy, So Do Washington Capitals' Chances to Win Series

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Easygoing. Laid-back. Even-keeled.

Braden Holtby sounds more like the guy in your dorm who has a peculiar odor and Phish music blaring from his room than one of the best, most unflappable goaltenders in the NHL.

“He’s a really calm guy, smart,” said Nicklas Backstrom, who made Holtby’s 36-save performance in Game 4 matter with an overtime goal that gave the Capitals a 2-1 win and pulled them into a 2-2 tie in this best-of-seven first-round series with the Islanders.

“He’s the guy you want to bring home to your parents a lot."

“If you chat with him, you get a pretty good glimpse of who he is,” said Joel Ward, who provided a screen on Backstrom’s goal. “We just leave him alone and let him do his thing, and he just shows up every night. We know what we’re getting. We don’t talk to him or hang out with him. We just let him do his thing.” 

That doesn’t mean Holtby doesn’t have any friends on the team, just that it’s best to leave him be before the puck drops: “We’re friends,” Ward said. “Game time, he has his game mode. He doesn’t have his own separate room.”

If Holtby continues to play like he did in Games 3 and 4 in one of the more energetic, consistently deafening environments in the postseason, he’ll have more friends in the nation’s capital than he needs.

But not before the games. That's when Holtby needs to center himself.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

After playing a league-high 73 games in the regular season, Holtby was at less than 100 percent for Game 1 against the Islanders. He felt ill on the way to Verizon Center and looked off while allowing three goals on 26 shots in a 4-1 loss. Things were so bad that the goaltender leaned on more than any other this season had to take a seat for Game 2, which the Capitals rallied to win.

Feeling like himself again, Holtby was brilliant in Game 3, although he took the loss. He stopped 40 shots and was only beaten by a Kyle Okposo deflection through heavy traffic and a John Tavares rebound after ghastly defensive play by his teammates led to the OT winner.

Faced with a similar situation in Game 4, Holtby again held the Islanders to one goal through 60 minutes and barely looked like he had a pulse while doing so.

This time, he was rewarded with a much-needed victory.

“As a coach and a player on the bench, we know that he’s going to do for us what he’s done all year,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “He’s played a lot of games and been a top guy for us all year. He’s growing in these playoffs and previous ones he’s played. It’s a big relief to have him back.

“His first two games, we didn’t have the real Holtby. I think he looks really strong right now, and it will continue, hopefully.”

The unshakable Holtby you see before you today didn’t arrive overnight, nor is it something embedded in his DNA. Holtby credited working with a sports psychologist in the past to help him find calmness in the face of pressure or roaring crowds, and that's when he needs time to get his head right.

After Backstrom’s long-range goal turned the fans at Nassau Coliseum silent, Holtby said, seemingly earnestly and not in an attempt to troll or irk fans, that he didn’t notice the silence, much like he didn’t notice the two-plus hours of chanting, some of it directed specifically at him. 

“I heard the yelling in my ears from teammates,” Holtby said. “I thought that was the loudest it had been all game.”

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Did anything throw him off for a second? Casey Cizikas’ first-period goal? Cal Clutterbuck’s third-period crossbar that could have given the Islanders a win? Anything?

“It’s years of experience. Years of finding a way of how to do that,” Holtby said. “The mental game is kind of the thing I pride myself on. That’s what’s gotten me to this level. It’s just learning tricks to try to keep my head in it, blocking everything out and just focusing on me.

“For every goalie, that’s been a problem at some point. That’s the biggest thing you have to improve on every day. I’ve been very fortunate to work with some very smart people when it comes to sports psychology. I’m passionate about it. I like to learn about it. And I like to see how it can pay off.”

With three games to go between two teams that aren’t separated by all that much, Holtby can be that difference. The Islanders held a distinct territorial edge at five-on-five in the games here, and with an elimination Game 6 set for Saturday in this building, a serene Holtby will be a must for Washington.

“I’m no goalie expert,” Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said, “but he seems like he’s seeing the puck really well.”

With 76 saves on 79 shots over his past two games, it certainly seems that way.

All statistics via NHL.com.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.