Islanders comeback clinches playoffs, slows Holtby’s record chase
Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby missed out on a chance to tie Martin Brodeur’s single-season record of 48 wins, losing 4-3 in overtime to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Brodeur set the record in 2006-07. Tuesday’s game dropped Holtby to 47-9-6 on the year.
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Holtby stopped 23 of 27 shots on goal in the loss.
Thomas Hickey scored the overtime winner at the 2:13 mark of the extra session. With the victory New York clinched a playoff spot.
After Alex Ovechkin’s second goal of the game at the 6:56 mark of the third period put the Caps up 3-1, it appeared Washington would cruise to the record-tying win. The Islanders then scored two quick goals – one by Kyle Okposo at the 8:40 mark of the third and another by Anders Lee at the 10:25 of the third.
This set the stage for the overtime winner.
“I feel like we play for each other every night in this room,” Holtby said following the game. “That’s why we’ve had so much success. We played a good enough game to win tonight. That one’s on me, and it’s one of those ones I’ll make up for in the future.”
In advance of the game, it appeared Holtby’s tying the record would be a foregone conclusion. Now with three games left in the regular season for Washington, there’s a chance he may not reach the mark.
The Washington Post reported Holtby is likely to start two more games this season.
Brodeur had pointed out earlier in the week that he believed Holtby would tie the record.
“He would really have to put his face in the ground not to hit it now,” Brodeur told NHL.com. “It’s pretty impressive, especially with the amount of games he has played. All of us on the chart, we all played over 70 games. To be able to accomplish that in 65 games or so, for him and the team he plays for, it’s pretty impressive.”
Said Capitals coach Barry Trotz after the game, according to the Washington Post, “No matter what happens, his name is going to be up there with a lot of Hall of Fame goaltenders. No matter what happens from now until the end of the regular season here, he’s had a pretty special season, second-best in NHL history. That’s nothing to be disappointed on.”
The win gave the Islanders 97 points and helped them keep pace with the New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Christopher Gibson picked up the victory in his first career NHL start. The 23-year-old stopped 29 of 32 shots on goal.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
