932 save percentage and one shutout in stopping 206 of the 221 shots he’s faced. In eight games this season the 25-year-old netminder boasts a 6-1-1 record with a 1.86 GAA, a. Philipp Grubauer has been the perfect compliment in net for the Washington Capitals when it’s time to rest their franchise goalie Braden Holtby. It becomes an even harder life when you are playing behind an elite goaltender who also happens to be the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. Holtby put it even more succinctly as he said, “Don't do anything stupid.The life of an NHL backup goalie isn’t an easy one, seeing game action once or twice every two-three weeks. “Make sure I'm physically and mentally ready and be a good teammate.” “I just try and be ready if I have to go in,” Copley said. That makes the job of a backup a very simple one. In truth, there is no defined in-game requirements for most goalies in the NHL when they sit as backups and that is true of the Caps’ tandem. There's guys that do that now that are better than the backup goalie at looking at things.” “I know makes them look at faceoffs or something,” Holtby said. Some coaches even give goalies assignments in game, though that practice seems to be on the decline. “Was it a shot or missed? Did you see what happened on this play? So I just try to be there and watch.” “Sometimes they'll ask a question like did it look like I had room there?” Copley said. Both coaches and teammates alike can lean upon a backup netminder as an extra set of eyes. You just go in and play.”įor goalies, not starting does not mean having the night off. “When you're forced in with a matter of 30 seconds, there's no time to think about anything. “The whole thing about mental preparation is so that you go out there not thinking about anything, not worrying about any of that,” Holtby said. To have to step into a game unexpectedly with little to no warning or preparation and be expected to perform at the highest level is an incredibly tough mental challenge.Īnd yet, in many ways, it can be easier than starting.
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Professional athletes are creatures of habit. “I guess it can be a little challenging,” Copley said, “But I feel like as long as you’re kind of paying attention to the game and your mind's kind of in that hockey mindset then if something happens, I'll be ready to go.” Copley at least had an intermission to prepare as he came on at the start of the second period while Hutchinson had to step in midway through the second period.
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Both players took warmups in order to prepare them to play a full game while Copley and Hutchinson had little reason to think they would see any action at all.īy the end of the second period, however, both Holtby and Reimer had been replaced. Holtby and Reimer had prepared for Friday’s game knowing they were going to start. That backup is tasked with being ready at all times to step into the game knowing full well that, if all goes according to plan, he will not get to play at all. One starts and one sits on the bench as the backup in case he is needed because of injury or because a coach chooses to make a goalie switch.
Every team dresses two goalies on the roster for a game. “I think that's why you see a lot of guys go in and have success right away and have good games because you don't have that day or two days to be getting rid of your thoughts and that kind of thing.”Īt the end of every bench in the NHL is a goalie sitting in full pads and a hat.
“It's easier in some aspects,” Holtby said of coming into a game off the bench, something he has done at various points of his career despite being the primary starter for Washington. 909 save percentage) stepped in and out-performed the starters giving both of their respective teams a chance to win the game. 947 save percentage) and Hutchinson (one goal allowed on 11 shots. In stepped Pheonix Copley and Michael Hutchinson.Īnd yet, despite being little more than an afterthought in the team’s preparation for the game, both Copley (one goal allowed on 19 shots. Braden Holtby and James Reimer started, but both were ultimately pulled in what was a high-scoring affair. What is his job during the game?įriday’s game between the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers was one of the rare games that featured four goalies.
At the end of every bench in the NHL is a goalie sitting in full pads and a hat.
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