It’s been nearly 10 years since both Braden Holtby and Semyon Varlamov played for the Washington Capitals. Now they’re facing each other for the first time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Washington Capitals drafted Semyon Varlamov 23rd overall in 2006. But two years later, the Caps selected Braden Holtby.

But as Holtby developed in the AHL, Varlamov struggled to keep his starting job. The Capitals later decided to trade Varlamov to Colorado. Braden Holtby eventually emerged as the Capitals’ staring goalie. They wouldn’t have won a Stanley Cup without him.

But the same can’t be said for Varlamov. Before July, Varlamov hadn’t played in a playoff game since 2014. He never made it out of the second round.

But as Butch Goring said during the Game 1 broadcast, this is Varlamov’s chance to prove to the Capitals that they should have kept him.

Varlamov has been doing just that this postseason. He is 4-1-0 with a 1.81 GAA and .930 SV%.

Varlamov played great during the Qualifying Round against Florida, but most of Florida’s chances came while the Isles were shorthanded. Although the Panthers lacked scoring opportunities, Varlamov showed he was ready for the playoffs.

He was certainly up to the task in Game 1 on Wednesday.  He turned aside 24 of 26 shots, including 12 from Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Kuznetsov. The two goals that beat him were due to weird bounces and late whistles.

When the Islanders were missing important pieces on defense earlier in the season, Varlamov struggled. Now that the team is fully healthy, they are able to help their goaltender and make a strong playoff push.
Holtby has also shined so far this postseason.  He was 1-1-1 during the Round Robin and turned aside 74 of the 80 shots he faced.

This wasn’t the Holtby we saw during the regular season. Even with a respectable 25-14-6 record, he had a 3.11 GAA and .907 SV%, both NHL career lows. He will be a UFA at the end of the season.

The Caps had to start him though. Backup Ilya Samsonov (16-6-2, 2.55 GAA, .913 SV%) was injured in an ATV accident in Russia. He failed his physical and was not included on the Phase 4 roster.

But the veteran goalie seemed to have turned things around in the postseason.

“Even when the Flyers beat Washington 3-1 Thursday, Holtby never gave up a soft goal; they were usually attributable to defensive breakdowns in front of him,” Adam Zeilonka of the Washington Times wrote Monday.

His teammates echoed that praise.

“I think he’s for sure been our best player,” Washington forward T.J Oshie said. “I’m not a goalie coach… but it seems like he’s seeing the ice and seeing the game really well.  He’s anticipating right, he’s making huge saves at big times for us and there hasn’t been too many scrambles in front of our net.”

But Holtby had a rocky Game 1. Once the Islanders stopped taking penalties, they managed to put the puck past the Capitals netminder.

First, Jordan Eberle beat Holtby on a weak shot late in the second. Then, early in the 3rd, Anders Lee pounced on a loose puck that Holtby couldn’t handle and tied the game.

Later in the period, Josh Bailey capitalized on a weak play from Holtby. The Caps goalie gloved down a fluttering puck and threw it to his defenseman. But the pass was weak and Brock Nelson easily picked it off. Bailey was wide open in the slot and scored. Anthony Beauvillier sealed the deal when he capped off a pretty passing play in front of the net with Barzal and Bailey.

The Isles knew that was how they were going to beat Holtby.

“If we get to the paint, if we make it hard on him, then our chances are gonna go up to score,” Casey Cizikas said.

Mat Barzal seemed to agree.

“We’re just gonna have to find ways to open up shots or hopefully just capitalize on our chances, because shots from the point or low created chances have a tough time going in on him because he’s so positionally sound,” he said.

That’s exactly how the Isles won Game 1. They had more shots in the 3rd Period than the first two combined. They only had two shots the entire 1st Period, probably because they had to kill off four penalties.

The Islanders know that if they continue to defend well and create scoring chances, they’ll make life tough for Braden Holtby, and keep Semyon Varlamov happy.

Ben Baruch

Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.