Top Left Header
Header
NHL
Arrow Anaheim Ducks Arizona Coyotes Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Calgary Flames Carolina Hurricanes Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche Columbus Blue Jackets Dallas Stars Detroit Red Wings Edmonton Oilers Florida Panthers Los Angeles Kings Minnesota Wild Montreal Canadiens Nashville Predators New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Ottawa Senators Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks Tampa Bay Ligthning Toronto Maple Leafs Vancouver Canucks Vegas Golden Knights Washington Capitas Winnipeg Jets
(Logo Source: NHL.com)
OHL
Arrow
WHL
Arrow
COLUMNISTS
Arrow
Title - Rob Soria
Follow OurHometown.ca on... Follow OurHometown on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Holtby outstanding in Capitals 4-1 win over Oilers
By Rob Soria
HometownHockey.ca

Holtby outstanding in Capitals 4-1 win over Oilers
For the second time in ten days the Edmonton Oilers got a first hand look at the good Braden Holtby and for the second time walked away shaking their heads. Two point efforts from Washington's top line of Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson and Alex Ovechkin proved to be too much for the road weary Oilers to handle, falling 4-1 to the Capitals on Thursday night.
PHOTO CREDIT - EdmontonOilers.com

Edmonton - October 25, 2013 - When Washington Capitals netminder Braden Holtby is on his game, the kid is one of the best goaltenders in the National Hockey League.

When he is off his game, the 24 year old looks as though he could allow half a dozen pucks past him in a matter of minutes.

For the second time in ten days the Edmonton Oilers got a first hand look at the good Braden Holtby and for the second time walked away shaking their heads.

Two point efforts from Washington's top line of Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson and Alex Ovechkin proved to be too much for the road weary Oilers to handle, falling 4-1 to the Capitals on Thursday night.

Holtby stopped 30 of the 31 pucks fired his way to earn his third straight win, while Edmonton's Devan Dubnyk continued to struggle on home ice, allowing four goals on 26 shots and falling to 0-3 at Rexall Place on the season.

Defenceman Justin Schultz was the lone Oiler to beat Holtby on the night, potting his first of the season late in third period, breaking the Caps starter's bid for his first shutout of the year.

In what is a bit of a scheduling anomaly, Dallas Eakins' crew returned home for just one game after a gruelling eleven day/six game road trip, only to head back on the road for a pair of weekend tilts against the Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings. Not exactly the easiest nine game stretch in the world to deal with at the best of times, never mind for a team like the Oilers who are missing a number of regulars due to injury.

Edmonton's top line of Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov had a tough night, going a combined -12, despite having created a number of chances over the opening forty minutes of action. That said, each of them played a staring role in three of the four goals the Caps scored.

After putting together what was arguably their best first period of the season on home-ice, a brain-cramp from Yakupov, on late defensive zone face-off, would prove costly. Be it a missed assignment or just getting caught cheating, Yakupov decided to leave Ovechkin unmarked after the drop of the puck and in a blink of an eye it was 1-0 Caps. The Great 8 rifled home his league leading 10th of the season, and 32nd in his last 31 games, on a shot that no goalie on this planet had a prayer of stopping.

A hard forecheck from the Capitals duo of Jason Chimera and Joel Ward would force a late turnover from Justin Schultz, leading directly to Ward's third of the season. While it did look as though the big winger made contact with Dubnyk prior to redirecting home John Carlson's point shot, no call was made and Washington had themselves a two goal cushion heading into the intermission.

The Caps would make it 3-0 early in third, as Backstrom rag-dolled Nugent-Hopkins in the Oilers zone for roughly fifteen seconds, before finishing off a brilliant tic-tac-toe sequence for his second on the year. The goal was a thing of beauty and from that point on, it was game, set and match.

Mikhail Grabovski would add insult to injury, stealing the puck from Jordan Eberle at the Capitals blueline and springing Jason Chimera on a break and the former Oiler made no mistake, beating Dubnyk high to the glove side to make it 4-0.

In Edmonton's defence, they generated a number of quality chances over the opening forty minutes but Holtby was more than up to the challenge. The Caps starter made an absolutely ridiculous stop off David Perron in the second period with the score still 1-0 and followed that up with a stunning pad save off Nugent-Hopkins in the dying seconds of the period, keeping the visitors two goal lead intact heading into the intermission.

Follow Me on TwitterRob Soria is the Edmonton Oilers' correspondent for OurHometown.ca. Rob was born and raised in Edmonton and is the author of the Edmonton Oilers blog - OilDrop.ca. He has been a dedicated follower of the game and its history for years but his focus remains on his hometown Edmonton Oilers. If you have questions or wish to contact Rob, you can email him at rsoria@ourhometown.ca







Title - Story Count
3,472 Stories & Growing Daily...

To date HometownHockey.ca has posted a total of 3,472 hockey stories!

Be sure to check out our Columnists archives or, why not Contribute a Story yourself!

HometownHockey.ca offers a very generous revenue sharing opportunity for our Columnists. If you are interested in learning more details about writing for us, please send us an EMAIL.
PucksTrending Story
SHORT SHIFT - Nifty Fifty for Maggio



Follow OurHometown.ca on... Follow OurHometown on Facebook Follow HometownHockey on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Follow us on RSS




Title - More Headlines
Click on Photo or Story Title for more info
SHORT SHIFT - Nifty Fifty for Maggio
Lasalle Vipers complete a 5-game winning streak with an epic win over the Leamington Flyers
Will Ice Hockey Compete with the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
The most watched Spitfire games of all time
2021-22 Hometown Hockey NHL Playoff Pool
HometownHockey.ca News Database Last Updated:
Mar. 16, 2023 @ 11:05 AM EDT


Footer