The Capitals had enough problems as they continued trying to even the score in their Saturday night game against the division rival Columbus Blue Jackets, but losing starting goaltender Braden Holtby only added to their struggles.
At the midway point of the second period, Columbus forward Cam Atkinson’s stick blade became wedged in the mask of Holtby, who immediately threw it off in pain. After being treated with some eye drops from Head Athletic Trainer Jason Serbus, Holtby signaled that he was still in need of attention and headed down the tunnel to the locker room. The presumed eye injury happened on the following play:
Holtby’s status for the third period is unknown, but backup Pheonix Copley replaced him in goal for the Caps, who were still down 1-0 at the end of two periods. Holtby played a total of 28:43, stopping 10 of 11 shots for a save percentage of .909.
By Michael Fleetwood