Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Semyon Varlamov will start in Winter Classic; does that mean Varly holds the upper hand in Caps’ net?

varlyjan1

James O’Brien

While watching HBO’s fantastic coverage of the December 23rd Capitals-Penguins game, I couldn’t help but notice Pittsburgh’s subtle disregard for the skills of Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth.

After the first period, Maxime Talbot pleaded with his teammates to get more shots on net, saying that Neuvirth was “shaky.” Sidney Crosby pointed out the fact the he was flinching during the two teams’ shootout. Head coach Dan Bylsma went as far as to say “this goalie isn’t that good” during the second intermission of that game.

Even if such comments were made to encourage the team to shoot more often, you have to wonder if the general opinion is that Semyon Varlamov might be the better of the two young Caps goalies. I cannot help but wonder if Washington coach Bruce Boudreau is leaning in that direction at the moment, considering the fact that he announced his decision to start Varlamov during the team’s biggest game of the 2010-11 season so far tonight.

Chances are solid that appearing in the Winter Classic means more to both goalies than any normal regular season game - and while it’s dangerous to read too much into it - you have to wonder if Varly has the upper hand considering right now.

Boudreau thinks the team will have a better idea of which of the two is their No. 1 guy by the final chunk of regular season games, though. At least when he’s on the record.

Q. Are you looking at this stage of the season for someone to emerge and say I want this job, and they both played well and they both maybe had some bumps?

COACH BOUDREAU:
Well, I think they both want this job. And I mean, if Neuvy hadn’t have got hurt the day after Christmas, he would still be playing. But he got hurt and then all of a sudden Varly gets a chance, and he plays a great chance against Carolina and he shuts out Montreal, how can you not give him the start.

Q. I think early in the season you said ideally they’d play four games, one game each and something would happen in the Playoffs. Do you want one of them to have identified himself to the rest --

COACH BOUDREAU: By the season’s end I would. I think it’s a little bit like when we made a trade for Huet a couple of years ago, there was Kolzig and Huet and I played them the first 10 games, just alternated, and then eventually Cristobal won the job and he played the last seven games.

And I just assume or I’m hoping that something like that is going to take over here, and it doesn’t have to happen anytime soon. I think they’re both really competitive guys having a friendly competition of who wants to be number one. But it will happen in the last quarter of the season, I would think.


For better (recent times) or worse (the beginning of the 10-11 season), Marc-Andre Fleury is solidified as the Penguins’ goalie of the present and future. The Capitals don’t have that luxury/occasional problem, though. So when it comes to Washington’s goalie situation, it’s all about how these guys respond to big game pressure, making the Winter Classic a nice dress rehearsal for the playoffs.

If tonight’s announced starter is any indication, Varlamov might be the lead actor while Neuvirth seems like the understudy.