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Caps’ Holtby admits confidence is shaken after 5-3 loss to Wild

Ryan Suter, Braden Holtby, Mike Green

Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter (20) scores his third goal of the game, on Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, top, as Capitals defenseman Mike Green (52) watches during the third period of an NHL hockey game in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. The Wild won 5-3. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

AP

Giving up five goals is hard for any goalie. Giving up five goals in just 11 shots makes for a nightmare. That’s just what happened to Capitals goalie Braden Holtby last night against the Minnesota Wild.

Holtby was making his first start since December 21 after seeing Philipp Grubauer take hold of the starting job in the meantime. Coming back and getting lit up the way he did last night wasn’t great for his confidence as Katie Carrera of The Washington Post shares.

“It’s all about getting the confidence back, somehow some way,” Holtby said. “If I’m full of confidence I guess I make that fifth goal save that one that could really keep us in the game. That’s the one I really don’t like. That’s the one I need to have. The other four, do what you want on them. Maybe I play them differently maybe they still go in, who knows. But that fifth one is something – I’ll work on the 2-on-1s and make sure I’m better and work on screens obviously.”

It’s always the last one that sticks in your craw, isn’t it?

The loss was Holtby’s third in a row and he’s given up five goals in all three of those starts. With starts coming more sporadically of late, this could mean coach Adam Oates defers to Grubauer or even Michal Neuvirth to get something going for his team.

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