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No controversy yet as Samsonov gets another start for Capitals

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Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche travel to Pittsburgh to go head-to-head against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on Wednesday night. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

With long-time starter Braden Holtby set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season (and with the team also needing to re-sign superstar center Nicklas Backstrom) it seems likely that the Washington Capitals’ goal crease will one day belong to prized prospect Ilya Samsonov.

Samsonov has shined in his first two starts this season and will be in net again on Wednesday night when the Capitals host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This comes after Samsonov entered the Capitals’ most recent game, a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, after Holtby surrendered goals on each of the first three shots he faced.

Given Samsonov’s strong play, combined with Holtby’s early struggles, as well as the fact this is the type of high profile game a team would normally give to its starter, it would be easy start thinking about a goalie controversy in The District. But coach Todd Reirden attempted to throw a bucket of cold water on that talk on Wednesday, talking about this as a “reset” opportunity for Holtby.

“This is the choice we’re making,” said Reirden, when asked what message he has for Holtby at this point. “And this gives you a good chance to reset here. I know Braden is an outstanding goalie and has been for us in the past. Just like any other player, they go through times they can play better than others, and right now as he as alluded to he needs a little reset and he has been able to have that yesterday and today and that will get him ready for his next chance.”

“We’ll evaluate after this game and do what’s right for our team like I did for tonight’s game, what’s right for Braden, what’s right for everybody involved. We’ll evaluate every day. It’s not a goaltending controversy at this point, Braden’s our No. 1 goalie.”

He didn’t seem to mean anything by it, but that “at this point” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

When he is at his best Holtby has been one of the league’s best goalies with a Vezina Trophy (plus a second place finish in 2017), a Jennings Trophy, and a Stanley Cup ring to his resume. He has also been an outstanding big-game goalie with consistently great postseason performances, including during the team’s 2018 Stanley Cup run. But he also just turned 30 years old and there is no way to avoid the fact that his production has dipped over the past two years. Add in a slow start this season (18 goals against in five games with an .886 save percentage) and an early strong showing from the goalie of the future and it is only natural that some sort of discussion about the No. 1 job would be up for debate.

As long as the two players keep performing the way they have this season, that is unlikely to change. Especially if Samsonov continues to play well on Wednesday night against one of the league’s best offensive teams.

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.