After early struggles, goalie looks sharp From the moment the Capitals signed veteran free agent goaltender Tomas Vokoun in July, incumbent starter Michal Neuvirth understood he would have to bide his time this season.
Former coach Bruce Boudreau tabbed Vokoun as his No. 1 goalie as far back as rookie development camp in July. But that didn’t mean Neuvirth — the starter for 45 games in 2010-11 and all nine Stanley Cup playoff contests — would be bereft of chances.
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His latest opportunity has come this month after Vokoun struggled in a 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 13. And this time Neuvirth is taking advantage. He has started three games in a row for the first time all season, allowing just three goals. It’s a modest stretch of success given Neuvirth’s ugly overall statistics. But for the first time he’s challenging Vokoun. His latest attempt came Tuesday when he stopped 20 of 21 Nashville Predators shots in a 4-1 Washington victory.
| Up next |
| Capitals at Devils |
| When » Friday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Prudential Center, |
| Newark, N.J. |
| TV » CSN |
“I’m feeling more comfortable every game,” Neuvirth said. “But I know I can still play a little bit better. I think I can still control the rebounds better than I did [Tuesday].”
Neuvirth posted a shutout Dec. ?15 at Winnipeg. In these three starts plus a relief period in that loss to Philadelphia, he has stopped 83 of 87 shots for a .954 save percentage. Of course, that has put only a small dent in his overall stat line (5-6-1, 3.09 goals-against average, .893 save percentage). Neuvirth ranks 41st in save percentage among goalies starting at least 10 games.
And disaster always lurks around the corner. Bad goals have plagued the Caps all season — Vokoun is equally at fault — and Neuvirth had a doozy at Colorado on Saturday when he never saw a soft floater sent from the blueline by Avalanche forward Cody McLeod. Washington lost by a goal.
Yet Neuvirth shook it off, played well in the final 57 minutes of that game and made a handful of quality saves against the Predators on Tuesday. He denied a sneak attack stuff from forward Matt Halischuk with 10:05 left in the game and recovered to spoil a Mike Fisher bid at the opposite post.
At 11:53 of the third with the score still 3-1, Neuvirth sprawled on the ice at his left post to keep David Legwand from flipping a backhand shot into an open net. And earlier in the third, Jordin Tootoo had been left alone in the slot before Neuvirth moved to the top of his crease and smothered the backhander.
“He’s been making … the saves that we need him to make, and that just gives the team a lot of confidence,” forward Troy Brouwer said. “The game in Colorado, anyone can tell you on the ice that when the puck goes in those seats it’s tough to pick up because their lights are turned off and they’re brown seats. So you’ve got to give him a little leeway on that one. But other than that he’s only allowed one or two goals in his last three games. He’s been solid.”
