Michal Neuvirth makes his third consecutive start in goal for the Capitals on Tuesday night when they face the Nashville Predators at Verizon Center.
That’s the first time all season Neuvirth has done so. Why the change? The well-documented struggles of starter Tomas Vokoun are part of it, especially in last week’s ugly 5-1 loss to Philadelphia. But Neuvirth gave up just two goals total in road games last week at Winnipeg, a shutout, and Colorado and has a .923 save percentage since Dale Hunter took over as coach. So while Neuvirth’s overall numbers are still among the worst of any goalie in the NHL (4-6-1, 3.27 goals-against average, .889 save percentage) he’s trending in the right direction.
“[Neuvirth has] got a clean slate as far as since I started coaching,” Hunter said. “We ran the numbers. He’s played four games for us and he’s got over a .920 save percentage, which is good. He’s back in tonight. I liked his practice today. So we’ll see tonight.”
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