Vokoun to sit on bench for fourth game in row Capitals goalie Tomas Vokoun is not used to this.
A 35-year-old veteran who has been the unquestioned No. 1 goalie on his teams since the NHL returned from its lockout in 2005-06, Vokoun has sat on the bench and watched his Washington teammates play the past three games. He will do so again Friday night when the Caps travel to Newark to face the New Jersey Devils as backup goalie Michal Neuvirth gets his fourth straight start.
That’s not exactly what Vokoun had in mind when he signed with Washington as a free agent July?2. But a poor game against Philadelphia on Dec. 13 gave Neuvirth a chance, and he responded with three strong starts in a row, including a shutout at Winnipeg last Friday. No coach turns away from a hot goalie. So Vokoun remains in the unfamiliar position of biding his time.
| Up next |
| Capitals at Devils |
| When » Friday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Prudential Center, |
| Newark, N.J. |
| TV » CSN |
“It’s not a comfortable thing that I’m not playing. But it’s not my decision, and I can’t change that unless I get into the game and play,” Vokoun said. “My record is not that bad. It’s not great. But it’s not bad. I was on myself maybe more than I should. Yes, I play bad game last game, but that’s going to happen once in a while.”
Vokoun is 12-8 with a 2.81 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. Those stats are actually much better over the full season than Neuvirth’s (3.09 GAA, .893 save percentage) even after this recent hot streak. But Vokoun allowed two soft goals against Philadelphia — not the first time he has seen questionable shots slip past him. That trend started in his first appearance of the season against Tampa Bay on Oct. 10.
Caps coach Dale Hunter concedes his goalie choice is a day-to-day issue. If Neuvirth struggles against the Devils, then Vokoun quickly will get another chance.
Washington (17-14-1, 35 standings points) entered play Thursday night in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and trailing the sixth-place Devils (18-14-1, 37 points) by just a single game. It is treading water so far under Hunter, hired Nov. 28, with a 5-5 record.
Since Nov. 5, the Caps have won back-to-back games just two times. But a victory over New Jersey would be their third such mini-streak and also would mean six wins in nine games overall. The positive signs are there, especially during an impressive 4-1 victory over Nashville on Tuesday. But so far at least, for every step forward, Washington has taken another one back. That needs to stop soon.
“You can just feel the camaraderie in the group,” forward Matt Hendricks said. “Everyone’s playing for each other, blocking shots for each other, sticking up for each other. All the intangibles that make hockey teams good. Now we just need to start doing it on a consistent basis and start tying these games together.”
