Grubauer making case in Capitals net

PITTSBURGH --Philipp Grubauer stole the spotlight from teammate Alex Ovechkin, who played in his 1,000th NHL game, and might have claimed the starting goaltending job for the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the process with a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.
Starting against the rival Penguins for the first time in his career, Grubauer, who played in his 100th NHL game, made 36 saves to help the Capitals clinch the Metropolitan Division title for the third consecutive season.

"It was nice to get the win and the two points, and win the division," Grubauer said. "I think the last couple games we played in here weren't too good, so it's a momentum-builder for us."
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Washington allowed 15 goals in its previous two regular-season games in Pittsburgh -- an 8-7 overtime loss Jan. 16, 2017, and a 7-4 loss Feb. 2. In each loss, Grubauer replaced Braden Holtby.
On Sunday, Grubauer, 26, got the chance to show what he can do against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the team that eliminated the Capitals in the Eastern Conference Second Round each of the past two seasons.
"It's nice to get the call not on the back end of the back-to-back," Grubauer said. "And other than that, it's just a game."
Holtby, who has started 59 of 60 playoff games for Washington since 2012, will start at the St. Louis Blues on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, FS-MW, NBCSWA, NHL.TV), and Capitals coach Barry Trotz downplayed the significance of starting Grubauer over Holtby against the Penguins.
"We wanted both our goalies to both make a statement, and [Holtby] has done it all year and he's going to get a chance to do that [Monday]," Trotz said. "We want both our goalies going well and they are, so that's good on us. We wanted [Grubauer] to have a first start here because he's never had a start here and go from there."

But it was arguably the biggest start of Grubauer's career since he replaced an ill Holtby in Game 2 of the 2015 Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders, making 18 saves in a 4-3 victory.
Had the Penguins, who were 17-1-1 in their previous 19 home games, won in regulation, they would have moved within one point of the Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan. Grubauer responded by making 27 saves over the first 33 minutes of the game, including 12 against Pittsburgh's top-ranked power play.
"It's huge," Ovechkin said. "The hot goalie is a hot goalie. They can win the game for us. I hope they're going to play like that in the playoffs and we're going to have a chance."
Grubauer's best save came at 13:27 of the third period when he stopped Sidney Crosby's one-timer from in front with his glove.
"I didn't even know it was him," Grubauer said. "If you would ask me anything about the game, I have no clue."
The Penguins tested Grubauer often in the first 13:38 of the second period, when the Capitals were shorthanded three times, including a 5-on-3 for 1:20.
In that span, Grubauer made a sliding save at the right post to stop Crosby's jam attempt at 6:50, and then made a blocker save on an Evgeni Malkin's wrist shot from the right circle at 7:20.
He got a bit of luck when Malklin hit the crossbar at 7:48, but in total, Grubauer made seven saves during the overlapping penalties.

"He's getting a little bit more of a chance now and it's nice to see him be ready for it and excel in that opportunity," Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "We knew he was capable of being really good. He's just getting more of a chance now."
That chance came after Holtby, the Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the NHL in 2015-16 and a finalist again last season, went through a rough stretch from Feb. 11-March 6, when he went 1-5-2 with a 4.82 goals-against average and .854 save percentage, and was pulled three times (eight starts).
Since Feb. 15, Grubauer is 11-2-0 with a 1.86 GAA, a .939 save percentage and two shutouts. Holtby is 4-6-0 with a 3.94 GAA and .872 save percentage.
For the season, Grubauer is 15-9-3 with a 2.29 GAA, a .925 save percentage and three shutouts. Among goaltenders with at least 25 appearances since Nov. 1, Grubauer ranks first with a .934 save percentage and a 1.98 GAA.
"I'm not surprised by his play," Capitals forward T.J. Oshie said. "I've said it all along: We've got two No. 1 goalies, and everyone else is starting to realize that now."