Washington has three goalies on its active roster, none of whom have stepped up to grab the No. 1 gig.
As for the man overseeing those goalies? Well, he’s not sure how this story will end.
“I think at some point it will sort itself out,” Caps goalie coach Olaf Kolzig told the Washington Post. “How that happens, I have no idea.”
Washington is currently rolling with Philipp Grubauer, Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth which, as most NHL coaches will tell you, isn’t an ideal situation -- there are only two nets on the ice and with three goalies... do the math.
What’s more, none have made a solid claim for the job. Grubauer, a rookie, hasn’t been bad by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s lost four of his last five starts. Holtby‘s confidence was shaken after he allowed five goals on 11 shots on Saturday.
Washington isn’t scheduled to play again until Thursday, which gives Capitals coach Adam Oates plenty of time to mull over who he’ll start next.
“What if I go to (Neuvirth)?” Oates said, according to CSN Washington. “Neuvy deserves a start at some point, right?”
The answer, it would seem, is yes. Neuvirth, the club’s highest-paid netminder, has made only had five starts this season and has just seven total appearances, the last coming on Nov. 22 against Montreal. The former second-round pick -- who, in 2010-11, posted 27 wins and four shutouts, backstopping the Caps to the second round of the playoffs -- recently had his agent float the idea of a trade out of Washington, suggesting Neuvirth isn’t thrilled with the current three-goalie platoon.
As for Kolzig, he still believes Neuvirth can still emerge as a No. 1 once the situation gets sorted.
For Neuvy, I think it’s a matter of when that opportunity presents itself again take advantage of it,” he said.