Capitals' Trotz: Holtby needs a 'little reset'

Braden Holtby appears in line to get some rest down the stretch.

Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz tabbed Philipp Grubauer as the starter for Thursday's game in Los Angeles, giving Holtby a break after he was pulled from three of his last six starts.

"Right now, (it's probably best) to get a little reset for him," Trotz said. "Every elite goaltender, they go through stretches. You look around the league, a couple of the big names have gone through that. It's actually probably good for Holts. It's another thing that he has to work through."

Holtby has posted a record of 29-15-4 for the season, but with an uncharacteristically low .907 save percentage (career .920).

In steps Grubauer, at least for the time being. The backup has earned Trotz's trust thanks to a .922 save percentage this season, albeit with a record of just 8-7-3 in 25 appearances.

"Grubi's been going good so we're going to go with Grubi here," Trotz added. "We'll take it one game at a time. We'll get a reset and a lot of individual time with Braden and I think he'll be elite again as he always is. He hasn't lost anything, just had a tough stretch here."

Washington's next game will be Saturday in San Jose, with the starter very much to be determined.

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