31 Philipp Grubauer G

Capitals' Philipp Grubauer: Time to be No. 1 goalie elsewhere?

Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said Wednesday that he's open to trading Grubauer. "It is just a personal thing for Gruby," MacLellan said. "I would love to have Gruby back. We've got two really good goaltenders. I just think he is at the point where he wants his own team and he wants to be the guy that is running the show for his own team and I respect that." The German netminder has been one of the most valuable backups in fantasy hockey the past two seasons, as he's compiled a 28-16-5 record (six shutouts) along with a 2.19 GAA and .924 save percentage over that span. Grubauer even overtook Braden Holtby as the No. 1 goalie at the onset of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Holtby reclaimed the job by Game 3 against the Blue Jackets due to the former yielding eight goals over those first two games.

Capitals' Philipp Grubauer: Pulled in Game 2

Well the Capitals' plan to start Grubauer hasn't quite panned out as hoped. He's now allowed four goals in both games of this series, and he got replaced by former starter Braden Holtby in this one. Don't be surprised if Holtby gets the start in Game 3.

Capitals' Philipp Grubauer: Will have chance to avenge Game 1 loss

The Capitals may have surprised some hockey fans by starting Grubauer over 2016 Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby in the series opener, but then again, the German thoroughly outplayed the more established netminder during the regular season -- he had a .923 save percentage compared to a career-worst .907 mark for Holtby. Grubauer set aside 23 of 27 shots in the team's 4-3 overtime loss to Columbus on Thursday, and while he's getting a vote of confidence from Barry Trotz having been named the starter for Game 2, we get the sneaking suspicion that we'll see Holtby in the net before long.

Capitals' Philipp Grubauer: Makes 23 saves in Thursday's overtime loss

The Capitals staked him to a 2-0 lead with a pair of power-play tallies late in the first period, but Grubauer couldn't make it stand up, eventually getting beat by Artemi Panarin on a bad-angle goal a little over six minutes into the extra period. Don't be surprised if Braden Holtby is patrolling the crease instead for Game 2 on Sunday.

Capitals' Philipp Grubauer: Gets starting nod for Game 1

It seems Grubauer's strong finish to the season -- a 7-3-0 record with a 2.31 GAA in his previous 10 outings -- has earned him the somewhat surprise start over veteran Braden Holtby. Coach Barry Trotz will likely make his netminder decisions on a game-by-game basis, so this probably shouldn't be taken as a confirmation of the 25-year-old Grubauer for the entire opening-round series.