Through five preseason games, the Caps have allowed just a dozen goals and have a team goals against average of 2.37. That’s the good news.
The bad news, perhaps, is that the team’s number one goalie (nominally, at least) is 0-2 and has the worst numbers of the three netminders who have seen action so far this fall, and the best between-the-pipes performer has been the kid they’re sending back to Hershey. Take a look:
Yes, this is an extremely small sample, and the teams against whom and behind whom these ‘tenders have played thus far have been pretty varied. But one wonders just how much more Michal Neuvirth could be doing right now to make his case to start the season in D.C. That said, a veteran backstop is important to any serious Cup contender, and Varlamov has done nothing to lose the job that was presumed his at the start of camp.
With all of that in mind, if you were making the final cut, which two goalies would be on your opening night roster? If When George McPhee and Bruce Boudreau send Neuvirth back to Chocolatetown, will they have made the right choice?