UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Washington Capitals starting goalie Braden Holtby says he’s over his illness and ready to return for Game 3 of Washington’s first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders.
Coach Barry Trotz isn’t making a commitment to who he’ll start Sunday. But he says Holtby looked fine during a brief practice on Long Island on Saturday, a day after the Capitals rallied to a 4-3 win to tie the best-of-seven series. Holtby made the decision to pull himself from the lineup for Game 2 because he didn’t feel close to 100 per cent recovered from an illness that began affecting him before Game 1 on Wednesday.
Rookie Philipp Grubauer filled In, making 18 saves to win in his playoff debut after being called up from the minors.
