Opponent’s scouting report: Braden Holtby

As luck would have it, the Rangers drew the Caps in the second round and they were the only team in the Eastern Conference that didn’t get a goalie scouting report prior to the start of the second season.  Luckier still, at the time I was previewing the potential goaltending matchups the Rangers might run into, Braden Holtby was the third option in goal for the Caps, and not even on most fans’ radar.  All that changed with a rock solid performance in knocking off the defending champion Boston Bruins, and now Holtby is very much on the radar.  Same structure as always applies, general style, strengths, weaknesses and how the Rangers should approach the matchup.  Let’s get to it… General Style This is probably the subject of a whole different post, but modern goaltending, despite a few stylistic outliers can now be classified into two camps.  There are very few NHL tenders who aren’t gifted athletes at this point, one camp using that athleticism to maximize the results of an efficient...