Bruins Will Play Capitals' Holtby 'Like Any Other Goalie'

BOSTON (CBS) – The Boston Bruins are familiar with their first round playoff foe, at least until they get in front of the net.

But when it comes to the Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby, there are not many that know much about him anyways.

The Washington Capitals lost their starting netminder Tomas Vokoun to a groin injury he suffered in Washington's 4-3 shootout win over the Bruins on March 10, and he did not make the trip to Boston. Backup Michal Neuvirth traveled, but did not practice on Wednesday. That means the Caps will be going with the rookie Holtby in net Thursday night when the Caps and B's kick off their first round series at the TD Garden.

Holtby has just 18 regular-season starts, six this season, under his belt, and no playoff experience.

So what are the Bruins to do with an inexperienced goalie they are unfamiliar with?

"We are going to have put lots of pucks on him and try to make him nervous," center David Krejci said this week. "Just don't pass up on any shots, get some traffic in – we should get some chances."

Read: 98.5 The Sports Hub/WBZ Expert Picks

There isn't much on Holtby the Bruins can go off of, although his numbers are fairly decent when he's been between the pipes. The 22-year-old is 14-4 with a 2.02 goals-against average in those 18 starts.

"There's a bit of video we can see on past games and stuff, but I think you just play the same way against every goalie; get pucks to the net, get traffic and try to bang a few home," forward Brad Marchand said.

"We don't know much about him, but I'm sure he's a very capable goalie. They wouldn't play him if they didn't have the confidence in him,' said thid-liner Chris Kelly. "We're approaching it as it's a great team over there, and we have to get as many shots on net as we can, like any other goalie."

Kalman: Bruins' 3 Keys To Victory

When asked what he knew about Holtby, head coach Claude Julien said "not a thing" on Wednesday. He was leaning more towards not letting it be known what the Bruins have on the young goaltender, but he does know what the Bruins have to do to win the series.

"I think no matter what, in our whole game, we've got to stay patient, we've got to stay the course, we've got to stick to our game plan," said Julien. "We've had some scoring chances against that team when we've played them and we just have to make sure – one thing in the playoffs is when you get opportunities, which gets harder and harder, you've got to make sure you make them count. For us, it's going to be up to us to make sure we bear down on our opportunities and make them count."

Read: Bruins-Capitals Schedule

98.5 The Sports Hub is the only local station to listen to every game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Coverage begins an hour before each game with the Bruins Pregame show hosted by Dave Goucher & Bob Beers.