Just as we predicted, Braden Holtby is getting his first NHL start tonight. This comes just two days after he earned the first victory of his young NHL career, needing only four saves to do it after coming on in relief of MIchal Neuvirth with the Capitals tied 3-3 with the Bruins.
Holtby is off to a pretty decent start, allowing one goal so far in the first period on six shots by the Flyers. He's not the only rookie goaltender on the ice though. Holtby and Philadelphia's Sergei Bobrovsky are the youngest combined starting goalies so far this season.
The Flyers kicked off the scoring tonight via Nikolay Zherdev. The winger started a two-on-one break from Philadelphia's zone and converted himself, putting the puck past Holtby with a wrist shot.
Minutes later, the Flyers suffered a scare as Scott Hartnell got hit in the face with the stick of teammate Kimmo Timonen. Hartnell had to be removed to the dressing room.
The Capitals managed to tie the score with just over two minutes to play in the first period. With a shot that could only be called "Ovechkin-esque," Eric Fehr utilized a screen and snapped a shot from the boards into the upper corner of the far post. Very pretty. The teams finished the period tied at one goal apiece.