Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby almost experienced every goalie's worst nightmare on Saturday.
Capitals goalie loses mask, almost gets hit in the head by puck
Scary moment for Braden Holtby.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Midway through the second period, Holtby stretched to deflect a shot from the Carolina Hurricanes. As he stood back up, Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner was pushed into Holtby's back by a Capitals defenseman, sending the Washington netminder sprawling.
Holtby’s mask came off as well, but the referees didn’t stop the play, and the Hurricanes tried to shoot a puck in from the point. The worst almost happened as Holtby scrambled to cover his face.
Just look at how close that shot comes to hitting Holtby’s exposed head. It just barely whizzes over the top of his hair. Goodness. Here’s another angle:
Holtby was (thankfully) okay, and the Hurricanes seemed shocked that his mask had come off at all. It was an accident, but a terrifying one nonetheless.
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