Cooney: Caps' Holtby evokes bad memories

How is it that Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby conjures up memories, for me, of Dusty Baker, Billy Smith, Larry Bird and Tony Dorsett, to name a few?

I grew up in the area. Been here my whole life. As a kid, nothing in my life was more important than the Philadelphia sports teams. Back then, you lived and died with every game. A radio was always somewhere in the house, because watching home games back then was a privilege only gotten if the Phillies, Flyers, Sixers made the playoffs (the Eagles usually, but not always, sold out, so those games were on television).

And when the teams did make the playoffs, it was the first thing on your mind when you woke up for school and the last thought to leave your head before sleep.

Holtby is now making me feel sorry for young hockey fans throughout the Delaware Valley. I strongly remember that sickening feeling in my throat and stomach when Baker was torching the Phillies as a member of the Dodgers; how Smith – whose nasty streak would have fit in well here – helped the Islanders beat the Flyers to take the 1980 Stanley Cup. Bird and Dorsett probably caused me more tears than almost all other non-Philly players with their clutch performances.

Through the tears and rage, I was smart enough to realize what really fueled my feelings. Sure, it was the losing and the feeling that this city was NEVER going to win championships. But more so, it was the ease at which these players succeeded. Baker lacing doubles all over the field as if it were batting practice; Smith making a great glove save, or slashing opponents near the crease without the referee noticing; Bird never sweating; Dorsett picking through holes as if the competition was blocking dummies.

In stopping 60 of the 61 shots he's faced in the two playoff wins for the Washington Capitals against the Flyers, Holtby is doing it as if the game is being played at a speed far slower than most of us are seeing it. He is in the right place two passes before he needs to be. Very few times have his saves needed to be spectacular, simply because the game is coming that easily to him right now.

Flyers players have said all the right things, about Holtby eventually springing a leak or bounces going their way. Sorry, but I don't think that's going to happen. I've seen this playoff thing by individuals happen before in the playoffs.

If you're a youngster and feeling the pain of this playoff series, I know you're pain. I feel your hate of Braden Holtby.

Expect it to last for a long time.