‘Airplane’ meets ‘Dude, where’s my car?’ for Caps’ Holtby

Ben Raby, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – Combine the movies “Airplane” and “Dude Where’s my Car” and you may get a story that closely resembles the tale of Braden Holtby’s recall from the AHL’s Hershey Bears to the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

It’s not that Holtby’s flight from Harrisburg, Pa., to Chicago over St. Patrick’s Day Weekend required an automatic pilot or that he can’t remember where he last parked his car.

In fact, after getting the call to join the Capitals two Saturdays ago, Holtby’s flight to Chicago went smoothly and he safely stowed his car in the daily parking lot at the Harrisburg International Airport.

Soon after, he met the Capitals in the Windy City figuring that his stay with the Caps would be brief. With Tomas Vokoun considered day-to-day with a groin injury, Holtby served as Michal Neuvirth’s during a 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks.

One day later, with Vokoun still sidelined and the Caps playing their second game in as many nights, Holtby earned his second NHL start of the season.

And then?

And then the 22-year-old stopped 30 of 33 shots in a 5-3 win in Detroit.

And then?

And then Holtby earned another start three nights later- a 2-1 shootout loss in Philadelphia.

And then?

And then he started for the third time in a week and was named the game’s first star in a 3-0 shutout win over Minnesota.

And then?

And then he joined the Capitals Radio Network for a post-game interview and discussed his longer-than-expected stay with the Caps and the whereabouts of his car.

“It’s funny, actually,” he said. “I got told (Saturday) night — we were playing in Hershey — to go up Sunday morning. And I was basically told; See you at the start of the week. Basically, just go up there for a couple of days.”

Dude!

“It was an early flight, so I thought I’d chance it with day-to-day parking at the airport in Harrisburg. So it’s collecting a pretty big paycheck there right now. I don’t want to tell somebody to go get it, don’t want to change things up.”

So Holtby would prefer to keep his car in the $20-a-day parking lot rather than have someone in Hershey pick it up for him.

Surely you can’t be serious?!

“Twenty dollars a day,” Holtby said. “I know, I keep thinking about going to ask someone (to move it)… It’s collecting a pretty big toll over there.”

He may not be Shirley. But apparently he is serious — both about the status of his car and his play between the pipes.

Since his recall was made official nine days ago, Holtby has gone 2-0-1 and will likely start Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres in what is arguably the biggest game of the year.

So on behalf of Caps fans everywhere, we just want to say “Good luck Braden — we’re all counting on you.”

Catch the Capitals and Buffalo Sabres Tuesday at 7pm. Coverage begins with Caps Pregame at 6:45 on Federal News Radio, WFED 1500AM and online at

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