Inside the visiting locker room at Amalie Arena, Braden Holtby sat in the corner stall and nodded. Goaltending coach Mitch Korn kneeled beside Holtby and, with the Epix camera crew catching every moment, because they had identified this relationship as among their favorite pre-Winter Classic storylines, shared his thoughts from another strong night.

Holtby made 33 saves in Tuesday night’s 5-3 victory at Tampa Bay, none bigger than flopping backward onto a puck that had banged off the far post and deadened in the crease. That sequence helped kill one of three penalties, the third straight perfect night for Washington’s shorthanded unit, which since allowing six goals in two games hasn’t allowed one in five chances.

“Your best penalty killer is your goaltender,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “It was a big part of it, but at the same time the penalty killers, they’ve got a lot of pride. There’s a lot of commitment from that group. They did a good job.”

Of course, if things ever broke down, the Capitals could rely on the netminder who, since a brutal stretch in late October and early November, is among the NHL’s best.

Since Nov. 7, when Holtby snapped a three-game, 12-goal nightmare by allowing just two goals in a pivotal road win at Chicago, he has ranked sixth in the NHL in even-strength adjusted save percentage, according to War On Ice, which accounts for shot quality. He also has the second-best adjusted save percentage within one goal at even strength, meaning when Washington falls behind or takes the lead, Holtby ranks among the league’s most reliable.

“A lot of it’s not how many saves you make, but the timing of it, like if they have a flurry and you need that one big save, gives you energy on the bench, gives you momentum,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “He’s had some real timely ones. I don’t think you could fault him on any of the goals…He played solid for us all night. When your goalie’s playing with confidence, it gives everyone else confidence in front of him.”

Orpik also accepted blame for Tampa Bay’s final goal, when Valtteri Filppula slipped backdoor and took a rebound after Orpik covered Nikita Kucherov on the opposite end of the crease. Filppula’s goal came with less than three seconds left – Alex Ovechkin scored on the ensuing faceoff – and without it, Holtby would have flown home having allowed just four goals in three games, all on the road.

The Capitals can keep riding Holtby too, with just one back-to-back between now and the second week in January, and still five more games remaining until they host Ottawa then visit the Rangers. So, will Washington toss in Justin Peters, who hasn’t allowed fewer than three goals in his past five starts, to keep him active? Or might they just ride one of the NHL’s hottest goaltenders for as long as possible?

“There was a lot of opportunities for them to get themselves back in the game on the scoreboard, and he was real big for us on quite a few occasions,” forward Troy Brouwer said. “He’s been steady for us. I know he wasn’t happy with his play early on in the season, and he’s taken it upon himself to steal us games and make sure we have a great opportunity to win every night.”