Capitals goaltending situation could be big problem

The Washington Capitals have a big problem right now, and it is the one problem you do not want to have with the Stanley Cup Playoffs just around the corner.

Goaltending.

Not only in the way their two goalies (Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov) have played this season, but also because they are still not sure which one of them is going to be their starter when the playoffs begin. Neither one has taken the job and run with it, and it only seems to be getting more muddled with each passing game.

The Capitals are a weird team to get a handle on right now. Overall, they are pretty good. It has not been a bad season by any objective measure. They have been all but locked into a playoff position for a few months now (just like the other seven Eastern Conference spots) and have a really strong record despite playing half of the season without three of their top-six forwards (Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, and Anthony Mantha). Still, they are a bit of an afterthought in the East because teams like Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Toronto have stolen so many of the headlines this season and have separated themselves as the top contenders in the conference.

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But as long as the Capitals have their top players and strong core in place, and are reasonably healthy, they are going to be a formidable opponent in a best-of-seven series as long as their goaltending does not self destruct.

That is where the concern currently sits.

Samsonov has not yet developed into the starter the Capitals hoped he would at this point of his career.

Vanecek has held his own, and perhaps even been a little bit of a surprise with the way he has played the past two years when he was NEVER expected to play this big of a role.

But it is still not good enough for where the Capitals want to go and what they want to be.

As of Monday the Capitals’ all situations team save percentage of .905 is 22nd in the NHL, the second-worst of any team currently…