from Kevin Woodley at NHL.com,

Ask Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby about the hardest part of his job and he doesn't talk about staring down breakaways or being on the other end of Alex Ovechkin one-timers in practice.

Holtby doesn't talk about seeing 50-plus shots either. That's because the fewer shots he faces, the more difficult his job is.

"It's probably the hardest thing to do as a goalie," Holtby told NHL.com.

At a time when NHL teams and players are increasingly measured by how many shots they put toward the net, it's interesting to consider that less can actually be more for those charged with stopping them.

Although it makes sense that facing 20 shots should be easier than trying to stop 35, most NHL goaltenders will tell you that isn't necessarily the case.

"I don't think you can understand unless you are a goalie, and it's easy to say, but it's true," St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen said. "Ask any goalie; it is tougher when you are getting 15 or 19 shots a game instead of 35 to 40. You get in a rhythm, you get a feel for it, you understand your game a little better, understand your system a little better. It makes everything a lot easier."

As counterintuitive as that may sound, and as difficult as it may be to quantify for a position that already gives the analytics crowd fits, the Capitals' biggest concern about Holtby early last season was how he'd adjust to seeing fewer shots behind the stingier system implemented by new coach Barry Trotz.

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