A goalie from North Pole is taking care of business for Stanley Cup champs

DENVER — This night was supposed to be about the goaltender on the other end of the rink, the one playing his former team. Philipp Grubauer was the backup who had made good, so impressive as Braden Holtby's understudy that the Washington Capitals obliged his trade request this summer so he could have an opportunity to be a top netminder elsewhere.

They did so expecting some drop-off in their own goaltending tandem, that it would take rookie Pheonix Copley of North Pole time to grow into the role.

But with Holtby nursing an undisclosed "upper-body" injury, Copley has been thrust into more responsibility early into his tenure, making his third straight start Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Copley backstopped the Capitals to a 3-2 overtime win with 24 saves.

"I'm just trying to give the guys a chance to win every time I go in," Copley told The Washington Post. "Obviously, it's more fun when you're playing, but whether I'm on the ice or off the ice, I just want to do what I can to help the team win. Fortunately now I've been on the ice, so I'm just going to keep having fun."

With 2:44 left in regulation, Ian Cole's shot bounced off Copley's chest, and Colorado's Colin Wilson smacked in the rebound to tie the game. To that point, Copley had impressed, holding the NHL's top offensive team to one goal for more than 57 minutes.

Copley, who appeared in just two NHL games before this season, was in net for a third start in four nights. After allowing an early goal, he settled in. He made a spectacular glove save on a breakaway from superstar center Nathan MacKinnon, and he had 17 saves through two periods.

"That's the most comfortable he's looked, in my opinion," Capitals coach Todd Reirden told The Washington Post. "Rebound control was better, better playing the puck outside of the crease when he had the opportunities to do it. I just thought he was a real calming influence on our team today, and it's so important to have your goalie do that."

Copley, 26, played most of his youth hockey in Fairbanks, with the Fairbanks Amateur Hockey Association and the Arctic Lions.

He played college hockey at Michigan Tech, where he had his goalie mask customized to pay homage to North Pole — a town known for year-round Christmas decorations and candy-cane-striped street lights. On the chin of his mask are two red-and-white candy canes.

"A lot of guys have a nickname or a number on the chin, but I wanted to do something for back home," he told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner earlier this year. "I had some ideas with some mountains, but ultimately I felt like candy canes were the best representation of North Pole."

Copley spent most of last season in the American Hockey League but was called up by the Capitals at the start of the postseason. Although he didn't play a minute during the team's Stanley Cup run, he was in uniform and on the bench when the Capitals clinched the Cup, and he got to hoist hockey's Holy Grail during the on-ice celebration.

"I just hope this can inspire kids and let them know that with hard work, there's always a path, and everybody's path is different," he told the News-Miner. "I've had a lot of people help me out in Alaska, and I owe a lot to my coaches."

Story by Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post with additional information from the ADN's Beth Bragg