The trip began with a flight delay, a but-of-course, only-in-the-minors travel twist right from the start. While his teammates returned home from Philadelphia, bound for a day off, Capitals goaltender Justin Peters slept over, dispatched to the American Hockey League for a weekend conditioning stint, for what soon became a dizzying itinerary.  He waited for an extra 75 minutes at the airport before boarding a plane bound for Albany. He arrived at the rink at 10:20 a.m., with no time to check into the hotel until after the morning skate. He recorded a shutout in his old barn, took a four-and-a-half hour bus ride home, watched one game from the bench, played once more, then schlepped back to the District with goaltending coach Mitch Korn later Sunday night, before formally getting recalled Monday morning.  “Long and crazy day,” Peters said, “but a lot of fun to get in some game action.”  Washington sent Peters to Hershey, allowable under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, because of unprecedented stability ahead of the 28-year-old on the goaltending depth chart. Braden Holtby will make his 25th consecutive appearance and 19th straight start Monday against the Colorado Avalanche. Peters, on the other hand, has not played since Nov. 29 and has not logged a full game since Nov. 15.  Now, with two games under his belt – a 4-0, 24-save shutout Friday and a 31-save 4-2 loss Sunday – the Capitals expect Peters to start Saturday, on the tail section of a back-to-back trip to Nashville and Dallas.  “What happened, we got rolling there and we didn’t have too many back-to-backs, I just said, ‘Hey you’ve got to roll with it,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “Unfortunately that took Petey into a long stretch without games. I just want to get him some reps. We’re able to do that, and he’ll be ready to go, you’ll probably see him in Dallas.”  Peters’ AHL debut this season took him to Albany, where he once spent pieces of four seasons with the River Rats, including an Eastern Conference divisional finals playoff appearance in 2009-10, when the Bears swept Albany in four games. He and Korn had recently ramped up their intensity during pre-practice workouts, adding film review to the mix as Peters continued to sit, but nothing, he said, could simulate the speed of live shots.  “It was great to get some game action,” Peters said. “Got a great group of guys there. It was definitely a lot of fun. Got to experience a nice bus ride, a nice four and a half hour bus ride on Friday night, so that was nice too. In all seriousness, it was good to get that game action. I felt pretty good in there. Saw a lot of shots, so that was positive.”  If Peters indeed faces the Stars, Holtby will see his consecutive starts streak end at 21, one short of the franchise’s all-time record set by Olie Kolzig. Since Dec. 4, Holtby’s 12-1-4 record has tied him with Nashville’s Pekka Rinne for the NHL wins lead, and he’s posted a 2.14 goals-against average over those 18 straight starts.  “Holtsie’s been awesome for us,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “Fair or unfair, when your goalie’s playing that confident, it gives everybody else in front of him confidence to make plays. You’re not playing on your heels. It really does start in there. When things are going well, he gets a lot of praise. When things are not going well as a team, he gets singled out a lot of times even when it’s probably not due. He’s been awesome for us.”  Asked whether he had skated beside a goalie making this many consecutive appearances, Orpik was unsure.  “I always used to bug [Marc-Andre] Fleury in Pittsburgh every time he got a night off, because we never got nights off,” Orpik cracked. “Those guys don’t like to get nights off. I know how competitive those guys are. We definitely have a tough week here, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m sure the coaches have a good feel for how those guys are feeling.”  Alex Prewitt covers the Washington Capitals. Follow him on Twitter
Braden Holtby's starts streak will grow to 19 Monday night against Colorado, but Coach Barry Trotz said Washington's backup will make his first appearance since Nov. 29 soon.