Washington Capitals Report Card: Grading Zach Fucale’s goaltending against Red Wings

The Washington Capitals shutout the Detroit Red Wings behind Zach Fucale‘s poise. While many thought he took the NHL by surprise in his debut last night, Fucale’s journey to that ice was a long and winding one. Fucale is 26 years old and was born in Laval, Quebec. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2013 in the second round at 36th overall.

He’s bounced around from team to team in the Canadiens organization such as the Laval Rocket of the AHL and the Brampton Beast of the ECHL. From there he split time in 2018-19 with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and For Wayne Komets of the ECHL. Prior to that he dressed in Canadiens games but that was how close he was to NHL ice.

In 2019-20 he was with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL and the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL. He joined the Caps organization in 2020-21 with a 1.80 goals against average and a .932 save percentage with the Hershey Bears and a .972 save percentage in his lone game with the South Carolina Stingrays.

The Red Wings threw everything but the kitchen sink at Fucale early but he remained poised. He stopped all 21 shots he faced including 11 in the first period. He stopped four and six, respectively, in the final two periods becoming the first Caps goaltender in franchise history to secure a shutout in their NHL debut.

Speaking with the crew on NBC Sports Washington on Caps Postgame Live, Fucale was emotional. Who wouldn’t be after playing their first game like that?

"“This is one of the greatest moments so far in my hockey career. What a great defensive game everybody played today. I’m a little bit speechless, guys, I’m sorry. This is happening pretty quickly right now.”"

Vitek Vanecek took a maintenance day which opened the door for Fucale to get the start after the Caps recalled him from Hershey and the Caps in the first leg of a back to back. The defense locked it down in the final two periods while the offense scored two goals in the span of 10 seconds. It was all they needed. The only thing ugly was the power play which was an atrocious 0 for 4.

Grade A+: Fucale’s dream came true and he stepped up to the plate when the Caps needed him to. He’s a great goaltender who finally earned his chance. Going to be a lot of fun following the storyline of the goaltending throughout the season.