Washington Capitals: Vitek Vanecek rightfully named rookie of the month

The Washington Capitals were coming off a tough loss to the Boston Bruins in a game where they let a 3-0 lead slip away. They returned to the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for practice on Tuesday when head coach Peter Laviolette called the team to center ice. In the huddle, they got some good news as the coach announced that Vitek Vanecek was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for the month of January.

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In addition, the NHL recognized frontline hero Mary “Dani” Dell’Isola who is a MedStar Washington Hospital Center emergency room RN. Throughout the 2021 season, the NHL is celebrating the efforts of the off ice stars who make it possible for our teams to play the games amid a pandemic by honoring frontline healthcare heroes from the regions represented by the league’s weekly and monthly stars.

Dell’Isola began her nursing career as a new graduate in February 2020, right at the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic. In addition to caring for her patients and honing her nursing skills, DellIsola learned how to remain safe during these unprecedented times. In a press release from the Caps, they talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic changed her outlook and perspective.

Dell’Isola is a big Caps fan and regularly attends games. Like the rest of us, she is looking forward to the day we can return to Capital One Arena. In the meantime she is out there saving lives. Bravo Mary!

Vanecek won his NHL debut in the Caps second game against the Buffalo Sabres. After dropping two games to the Pittsburgh Penguins which saw Ilya Samsonov test positive for COVID-19, Vanecek was thrust into the starters role.

In seven games in the month of January, Vancek went 5-0-2 with a 2.78 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. He edged out New Jersey Devils defenseman Ty Smith (2-6-8 in nine games played), Minnesota Wild left wing Kriill Kaprizov (2-6-8 in 10 GP), Vancouver Canucks left wing Nils Hoglander (3-3-6 in 11 GP) and Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (3-1-2, 1.97 goals against average, .937 save percentage) for “Rookie of the Month” honors.

Vanecek was selected by the Caps in the second round at 39th overall in the 2014 NHL draft. He became the 11th goaltender in league history to begin his career with a point streak of at least seven games and the first to accomplish this feat since Mike Condon in 2015-16 (6-0-2 with the Montreal Canadiens). He is the first rookie to take home the honor for the Caps since Michal Neuvirth won the award in October 2010.