Washington Capitals: Top 3 keys to victory against Penguins

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Vitek Vanecek, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

#2 A bounce back game from Vitek Vanecek

After getting a well deserved day off on Sunday, Vitek Vanecek will be back in net for the Caps tonight. He looks to bounce back from his performance on Saturday afternoon where the Caps fell 4-1 to the New York Rangers. The plan according to Peter Laviolette is to give Vanecek the challenge of facing the Penguins while Ilya Samsonov gets one more game under his belt in Hershey. Craig Anderson will backup Vanecek after getting his first win as a Cap on Sunday.

Vanecek comes into this game with a 7-4-2 record with a 2.92 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. He made 13 consecutive starts as Samsonov was recovering from testing positive for COVID-19. Vanecek won two games in a row before faltering on Saturday and fatigue might’ve been a factor in that.

In Saturday’s game, he made 20 saves on 23 shots he faced. In the win over the Buffalo Sabres last Thursday, Vanecek made 22 saves on 23 shots. In their win against the Penguins, he made 26 saves on 27 shots and nearly had the shutout.

So far this season, Vanecek is 1-1-1 against the Penguins. He allowed four goals in their loss against the Penguins last Sunday prior to that win. Not only will the rookie need a big game tonight, the defense has to protect their goalie.

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