Ilya Samsonov or Vitek Vanecek: A Look Into The Washington Capitals Goaltending Dilemma

Vitek Vanecek or Ilya Samsonov? A question that the Washington Capitals organization has been pondering since training camp began. The Caps goaltending situation has been anything but normal over the past year. Since losing Braden Holtby, their tried and true starter, the Capitals have been unable to cement which young goaltender gets the #1 spot. After speaking with a handful of DC faithful and polling over 150 fans, it’s clear that it isn’t just the team that’s having trouble deciding who will take on this role. With 58% of the vote, Vanecek did emerge as the favorite, but it is still quite the split.

“Vanecek put in the work and stepped up when no one expected him to” Kelly Townsend said of the young goaltender.

Lizzie King, of Northern Virginia also backed Vitek.

“Vitek is just consistently a stone wall. He reminds me of Max Scherzer. He’ll give a lucky goal (hr) and then just gets locked in and focused. Also, defense seems to play better in front of him”

During the off-season, it was to be presumed that Ilya Samsonov would be the Capitals go to netminder, however a stellar camp for Vitek Vanecek helped him to earn his spot in net for the first two games of the season, and a majority of the games thus far.

Goaltending coach Scott Murray doesn’t seem too worried, however, although a goaltending controversy can get messy. “If one emerges, then one emerges,” he told Samantha Pell of the Washington Post.

Both mens stats are pretty similar to start the season. Ilya Samsonov sports a 3-0-1 record in his first 4 starts with a 2.43 goals against average. His save % is .904. Vitek Vanecek has a 2-0-2 record in 5 starts, with a 2.26 goals-against average and boasts a .911-save %.

Vitek will get the start for the Capitals next game, Monday, November 1st against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This comes after an impressive showing by Samsonov Friday night, who shut out Arizona at home.