The Washington Capitals are gearing up for their game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings and there will be another player making their NHL debut. Tonight’s goaltender Zach Fucale’s chance to shine. He’s the sixth rookie on the Caps to make their NHL debut.
The Caps traveled with three goaltenders on their two game road trip. Ilya Samsonov will backup Fucale tonight while Vitek Vanecek is out for a maintenance day. Head coach Peter Laviolette wouldn’t specify anything else regarding Vanecek.
Fucale was drafted in the second round in the 2013 NHL Draft at 36th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. This season Fucale is 3-0-2 with the Hershey Bears of the AHL with a 1.73 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Before the recall yesterday, Fucale was tied for second in the AHL in goals against average among goaltenders with at least five games played.
During the 2020-21 season, Fucale led the AHL in goals against average (1.80) while ranking second in save percentage at .932. Those established career highs in both categories. Fucale played 11 games with Hershey, the most games he has played at the AHL level since the 2017-18 season, posting a 9-2-0-1 record.
The 26 year old deserves a look tonight, especially with all the consistent numbers he has put up in the minors. He has been recalled by the Canadiens several times in the past but only to be as far as the backup.
So what caused Fucale to be so consistent while he patiently waited for his NHL chance? He explained after practice yesterday:
"“There is something that I did: I just eliminated a lot of things I was thinking about during the games. I didn’t do something new; it’s the things that I took OUT of my game I feel that made the biggest difference. So I simplified it a lot and it’s a lot of repetition of little things that make a difference for me. I’m just focused on the things that really bring me results, and just repeat those and that’s it.”"
The Caps take on the Red Wings tonight at 7:30 on NBC Sports Washington. Best of luck to Fucale and hope he can hold it down in net.