The Washington Capitals recalled goaltender Zach Fucale from the Hershey Bears on Friday ahead of their back to back this weekend. Ilya Samsonov got the start last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins and it’s looking like Fucale could slot in tonight.
The 26 year old became the first goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout in his NHL debut when he stopped all 21 shots against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 11 at Little Caesars Arena. In seven games with the Bears this season, Fucale posted a record of 4-1-2 with a 2.63 goals against average and an .898 save percentage.
During the 2020-21 season, the Laval, Quebec, native led the AHL in goals against average with 1.80 and ranked seconding save percentage at .932, establishing career highs in both categories. The six foot two, 189 pound goaltender played the most games (11) he has played at the AHL level since the 2017-18 season, posting a 9-2-0 record.
Fucale’s nine wins were tied for eighth in the AHL, while his two losses were the fewest among goaltenders with at least 660 minutes played. Fucale and Pheonix Copley received the AHL’s Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award, presented to the goaltenders on the team which allows the fewest goals per game in the regular season.
So what does this call up mean and do we read much into it? During the Capitals game against the Penguins last night it was Vitek Vanecek, not Fucale backing up Samsonov. Fucale did not even dress.
It’s up in the air who gets the start in tonight’s game. There is no morning skate today with the team traveling to Buffalo. We probably won’t know until Peter Laviolette’s pregame session with the media.
Not going to lie, Fucale getting called up did raise some questions about what could happen but then again it might not even mean anything. Keep your eyes out on who gets the start tonight.