Capitals made the right call sending Zach Fucale to minors

We knew the goaltending would be one of the biggest storylines facing the Washington Capitals this season. The number one spot is still up for grabs but right now it looks like Ilya Samsonov would be the favorite. Now with Vitek Vanecek healthy, the team had to send goaltender Zach Fucale to the Hershey Bears.

Fucale became a fan favorite as he pitched a shutout in his NHL debut on the road at the Detroit Red Wings back in November. Other than Monday’s debacle to the Boston Bruins, he hasn’t looked bad. So why this headline you may ask?

The answer is so Fucale can get more playing time and not sit around in the press box as a member of the taxi squad. In the NHL, the 26 year old posted a record of 1-1-1 in four games with one shutout, a 1.75 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.

Fucale became the first goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout in his NHL debut as he stopped all 21 shots against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. In his second career NHL start on Jan. 8 against the Minnesota Wild, Fucale broke a Washington franchise record for the longest shutout streak by a goaltender from the start of a tenure with the franchise in the first period, besting Cristobal Huet’s mark of 80:36.

In the second period of that game, Fucale broke the NHL record for the longest career opening shutout sequence. His streak came to an end at 138 minutes and 17 seconds, beating Matt Hackett’s (Minnesota) mark of 102:48 set in 2011.

In 10 games with the Bears this season, Fucale has posted a record of 6-2-2 with a 2.74 goals against average and a .889 save percentage. With the way he’s played in both the NHL and the AHL this season, it’s not a matter of if but when he gets called up to the Caps again.