Capitals recall Vitek Vanecek from Hershey

The Washington Capitals have recalled Vitek Vanecek from the Hershey Bears to backup Ilya Samsonov in tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last night for the Bears, Vanecek stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced against the Utica Comets.

Vanecek was sent to Hershey on a conditioning loan so he could get a game in before returning to the NHL. He had not seen NHL ice since Feb. 1 when he suffered an upper body injury in a collision against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Bears lost 3-1 to the Comets last night. Despite that, Vanecek played pretty good. This season with the Capitals, the 26 year old has posted a record of 10-6-5 with two shutouts, a 2.39 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.

In 24 games, the six foot two, 184 pound goaltender has a 1.75 goals against average and a .935 save percentage at five on five. The Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic native has the lowest goals against average and rebounds allowed per 60 minutes of play (1.86) and the fourth highest save percentage in the NHL at five on five among goaltenders with at least 15 games played.

In 61 career games with the Capitals, Vanecek is 31-16-9 with four shutouts, a 2.58 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. The Capitals selected Vanecek with their second round pick at 39th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Vanecek was re acquired from the Seattle Kraken for a second round pick that was originally acquired from the Winnipeg Jets in the 2023 NHL Draft on July 28, 2021. It was an interesting move that General Manager Brian MacLellan made over the offseason as well as signing Samsonov to a one year prove it deal.

Now with Vanecek back in the fold at goaltender, the number one spot will be up for grabs. The scary part is will it be too late before someone claims that spot and the Caps miss the playoffs altogether? We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks between now and the trade deadline.