Capitals recall Zach Fucale, send Joe Snively to Hershey

The Washington Capitals made two recent roster moves. First they re assigned forward Joe Snively to the Hershey Bears on a long term injury conditioning loan. Then they recalled goaltender Zach Fucale from the Bears to the playoff roster as a third net minder and possibly more behind Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek.

Snively, who’s 26, has seven points with four goals and three assists in 12 games with he Capitals this season. The five foot nine, 176 pound winger recorded an assist in his NHL debut on Dec. 19, 2021 against the Los Angeles Kings, becoming the first player in franchise history to play for the team as a native of Virginia.

Snively also recorded 38 points in 35 games with Hershey with 15 goals and 23 assists, ranking third on the team in points and fourth in goals. During the 2020-21 season, Snively recorded 17 points in 30 games with six goals and 11 assists. In 119 career games with Hershey, Snively has 86 points with 35 goals and 51 assists.

Fucale is 26 and posted a 1-1-1record with one shutout, a 1.75 goals against average and a .924 save percentage in four games with the Capitals this season. The six foot two, 189 pound goaltender became the first goalie 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 his second career NHL start on Jan. 8 against the Minnesota Wild, the Laval, Quebec, native 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 he broke the NHL record for the longest career opening shutout sequence.

Fucale’s streak ended at 138 minutes and 17 seconds, beating Matt Hackett’s (Minnesota) mark of 102:48 set in 2011. In 31 games with the Bears this season, Fucale posted a record of 11-15-5 with a 2.62 goals against average and a .896 save percentage.