After 5 years in the minors, Vanecek earns first NHL win originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
For Capitals goalie Vitek Vanecek, Friday's win was a long time in the making.
Vanecek made his NHL debut in Washington's 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. He turned aside 30 out of 31 shots for the win. Following the game, it was clear this was a special night for him not just because of the win, but because of the journey that brought him to this moment.
"I been here for five years and I didn't get NHL game," Vanecek said. "This one was the first one, so it feels so good and we won too. So it feels so good."
Vanecek spent most of the 2015-16 season with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL. He spent the last four years with the Hershey Bears in the AHL, but never got the chance to get into an NHL game.
Finally, that chance came on Friday with the Capitals playing the second leg of a back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres.
"I was a little bit nervous [the first] couple of minutes," Vanecek said. "But when they shoot the three shots early so I just feeling better and better. When they had their power plays, I was feeling good."
Vanecek was certainly tested with three Buffalo power plays in the first period and 31 shots on goal. But in a night in which the Caps had a tough time getting anything going in the first two periods, Vanecek kept them in the game.
"He was huge, obviously," Justin Schultz said. "We weren't playing well in front of him. He kept us in it, and without him tonight I don't think we would have got the two points. So huge for his first game to do that."
"I’m fully impressed how he handled everything," Nicklas Backstrom said. "He’s very calm back there. He’s been in the minors a couple years. He’s got some experience here, but coming in on this stage, I think Buffalo played way better than us and they really attacked him tonight. So looking at the game overall, I think he won the game for us.”
The win was also a big one for Laviolette who took a gamble on Vanecek by keeping him as the backup over the more experienced Craig Anderson. With Samsonov and Vanecek, the Caps' goalie tandem had a combined 26-games of NHL experience heading into the season, all from Samsonov. Granted, it is only one game, but Friday's win justifies -- at least for the moment -- the faith Laviolette showed in Vanecek.
"When we weren’t really sharp I thought he was really sharp and gave us an opportunity," Laviolette said. "You are not always on top of your game and when you are not, you need your goalie to give you a chance and he certainly did that tonight for us.”
In the grand scheme of things, it was only one game and Vanecek will have to continue to play like he did on Friday over the course of the season. In a condensed season, having a second goalie you can trust will be a huge asset for teams that will allow them not to overtax their starters.
For Vanecek, however, Friday's win was so much more than that.
"I think it was a good game; the dream came true," Vanecek said. "I'm so happy we won."
