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It was a big Friday night for the 25-year-old Czech rookie Vitek Vanacek. After years in the Capitals farming system, he finally made his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabers. He stopped 30 of 31 shots to give his team a victory and secure the first W of his career in the NHL. His teammates sang his praises after the game. He received a post-game award.
And then, naturally, he got a shaving cream pie on his face.
“I’m so impressed with how he handled everything,” teammate Nicklas Backstrom said of Vanacek after the 2-1 victory. “It’s very calm over there. . . I think Buffalo played a lot better than us. They really attacked. [Vanacek] won the game for us.
Backstrom is not wrong. The Sabers were much more dangerous Friday night, generating 2.86 expected goals according to Natural Stat Trick. And the only one who beat Vanacek was a Tom Wilson deflection.
Highlights of @ vitacz15impressive performance of 30 saves en route to his first career NHL victory.#CapsSabres | #ALL IN CAPITALS pic.twitter.com/Sd3DrdmkPf
– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 16, 2021
The Sabers might disagree with that characterization, however.
Rasmus Ristolainen when asked if this was a case of Vanecek stealing the game for Washington: “We made him look good.” https://t.co/DroZnTzIeN
– Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) January 16, 2021
Nonetheless, the Capitals awarded Vanacek the Cobra Kai blindfold for the game.
In his own press time, Vanacek was wary, calling his NHL debut a dream come true. Then he was immediately trapped in the face.
🥧 @ vitacz15 pic.twitter.com/YBaBQJjPMY
– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 16, 2021
The guilty? You guessed it. Tom wilson.
Sabers caps RMNB coverage
Screenshot courtesy of Washington Capitals
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