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The Washington Capitals announced Friday afternoon that they have re-assigned goaltender Zach Fucale to the Hershey Bears. The Bears begin their postseason tonight in a best-of-three series against the Penguins in Wilkes-barre, Pennsylvania.
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ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-assigned goaltender Zach Fucale to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Fucale, 26, posted a record of 1-1-1 with one shutout, a 1.75 goals-against average and a 924 save percentage in four games for the Capitals this season. The 6’2”, 189-pound goaltender became the first goaltender 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.
During the 2020-21 season, Fucale led the AHL in goals-against average (1.80) and ranked second in save percentage (.932), establishing career highs in both categories. Fucale played the most games (11) he has played at the AHL level since the 2017-18 season, posting a 9-2-0 record. Fucale’s nine wins were tied for eighth in the AHL, while his two losses were the fewest among goaltenders with at least 660 minutes played. Fucale and Pheonix Copley received the AHL’s Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award, presented to the goaltenders on the team which allows the fewest goals per game in the regular season. In 90 career AHL games, Fucale has a 43-36-6 record with a 2.88 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.
I’m curious why he was called up for one game.
It’s a good question. My guess is that Caps coaches/staff want to get a look and work with him. He and Copley will likely be called up as black aces should the Bears run end this weekend and the Caps continues
If Vee or Sammy got injured, would be harder to get Fucale from Hershey to Sunrise. So he was probably along for insurance. But he can drive from Hershey to DC and still make the game if Vee or Sammy get injured in practice that morning.