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Zach Fucale becomes first Capitals goaltender in franchise history to pitch a shutout in NHL debut

By Ian Oland

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November 11, 2021 10:26 pm

It was a long time coming, but Zach Fucale finally got his first start in the NHL. He was literally perfect in his debut game.

Fucale made 21 saves in the Capitals’ 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings. With the clean sheet, Fucale becomes the first Capitals goaltender in franchise history to pitch a shutout in his NHL debut. He’s also, per the Capitals PR, the the seventh goaltender in NHL history aged 26 or older to earn a shutout in their NHL debut.

“I’ve never been speechless,” Fucale said after the game to NBC Sports Washington. “This is one of the greatest moments of my hockey career… What a great defensive game everybody played here.”

Fucale made 11 stops on the Red Wings in a hectic first period, turning away eight high-danger chances.

“He was on from the first shot,” Lars Eller said during the first intermission. “He looked good. He’s getting first shots, he’s getting rebounds. He’s playing really well.”

The Capitals played better defensively in the latter half of the game. Fucale made four saves in the second period and only needed to stop six shots more in the third to secure his first NHL victory in his first NHL appearance.

As the final few minutes ran down, Fucale said he told himself inside his head, “just to continue to apply the same system that I’ve been using that’s been giving me saves. That’s all I was focused on. This is such a great day.”

At the end of the game, Fucale was mobbed as he skated out from the crease and received joyous facewashes from his teammates. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin picked up Fucale’s milestone puck off of the the ice.

Meanwhile, up in the stands of Little Caesar’s Arena, Fucale’s family including his parents, Jack and Kathryn, cheered Zach on as the buzzer sounded. And in mom’s case, she began to sob.

“That’s unreal,” Fucale said of his family’s reaction as he began to tear up. “My parents stuck with me through the great times but also there were some real tough times, and I think that’s awesome. There are so many people who have helped me to get here. And there’s a lot of people who did not believe in me that helped fuel me. This is a team effort. My family is a part of it. This is a great moment.”

Fucale found out about his start on Wednesday just before the Capitals flew to Detroit. According to The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell, Fucale’s parents scrambled to get to Michigan to make the game with Jack driving from Montreal and Kathryn from Toronto (work trip).

“It was awesome just watching him come back into the locker room and the guys showering him with water and cheering for him,” Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said.

Fucale’s big moment on Thursday came in his eighth-year pro after being selected 36th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2013 NHL Draft. During that span, he played for 14 different teams across the QMJHL, ECHL, AHL, DEL, and NHL.

“[There were] a lot of times where sometimes I didn’t believe in it,” Fucale said. “There were some moments where it was hard to believe in it but I stuck with it. A lot of resilience and I just kept playing, kept learning, kept going. And here we are. Wow!”

Screenshot: NBCSWSH

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