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 strokes to deliver a win for his team and secure the first W of his NHL career. His teammates sang his praises after the game. He received an award after the match.
And then, of course, he gets a shaving cream pie in his face.
“I’m so impressed with how he handled everything,” teammate Nicklas Backstrom said of Vanacek after the 2-1 win. “He’s very calm down there. . . I think Buffalo played better than us. They really attacked. [Vanacek] won the match for us. ”
Back current is not wrong. The Sabers were much more dangerous on Friday night and yielded 2.86 expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. And the only one that beat Vanacek was a deflection from Tom Wilson.
Highlights out @ vitacz15‘s impressive 30-time performance en route to his first NHL victory.# CapsSabres | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Sd3DrdmkPf
– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) 16 January 2021
However, the Sabers may not agree with the characterization.
Asked if Vanecek stole the game for Washington, Rasmus Ristolainen said: “We made him look good.” https://t.co/DroZnTzIeN
– Lance Lysowski (@Lysowski) 16 January 2021
Nevertheless, the Capitals awarded the Cobra Kai headband to Vanacek for the game.
In his own time of pressure, Vanacek was cautious, calling his debut in the NHL a dream come true. Then he was immediately pecked in the face.
🥧 @ vitacz15 pic.twitter.com/YBaBQJjPMY
– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) 16 January 2021
The culprit? You guessed it. Tom Wilson.
RMNB coverage of caps at Sabers
Screenshot courtesy of Washington Capitals