(Detroit) One moment of a night in the NHL, Zachary Fucale became the best story.
The Quebecer became the first goalie in Washington Capitals history to record a shutout in his NHL debut. He stopped 21 shots to help his team defeat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on Thursday night.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Fucale, very emotional, after the fait accompli. It is one of the greatest moments of my career. It was a superb team defensive effort. I don’t know what to say, I’m sorry. It all happened so fast. ”
Dmitry Orlov and Lars Eller put the needle on in a 10-second interval in the first period and the Capitals ended the Red Wings’ three-game winning streak.
The 26-year-old Fucale was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 2013 draft. He was 3-0-2 this season in the American Hockey League before being called up by the Capitals, more early this week.
“I couldn’t ask for a better thing, to be honest,” said Fucale. It really is a great time. In the end, it was a great victory, and it was quite a trip.
“But now the first game is behind me, we move on and we move on to the next game. It’s reality. ”
The obstacle course
Fucale’s story is inspiring. The goalie seemed to have a bright future: Memorial Cup champion with the Halifax Mooseheads, World Junior Championship gold medalist in 2015, plus a ton of wins in the QMJHL. But for some, the road is longer. For Fucale, this path has included 133 games in the ECHL, 85 games in the American League, 9 different uniforms, Spengler Cups in Europe, unsuccessful recalls with the Montreal Canadiens.
To culminate, at 26, in his first game in the NHL. He was also the only member of the 2015 Canadian champion team to never play in the NHL.
“Sometimes I didn’t believe it. It was hard for me to believe it. But I didn’t give up, I continued, I learned, and here we are today. ”
Fucale is also the first goalie to shut out the Red Wings in his NHL debut in 95 seasons of Detroit training history.
“He was good, he was sharp,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said of Fucale in the opening minutes. “And then even the rest of the game he had to make some big saves. ”
Fucale learned he would be the starting goalie on Wednesday night and his father, Jack, drove down from Montreal. Her mother, Catherine, moved from Toronto, where she worked.
” It’s incredible. They stayed with me in the good times, but also in the difficult times. So many people have helped me get here. Those who did not believe in me also helped me by fueling the fire. It’s a team effort, and my parents were part of it. ”
Fucale had water bottles emptied over his head by his teammates on entering the locker room after the victory.
Alex Ovechkin amassed an assist on the opening goal for the Capitals, who started a seven-game series in 11 days.
Orlov’s second goal of the season came at 12:43, following an assist from teammate and compatriot Evgeny Kuznetsov. Eller took advantage of a turnaround caused by Nick Jensen to score his first goal of the campaign.
Thomas Greiss turned away 27 pucks for the Red Wings, who were perfect in four shorthands but didn’t hit the mark in their four powerplay.