The Washington Capitals entered the Stanley Cup playoffs with a perplexing situation at goaltender. The situation got more complicated just minutes into Game 1 of their first-round series with the Boston Bruins.
In his NHL playoff debut, rookie goalie Vitek Vanecek sustained a lower-body injury when he stretched out trying to defend a shot against Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk. The puck got through to tie the game at 1-1 and Vanecek came up gimpy.
Vanecek skated off the ice gingerly after being attended to by trainers. The Capitals announced shortly afterwards Vanecek would not return to the game. He only faced four shots.
With fellow young stud goalie Ilya Samsonov unavailable, 39-year old Craig Anderson replaced Vanecek in net for the Capitals. Anderson will turn 40 years of age this upcoming week. Pheonix Copley is the Capitals’ emergency goaltender.
Anderson was signed by the Capitals in January after Henrik Lundqvist was forced to opt out of the 2021 season due to a heart condition that required open-heart surgery. Anderson appeared in four games this season, including two starts.
Samsonov was activated on Saturday after spending the past week on the team’s COVID-19 unavailability list. He and fellow Russian, forward Evgeny Kuznetsov were suspended for a May 3 game against the New York Rangers for disciplinary reasons.
The two were placed on the COVID-19 list shortly afterward. It’s unclear when or if he will be available to play during the series against the Bruins.
Meanwhile, the focus is on Vanecek beyond Saturday’s Game 1. With Samsonov out for two separate COVID-related absences, the rookie Vanecek has emerged as the lead goalie for the Capitals.
Vanecek appeared in 37 games this season, 36 of them as starts. He compiled a 21-10-4 record with a .908 save percentage and 2.96 goals-against-average.
Samsonov navigated through his first of two stints on COVID-19 list at the start of the season to start 18 games. He was 13-4-1 in those starts. He had a 2.69 GAA and .902 saves percentage.
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette has not formally named a No. 1 goalie between Vanecek and Samsonov. However, Samsonov’s discplinary and health issues have essentially spelled out the situation for Washington. That’s until Saturday when Vanecek exited Game 1 with an injury.
Before Game 1 Saturday, Laviolette refused to speak on Samsonov and Kuznetsov, saying he’d address it on Sunday.
Game 2 is Monday. That leaves Washington a short window to learn the extent of Vanecek’s ailment and figure out where Samsonov and Anderson fit in the equation moving forward in the series.
