It’s been a long time coming for Vitek Vanecek, 25, who was drafted in the second round in 2014 by Washington. He then played for the South Carolina Stingrays and Hershey Bears ever since, battled for a backup goalie position behind Ilya Samsonov, and got to start the second of a back-to-back game against Buffalo.
The Capitals, coming off a 6-4 win against the same team last night, didn’t help him much Friday, as they played sluggishly, took five penalties, and left him to fend for himself on occasions. But they still came away with a 2-1 victory.