Fucale did not see any NHL action as he backed up Charlie Lindgren for the last two Capital games while Darcy Kuemper dealt with an upper-body injury and has been loaned back to Hershey (AHL) Thursday. He returns to the Bears, where he is 19-10-2 with a 2.57 GAA and .899 SV% on the season.
Ilya Samsonov left Wednesday's practice early after taking a shot up high. With Samsonov unlikely to be available, Fucale is expected to serve as Vitek Vanecek's backup vs. the Hurricanes.
Fucale was yanked after allowing four goals on 16 shots in the Capitals loss to the Bruins on Monday. It was the first time Fucale has struggled in his brief NHL career but was quickly reassigned to Hershey on Tuesday. He is 6-2-2 with a 2.73 GAA and .889 SV% in 10 AHL games this season.
Fucale posted a shutout in his NHL debut earlier in the season. The team is calling his promotion "precautionary" so it's unclear whether or not he will be used as a backup on Friday. Fucale has gone 4-2-2 with a 2.80 GAA and .889 SV% in eight games with Hershey this season.
Fucale had a sparkling NHL debut in Detroit on Thursday, stopping all 21 shots that he faced in a shutout victory. Returning him to the AHL suggests that Vitek Vanecek will be available to at least backup on Sunday. Fucale is 3-0-2 with a 1.73 GAA and .933 SV% in five AHL games this season.
Fucale, 22, has been recalled to serve as Charlie Lindgren’s backup on Tuesday with Antti Niemi (lower-body) out. Fucale has gone 8-3-0 with a 3.10 GAA and .891 SV% in 12 games with Laval this season.
Fucale, 22, has gone 4-1-0 despite posting a 3.46 GAA and .881 SV% in five games with Laval this season. Fucale will likely back up Charlie Lindgren on Saturday because both Carey Price and Al Montoya are injured right now.
Fucale, 21, has been recalled to serve as Carey Price’s backup with Al Montoya (lower-body) unavailable. Fucalle has gone 0-2-0 with a 3.56 GAA and .887 SV% in two games with St. John’s (AHL) and 25-12-2 with a 3.17 GAA and .898 SV% with Brampton.
Fucale, a second round pick (36th overall) in 2013, has played very well in his first season in the AHL. The 20-year-old has gone 7-2-2 with a 3.12 GAA and .907 SV% in 12 games with St. John’s and gets a chance to be in the NHL while Carey Price is out. Montreal doesn’t have a back-to-back until next Wednesday—Thursday, so don’t expect to see Fucale until then.
Fucale was picked 36th overall at the NHL draft in June from the Memorial Cup champion Halifax Mooseheads, where he is expect to return after participating in the Canadiens training camp. The 18-year-old from Rosemere, Que., went 45-5-3 with the powerhouse Mooseheads last season and went 16-1 in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.
