In Washington Friday night, Philipp Grubauer was in net for the Capitals in their game with the Anaheim Ducks.
Grubauer stopped 23 shots and lifted the Caps past the Ducks, 3-2 after talent portion of their match.
“He played quite well,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “He’s had a lot of games, he’s 
played very well [in the AHL], and that’s why we wanted to see him. It was important organizationally. If you really look at our schedule, we sort of targeted a date, and this is really the last back-to-back where it made sense travel-wise before the [March 2] trade deadline really. … He did very well, did very well against a good team.”
Ryan Kesler and Corey Perry scored for Anaheim in the loss.
“I thought our first period was very good,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I think we held them to one scoring chance. It was very little. [We] outshot them 10-6, but once they started to gain momentum, I think we were on our heels most of the game until they got the lead and then we started to play to win rather than play not to lose. It’s a learning experience, and if you can get a point out of a learning experience, then that’s great.”
Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov made 32 saves.
“He played well,” Kesler said of Bryzgalov. “He made key saves, that’s why we got him. He played very well for us tonight. Like I said, he deserved better. We came back like we always do, and we’re just going to get the next one.”
Jason Chimera and John Carlson scored for Washington in regulation.
“At least the guys who have been here kind of know [Grubauer],” Carlson said. “He’s a battler, a competitor, plays good all the time when given the opportunity. Looked real poised back there. I think for his first game, I thought he played the puck exceptionally, which is usually one of those things that, his first game back up in a while, you kind of don’t want to make a mistake, and he did a great job.”
Nicklas Backstrom scored the game-winner in the skills competition.
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