Stingrays’ Neuvirth wins second game in NHL

NORTH CHARLESTON, South Carolina – Goalie Michal Neuvirth, who played 13 games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) earlier this season, helped the Washington Capitals beat the Atlanta Thrashers Thursday night 4-3 to record his second straight NHL win. Neuvirth is one of only a handful of players to play in both the ECHL and NHL in the same season.
Neuvirth made his second start for the Capitals after being called up first to the Hershey Bears (American Hockey League), then as a fill-in for the Capitals. He has allowed four goals in his two NHL wins. His first NHL appearance was a 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 14, 2009.

The native of the Czech Republic was a second round draft choice of the Capitals in the 2006 NHL entry draft. He was the 34^th draft pick overall in 2006. No stranger to playing ice hockey in North America, the young goaltender who will turn 21 in late March, played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League appearing in 74 games, mostly with the Plymouth Whalers. Last season he played a combined 33 games for three teams in the OHL and had an overall record of 17-7-5-3. The Capitals wanted Neuvirth to play in the AHL this year. However, the number of goaltending prospects in the Capitals pipeline left him as odd man out. Once it became clear at the beginning of the season that the Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the Capitals, had no immediate roster slot for him. Hershey had two excellent netminders in Simeon Varlamov, the Capitals first pick of the 2006 draft, who was selected ahead of Neuvirth and Daren Machesney who went 22-10-2 for the Bears last season, locking up roster slots. Once it was determined that Hershey was not an option, the Capitals first attempted to place him with another AHL team. When that effort fell through, the Caps made an attempt to have him play with a team back home in the Czech Republic. That also didn’t work. Accordingly, the Capitals reluctantly assigned him to the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. Neuvirth made the best of the situation. While posting a losing record of 6-7 in 13 games with South Carolina, he had a sterling 2.28 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage, and was selected to represent the Stingrays in the ECHL All-Star Game in January in which he stopped 19 of 20 shots in the one period he played. When Neuvirth he played in the ECHL All Star tilt, he was already a member of the Hershey Bears. Injuries, first to Washington’s regular backup goaltender Brent Johnson, created the ripple effect that had the Capitals recalling Neuvirth to the Bears in order to backup Varlamov who had been promoted to Washington. When Varlamov was injured, Neuvirth got the call to Washington. Neuvirth has served as backup to Jose Theodore Washington’s starting goalie since February 3^rd. Meanwhile, the Stingrays, who started the season with Bobby Goepferth and Neuvirth in goal, and who were rated as the number one and two goalies in the league, lost both to call-ups. The Stingrays struggled through a long period without a regular goaltender hoping but were unsure if Neuvirth or Goepferth would return. When Goepferth compounded the problem by signing with a team in Austria, it became apparent that the Rays had a goaltending vacancy problem. That problem was at least partially solved when Jonathan Boutin joined the Rays via a trade from the Victoria Salmon Kings. Boutin has posted a record of 8-3, and has played in eleven straight games. Meanwhile, the future of the Washington Capitals goaltending looks very good as both Varlamov, who won two NHL starts earlier this season year, and Neuvirth appear to be the goaltending tandem of the future. It is unclear if the Capitals, with expectations to go deep into the playoffs this year, will try and secure an experienced goaltender to team up with Theodore as the trade deadline nears. Some pundits are urging the Capitals to make sure they have an experienced backup goalie for the playoffs. If so, South Carolina fans would love to see Neuvirth back in South Carolina for the ECHL playoffs to team up with Boutin. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com