The deck was stacked against Clay Stevenson in his first NHL start.
The Washington Capitals, who clinched a playoff spot nearly a month prior, were playing their final game of the regular season and their motivation appeared waning. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery went with a creative lineup that featured 13 forwards and 5 defensemen so that several veteran players could rest ahead of Monday’s postseason opener against the Montreal Canadiens. Not only that, the Capitals were limping into Game 82 losers of 7 of their last 11 — outscored during that stretch a woeful 46 to 28 — and without their primary starter in net Logan Thompson due to injury.
While the Capitals would go on to lose to rival Penguins 5-2 on Thursday, Stevenson was a revelation in his first NHL game, stopping 33 of 38 shots. What he was beaten on most goalies would not stop.
“I thought he was fantastic all night,” Carbery said in brief post-game remarks. “Just laid it on the line for us. First start, to be put in that situation and playing that game, he was really, really proud of the way that he fought and how he competed and how he played. He was fantastic.”
Posting an .868 save percentage in a game is usually not great for a netminder, but the Penguins dominated the Capitals at five-on-five, out-attempting them 65 to 37 and out-chancing them 30 to 15. Two of the three goals Stevenson surrendered at five-on-five were high-danger chances.
Stevenson, a member of both the Hershey Bears’ 2023 and 2024 Calder Cup championship teams, felt like he could cut it early when he made a save on Crosby three minutes and 20 seconds into the game. Making himself big and moving side-to-side aggressively, Stevenson made the stop.
“I think it was the third shot of the game,” Stevenson said. “Sidney Crosby on the other side.”
“Honestly, you don’t even know (who’s shooting), really,” Stevenson said. “Like, I’m just looking at the stick blades. I don’t even really know who’s out there back door, you know. But, yeah, it’s something special to, you know, make saves on players like that. It’s incredible. This is a dream come true to me. Win or lose, these guys made it a really special night for me.
“My mom passed in 2019. She was a big driver for my hockey career. I could just feel her out there so that was really special for me and just felt really proud to be in this spot. That was the dream since we were really young, right?”
While Stevenson was dominant during his first full season as a backup in Hershey — he posted a 24-10-2 record along with a 2.06 goals against average, .922 save percentage, and seven shutouts for a historically great Bears team in 2023-24 — he’s seen his numbers drop off majorly in 2024-25 as the Capitals’ AHL affiliate has gone through a lot of turnover. Stevenson’s GAA is near 3 and his save percentage is well below .900.
His debut with the Capitals, though, reminded him that being an NHL player was possible.
“The biggest takeaway for me in this is showing that I can get there,” he said. “I thought, look at the goals they scored, they executed. Obviously, as a goalie, I feel like I’m responsible for every single puck that goes in the net. That’s always going to be my mindset no matter what the play is. I think that game just builds a lot of confidence for me understanding what types of plays, those types of guys are going to execute on, and really learning how to cover the net in those situations.”
