The Capitals call-up captured his first NHL win, and admittedly blacked out after it happened.
WASHINGTON — Clay Stevenson didn't have many words to describe his first NHL win. But his face said enough; the Washington Capitals call-up couldn't stop smiling, laughing, as he reflected on a wild ride to that long-awaited milestone.
"To be honest, I didn't know how it was going to shake out," he said, adding, "We're down three... I just tried to do my job to give them faith to keep pushing, and they did that."
It wasn't an easy day between the pipes for Stevenson, who'd been called up Thursday amid an injury to Logan Thompson. He was supposed to be backing up, playing second chair to Charlie Lindgren, but an injury at the end of Thursday's game landed Lindgren on the IR and left the Capitals without both NHL netminders as they prepared to take on the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes.
So, it was Stevenson's turn to go up to bat, ready or not, in what marked just his second career NHL start and his first since April last year.
"He gets thrown into the fire with what's going on. 'Hey, Clay, very quick situation, where all of a sudden, you're going to start an important regular-season game against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference,'" coach Spencer Carbery described.
Stevenson came up with a handful of important stops early, but by the start of the second, saw Washington trailing 3-0. The only goal he wanted back was a strange lob from the point that beat him blocker side and caught him off guard.
After that, the 26-year-old locked things down, denying the Hurricanes of several key chances as the Capitals clawed their way back and forced overtime.
"His calmness is a staple of his. I don't think you can rattle Clay Stevenson," Carbery added.
Justin Sourdif closed things out then in overtime, giving Stevenson his first NHL victory.
"Blackout, you know?" Stevenson said of the moment when the red light went off and he realized he'd secured the win, also marking the first time the Capitals won back-to-back games since Dec. 3. "Just run down the ice, pumping your fist like, that's an NHL win right there. That's it, just try to run down there as fast as you can."
The win meant even more given Stevenson's road to get to this point.
After going undrafted, Washington signed the Dartmouth star to an entry-level deal. He put in the work to emerge as a top goaltending prospect in an already impressive pool in D.C., and ultimately, became the Hershey Bears starter after back-to-back Calder Cups.
On Saturday, all of that hard work came to fruition as he snagged the W against a top team, one that holds a place in his heart.
"They gave me a lot of encouragement, and have through a long time while I've been here," Stevenson said of the Capitals. "That's a really special oen, especially against that team, against Frederik Andersen, one of my favorite goalies in the NHL. It was incredible, I'm just lost for words."
After the win and the wave of emotions, Stevenson planned to make the first call to his dad. His message? "That's an NHL win, baby. What do you want?"
"It's amazing," Hendrix Lapierre, who played with Stevenson in Hershey and Washington, said of Stevenson. "I didn't have a doubt that he was going to compete and come back and help us win. That's what he's been doing for all those years that we've been playing together. Incredibly happy for him. I told him, I think that's the first of many. Couldn't be more happy."