SUNRISE, Fla. — Vitek Vanecek was traded to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. By Saturday night, Panthers fans were already chanting his name.
Fans at Amerant Bank Arena screamed “Van-ny! Van-ny!” during a strong debut by the 29-year-old goaltender, who stopped all 21 shots he faced to help the Panthers beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 and extend their win streak to six straight games.
“I heard it, probably twice,” Vanecek said of the chants. “That’s really beautiful. The fans are great here. I mean, it’s my first game, but I played a couple times [here] on different teams. I know they’ve always been great.”
The former San Jose Sharks goalie recorded his first shutout of the season and the ninth of his career on Saturday in a dominant Panthers effort. Vanecek became just the third Florida goaltender to have a shutout in his debut, joining Chris Driedger (vs. Nashville on Nov. 30, 2019) and Jose Theodore (vs. the New York Islanders on Oct. 8, 2011).
“He had to make saves tonight,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, “and tough saves. That team, they’ve got some offense, and they’re dangerous. And he earned that shutout.”
Vanecek was one of several acquisitions Florida made ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline, as the defending Stanley Cup champions gear up for a run at another Cup title.
Veteran stars Brad Marchand and Seth Jones were among Florida’s splashy new additions. But Vanecek — added for depth after Florida sent away goalie Spencer Knight in the trade for Jones — showed Saturday how he can be a boost behind two-time Vezina Trophy-winning starter Sergei Bobrovsky.
“He’s very efficient, very square like Sergei,” Maurice said. “I always found them to be fairly similar … efficient, square and calm, and then fight. Fight for pucks and in the scrums and battle, so there’s good compete in the net.”
Vanecek denied Buffalo’s Peyton Krebs on a breakaway in the first, then made a huge sliding save against the Sabres’ Ryan McLeod in the second. That’s when Panthers fans gave him an ovation and rowdy applause.
“Confidence builder right away for him,” said Vanecek’s former Sharks teammate Nico Sturm, who joined the Panthers in a separate trade this week. “You get your first win, your first game under your belt. And then it’s just all routine from here on out.”
The Sharks (17-38-9) are…
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