Capitals turn to food writer to serve as emergency backup goalie vs. Ducks

Before Friday's game in Anaheim, the Capitals had Milner take the "rookie lap." The rookie lap is a tradition across the league for players making their NHL debut, where they leave the locker room by themselves and skate around for warmups. It has become a rite of passage for rookies.

Those rookies, however, are usually about 10-16 years younger than Milner. 

The emergency backup is a weird quirk that happens in the NHL where random people get an opportunity to dress for a professional game. They are usually called upon when a team loses a goalie just before a game begins and does not have an opportunity to call somebody up from their minor league team. In the past, every NHL arena used to have an emergency backup goalie on the premises that would serve as the backup for both teams. 

Now teams get to carry their own emergency backup with them. 

Milner, as the Capitals' practice goalie, is their emergency goalie. Teams often employ a practice goalie so their skaters can get extra work in with a goalie in the net without having to subject their regular goalies to additional work or injury risk. 

There have been some emergency goalies who have actually made it into NHL games in the past.

The Chicago Blackhawks had Scott Foster, an accountant by day, play 14 minutes during a game back in 2017-18. He stopped all seven shots he faced.

The most famous emergency backup goalie situation, however, might have been Zamboni driver David Ayres. He had to play 28 minutes for the Carolina Hurricanes in a game back in 2019-20. He stopped eight of 10 shots and ended up getting the win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.