The Washington Capitals pulled off a thrilling 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night, thanks to forward Pierre-Luc Dubois’ overtime heroics. Dubois scored his second goal of the game with just 40.3 seconds left in overtime, sending the Capitals’ bench into a frenzy.
That said, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Caps. Despite goalie Logan Thompson’s stellar 30-save performance, the home team struggled to find its rhythm, managing just 18 shots on goal. Thompson was particularly impressive in the second period, stopping 20 of the 21 shots he faced.
The Canucks, meanwhile, are stuck in a rut, having lost three straight and eight of their last 10 games. Conor Garland scored their lone goal, while goalie Anton Lankinen made 16 saves in the defeat.
As for the subplot of all subplots: Alex Ovechkin remains 23 goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record after being held scoreless for the second straight game. Despite his impressive start to the season, Ovechkin remains at 872 career goals for another night.
The Capitals have now earned points in five consecutive games and sit atop the Eastern Conference. That said, Caps coach Spencer Carbery will likely have plenty to focus on after watching his team sleepwalk through large chunks of the first and third periods. But for now, he’ll take the two points on a night when clearly the home team was not at its best and hope Washington can build on this momentum.
