National Hockey League
Washington 3, Vancouver 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Referees: Pierre Lambert, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Tony Sericolo
Attendance: 18506

T.J. Oshie, Brett Connolly and Jakub Vrana each scored a goal as the Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Washington, trying to rebound from a seven-game losing streak, has now won two of its past three games. The Canucks lost for the second consecutive night, as they fell 2-1 in Philadelphia on Monday.

The Capitals swept the two-game season series with the Canucks, having posted a 5-2 win in Vancouver on Oct. 22.

There were a few emotional moments early when the Capitals played a video tribute to faceoff specialist Jay Beagle, now with Vancouver, who helped Washington win the Stanley Cup last spring.

Washington goalie Braden Holtby played a third straight strong game and finished with 30 saves. He stopped a second-period penalty shot from Bo Horvat to keep the Capitals in front.

The Capitals took a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game on Oshie's goal. He stole the puck in the Vancouver end and eventually scored by knocking the rebound of a Nicklas Backstrom shot past Jacob Markstrom (28 saves).

Alex Ovechkin made the pass that set up the Backstrom shot, and the Washington captain earned an assist on the play. That made him the all-time leader in points amongst Russian NHL players (1,180). Sergei Fedorov previously held the record.

Connolly made it 2-0 with his goal 5:47 into the third period, but the Canucks answered just over two minutes later.

Antoine Roussel made a quick backhand pass from the right wing that Markus Granlund deflected past Holtby. The Capitals then got some insurance when Vrana (one goal, one assist) scored with 7:47 left.

Elias Pettersson cut the Canucks' deficit to 3-2 on his goal with eight seconds left, but the Capitals held on.

The Canucks and coach Travis Green also confirmed that defenseman Alex Edler, taken off the rink in the Philadelphia loss, sustained a concussion but no facial fractures and will be out at least a week. Backup goalie Thatcher Demko tweaked something Monday night and was back in Vancouver for an MRI exam Tuesday.

Also, Canucks winger Sven Baertschi saw a doctor Tuesday and will be out for about a week due to an illness.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vancouver   Washington
Markus Granlund 1 Points Jakub Vrana 2
Markus Granlund 1 Goals Jakub Vrana 1
Ben Hutton 1 Assists Evgeny Kuznetsov 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jacob Markstrom .903 Save Percentage Braden Holtby .938
Jacob Markstrom 28 Saves Braden Holtby 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vancouver 32 2 0-2 1-1 2 25
Washington 31 3 0-1 2-2 4 28
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Capitals have a W/L % of .586 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Vancouver will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Canucks have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .500 after a loss.