Canucks Fall In Overtime Again, Losing 2-1 To The Capitals

Despite a strong effort, the Vancouver Canucks fell 2-1 in overtime to the Washington Capitals. Conor Garland scored the only goal, while Kevin Lankinen stopped 16 of the 18 shots he faced. With the loss, the Canucks dropped to 18-12-10 on the season and 11-4-4 away from Rogers Arena.

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Tonight's game was another in a long line of frustrating losses for Vancouver. Despite controlling the game for half the game, the Canucks made a costly mistake and fell in overtime. While they deserve credit for their overall play, the main takeaway is that Vancouver could not find a way to beat Logan Thompson and is now 0-0-2 to start the road trip.

The overtime goal will receive most of the spotlight in this game, as it is a play that should never happen in the NHL. J.T. Miller, Jake DeBursk, and Tyler Myers all ended up in the corner, which allowed a completely unmarked Pierre-Luc Dubois to collect the puck in the middle of the ice and eventually beat Lankinen for the game-winner. In the end, this was a mistake from both Myers and DeBrusk, who both chased Aliaksei Protas despite Miller already checking him.

"It's frustrating," said Quinn Hughes about dropping another game in overtime. "Can't sulk about it. It is what it is. That's how it went. Three games left to salvage and make it a good road trip."

While the final score will leave a sour taste in Canucks fan's mouths, there were some positives. Vancouver was able to generate 31 shots, including 20 in the second period. The Canucks also went a perfect two for two on the penalty kill, only giving up two shots over the four minutes. In the end, though, these fall into the moral victory category, which unfortunately does not produce any points in the actual standings.

"I just thought we were connected," said Rick Tocchet when asked about the second period. "We spent a couple of days really evaluating our team a little bit and how we want to play. I thought everyone kind of bought in. How we have to play with our team right now, the identity, so I thought there were a lot of guys doing a lot of good things."

In the end, this game is going to sting as Vancouver was the better team, especially when Hughes was on the ice. That being said, there were some very puzzling moments, like the Canucks electing not to freeze the puck and let Hughes out of the box during their first-period power play, as well as the play in overtime. With three more games on the road trip, the hope is that Vancouver can build off the positives from this game and find a way not just to score more than one goal but also to collect some wins before returning to Rogers Arena.

Facts and Stats:

- Canucks record over 30 shots for the first time since December 3, 2024

- Vancouver records their league-leading ninth overtime loss this season

- Tyler Myers records over 24 minutes of ice time for the second time this season

- The Canucks allow under 20 shots against for the second time this season

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

19:27- WSH: Pierre-Luc Dubois (6) from Matt Roy and Connor McMichael

2nd Period:

19:23- VAN: Conor Garland (11) from Kiefer Sherwood and Quinn Hughes (PPG)

3rd Period:

No Scoring

Overtime:

4:19- WSH: Pierre-Luc Dubois (7) and Aliaksei Protas

Up Next: 

The Canucks continue their road trip on Friday when they face the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina has already beat Vancouver once this season, winning 4-3 in overtime back in October. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 pm PT from the Lenovo Center.

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