WASHINGTON – A great goaltending duel lasted 65 minutes and seven shootout rounds before Bo Horvat scored to give the Vancouver Canucks a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
The Capitals thought they’d scored in the fifth round of the shootout, but a video review overturned a called-goal for Lars Eller, whose shot hit the crossbar.
Vancouver’s power play, which tied the game in the first period, failed on a full two-minute four-on-three in overtime. After it expired, Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped Alex Ovechkin on a breakaway.
Given their thin blue line and who and where they were playing, it was one of the most impressive road performances by the Canucks this season.
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Vancouver played most of the game with five defenceman after losing top blue-liner Alex Edler in the first period. The Canucks announced an upper-body injury for Edler, but it was unclear initially how he was hurt. Capitals forward Travis Boyd’s skate caught Edler in the armpit during one collision, but the workhorse defenceman also absorbed a heavy early hit from Ovechkin.
It took the Canucks only 2:22 to fall behind 1-0 for the 17th time in 24 games. Jake Virtanen took a poor angle on Lars Eller and lost a puck battle on the end boards. As Virtanen chased into the corner and defenceman Chris Tanev tried to organize teammates, Jakub Vrana was left unchecked in the faceoff circle and blistered Eller’s pass over the left shoulder of Markstrom.
Most of the next several shifts were played in the Canucks’ zone, and it looked like Vancouver might lose the game in the opening minutes.
But Markstrom made a point-blank save on Tom Wilson and when Richard Panik followed Chandler Stephenson to the Washington penalty box at 13:44, the Canucks’ power play tied it at five-on-three.
Elias Pettersson, frustrated by tight checking and his own play during the Canucks’ 2-5-2 slump, finally had room to bury a one-timer from J.T. Miller under the crossbar behind goalie Braden Holtby at 14:00.
Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers made one of the saves of the game to preserve the tie early in the second, reaching behind Markstrom to pull the puck off the goal line after Vrana’s breakaway shot leaked through the netminder.
Holtby made a similar save a few minutes later, reaching behind with his paddle to take a goal away from Tyler Graovac after Holtby spilled Tanner Pearson’s shot.
The Canucks actually carried the play to the Capitals in the last 10 minutes of regulation time. Horvat deflected Myers’ pass over the net when much if it was open, and Holtby made a desperate diving save against Quinn Hughes.
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November 24, 2019 at 03:43AM
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