Elias Pettersson Leads by Example as Canucks Grind Out 4-3 Win Over Capitals

The Vancouver Canucks won their third game in a row on the road, knocking off the Washington Capitals 4-3 in a midday matchup.

After the first period, the Canucks were down to 10 forwards with Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimäki leaving the game, but the group found a way to get it done.

“I think it speaks about the depth of our team,” Elias Pettersson said. “I liked our start definitely, hasn’t been good recently, but today we talked about it, and I really liked it.”

Pettersson blocked two shots from Alex Ovechkin in the last couple minutes to help his team hold off the Capitals.

Head Coach Adam Foote liked the way his team started the game and said that everyone stepped up to pull out the win.

“I felt like the first period, our speed kind of surprised them, guys were humming. I thought Pettersson got that first goal – it was over a great forecheck and reload by our guys. Our D was aggressive, which we want to see more this year, and we’re seeing on the pinch,” Foote said.

“I think you saw Petey getting that goal, he played great. Defensively, he had more pace and had his game going. You saw him with two big blocks too. I really liked his game, especially not in a friendly environment, it could have got really physical, and he didn’t seem to mind.”

Thatcher Demko got the win, stopping 29 of 32 shots he faced, 13 of those shots came in the third period.

“It’s a tough four days here, it’s pretty much three games in three and a half days, so that on top of obviously losing some key guys. Washington got their game going, we know they’re a good team, and they probably didn’t start how they wanted to, and they kind of found it there in the second half,” Demko said.

“I was really proud of the way the guys stepped up and just played kind of an ugly game to get two points.”

Goals

The Canucks worked hard on the forecheck against the Capitals, with Conor Garland digging the puck loose and passing to Elias Pettersson, who snapped a quick wrist shot to give Vancouver an early lead.

Tyler Myers followed up a rebound and scored top shelf on Charlie Lindgren for his 100th career goal.

Washington challenged the goal, but after the review confirmed it, the Capitals were assessed a penalty. On the ensuing power play, Kiefer Sherwood buried a backdoor pass from Garland to send Vancouver into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead.

In the second period, Teddy Blueger extended the lead, scoring from the slot off a feed from Evander Kane.

Washington’s Ryan Leonard got the Capitals on the board with a power play goal, but the Canucks carried a 4-1 lead into the final break.

In the third period, Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson scored to bring the Capitals within one, but the Canucks put up a solid defensive effort in the final minutes to secure the 4-3 win.

Up Next

Entering the second half of their road trip, the Canucks play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, October 21st at 4 p.m. PT.