Sunday Hardcore Matinee – The Caps play their first afternoon contest of the 2025-26 campaign on Sunday when they host the Vancouver Canucks in the third game of a four-game homestand. After dropping its season opener, Washington has won four straight games, sweeping a set of back-to-backs on the road in New York last weekend, and following up with two victories in as many games to start the homestand.
The Capitals have been able to play the four games on this homestand at a relatively leisurely pace; they had a couple days between the first two games, and a day between each of the others, though with a 12:30 pm start today, they face a rather brief turnaround from Friday’s win over the Minnesota Wild.
Vancouver’s situation is a bit more difficult. The Canucks opened a five-game road trip on Thursday night in Dallas, then played the second of back-to-backs on Friday night in Chicago. By the time today’s game ends midway through the afternoon, the Canucks will have jammed the first three games of that five-game journey into a span of just less than 72 hours.
Yes, it’s three games in four days when one looks at the calendar, but the body can tell a different story. The Canucks come to town having swept that set of back-to-backs to start the trip, and it’s imperative on the better rested – and much less traveled – Capitals to make the Canucks feel the toll of those games and that travel today.
This is the first look for Spencer Carbery and the Capitals at an Adam Foote-coached team. Foote, who was in a Columbus Blue Jackets’ sweater the night Alex Ovechkin made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005, is now the Vancouver bench boss. The Caps do know they’re in for a day of dealing with the dynamic Quinn Hughes on the Vancouver back end.
“At the top of that list is [Hughes],” says Carbery. “Just because he plays so much, he has such a large impact on the game in all three zones. So start right there. Their goaltenders; both of them are playing at a real high level. And from what we’ve seen on the film, they’re a real good forechecking team, so our breakouts are going to need to be detailed and organized tonight.”
Even Flow – Although their special team units have been less than special at times during their first five games of the season, the Caps have ridden a strong performance at even strength to a 4-1-0 start. A year ago, Washington dropped its season opener at home – as it did this season – before winning each of its net five games. The Caps are aiming for their fifth straight victory today against Vancouver.
There are other similarities between this season and last at this early juncture of the campaign; last season the Caps were 2-for-21 (9.5 percent) on the power play and 17-for-21 (80.1 percent) on the power play through their first half dozen games of the season. In 2025-26, they are 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) through five games on the power play and 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) on the penalty kill. Washington’s power play ranks 26th and its penalty kill is 30th in the League entering today’s game.
Where the Caps have sparkled is at even strength, and that’s a preferable position from a coach’s standpoint. Minnesota features the League’s best power play, but it ranks last in 5-on-5 scoring with six goals for in as many games. As a result, the Wild is off to a 2-3-1 start to the season.
Buffalo boasts the League’s top penalty killing outfit in the early going, and the Sabres’ power play has been good as well, ranking sixth in the circuit. But with just six goals at 5-on-5 in five games, Buffalo ranks 29th, and it owns a 2-3-0 record.
Washington knows it needs to shore up its special team units, and they’re both a work in progress.
“You would always like all three phases to be operating at a pretty high level,” says Carbery. “That’s usually never going to be the norm; usually you’re trying to shore up one of those at certain periods during the regular season.
“But the most important of those areas is your 5-on-5 game, and that’s where we’ve come out [strong]. For the most part, through the first five games of the year, we’ve done a good job at 5-on-5, defensively and offensively. Defensively, there are a few things that we could do a little bit better job of, looking big picture wise. I won’t share too much, but there are a couple of little things defensively that we can tighten up.
“But offensively, I like how much we’re creating, I like how some of our [offensive] zone metrics. The special teams are a work in progress, and we’ll just continue to work at those and then hopefully get on a hot run with all three of them.”
Life Is Grand – Caps assistant coach – video Brett Leonhardt celebrates his 1,000th NHL game today. Now in his 14th season as Washington’s video coach and his eighth as an assistant coach, Leonhardt has watched many more hockey games than he’s attended.
Though his days of strapping on the pads for practice are rarer these days, he’s also remembered for sporting sweater No. 80 on a couple of occasions, long before the dawning of the Dubois era in DC.
Back in December of 2008 when he was the team’s web producer, Leonhardt suited up, took warmups and sat on the bench during the first period of a home game against Ottawa as the backup goaltender to Brent Johnson. An injury to Jose Theodore coincided with an AHL Hershey road trip to Texas, delaying the arrival of newly summoned netminder Semyon Varlamov from the Lone Star State. A night later in Montreal, Varlamov made his NHL debut, beating the Habs on Hockey Night in Canada, 2-1.
Just under five years later, a similar emergency resulted in an encore EBUG situation. Before a November 2013 home game against Montreal, slated starter Michal Neuvirth was injured during warmups, resulting in another No. 80 sighting on the Washington bench, backing up Braden Holtby.
Along the way to the milestone, Leonhardt has worked alongside five different head coaches. Congratulations on the milestone my friend, and I wish you many more.
In The Nets – A week after he dazzled in a 35-save shutout performance at Madison Square Garden, Charlie Lindgren gets his second start of the season on Sunday against Vancouver. Lindgren was stellar in a 1-0 Washington win on the second night of back-to-backs in New York, and now he gets an afternoon starting assignment. According to Yahoo Sports, Lindgren is 6-6-1 lifetime in 14 afternoon appearances (13 starts), with two shutouts, a 2.92 GAA and a .903 save pct.
Lifetime against the Canucks, Lindgren is 1-1-0 in two appearances – both starts – with a 1.51 GAA and a .936 save pct.
Thatcher Demko will be in goal for Vancouver today. On the season, he is 2-1-0 in three starts, with a 2.03 GAA and a .929 save pct. Lifetime against Washington, Demko is 2-1-1 in four appearances– all starts – with a 3.44 GAA and an .892 save pct.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we expect the Capitals and Canucks to look on Sunday afternoon in the District:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
72-Beauvillier, 17-Strome, 8-Ovechkin
21-Protas, 24-McMichael, 43-Wilson
15-Milano, 29-Lapierre, 9-Leonard
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 34-Sourdif
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
38-Sandin, 3-Roy
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
48-Thompson
Healthy Extras
47-Chisholm
53-Frank
Injured/Out
52-McIlrath (lower body)
80-Dubois (lower body)
VANCOUVER
Forwards
91-Kane, 40-E. Pettersson, 8-Garland
74-DeBrusk, 72-Chytil, 6-Boeser
18-O’Connor, 53-Blueger, 44-Sherwood
13-Bains, 63-Sasson, 94-L. Karlsson
Defensemen
43-L. Hughes, 17-Hronek
29-M. Pettersson, 57-Myers
25-E. Pettersson, 90-Mancini
Goalies
35-Demko
32-Lankinen
Healthy Extras
7-P.O. Joseph
23-Lekkerimaki
54-Raty
Injured/Out
21-Hoglander (lower body)
27-Forbort
55-Brisebois
