The Washington Capitals hosted the Vancouver Canucks at Capital One Arena for a matinee to open the NHL’s schedule on Sunday. Vancouver used early offense to take a stranglehold on the game before Washington tried to claw back into the matchup. After 60 minutes, the Canucks defensive effort stood tall behind 24 blocked shots to earn a 4-3 victory over the Capitals.
Three Unanswered Goals in the First Period
With puck drop scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET, it would be understandable if Vancouver’s fans slept in for their scheduled 9:30 a.m. PT start time. Their team certainly did not after Elias Pettersson provided the Canucks a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. Washington fumbled an opportunity to clear the puck out of the defensive zone twice before Conor Garland found Pettersson in the right circle for a shot that sailed off the shoulder of Charlie Lindgren and into the net.
Vancouver continued to pressure Lindgren throughout the first period before adding two goals in less than a minute to deflate the Capitals’ home rink minutes before the first intermission. Tyler Myers located a loose puck on the outskirts of a netfront scramble, and he buried a wrist shot into the middle of the net for a 2-0 advantage as Lindgren looked up from his stomach. Spencer Carbery unsuccessfully challenged the non-whistle, which put Vancouver back on the man advantage.
Kiefer Sherwood scored a power-play goal to put the Canucks in front 3-0 after the undrafted winger located a loose puck and slammed it past Lindgren at 17:52 of the first period. The 30-year-old bruiser has had a hot stick in the early season, with four goals in six games after scoring 19 goals over 78 contests in 2024-25. Sherwood led the NHL in body checks with 462 last season, more than 100 better than his closest competitor. He currently ranks fifth in the NHL in 2025-26 with 28 hits.
Capitals Stir From Sleepy Start
Things got worse for Capitals fans before they got rowdy in the attempted comeback on Sunday afternoon. Teddy Blueger scored at 4:54 after a bad defensive zone turnover from Jakob Chychrun led to a prime scoring opportunity in the slot for a 4-0 Canucks lead. Washington woke up following a fight between Victor Mancini and Brandon Duhaime, a little more than a minute after Blueger’s goal at 6:13.
Midway through the first period, Evander Kane was whistled for a tripping penalty before Ryan Leonard netted a power-play goal to get Washington on the board at 4-1. Demko made an excellent pad save on a side of the net chance from the young Capitals winger before the former Boston College star lifted the puck above an outstretched pad for the goal. Washington finished the second period with a 12-7 shot advantage as they started their rally.
Defense Rules the Third Period
In the final frame, Vancouver continued to play smart defense to diffuse the Capitals’ offensive siege. The Capitals fired 12 more shots towards Demko in the third, but scored only twice against the American goalie. At 9:01, Chychrun scored a slam dunk at the side of the net following an impressive cross-crease pass from Hendrix Lapierre for a 4-2 hockey game.
With the Washington net empty six minutes later, John Carlson’s one-timer from the point sailed past net-front traffic and into the top corner, trimming the Canucks advantage to one at 4-3.
Made it interesting pic.twitter.com/Dm1FAENhhS
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 19, 2025
Vancouver looked like a tired team, but the Canucks displayed good defensive habits in closing out the victory over the final two minutes of the contest as they blocked several shots in front of Demko to send Capitals fans home disappointed on Sunday afternoon by winning their third straight road game.
With the win, Vancouver improves its record to 4-2-0 on the season. Washington drops to the same mark (4-2-0) after six games, as well. The Canucks continue their road swing on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington completes a four-game homestand with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken that evening.
