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Instant Reaction: Canucks snap 11-game losing streak with 4-3 win over Capitals
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Tyson Cole
Jan 22, 2026, 00:47 ESTUpdated: Jan 22, 2026, 00:56 EST
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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

Starting Lineup

Teddy Blueger officially makes his return after missing over three months of action. He takes Aatu Räty’s place, centring Liam Öhgren and Brock Boeser.

First Period

The first seven minutes of this game were a competitive back-and-forth. The Washington Capitals got the first few chances, but back-to-back shifts from the Canucks’ bottom-six registered a few chances of their own.
However, the Canucks found themselves in a bit of penalty trouble when Max Sasson got a two-minute penalty for holding the stick. It was a weird play. So, Sasson and Hendrix Lapierre go for the loose puck. Lapierre beats Sasson to the puck, but gets his stick lifted out of his hands. Lapierre kicks the puck out of danger while protecting the puck with his body away from Sasson. The Canuck forward gets his stick in the area, and Lapierre actually holds onto Sasson’s stick. But Sasson puts his hands in the air, which certainly made it look like he was trying not to look guilty, and the penalty got called on him.
So, to summarize, Sasson got a two-minute penalty for Lapierre stealing his stick. Makes sense.
On that kill, Marcus Pettersson caught a returning Tom Wilson up high with his stick, giving the Capitals a two-man advantage for 69 seconds – and they made the most of it.
The Canucks get caught playing too high in coverage, allowing John Carlson to send a feed to Wilson near the goal line, where it was just him and Dylan Strome to capitalize on a one-touch pass and open the scoring.
1-0 Capitals.
Still on the power play, Alex Ovechkin attempts to send a cross-ice pass to Strome. The pass gets deflected, but he still manages to corral the puck and send it to the net front. Richmond, BC native Justin Sourdif gets his stick on the rebound off the post to double the Capitals’ lead.
2-0 Capitals.
Over this losing streak, a two-goal deficit would kill all the confidence in this team, especially this early in a game. However, the Canucks had a spark of offence when an unlikely duo connected.
David Kämpf comes in heavy on the forecheck to pressure Rasmus Sandin. Kämpf picks his pocket, attempts a pass to Boeser in the slot, which Sandin deflects off course. But Boeser is able to quickly adjust to the new angle by dropping a knee and perfectly placing the puck in the top right corner to put the Canucks on the board.
It felt like once Boeser broke his 21-game goalless streak, all was good in Canucksland; nobody was on his case anymore for his poor play. But that continued over the next few games, so it was nice to see him back on the scoresheet.
2-1 Canucks.
After the goal, the Öhgren-Blueger-Garland line had some offensive-zone time and threatening scoring opportunities. And while it may not have been their line that connected, it sparked enough juice into this Canucks team to tie this game.
Evander Kane corrals the puck from behind the net, takes it out wide and fires a prayer toward the front of the net. Sometimes, prayers are answered, as the puck deflects off Matt Roy’s skate and behind Logan Thompson.
2-2 tie game.
Takeaways from the first:
– Sure, the two top-six lines scored. But in all honesty, it was the bottom two lines that actually generated more in the offensive zone.
– Zeev Buium is intriguing to watch. He’s so much fun when he has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone; the fluidity and movements he makes are fun to watch. But then he has plays that aren’t so great. Buium attempted a cross-ice stretch pass, which Ryan Leonard picked off in the neutral zone, and the Capitals head back on the offence. The Canucks earn the puck back, and Buium then attempts another stretch pass, which doesn’t connect and goes down for an icing. Not an ideal way to end the period for the young defenceman.

Second Period

After surrendering two on their 5-on-3 in the first period, the Canucks got a two-man advantage of their own to start the middle frame, after John Carlson and Connor McMichael took infractions. The Canucks registered four shots on goal on their power plays, but could not beat Thompson outside of this Elias Pettersson howitzer off the crossbar.
But the team didn’t let themselves get defeated after not capitalizing in the same situation their opponents did twice. A few minutes later, on a similar play to their first goal of the game, the Canucks took their first lead.
Boeser and Kämpf pressure the Capitals on the forecheck, with the latter getting his stick on the puck first. Kämpf blindly sends a backhand pass toward the net as he gets dumped over along the boards. The pass connects perfectly to the tape of Drew O’Connor, who fires a one-touch snapshot far side on Thompson.
3-2 Canucks.
And the Canucks actually managed to build on their lead. Following minor penalties to both Kane and Leonard, the Canucks capitalized on a two-on-one with DeBrusk threading the pass to Filip Hronek at the net front, who elevates the puck through Thompson.
4-2 Canucks.
This was their first two-goal lead since December 19.
Who are you and what have you done with the Canucks team that lost 11 straight? Because this team is playing differently tonight.
Takeaways from the game:
– The Washington Capitals had a very active bench all night. After morning skate today, I stayed back to catch up on some work at the rink and watched the Capitals’ pregame skate. They were hootin’ and hollering the entire time they were on the ice. It just showed me that that’s a team. Those guys are having fun and enjoying each other, and they did the same when one of their players blocked a shot throughout the game.
– Sure, he took too many penalties in this period, but Ryan Leonard is the exact type of player you want on your team. He was all over the ice, creating offence, antagonizing the opposition. Canucks have got to find a guy like that through the draft during this rebuild.

Third Period

Drew O’Connor came to play in this final frame. He had three quality scoring chances in the first minute of the game, and then followed that up with another chance on his next shift. He was determined to get his second of the game, but to no avail.
Other than that, most of the period was what you would expect in a two-goal game: the losing team (Capitals) were pushing the pace and trying to claw their way back, while the winning team (Canucks) were parking the bus, playing to protect the lead and secure their first win in what feels like forever.
But they couldn’t make it easy, could they?
The Capitals would be aggressive down two by pulling the goalie. Marcus Pettersson had a shot at the empty net from his own end, which went wide and wound up costly, as Strome tallied his second of the game.
4-3 Canucks.
And at one point, it felt like the Canucks were going to crumble and let the Capitals come back and tie this game because the Canucks had a few chances to score on the empty net. But they didn’t need the insurance marker.
4-3 Canucks Final.
The Canucks walked away with their first win of 2026 and snapped their 11-game losing streak. But fear not, Team Tankers, they still have a seven-point cushion over the St. Louis Blues.
Takeaways from the game:
– I had a funny feeling about this game. Canucks had already beaten the Capitals this season, giving them confidence they could do it. And they were just publicly called out by their Head Coach. Typically, you see the team really come together and rally around that. As a proud member of Team Tank, I will say that I am happy for the guys in the room that they can go home feeling proud after a win for the first time in nearly a month.
What’s your instant reaction to this game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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