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Canucks vs. Capitals Game Preview: Seeking a third straight win in an early Sunday start in Washington
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Oct 18, 2025, 22:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 19, 2025, 12:30 EDT
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The Vancouver Canucks (3-2) reach the midway mark of their five-game road trip when they face the Washington Capitals (4-1) in an early 9:30am PT start at Capital One Arena on Sunday morning.  
The Canucks will be seeking a third consecutive victory after back-to-back wins in Dallas and Chicago. 

What we know

Brock Boeser gave the Canucks a 3-2 shootout win in Chicago on Friday when he scored the lone goal of the skills competition snapping a puck past Spencer Knight in the fourth round. 
Jake DeBrusk and Max Sasson scored the Vancouver goals in regulation time while Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves during the game and four more in the shootout for his first win of the season. DeBrusk registered a career-high 10 shots on goal (on 13 attempts) and scored on a second period power play while Sasson scored in his second consecutive game. 
Captain Quinn Hughes reached the 30-minute mark in ice time for the first time this season logging 30:08 including 3:27 of overtime. Hughes and Conor Garland share the team lead with four points through five games. 
Thatcher Demko is expected to return to the net on Sunday. Demko is 2-1 on the season and backstopped the Canucks to a 5-3 win in Dallas on Thursday. The San Diego native has a 2.03 GAA and a 92.9% save percentage through three starts. 
For the fourth straight game, the Canucks dug themselves a 2-0 hole on Friday but on back to back nights managed to rally to win the hockey game. Five games into the season, the Canucks have just one first period goal. That came off the stick of Kiefer Sherwood in the team’s season opener against Calgary.
Teddy Blueger, who was injured in the final game of the preseason, made his season debut on Friday in place of Aatu Räty. Rookie Jonathan Lekkerimäki has been a healthy scratch in consecutive games. 

The Opponent

The Capitals are on a roll having won four straight after an opening night loss. On Friday, they beat Minnesota 5-1 while outshooting the Wild 45-14. Dylan Strome paced the Caps with two goals and a pair of assists while Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season and the 898th of his legendary career. 
In 8:07 of 5-on-5 ice time, the trio of Strome, Ovechkin and former Canuck Anthony Beauvillier held a 15-2 shot attempt edge, the shots were 10-2 and that line outscored its competition 3-0.
Tom Wilson leads the Caps with seven points while taking just one minor penalty so far this season. Hulking forward Aliaksei Protas has the team lead with four goals. 
While the offensive exploits get the headlines, the Capitals have been stingy defensively allowing a league-low eight goals through five games. Logan Thompson has started four of the team’s five games in goal and is 3-1 with a 1.75 GAA and a 92.2% save percentage while Charlie Lindgren shutout the Rangers in his only start so far this season.
Somewhat surprisingly given the club’s impressive record, Washington’s special teams have been a disaster in the early going. The Capitals power play is running at just 12.5% while the penalty kill has allowed four goals on 11 attempts (63.6%). The Caps have surrendered just three goals at 5-on-5 in their first five outings.

News and notes

The Canucks and Capitals split their two-game season series last year with each posting a 2-1 win on home ice. Washington’s victory came in overtime.
This will be Alex Ovechkin’s 1497th NHL game yet just his 29th against the Canucks. The Great 8 has 16 goals and 27 points in his career against Vancouver.
Sunday’s game is one of four on the Canucks schedule that starts at 2pm local time or earlier: November 16th at Tampa Bay 2pm ET, November 27th at San Jose 1pm PT and December 14th at New Jersey 12:30pm ET. 
Don’t forget to join Rink Wide Vancouver for full postgame coverage after this game – and every game. The livestream starts moments after the final buzzer. Rink Wide is the place for full postgame analysis and discussion. Join the live YouTube chat with your thoughts on the hockey game.
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