Jan 21, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tom Willander (5) and forward Jake DeBrusk (74) and forward Elias Pettersson (40) and defenseman Filip Hronek (17) celebrate Hronek’s goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Coming into tonight, the Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks were two desperate teams looking for a win. The Canucks had lost 11 games in a row, while the Caps were 4-6-1 in their last 11 and riding a three-game skid into Vancouver. A positive for the Caps: after missing eight games, Tom Wilson was finally back in the lineup. A negative for the Caps: they were playing a team on an 11-game losing streak, which usually feels like bad vibes for Washington. More specifically, the Canucks hadn’t won at home since December 6, just before they traded Quinn Hughes to the Wild. Spoiler alert: the vibes were indeed pretty bad!

Plus: The Capitals got off to a great start tonight. The first ten minutes of the game were all Washington, and they scored two power play goals in less than 90 seconds to get the scoring started. In addition, one of those goals came from Justin Sourdif, a native of Richmond, BC, who had several friends and family members in the stands to watch him play.

Minus: After the Caps scored twice, the Canucks scored four unanswered goals. The Capitals took their foot off the gas and let the Canucks back in the game with two goals of their own to round out the first, and they continued to sit back in the second which gave Vancouver the chance to score two more. By the time the third period rolled around, it was another case of “too little, too late” for the Caps.

Caps Player of the Game: We’ll give this one to Dylan Strome (2G, 1A), who scored the Caps’ first goal of the night and then assisted on Sourdif’s PPG just a few minutes later. He then scored at 6-on-5 after Coach Carbery pulled Logan Thompson to bring the Caps within one with 3:23 to go.

The Capitals will head to Calgary tonight for a date with the Flames on Friday night, where hopefully they can bounce back.

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