Daniel Sedin powers Canucks past Capitals 4-3
WASHINGTON (AP) Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins said the Canucks' power play has been generating scoring opportunities all season.
On this night, the pucks ended up in the net.
Daniel Sedin scored two of Vancouver's three power-play goals and assisted on the other, and the Canucks defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 Tuesday.
Sedin scored the game-winner at 9:39 of the third period when he took a pass from twin brother Henrik Sedin in the left circle and fired a shot to the far side of Braden Holtby.
''We've had chances, it just hasn't gone in,'' Desjardins said of his team's power play. ''It was a great day to get it on track.''
Radim Vrbata added a power-play goal and an assist, and Derek Dorsett also scored for Vancouver. Henrik Sedin had two assists, and Ryan Miller finished with 23 saves.
The Canucks were 3 of 4 on the power play after going 3 for 27 in the previous 10 games.
''We switched some things around in the setup and it paid off today,'' Vrbata said.
The Canucks, who are 2-1 on their seven-game road trip, bounced back from Sunday's loss at Detroit. They haven't dropped back-to-back games since mid-October.
''You start losing a few, all of a sudden you've lost four or five, and that's tough to get back from,'' Daniel Sedin said. ''I think we're a group that realizes that and we're usually strong when we come off a loss.''
John Carlson had two goals and an assist, and Brooks Laich also scored for Washington, which is 1-3-1 in its last five games.
Holtby made 28 saves for the Capitals, who have allowed three power-play goals in each of their last two games.
''We lost this game on the special teams,'' said coach Barry Trotz, whose own power-play unit was 0 for 2.
Laich tied the score at 3 during a 4-on-4 sequence early in the third period when he got behind a defender and lifted the puck over Miller's shoulder for his first goal of the season.
''That's the thing for us this year,'' Daniel Sedin said. ''There's no panic. Just keep rolling the lines and we realize we're going to tire them out and any guy on our team can get that winning goal.''
This time, it came after Nate Schmidt was called for delay of game when he tried to flip the puck out of his zone and it went into the stands.
''That's one of the penalties I hate,'' Trotz said. ''Every coach in the league hates that penalty. No one's trying to shoot it up in the stands.''
Vancouver took a 1-0 lead late in the first when Dorsett one-timed a pass from Bo Horvat past Holtby from the slot.
Carlson tied it at 2:45 of the second period on a shot from the slot off a feed from Nicklas Backstrom.
''I think we have such a high confidence level on our ability to come back that sometimes it feels like we aren't urgent enough to get a lead,'' Washington's Eric Fehr said.
The Canucks took a 3-1 lead with consecutive power-play goals midway through the period.
First, Vrbata corralled a rebound and sent it around behind the net to Henrik Sedin, who fed it in front. Daniel Sedin beat a sliding Holtby for his fifth of the season at 10:01.
Less than three minutes later, Holtby blocked a shot from Alexander Edler, but Vrbata banged the bouncing puck home for his 11th goal.
Carlson pulled Washington to 3-2 when he netted his second of the period and fourth of the season with a drive from just inside the blue line.
NOTES: The Canucks have won six of their last seven against the Capitals. ... Vancouver last dropped consecutive games on Oct. 18 (Tampa Bay) and Oct. 21 (Dallas). ... The Capitals have only three home games remaining in December. They have a trio of three-game road trips. ... Capitals D Mike Green (upper-body injury) missed his fourth straight game.
