Baertschi powers Canucks to rout of Capitals
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Sven Baertschi scored two power-play goals and collected an assist as the Vancouver Canucks won their fourth consecutive game with a 6-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.
Derek Dorsett scored his team-leading sixth goal and added an assist for Vancouver (6-3-1). Other goals came from Thomas Vanek, Bo Horvat and Markus Granlund. Right winger Brock Boeser had three assists on the power play.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Chandler Stephenson, with his first NHL goal, scored for Washington (4-5-1).
Vancouver goaltender Anders Nilsson made 25 stops. Washington goalie Braden Holtby was replaced by Philipp Grubauer in the second period after allowing five goals on 22 shots. Grubauer finished with seven saves.
The Canucks took a 3-0 lead in the first period after outshooting Washington 15-4.
Vanek scored first at 12:53. Holtby stopped a Sam Gagner shot but juggled the puck, and Vanek wacked the puck out of the air into the net.
Horvat scored on the power play at 15:03. Holtby blocked a Boeser shot from the point. Baertschi got the rebound and made a pretty between-the-legs pass to Horvat, who scored Vancouver's first power-play goal in 11 attempts.
A big hit by Dorsett set up Granlund's goal at 18:43. Dorsett laid a lick on defenseman Dmitry Orlov behind the net, separating him from the puck. He passed out front where the puck deflected off a Capitals' player and to Granlund, who beat Holtby.
Vancouver extended its lead to 5-1 after two periods.
Baertschi made it 4-1 on a power play at 9:41. Defenseman Derrick Pouliot took a shot from the point through traffic that deflected off Baertschi's skate and dribbled underneath Holtby. It was Baertschi's 100th career point.
Dorsett ended Holtby's night at 15 minutes when he scored on a wraparound. It was his fifth goal in five games.
Kuznetsov scored for Washington just 17 seconds later when his low, hard shot beat Nilsson on the glove side.
Baertschi made it 6-1 when he scored on a scramble at 10:29 of the third and Stephenson scored from a sharp angle at 17:52.
NOTES: Washington RW Brett Connolly left early in the second period after taking a hit from D Erik Gudbranson. He appeared to hit his head on the boards. ... The Canucks sent C Brendan Gaunce, who is still recovering from an offseason shoulder injury, to Utica of the AHL for conditioning. ... Healthy scratches for Vancouver were D Patrick Wiercioch and C Michael Chaput. ... G Andres Nilsson stopped 29 shots in a 1-0 shutout win over Minnesota on Tuesday. ... Washington went 10:47 of the first period without a shot on goal. ... C Nicklas Backstrom, who didn't participate in the morning skate, was scratched because of illness. ... C Chandler Stephenson made his season debut replacing RW Andre Burakovsky, who is out 6-to-8 weeks after surgery for a fractured thumb. ... Washington D Aaron Ness was a healthy scratch.