Capitals 4, Canucks 1
WASHINGTON -- Evgeny Kuznetsov notched two goals and an assist, Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 Thursday night for their fifth straight win.
Defenseman Karl Alzner and right winger Tom Wilson also scored as the Capitals picked up their 11th straight home win. Washington left winger Andre Burakovsky added two assists.
Washington, the NHL points leader, improved to 33-7-3.
The Capitals opened the scoring at 6:12 of the second period just after the man advantage ended. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov and Kuznetsov broke in two-on-one. Orlov fed Kuznetsov, who faked the shot, skated in front of goaltender Ryan Miller and back-handed the puck past the goalie for his 14th of the season at 6:12.
Washington went up 2-0 after a scrum along the boards. Burakovsky fed Alzner, who's high shot from the point beat Miller with 7:57 left in the second period.
Wilson made it 3-0 off a backhand feed from behind the net by Kuznetsov at 1:37 of the third. Kuznetsov's 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) tie him with center Nicklas Backstrom for the team lead.
Right winger Radim Vrbata of Vancouver (17-17-10) cut the deficit to 3-1 with 8:51 left to play in the third period when he banged a rebound past Washington netminder Braden Holtby for his 11th goal of the season during a five-on-three power play.
Vancouver got no closer and Kuznetsov added an empty-netter in the closing seconds.
Holtby picked up his 129th career win, passing Don Beaupre for second place on the Capitals franchise wins list. He improved to 20-0-2 in his last 23 games.
Miller returned after missing eight games due to a groin injury and finished with 36 saves.
NOTES: Prior to the game, the Capitals held a ceremony honoring LW Alex Ovechkin, who scored his 500th and 501st career goals in Sunday's win over Ottawa. Ovechkin was presented with a golden stick, and the tribute included video messages from members of the 500-goal club including Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Phil Esposito. ... Capitals LW Marcus Johansson returned after his two-game suspension for a hit on Islanders D Thomas Hickey. ... D Taylor Fedun and C Jared McCann were scratches for Vancouver. ... Vancouver C Brandon Sutter (sports hernia) and D Luca Sbisa (hand) remain out, but both could return during the current road trip. ... The Canucks six-game road swing continues Friday night at Carolina. ... C Mike Richards and C Michael Latta were Washington scratches.