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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Nicklas Backstrom scored the shootout winner and the Washington Capitals rallied from a four-goal deficit and beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-5 on Friday night.
The Canucks led by four goals late in the second period, but couldn't withstand a late comeback by the Capitals.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Michal Kempny each had two goals for the Capitals. Lars Eller had a goal and an assist.
Goalie Ilya Samsonov stopped 29 of 34 shots for Washington in his fifth start of the season.
Tim Schaller scored twice for Vancouver, Brock Boeser had a goal and an assist, and Elias Pettersson and Jake Virtanen added goals.
Jacob Markstrom stopped 24 shots for the Canucks.
The Capitals got the scoring started when Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev turned over the puck deep inside his own zone. Markstrom was forced to make a tough stop on a shot by Washington's Jakub Vrana, but couldn't control the rebound. Kuznetzov got the puck and scored on a wrist shot 3:18 into the game.
Vancouver countered just over two minutes later with a power-play goal after Kempny was called for hooking.
Quinn Hughes streaked past several Capitals and into the Washington end. He passed to Boeser, who scored past Samsonov and tied the score.
Vancouver added a short-handed goal midway through the first period after Tanner Pearson was called for hooking.
Schaller scored on a shot from the top of the face-off circle, giving the Canucks the lead.
He added another goal 13:59 into the second period, batting a rebound out of the air and into the Capitals' net.
Schaller has matched his goal total from last season, when he had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) for the Canucks.
Vancouver added another goal less than a minute after Schaller netted his second of the game.
Micheal Ferland streaked into Washington's end and dished the puck to Horvat, who found Virtanen in the slot. Virtanen scored on wrist shot past Samsonov.
Pettersson also scored for Vancouver in the second period, firing a rebound into the top corner of the net.
The Canucks held a comfortable four-goal lead deep into the frame but couldn't hang on.
Kuznetzov put a wrist shot past Markstrom with just 0.3 seconds left in the second.
Eller cut Vancouver's lead to two 1:57 into the third period after Vrana was called for high sticking.
The Canucks struggled to get the puck out of their own end and Washington made it a one-goal game nearly five minutes into the final frame.
Kempny collected the puck from Carl Hagelin and sent a shot past Markstrom's glove side to make it 5-4.
He tied the score 2:44 later with a slap shot from near the blue line.
Washington scored three goals on six shots in the third, and was outshot 32-22 by the Canucks in regulation.
NOTES: The Capitals were coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. ... Washington defenseman John Carlson saw his nine-game point streak snapped on Friday. He continues to lead the league in scoring with 21 points (five goals, 16 assists).
UP NEXT
Capitals: At Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Canucks: Host Florida Panthers on Monday.
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