VANCOUVER - Two nights after being called out by head coach Adam Foote, the veteran players on the Vancouver Canucks responded.
Brock Boeser, David Kampf and Jake DeBrusk each had two-point nights as the Canucks overcame an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 and snap an 11-game winless streak Wednesday.
鈥淚t's big, after how many losses we had,鈥 defenceman Filip Hronek said. 鈥淲e battled back after they scored two quick ones on the power play. We didn't give up.鈥
Foote had targeted his most experienced players after Monday's loss to the New York Rangers.
鈥淥ur veterans are the ones that feel defeated first,鈥 he said in a rare public critique of his roster.
Hronek, Evander Kane and Drew O鈥機onnor also scored Wednesday, helping Vancouver to its first win since a shootout victory against the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 29. It was also the Canucks' fifth win at Rogers Arena this season 鈥 the first since Dec. 6.
Foote commended his veterans for their poise on Wednesday.
鈥淭hey were just calm,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey hung in there. It seemed like when we dumped the puck and got our forecheck going properly and worked as a unit of five, we really had a lot going on for us.鈥
He singled out strong nights from Conor Garland and Boeser, who opened the scoring for Vancouver and was named the game鈥檚 first star.
鈥淗e was competing, and he was matched against Tom Wilson,鈥 Foote said. 鈥淩eal tough matchup, defended well.鈥
Wilson was back in the Washington lineup after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. He was the set-up man for the Capitals鈥 first goal, which was scored on a 5-on-3 at 8:25 of the first period.
鈥淚t seems like a tough league to hold a lead,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥淚 think maybe you take the foot off the pedal for a minute and they got a couple bounces, and they jump right back in it.鈥
Boeser said he agreed with Foote鈥檚 message to his team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the truth,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e can't have that bad body language and the negative attitude on the bench. You can't show that to the young guys. We've got to be good leaders and good role models and be positive. I thought we were tonight, and I felt that that helped us play a better hockey game.鈥
As he improved to 7-14-4 for the year, goalie Kevin Lankinen said he has been putting in the work even as the losses piled up.
鈥淚've been just focusing on my own game and trying to build as much as I can,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here's been some building blocks that we've been building on with goalie coach Marko Torenius that I feel are showing in the game now. It's good to get some results. Of course, winning is more fun than losing, so that gives you more fuel to keep going.鈥
With his two-assist night, Washington鈥檚 John Carlson became the 11th defenceman in NHL history to reach the 600-assist mark with a single franchise.
The Capitals have now lost four games in a row and sit four points out of a wild-card spot in the tight Eastern Conference.
鈥淓verything is pointing to the fact that our season is hanging in the balance, and that's where we're going to have to dig in and give everything we possibly have and play like we're in the Stanley Cup playoffs,鈥 said Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. 鈥淚 hate using that in the regular season, and you never want to drum that up in January and say it's like a playoff game. But we are getting very, very close to teetering on 鈥榠f we don't get results soon, here, we're going to be in a huge, huge hole.鈥欌
After their rare win, the Canucks remained 32nd in the NHL, seven points behind the next-closest team and 14 points out of a playoff spot.
They鈥檒l continue their homestand on Friday against the New Jersey Devils.
"Happy that we got the result today, but we still have a long season ahead,鈥 Lankinen said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to keep building here.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Jan. 22, 2026.
