WASHINGTON (AP) — Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his second goal of the game late in overtime, Logan Thompson made 30 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Wednesday night despite another sluggish performance.

Dubois ended it with 40.3 seconds left in the 3-on-3 OT, long after scoring on Lankinen with 32.7 seconds remaining in the first period. Thompson stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in the second period alone, and Washington was lucky to avoid another loss while managing just 18 on net.

Lankinen made 16 saves and Conor Garland scored the only goal for the Canucks, who have lost three in a row and eight of their past 10 games.

Alex Ovechkin was held without a goal for back-to-back games and remains at 872. He is 23 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record.

Takeaways

Pierre-Luc Dubois scores twice as the Capitals beat the Canucks 2-1 in overtime | iNFOnews.ca — Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson stops the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Canucks: Playing still without injured centre Elias Pettersson, they were better defensively than in their last game but could not get out of this rough patch. At least No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko is on the verge of returning.

Capitals: Coach Spencer Carbery still has a lot to be unhappy about, but his team keeps stacking up wins and points and is atop the Eastern Conference after points in five consecutive games.

Key moment

Dubois got in all alone on Lankinen and scored his seventh of the season to prevent the Capitals from playing a shootout for the second time this week.

Key stat