Red Wings end slide, Capitals' winning streak
DETROIT - Henrik Zetterberg scored the winner in the fifth round of the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings edged the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.
After Zetterberg’s goal, Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek made a sliding pad save to foil Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin clinch the victory for the Wings. Mrazek stopped four of the five shots he faced.
The Wings are now 7-0 in the shootout this season, while the Capitals fell to 1-5.
The victory ended a four-game losing streak and a five-game (0-4-1) winless slide for the Wings, 23-25-10 and last overall in the Eastern Conference. Playing for the first time since Feb. 11, the Capitals, who lead the NHL with a 24-5-2 mark, saw their six-game winning streak come to an end.
The Capitals forced overtime with 4:48 left in the third period. Going to the net, Washington forward Daniel Winnik got inside body position on Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith and swatted the rebound of a T.J. Oshie shot out of the air and into the Wings net.
Winnik, who had gone 17 games without a goal, has now scored in consecutive games.
Detroit's much-maligned power play, last in the NHL at 11.8 percent entering the game, opened the scoring at 8:13 of the opening period. Frans Nielsen accepted a cross-crease feed from Henrik Zetterberg. Nielsen's initial shot hit the post but he whacked the rebound past Washington goalie Braden Holtby.
The Red Wings increased their margin to 2-0 just 3:33 into the second period. Anthony Mantha intercepted a drop pass by Washington's Justin Williams and fed it to Zetterberg. He dished the puck across to Tomas Tatar, whose low shot got under Holtby's right pad.
The Capitals got on the board with 1:24 remaining in the second frame. Lars Eller's forecheck pressure forced a turnover by Detroit forward Thomas Vanek. Zach Sanford took Eller's pass and zipped a wrist shot by goalie Petr Mrazek on the glove side.
NOTES: Detroit D Mike Green was a late scratch due to illness. ... Detroit F Gus Nyquist sat out the second game of a six-game NHL suspension for high-sticking. ... The Wings have fallen behind by at least one goal in the first five minutes of a game 17 times this season ... Washington is 33-4-4 when scoring first in a game. ... Capitals Fs T.J. Oshie (23.7) and Marcus Johansson (22.9) are 1-2 in the NHL in shooting percentage. ... Washington D Brooks Orpik leads all Eastern Conference players with a plus-32 rating. ... Detroit's only healthy scratch was F Tomas Jurco. ... G Jimmy Howard (knee) and D Jonathan Ericsson (wrist) are on IRL. ... Capitals F Andre Burakovsky is out with a hand injury. ... Capitals healthy scratches were D Taylor Chorney and F Jakub Vrana.