The Washington Capitals did exactly what they had to do. Secure two points in Detroit over a pesky Red Wings team that is also fighting for a playoff spot. The Caps currenlty occupy that second wild card spot with a week remaining in the regular season and four games left. Buckle up.
First it was Dylan Strome blast at 17:47 off a feed from Martin Fehervary for his 27th of the season. That came in the second period to put the Caps up 1-0 on the road. This despite not leading in the shot department.
Alex Ovechkin doubled the lead off a set up from T.J. Oshie. It was Ovechkin's 30th goal of the season and he is now the only player in NHL history with 18 30 goal seasons. Impressive considering he turns 39 in September.
The Red Wings would get on the board 1.1 second left with a goal from Patrick Kane but Charlie Lindgren was perfect other than that stopping 42 shots in the win. The Caps were outshot 43-23.
The Red Wings also had the edge in face offs 54 percent to 46 percent. The power plays went empty on both sides, the Caps on just one and the Red Wings 0 for 2. Hits were even at 21. The Caps led in blocked shots 26-18. The Caps played better defensively as the Red Wings had eight giveaways compared to the Caps' five. Takeaways were even at four.
The Caps were outshot every period. 17-8 in the first period. 10-8 in the second and 16-7 in the third but the Caps got the two points with the 2-1 win and that's all that matters plus Alex Ovechkin scored. Again, that's also something that matters.
Ovechkin has now averaged 0.69 goals per games played in his career. He has 852 goals in his career putting him 42 behind tying and 43 from passing Wayne Gretzky. The Caps journey toward the hopeful destination of the playoffs continues on Thursday night in Buffalo. You can catch the game on Monumental Sports Network and Caps Radio 24/7. Game time is at 7 p.m.