The Washington Capitals defeated the Detroit Red Wings by a final of 5-2 to improve their record to 42-14-8 for 90 points, still two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for first in the League but still good for first in the Eastern Conference by nine points.
The Real Red was Rocked in the 3rd Period
Dylan Larkin put the Red Wings up 1-0 just 43 seconds into the game for his 26th of the year. Logan Thompson was in net for the contest. Mortiz Seider struck on the power play at the seven minute mark and that would be the score until Taylor Raddysh struck for his sixth of the season at 18:39.
Andrew Mangiapane had his 11th assist while Rasmus Sandin had his 19th. 2-1 would be the score after the first period with the Red Wings leading in shots 10-9 and the Caps leading in shots 9-4 in the second period. 2-1 would be the score entering the third and the Caps turned it on in the third period.
Shots were not only 10-5 in favor of the Caps but they also got two shorthanded goals. Aliaksei Protas scored his 24th of the season 51 seconds into the third to tie it. Tom Wilson set him up for his 22nd assist on the year.
Jakob Chychrun gave the Caps the lead for good with his 18th of the season at 1:57. Dylan Strome had his 44th assist while Pierre-Luc Dubois had his 38th. Protas added his second goal of the game and his 25th on the year at 5:17. Connor McMichael added his 26th assist while John Carlson had his 36th.
Wilson then put it away with a shorthanded backhander at 9:19 for his 29th goal of the year while Protas had his 29th assist. Thompson would pick up the win in net for his 27th win on the year, improving his record to 27-4-5. His night ended with an .895 save percentage on 17 saves off 19 shots.
It was a picture perfect ending to another nicely done ceremony before the game the Capitals did in honor of 50 years of Capitals hockey recognizing the fourth era of Caps hockey, the Rock the Red Era. Among the alumni in attendance were Brent Johnson, Karl Alzner, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom.
Next up for the Caps is a Sunday afternoon game at 3:30 p.m. on Monumental Sports Network. You can also listen to the game on 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7.