Washington 2, Detroit 1
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 5, 2015
Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees:
Brian Pochmara, Wes McCauley
Linesmen:
Brad Kovachik, Don Henderson
Attendance:
20027
By SportsDirect Inc.
Capitals 2, Red Wings 1: Defenseman Mike Green scored one goal and set up another as visiting Washington clinched a postseason berth after Toronto edged Ottawa later in the evening.
Rookie Evgeny Kuznetsov added a power-play tally for the Capitals, who moved one point ahead of the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Braden Holtby turned aside 35 shots to earn his 100th career victory as Washington improved to 4-0-1 in its last five games.
Darren Helm converted on the power play for the lone goal by Detroit, which dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh to occupy the wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference - two points ahead of the Senators. Petr Mrazek took the loss despite making 26 saves as the Red Wings suffered their 12th setback in 17 games (5-10-2).
Kuznetsov netted the only goal of the first period 3 1/2 minutes into the game, helped by a fortunate carom when his shot from the right circle hit the stick of Detroit's Drew Miller and knuckled past Mrazek. Defenseman Tim Gleason set up Green for a blast from the right point that deflected off Mrazek's glove and into the net for a 2-0 edge at 4:42 of the second.
The Red Wings halved the deficit just over eight minutes later as Pavel Datsyuk collected a rebound and slid a pass across the slot to Helm, who steered the puck into an open net 7:01 left in the period. Detroit had 1:31 of a 5-on-3 later in the period and failed to convert before Holtby slammed the door in the third to join Olaf Kolzig as the only netminders in team history to reach 40 wins in a season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin assisted on Green's goal to reach 80 points for the first time since 2010-11. ... Red Wings F Justin Abdelkader sat out the contest after taking a shot off the hand in Saturday's shootout win at Minnesota. ... Holtby set a franchise record with his 23rd consecutive start, breaking the mark set by Wayne Stephenson at the end of the 1979-80 season. ... Capitals D Tom Wilson exited the game after taking a shot off the helmet with 6:18 left in regulation.
Top Game Performances
| Washington |
|
Detroit |
|
Mike Green 2 |
Points |
Darren Helm 1 |
|
Mike Green 1 |
Goals |
Darren Helm 1 |
|
Mike Green 1 |
Assists |
Pavel Datsyuk 1 |
|
Evgeny Kuznetsov 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Darren Helm 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Braden Holtby .972 |
Save Percentage |
Petr Mrazek .929 |
|
Braden Holtby 35 |
Saves |
Petr Mrazek 26 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Washington
|
28 |
2 |
1-3 |
4-5 |
10 |
31 |
| Detroit
|
36 |
1 |
1-5 |
2-3 |
6 |
26 |
Upcoming Games
-
Detroit will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .541 after a loss.
-
Washington will play their next game at home against Boston. The Capitals have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .611 after a loss.
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