Capitals beat Red Wings 2-1 to move into wild card, Ovechkin 1st NHL player with 18 30-goal seasons

Tue, Apr 9, 2024
NHL News (AP)

DETROIT (AP) - Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome scored a minute apart late in the second period, Charlie Lindgren finished with 42 saves and the Washington Capitals held on to beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Tuesday night in a matchup of teams vying for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Capitals moved a point past Detroit for the conference's second wild card and snapped a season-long, six-game losing streak. The Red Wings have lost six of their last eight games, hurting their chances of ending an eight-year playoff drought.

Ovechkin became the first NHL player with at least 30 goals in 18 seasons, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Mike Gartner.

Patrick Kane scored with 1.1 seconds left and Alex Lyon stopped 21 shots for the Red Wings.

Lyon was pulled during a second power play in the third period to give Detroit a two-man advantage, but it did not score until it was too late.

Washington and Detroit are among several teams with a shot to be a wild card. The Capitals also have an opportunity to secure a spot if they can finish ahead of the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Stolarz gets assist, Florida blanks Ottawa 2-0 for third shutout over Senators this season

Devils All-Star Jack Hughes out for the rest of the season, will have shoulder surgery

Connor McDavid is day to day with injury and could miss the Oilers' next game against Vegas

Washington is aiming to avoid missing consecutive postseasons for the first time since 2006 and 2007, when Ovechkin was in his first two NHL seasons.

The Red Wings, meanwhile, haven't been in the playoffs since 2016 back when they played at Joe Louis Arena.

UP NEXT

Capitals: At Buffalo on Thursday.

Red Wings: At Pittsburgh on Thursday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

LARRY LAGE Lage has been the Michigan Associated Press Sports Editor since 2000, serving as a beat writer for eight teams in pro and college. He has covered the Winter Olympics four times, most recently as the ski jumping and Nordic combined writer at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. "