Capitals blank Red Wings

Photo by: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals got the whitewash done to complete Friday night. The team’s number one goaltender picked up his 24^th career shutout stopping 25 to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 at Verizon Wireless Center.

The Red Wings saw themselves back on the road after a tough loss at home against Tampa. The 4-3 loss they suffered on Tuesday allowed them a break before going into the nation’s capital to go against the Capitals. Howard got the nod to start as his time to return to the net was green lighted due to his success so far. Though Detroit is 2-6-1 in their last nine, Howard’s fifth start in the last six makes him their best bet to get a victory to end the week.

Washington made that mission difficult as they brought the game in the Detroit end challenging Howard with their energetic offense. They launched several scoring chances at the Red Wings net minder, but the top man in net did enough to keep things level. The hits began to pick up to a high degree with TJ Oshie colliding hard into Riley Sheahan. The Capitals won a break after things got too dangerous with Danny DeKeyser earning a five-minute major for boarding Tom Wilson.

Washington had a slight advantage with Oshie not available on their power play unit, but the time being a man up served them to an offensive standpoint but failed to get an edge during the large power play. Time elapsed quickly that included the Red Wings taking time with the extra man. Their struggling power play continued working against them with big stops from Holtby.

Detroit made every effort to come back and even up on shots to the net but Washington showed their strength on defense. One big chance arrived with four minutes left with Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg taking a shot on Holtby but failed to complete the scoring chance. One further opportunity came to them in the final minute of play when Washington gave up a power play. They managed only a quarter of the time but in the end couldn’t overcome being outshot 11-5 in the first period.

Detroit made serious improvements going into the second period, allowing very little room for Washington to score while upping their shots in their opponent’s end. While they didn’t get much done on the remainder of their power play, the energy was quite apparent as they began to show an effort that matched the Capitals. The game was a stalemate on ice as neither team gave much to allow the score to change.

Detroit once again had the end of the period to themselves gaining a fourth chance to make a big statement. Unfortunately for their lack of scoring while a man up, they played to the sound of the horn where things remained scoreless and the third becoming an important moment of the entirety.

The teams took their near even stance from the second and made things interesting to start the third. Washington and Detroit carefully eyed the chances when skating in for a play but the goaltenders both had other ideas on how they were going to react. Howard and Holtby continued to play at their best while the teams kept sharp games on one another.

Five minutes remained on the clock and the tension in the arena could be cut with a butter knife. The fight for control ensued but a move for the Red Wings ended in a bad beat. They fought behind their net for possession getting the puck away from Washington. The puck was cleared to the boards, but no one from Detroit gained hold. It was there that the puck slid in reach of Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov. The 25-year-old sent a drive at Howard where it bounced off leaving a second opportunity alive. Jay Beagle got there for the shot and scored his fourth changing the tide.

It was almost a two goal margin for the Capitals when a loose puck nearly got away from Howard, but the whistle saved him and the Red Wings from letting the game slip away. Time was no longer an option to play with for Detroit as Howard skated off the ice for the sixth man. A solid chance arrived on a loose puck that saw Gustav Nyquist with the puck but couldn’t get it away in time. A costly penalty by Zetterberg killed things with 49.4 seconds left on the clock returning Howard to the net. Though they did receive a final chance from Dylan Larkin at the net, the Capitals skated off with the victory and a big shutout for their goalie.

Washington outshot Detroit 28-25 and despite the well-rounded comeback for a second straight game, the Red Wings didn’t have the power to put anything into the net. They’ll regroup from the short road trip and retry Sunday when they host the Calgary Flames at the Joe Louis Arena.