Moritz Seider’s goal in the final half-minute of overtime lifted the Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Capitals on Sunday at Little Caesars Arena in the back half of a weekend set of home-and-home games between the two teams.
After taking a feed from Andrew Copp in the corner, Seider leaned into a one-timer from the inside of the right circle, beating Charlie Lindgren high to the far side with 23.3 seconds remaining in the extra session.
“We played well, so I don't think you can take anything away from our group,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “We played a good hockey game, and we had lots of opportunities to score; they didn't fall our way. Kid makes a play in overtime, and [Lucas] Raymond gets one on the power play. But to me, we had opportunities to score, and if we do that most nights, they're going to end up in the back of the net.”
From a bounce back perspective, the Caps got what they needed from Sunday’s rematch, which came a day after the Wings put a 5-2 beating on the Caps in DC. Washington played a much more strident game on Sunday, a game that – if replicated – would produce two points more often than not.
Fueled by some wholesale changes in its forward lines, Washington put together a much better opening period on Sunday, turning the tables on the Wings to an extent. The Caps were in the offensive zone more than on Saturday, they were good with retrievals, and they excelled at keeping pucks and shifts alive. Often, they were able to break right back into Detroit ice after a puck did squirt out to neutral ice.
While none of those offensive zone shifts paid immediate dividends, the Caps were able to grab a 1-0 lead in the back half of the frame on a nifty Ethen Frank goal off the rush.
Dylan Strome scooped the puck up deep in Washington ice and carried into the neutral zone. He sent Frank down the right side, and after Detroit defenseman Albert Johansson suddenly blew a tire, Frank had a clear path to the net, He cut toward the cage and deftly tucked a backhander through Cam Talbot’s five-hole at 14:17.
“I just saw a good opportunity for an odd man rush with Stromer carrying the puck up ice,” recounts Frank. “And I just tried to get on my horse, and I got a good bounce with that [defenseman] falling, and I was able to take a deep breath a little bit, and kind of relax and just make a good move.”
Several minutes into the second, Detroit began to push back. The Wings pulled even when Lucas Raymond struck on a power play at 8:37 of the second period.
Just over five minutes later, John Leonard struck for the second time in as many days against Washington. The older brother of Caps winger Ryan Leonard deflected an Alex DeBrincat shot past Lindgren at 13:44 of the second to give Detroit its first lead of the afternoon.
In the third, the Caps were again frequently in the offensive zone, but their rewards were not commensurate with their efforts. Washington again cobbled together some extended shifts in the offensive zone, and the Caps came tantalizingly close to scoring on several of them. They moved the puck smartly and kept bodies in motion when necessary too, creating many opportunities that Talbot and his teammates were able to shut down.
Finally, just after the midpoint of the third, Frank struck again – off the rush, once again – to square the score at 2-2.
Strome again broke the puck out of Washington ice, skating straight up the middle of the ice sheet before angling left and dealing a feed to John Carlson in the high slot in Detroit ice. Carlson carried left, leaving a drop feed for Frank in the slot. This time, Frank threaded a wrist shot through Talbot’s pads at 10:22.
“Another great play by Stromer and Johnny,” says Frank of his second goal. “Then a little bouncing puck, and I saw a guy in red right in front of me, and I just tried to get it by him, and shoot it hard.”
In overtime, the Caps killed off an early penalty, thanks to four saves from Lindgren. But Seider’s well-placed bullet forced the Caps to settle for a single point.
At afternoon’s end, Natural Stat Trick had the Caps with a lopsided 19-5 advantage in high danger scoring opportunities at 5-on-5.
“This team had the second most goals in the league last year,” says Strome. “We're missing Pierre-Luc Dubois, who is an eight and a half million dollar centerman who creates a lot of [offensive] zone time and scored 60 points last year. And we're missing [Ryan Leonard], who was just catching his stride at 10 points in his last 10 games.
“So, the guys are battling. Obviously that's not a great storyline – I guess – to run with. It feels like we have scored lots of goals this year. We've found ways to score goals, and there was no mention of a goal-scoring drought during that [10-1-2] stretch there for a little bit.
“I think we’re a good hockey team. Maybe these last three or four games, we've had a tough time scoring goals. But teams go through that throughout the whole year, and individuals like myself are going through it right now, to try to find a way to score goals.
“So, it happens sometimes. We're a good team. We control a lot of the play, most of the games we play. Can we get to the net more? Sure, and I think that will produce a little bit more, but think it's just a little stretch right now.”
At the opposite end of the ice, the Caps broke out more cleanly and efficiently and they effectively denied Detroit time and space to operate. And although pucks weren't sticking to Lindgren with their usual consistency, he battled hard and clamped down on rebounds before peril ensued, and made several key saves to either protect a one-goal lead or keep the Caps close.
"He did a good job with traffic in and around him, with some of those rebounds and the late save on the shift after we tie it up, right?" says Carbery. "He makes a little save on a half breakaway [on Nate Danielson] – we've got some back pressure there – but still he needs to make a save there, which he did, which was great."
