#CapsWings Postgame Notebook: Off The Board

Taking a goal off the board proved to be a critical element of Washington's 1-0 win over the Red Wings in Detroit on Thursday night.

Immediately after Andreas Athanasiou scored what appeared to be the first goal of the game on Thursday against the Capitals, Washington netminder Philipp Grubauer seemed to be urging his team's coaching staff to issue a video challenge, and a cursory replay showed Detroit winger Tyler Bertuzzi bumping Grubauer up high just as Athanasiou was delivering the puck to the net.

The review itself was extremely short, and it went Washington's way. No goal, and the game remained scoreless until early in the third period when Caps winger Brett Connolly scored what would prove to be the game's only goal - a wrist shot that beat Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard on the glove side.

Grubauer stopped all 39 shots to make Connolly's goal stand up, and the Caps eked a pair of points out of Thursday's opening game of their three-game Original Six road trip.

"Obviously a huge call by our video coaches there on the goalie interference," says Caps winger Jakub Vrana, who set up Connolly's game-winner. "Those little things give you some positive thoughts during the game, give you a little more energy there and a little more confidence.

"I was really happy that our line was kind of going the whole game. We were just trying to find a way to put the puck in the net, and we were really happy we did that. Like I said, great team effort."

One For The Road - Over the course of more than 40 seasons in the NHL, the Capitals have had 168 shutouts, including Grubauer's Thursday night masterpiece against the Red Wings. Only 13 of those shutouts came on the road and by 1-0 winning margins, and they came with 10 different goaltenders in net for Washington.

Olie Kolzig holds thre franchise record with three 1-0 road shutouts, and Michal Neuvirth is second with two of them. Eight goaltenders have recorded one 1-0 road shutout for the Capitals over the years: Al Jensen, Clint Malarchuk, Don Beaupre, Jim Carey, Rick Tabaracci, Brent Johnson, Braden Holtby and Grubauer.

Hounding Howard - Connolly's goal was his 15th of the season, matching the career high total he established with Washington in 2016-17. It also ended a lengthy dry spell for the sharpshooting winger; it was his first goal in a span of 17 games and it came in his second game back in the lineup after a two-game stint as a healthy scratch.

Prior to his clutch game-winner in the third period of Thursday's win over the Wings, Connolly's last previous goal also came against Howard and the Wings. That one came on Feb. 11 in Washington in a 5-4 overtime victory for Detroit.

In addition to matching his career high in goals, Connolly recorded his 25th point of the season with his tally on Thursday in Detroit, matching his single-season career best in that category as well. Connolly had nine goals and 16 assists for the Boston Bruins in 2015-16.

Road Start - The Caps won the first game of their here-game road trip on Thursday in Detroit. It's just the third time this season and the first time since Dec. 19 that Washington has won the opening game of a multi-game road trip this season.

The Caps won an Oct. 13 game against the Devils in New Jersey to start a two-game trip, only to be pounded by the Flyers 8-2 in Philadelphia the next night. Washington also won the opener of a three-game trip in Dallas on Dec. 19, taking a 4-3 overtime win on Andre Burakovsky's game-winner. The Caps followed that victory in Dallas with an overtime loss in Arizona and a 3-0 loss to the Golden Knights in Vegas.

The 600 Club - Caps defenseman John Carlson played in his 600th career NHL game on Thursday night at Detroit Little Caesars Arena, more than eight years after he made his debut in the league in a Nov. 20, 2009 game against the Montreal Canadiens in Washington.

"Game No. 1, I can still picture a lot of plays, a lot of emotions and feelings," says Carlson. "It's one that you cherish forever, I think. That means a lot, that first game, for every kid that dreams about it. It's been a good ride."

Wait Til Next Year - Thursday's loss to the Caps mathematically eliminated the Red Wings from the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. After making the playoffs for 25 straight seasons, the Red Wings have now missed out in consecutive campaigns for the first time since a five-season dry spell from 1978-79 through 1982-83.

Detroit's roster is liberally dotted with players the Wings have drafted and developed themselves; the Red Wings have 16 players on the roster that are homegrown drafts, and they've come from 13 different drafts from Henrik Zetterberg in 1999 to Evgeny Svechnikov in 2015.

The Wings drafted well enough to sustain 25 straight playoff runs - and four Stanley Cup championships - when picking late in every round for years and years. If they're able to replicate even 80 percent of that drafting acumen, they'll bounce back quickly.

By The Numbers - Carlson led the Caps with 24:31 in ice time … Lars Eller led the Caps with six shots on net. Eller, Carlson (five) and Alex Ovechkin (four) combined to record 15 of Washington's 26 shots on goal in Thursday's game, and that trio accounted for 26 of the Capitals' 48 shot attempts in the game, too … Tm Wilson led the Caps with five hits … Christian Djoos paced Washington with three blocked shots … Eller won eight of 12 face-offs (67%).