Capitals top Red Wings, boost lead in Metropolitan Division

DETROIT -- The Washington Capitals increased their lead in the Metropolitan Division with a 1-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.
The Capitals (43-24-7) lead the division by four points over the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins and third-place Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Jackets, having played one fewer game.

WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Red Wings highlights]
"This was a huge win at this point in the season," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "As close as things are in our division we can't let any points get away."
Brett Connolly scored for the Capitals, who have won six of seven (6-1-0), and Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season.
"I know they had a lot of shots but this was a pretty easy game," Grubauer said. "The guys did a great job of keeping the front of the net clear, so I was seeing every shot."
Grubauer is 8-2-0 with a .944 save percentage in his past 12 starts, including two shutouts.

The loss eliminated the Red Wings from playoff contention.
"The Red Wings weren't playing like a team that is out of the playoffs," Capitals forward Lars Eller said. "They were flying, but [Grubauer] kept us in the game. He's the reason we got the win."
Jimmy Howard made 25 saves for Detroit (27-36-11), which lost for the 11th time in 12 games (1-10-1).
"This game isn't any different than a lot of games this season," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "We were in the game and we played solid defensively, but we can't score."
Andreas Athanasiou appeared to give the Red Wings the lead at 10:47 of the first period, beating Grubauer from the right face-off circle, but the Capitals challenged for goaltender interference and the goal was overturned.
"That was a great call by the situation room in Toronto. They saw that [Tyler Bertuzzi] hit me and kept me from making the save," Grubauer said. "I think this system is just what we need."

Detroit got a two-minute 5-on-3 power play when Eller and T.J. Oshie took simultaneous minor penalties at 12:24 of the second period. Grubauer made four saves and Washington killed both penalties.
"We didn't execute well enough because that's got to be a goal," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "You have to find a way to score on a full two-minute 5-on-3, 100 percent of the time."
"They were getting sticks on everything," Grubauer said. "They didn't let Detroit get many shots, and there weren't any rebounds."
Connolly scored at 6:41 of the third period, beating Howard with a wrist shot to finish off a two-man breakaway after Jakub Vrana forced a Xavier Ouellet turnover at center ice.
"I think Howard was expecting me to pass, but you can get too cute on a 2-on-0," Connolly said. "I haven't had a lot of good looks lately so I was taking that one."
Howard said he had been watching Vrana set up for a one-timer.
"You are expecting at least one pass in that spot," Howard said. "I wasn't really expecting him to come in and shoot it like that, so he caught me by surprise."
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin hit the post with 5:22 to play.

Goal of the game

Connolly's goal at 6:41 of the third period.

Save of the game

Grubauer's save on Athanasiou at 4:14 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Grubauer's save on Niklas Kronwall at 8:51 of the second period.

They said it

"He was a No. 1 goalie in the minors and he's been a backup to a guy who has been a Vezina Trophy finalist the last couple years. He's been learning and getting better and now he has stepped up to become someone who can win games for us."-- Capitals coach Barry Trotz on Philipp Grubauer
"Every time we put on the Red Wings logo we want to go out there and do the best we can. I think we've been doing that, but it is hard when we're really trying hard and we keep losing games." -- Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg

#

Need to know

Capitals defenseman John Carlson played his 600th NHL game, all with Washington. … Carlson (six games) and Ovechkin (five games) each had point streaks end. … Red Wings All-Star defenseman Mike Green will miss the rest of the season with a neck injury. The pending free agent is scheduled for surgery on his cervical spine on April 5 and will need at least two months to recover.

What's next

Capitals:At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, FS-D, NHL.TV)