Red Wings score 8, defeat Capitals for 6th straight win

DETROIT -- Shayne Gostisbehere scored twice to help the Detroit Red Wings extend their winning streak to six games with an 8-3 victory against the Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday.

“I think we’re beginning to figure out our identity as a team, what works, what doesn’t, and what nights we have to find a way to get points,” Gostisbehere said. “That’s going to be important for this next couple of months.”

Lucas Raymond had a goal and two assists, and Alex Lyon made 17 saves for the Red Wings (33-20-6). Patrick Kane had two assists to extend his point streak to nine games (five goals, nine assists).

Seven players had at least two points for the Red Wings, who hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and nine ahead of the Capitals.

“These four-point games are new for us,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “There is a little extra urgency for the teams that are chasing us. They are literally playing for their season. We know we’ll get the best from New York (Islanders) on Thursday.”

Michael Sgarbossa, Hendrix Lapierre and Max Pacioretty scored for the Capitals (27-22-9). Charlie Lindgren made 23 saves.

“We’re not going to flush this one,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “We got to look at some of the things because we’re going to see this team again. There are a lot of structural things we need to get cleaned up, but we’ve played well. We’ll turn the page. This game is a one-off for our group.”

Gostisbehere gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 5:45 of the first period, beating Lindgren with a slap shot from the top of the right face-off circle.

Raymond made it 2-0 at 16:20, converting J.T. Compher’s pass for his 17th goal of the season.

“I didn’t like the way we played defensively in the first,” Sgarbossa said. “We left the defensive zone open and they capitalized. They don’t need many shots to score.”

Lapierre pulled Washington to within 2-1 at 2:09 of the second period, tapping in a pass from Alex Ovechkin, but Joe Veleno scored from the high slot following a turnover to put Detroit ahead 3-1 at 4:44.

Gostisbehere pushed it to 4-1 at 9:01, beating Lindgren from the high slot.

Sgarbossa cut it to 4-2 at 16:38, burying a rebound off the end boards past Lyon for his second goal.

Compher responded with a short-handed goal to make it 5-2 at 19:47.

“They had the puck lying on our goal line, so it probably should have been 4-3, and then we make a play and get the huge short-handed goal,” Lalonde said. “That was great for J.T. He does so much for us that you like to see him get rewarded.”

Robby Fabbri scored on the power play to give the Red Wings a 6-2 lead at 4:31 of the third period.

Pacioretty scored his own power-play goal to make it 6-3 at 7:09, but Alex DeBrincat scored on a 3-on-2 rush to extend it to 7-3 at 11:49.

Dylan Larkin’s 26th goal made it 8-3 at 14:15.

“Right from the start you could see the talent through their lineup and through their roster and the plays they make,” Carbery said. “They are as good as any team in the National Hockey League.”

NOTES: Detroit scored eight goals in a game for the first time since Nov. 15, 2017. … Raymond’s goal was his 57th in the NHL, moving him past Larkin and Mike Foligno (56) for fourth in Red Wings history among players before their 22nd birthday. Raymond, who turns 22 on March 28, trails Steve Yzerman (114), Gordie Howe (70) and Marcel Dionne (68). … John Carlson reached 30 assists for the ninth season, tying Mike Gartner for third in Capitals history. Nicklas Backstrom has the record with 14 seasons, and Ovechkin has 11.