The Detroit Red Wings secured a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday, improving to 20-13-3 with their third win in four games. Moritz Seider contributed a goal and an assist, while John Gibson made 24 saves in net. The Capitals, now 19-12-4, have lost four of their last five contests.
The game began quickly for Detroit, as John Leonard scored his first goal of the season at 1:05 of the first period, tipping in a rebound from Simon Edvinsson's shot to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. Washington goalie Logan Thompson faced 17 shots in the period, stopping all but the opener, as Detroit outshot the Capitals 17-6.
In the second period, James van Riemsdyk extended the advantage to 2-0 at 1:37, poking in a rebound off Moritz Seider's shot that caromed off the back wall. Elmer Soderblom made it 3-0 at 5:55 with a backhand in the slot off a Marco Kasper pass, his second goal since October 28. Seider then forced a turnover and scored on a breakaway at 10:05 for a 4-0 lead. Aliaksei Protas responded for Washington at 10:36, muscling past Axel Sandin-Pellikka for a far-side shot.
The third period saw Martin Fehervary cut the deficit to 4-2 at 8:30 with a wrist shot from the right circle. Jakob Chychrun appeared to make it 4-3 at 9:41, but the goal was disallowed after a review for goaltender interference by Protas. Dylan Larkin sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 17:10.
Detroit coach Todd McLellan praised the balanced effort: “I thought we got good individual performances throughout the lineup.” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery highlighted the poor start: “We just weren’t able to get through the neutral zone, weren’t able to do enough things forecheck-wise.” Gibson extended his winning streak to seven games, while Andrew Copp and Edvinsson each recorded two assists. Alex DeBrincat had eight shots for Detroit, and Chychrun matched that total for Washington.
