DETROIT (AP) — Shayne Gostisbehere scored in each of the first two periods and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Washington Capitals 8-3 on Tuesday night, for their first six-game winning streak in nearly five years.
Lucas Raymond also had a goal in the first, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead after one. Joe Veleno scored and J.T. Compher had a short-handed goal in the second period to put the Red Wings ahead 5-2.
Detroit didn’t let up with Robby Fabbri, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin scoring in the third.
Alex Lyon finished with 18 saves for the Red Wings, whose last six-game run was from March 23, 2019, to April 2 of that year — one of seven straight seasons to end without a playoff game.
Detroit leads the Eastern Conference’s wild-card standings and the franchise’s fans are clearly fired up about the team’s chances to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
The Capitals, who trail the top two teams in the wild-card standings, are hoping to close the season strong enough to avoid missing the playoffs in two straight seasons for the first time since a three-postseason drought that began in 2004 — a season before Alex Ovechkin started his spectacular career.
Hendrix Lapierre scored early in the second to pull Washington within one and Michael Sgarbossa made it 4-2 later in the period. Max Pacioretty cut the deficit to three goals midway through the third.
Charlie Lindgren stopped 23 shots for the Capitals, who had won four of their last five games to gain some ground on Philadelphia for the Metropolitan Division’s third guaranteed playoff spot.
Washington, coming off a 6-3 win over Ottawa, played for the second straight night. The rested and rolling Red Wings took advantage with a two-goal first period that could have included a third if Fabbri didn’t have a goal waved off.
The Capitals were also missing regulars T.J. Oshie, Nic Dowd and Nick Jensen to injury and Sonny Milano to illness.
The Red Wings were in control for much of the night, looking like they were on the power play during even-strength situations and even scoring a goal when they were killing a penalty.
They peppered Lindgren with 12 shots in the first period and 11 more in the second while giving up a total of 11 shots, entering the third.
UP NEXT
Capitals: Host the Flyers on Friday night.
Red Wings: Host the New York Islanders, shooting for their first seven-game winning streak since January, 2012, on Thursday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
