Capitals Rally To Clip Red Wings, 5-2; Aliaksei Protas Scores Two Goals

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Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to down the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2, Friday night at Capital One Arena in the District. The Capitals scored four goals, including two short handed goals in the first 8:28 of the final frame, to put the game away. The victory improves the Capitals’ record to 41-14-8 (90 points) on the season.

LINEUP

Logan Thompson (26-4-5, 2.32 GAA, .918 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. Cam Talbot (17-13-3, 2.92 GAA, .903 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Red Wings. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller — Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Ethen Frank

Rasmus Sandin — John Carlson
Martin Fehervary — Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren

Scratched: Anthony Beauvillier, Alex Alexeyev, Dylan McIlrath.

Injured: Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back).

Roster moves: Jakub Vrana was waived by the team this week and claimed by the Nashville Predators. Anthony Beauvillier was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second-round draft pick on Friday.

1ST PERIOD

The Red Wings took just 43 seconds to register the night’s first tally. Dylan Larkin (26) potted the first tally with a shot off the mask of Logan Thompson. The goal was unassisted.

Detroit made it 2-0 with a power play goal from Moritz Seider (6) at 7:00 of the opening stanza. P. Kane (25) and L. Raymond (42) had the helpers.

The Capitals knocked home their first tally of the evening late in the period. Taylor Raddysh (6) finished on a rebound to make it 2-1 at 18:39. Andrew Mangiapane (11) and Rasmus Sandin (19) had the assists.

The Wings held the 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Detroit led possession in the first frame, leading in five-on-five shot attempts, 21-16. Capitals led in expected goals for, 1.o5 to 1.00.

2ND PERIOD

The Capitals and Red Wings skated to a scoreless draw in the middle frame.

The Capitals led in five-on-five shot attempts, 21-16, and expected goals for, 0.46 to 0.16.

3RD PERIOD

The Capitals tied the game early in the final frame on a short-handed snipe by Aliaksei Protas (24) at 0.51. Tom Wilson (22) had the lone assist.

The Capitals quickly grabbed their first lead of the evening on Jakob Chychrun’s 18th goal of the season to make it 3-2. Dylan Strome (44) had the primary assist. Pierre-Luc Dubois (38) had the secondary helper.

The Capitals made it 4-2 on Aliaksei Protas’ second goal of the period and 25th tally of the season at 5:17. Connor McMichael (26) and John Carlson (36) had the helpers.

The Capitals made it 5-2 on a breakaway short-handed goal by Tom Wilson (29) at 9:19. Aliaksei Protas (29) had the lone helper.

It marks the 16th time in franchise history the Capitals have scored two shorthanded goals in the same game and the ninth time they have scored two shorthanded goals in the same period.

Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson are the first Capitals players with two shorthanded points in a game since Ivan Majesky (1g, 1a on 3/8/06).

The Capitals have held their opponents to fewer than 20 shots in four of the last five games.

The Capitals have earned points in seventeen of their last 21 games against the Red Wings (14-4-3) and are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games versus Detroit at home.

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.

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