8 Observations From the Red Wings 2-0 Loss to Washington

Washington scored two goals in 10 seconds midway through the first period and that’s all they needed to secure a 2-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Washington played a perfect road game by only allowing Detroit to have 21 shots on goal, including only 10 during the last two periods.

Here are the observations from a disappointing loss for Detroit.

#1: Thomas Greiss settled down after the two first period goals and kept the Red Wings in the game.  Greiss made 27 saves on the night.  Unfortunately, the Red Wings were unable to help him offensively.

#2: Sam Gagner was terrific while killing penalties.  He blocked shots and helped kill a 5-3 during the second period to keep the Capitals from scoring during the man advantage.

#3: The PP has no power.  The Red Wings had four power plays including a 5-3 for over one minute during the second period and were not only held scoreless but they didn’t even have a shot on goal.  Give the Capitals credit, they looked like they outnumbered the Red Wings during power plays and even had offensive chances of their own while killing penalties.

#4: The Red Wings held Alex Ovechkin off the scoresheet.  Not only did Ovechkin not score, he was held without a shot for the first time in the last 59 games.

#5: Where is Filip Zadina? Zadina was almost invisible while he was on the ice.  In 16:21 of ice time, including 3:38 on the PP, Zadina was held to only one shot on goal.

#6: Dylan Larkin played hard.  Larkin led the Detroit forwards with 20:52 minutes played and led the Red Wings with four shots on goal.  Larkin also had one hit, one blocked shot and won 59% of his faceoffs.

#7: The Capitals outshot Detroit 29-21 on the night including 6-0 on the PP.

#8: The Capitals had 15 blocked shots to help rookie goaltender Zach Fucale to his first NHL victory and shutout in his first NHL start.