The Washington Capitals fell to the Detroit Red Wings 1-0, in a gritty showdown in Motown on Tuesday night. Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek was outstanding in net and the star of this contest. The starting lines for the Capitals:

Offensive Lines:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Johansson-Backstrom-Burakovsky
Chimera-Beagle-Williams
Laich-Stephenson-Wilson

Defensive Pairs:
Orpik-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Orlov-Schmidt

Taylor Chorney and Michael Latta were the healthy scratches for this one.

Quick Takes
The Capitals power play continues to struggle, going 0-2 in the first period, and 0-3 in the game. Braden Holtby stood tall and kept the Capitals in this game, particularly in the second period.  The Capitals once again yielded the first goal of the game, this time in the third period. That makes five straight games the Caps have given up the first goal.  The Capitals penalty kill continues to be strong.  The Red Wings Petr Mrazek had an outstanding game in goal.  The Capitals outshot the Red Wings 38-27.  Alex Ovechkin tied a career high with 15 shots for the game.

First Period
A quick-paced start to this one, with plenty of fire-wagon hockey in the first five minutes. The Red Wings Jakub Kindl was called for tripping at 8:25 of the first, putting the Capitals on the games first power play, but the Caps power play woes continued with no real offensive threat.  The Red Wings Jakub Kindl was called for his second tripping penalty of the period at 12:26 of the opening frame, giving the Capitals the games second power play. This time, the power play was much more effective in terms of offensive pressure and scoring chances, but still no goal.  Alex Ovechkin had multiple chances from the office during the second power play, and 6 shots in the first period.  Braden Holtby had a good first period, making several nice stops.  The period ended scoreless.  Capitals led in shots-on-goal, 14-9.

During the period there was a review of a potential goal scored by the Red Wings, however the officials ruled it was inconclusive, and therefore the ruling on the ice of “no goal” stood.  The replay clearly shows Holtby scooped it out of the net and tossed it between his legs.

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Second Period
The second period started with excellent pressure by the Red Wings for the first five minutes of the period.  Braden Holtby came up big on several Red Wings chances to keep the game scoreless.   The period ended scoreless.  The Capitals led in SOG, 21-18.  Brooks Orpik suffered a lower body injury during the first period and was out for the rest of the game. Nate Schmidt took over for Brooks Orpik and skated on the first D-line with John Carlson.

Third Period
The third period continued with a very quick pace.  The Red Wings Andreas Athanasiou would light the lamp at the 4:06 mark on an extremely sharp-angled shot to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.

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The Red Wings would get their first power play when John Carlson was called for hooking at 9:49.  The Capitals penalty kill would once again come up strong and shut the door on the Red Wings.  The Capitals would return to the power play on a delay-of-game call on the Red Wings Danny DeKeyser at 14:52.  The Caps had great pressure and multiple chances, but the Red Wings Petr Mrazek was stellar, making several great saves.  This one would end with the Red Wings winning 1-0.