Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals defeated by the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 3-2 at Little Caesars Arena in the last game of their three-game road trip, where they went 1-1-1, on Sunday evening. The win ended the team’s three-game skid (0-2-1). Goaltender Braden Holtby made 21 saves in the win. 

Capitals Lines at Red Wings

#Caps lines vs. DET:
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
13-Vrana, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly
18-Stephenson, 72-Boyd, 25-Smith-Pelly

6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik, 34-Siegenthaler

Holtby vs. Howard. #CapsWings

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) January 6, 2019

The Capitals made no lineup changes from their 2-1 overtime loss against the Dallas Stars on Friday night.

The Red Wings were without three of their top six defensemen in Mike Green, Danny DeKeyser, and Trevor Daley.

First Period

Forward Tom Wilson buried a shot from the right circle to beat goaltender Jimmy Howard over the glove after getting a pass from center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who recorded his 300th career point on the play, in the slot for his 12th of the season 6:57 into the game.

Spin-o-rama pass from @Kuzya92! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/GT0JnYsoqw

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 6, 2019

Forward Anthony Mantha tied the game on a breakaway for Detroit, going five-hole on Holtby after forcing a turnover on Capitals forward Jakub Vrana.

The Capitals led 13-9 in shots, 7-5 in hits, and 6-5 in blocked shots after 20 minutes of play.

The Red Wings led 3-1 in takeaways and had only one giveaway while Washington had three. Detroit won 52% of the draws in the opening frame.

Second Period

Defenseman Filip Hronek tipped in center Dylan Larkin’s cross-ice feed at the doorstep to give the Wings the led 6:48 into the second.

The Capitals led 13-8 in hits, 9-8 in blocked shots, and only had five giveaways while Detroit had nine after two periods.

The Red Wings led 8-3 in takeaways and won 58% of the draws through 40 minutes. They led 10-6 in second-period shots.

Each team recorded 19 shots on goal and did not score on the power play through two periods. Washington had one opportunity on the man advantage while Detroit had two.

Third Period

Center Travis Boyd finished captain Alex Ovechkin’s pass snapping a shot past Howard’s glove after Ovechkin hesitated for his fourth goal of the season and his second in as many games against the Red Wings 6:19 into the period.

Boyder starts it, Boyder finishes it #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/neRCpkR3f4

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 7, 2019

Defenseman Michal Kempny’s shot from the point squeaked through goaltender Jimmy Howard with 3:52 left in regulation after the puck got hit by a Detroit stick on the way.

The Capitals led 34-25 in shots, including 15-6 in the third period, 20-9 in hits, and only had eight giveaways while Detroit had 13.

The Red Wings led 10-4 in takeaways, 14-11 in blocked shots, and won 59% of the draws.

Each team recorded 19 shots on goal and did not score on the power-play. Washington had four opportunities on the man advantage while Detroit had three.

The Capitals head back home to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. Puck drop from Capital One Arena will be at 7:30 PM and can be seen on NBC Sports Washington or NBC Sports Network for those outside of the DMV.

By Harrison Brown