In Detroit, the Red Wings surrendered the first goal of the game to Alex Ovechkin on Thursday night, and then scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals.
Ville Husso made 33 saves in the Detroit win.
“I thought the guys played a great game in front of me,” Husso said. “They were blocking shots and they got a great kill at the end of the game. They made my night easy.”
Ovechkin scored in the middle frame to give the Caps the 1-0 lead.
Detroit replied with a strike from Lucas Raymond for a 1-1 tie.
“I think the biggest adjustment we made was just defending better,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “When we’re only giving up nine or 10 chances, it gives us our best chance to succeed, because we still weren’t very good with the puck.”
Washington dropped to 5-4-2.
“I thought that was huge, because both teams are depleted, which doesn’t leave much margin for error,” Lalonde said. “In games like that, special teams are often the difference.”
It stayed that way until the 17th minute of the third period when Andrew Copp hit for his first goal with the Red Wings and a 2-1 lead.
“I got off to a slow start in the goal column, but maybe this will open the floodgates,” Copp said. “I thought we battled and made the kind of desperate plays you need in a game like this.”
Detroit improved to 5-3-2.
Dylan Larkin added an empty-net goal for the 3-1 final.
Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves in the Caps loss.
“We’ve been in every game – we’re giving ourselves a chance, which is what you want to do,” Kuemper said. “If we keep playing this way, outcomes will start coming our way.”
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