Washington played a structured defensive game, limiting the Red Wings to just 19 shots on the night. From the time of Carlson's goal until nearly the midpoint of the third period, the Caps held the Wings to just three shots at even strength over a span of 14 minutes and 5 seconds, and none came from inside of 30 feet away.
Halfway through their six-game preseason slate now, the Caps have permitted five goals in three games, with just two of those five coming at 5-on-5.
"I really liked the way we played in Philly [on Wednesday]," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "We did some good things against Buffalo [last Sunday]; it kind of went in spurts. They were on us and we were on them against Buffalo, but in Philly I thought we were real good defensively, and tonight again as well. It's a mixed lineup for the opposition, too. But still, I think defensively we were pretty tight."
Making his first start in net for the Capitals, Darcy Kuemper was spotless in the game's first half, stopping all nine shots he faced on the night. He made a few difficult saves among the bunch, stopping Michael Rasmussen from in tight on the power play in the first, and making a pair of good saves from point blank range in the early minutes of the second. His best stop of the game came just ahead of the five-minute mark of the third when he flashed the right pad to deny Pius Suter from the top of the paint.
Following a scoreless first half of the game, each team made a goaltending change at 11:30 of the second period. A little over three minutes later, the Caps broke the seal on the scoresheet on a sustained offensive zone shift that culminated in a pretty passing sequence and the game's first goal.
With the Wings chasing the puck and the Caps around the Detroit end, Evgeny Kuznetsov spotted Lucas Johansen activating on the left side. Pinching down into the left circle, Johansen accepted the feed and snapped it right back to the opposite side for Carlson, who also jumped up into the play. Carlson finished the tic-tac-toe sequence for a 1-0 Washington lead at 13:35.
"We were in there for a little for a while there," recounts Johansen. "Kuzy was all over the zone, and we were kind of just everywhere. And then he's got such good vision, obviously, so I just figured I'd go for a lane, and then I just saw Johnny out of the corner of my eye. He was ready for it, and yeah, it was great."
Carlson's goal came on the fourth shot faced by goaltender Victor Brattstrom after he entered the game in relief of starter Ville Husso.
The two sides traded unsuccessful power play opportunities late in the middle period, and the Caps carried their slim lead into the third.
Although the Caps didn't score again until the Detroit cage was left vacant late in the third, they carried the play in the final frame and didn't allow the Wings to sustain anything in the way of an attack in the Washington end. Kuemper made nine saves in his 31:30 in the net, and Charlie Lindgren saw 10 shots in his 28:30 in the cage. While the Caps poured four shots on Brattstrom in his first three minutes in the net, it took the Wings more than 15 minutes to test Lindgren from inside of 30 feet away.
With just over a minute left in the third, Eller wheeled and fired from the half wall in his own end, displaying his usual long-distance prowess in his outing of the preseason.
"It was just nice to get some game action again," says Kuemper of his first game in a Caps sweater. "It was my first real game action with this group in front of me, and I loved the structure we played with today. We played tight. It wasn't a ton of work, but it was nice to get back out there for sure."
