Logan Thompson stopped 23 of 24 shots to record the first 30-win season of his NHL career and Tom Wilson’s third-period goal elevated him to the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his NHL career. The twin milestones helped the Caps push past the desperate Detroit Red Wings by a 4-1 count on Tuesday night in the District.
Tuesday’s victory marks the second time in a dozen nights that the Caps delivered a difficult defeat to Detroit here in DC. Back on March 7, the Wings entered the third period with a 2-1 lead, only to fall 5-2 when the Caps erupted for four goals in the front half of the third period, including a pair of shorthanded strikes.
This time around, the game was all even at 1-1 entering the third, but Thompson denied Detroit captain Dylan Larkin on a 2-on-1 rush early in the third, one of several stellar stops he made to keep the Wings from grabbing the lead.
Just over seven minutes later, P-L Dubois took a feed from Aliaksei Protas and cruised down the left side before beating Detroit netminder Petr Mrazek to lift the Caps to a 2-1 lead at 8:16. As they did less than two weeks ago, the Caps poured on the offense until the margin was at three, winning for the seventh time in eight games.
“I thought both teams had some good chances,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “I felt like we were a little off tonight, fighting the puck quite a bit – in all three zones – not just offensively. Trying to exit our zone, we had a bunch of misplays that led to quality chances, but [Thompson] was fantastic tonight. We were just staying with it, staying with it, staying with it, and then we needed someone to make a play in that third period, and Dubois steps up, and makes a big play.”
The Caps started on time and with some verve; they peppered Mrazek with 14 shots in the first period and had a great deal of productive time in the offensive zone. One of those productive shifts produced the game’s first goal.
Washington generated movement of both the puck and some bodies high in the Detroit zone while Connor McMichael manned the net front. After an exchange between the defensemen near the Detroit line, John Carlson left it for Dylan Strome at center point. From there, and with McMichael screening Mrazek, Strome let a perfectly placed floater fly into the far corner of the cage for a 1-0 Washington lead at 6:36.
Just under six minutes later, the Wings pulled even with a transition goal. Alex Ovechkin’s errant exit feed went instead to Ben Chiarot in the neutral zone. Chiarot carried back into Washington ice and put a soft shot on net that Thompson was easily able to set aside, but Larkin pounced on and buried the rebound to square the score at 12:28.
Neither side scored in the second and there were no penalties, either. In fact, there were no penalties all night doled out to either side; it was just the second penalty-free game in Washington’s franchise history, the first was a 3-0 loss at Boston on March 6, 2014.
Thompson made a tremendous stop on Alex DeBrincat early in the second after the Detroit winger found a puck at the top of the paint. Just after the midpoint of the middle frame, Thompson made a pair of strong saves in short succession, keeping both ex-Cap Craig Smith and Tyler Motte from scoring the go-ahead goal.
Those saves – and the one on Larkin early in the third – set the table for Dubois’ game-winner, and then Protas set up Wilson’s 30th with a feed to the front from behind the Wings’ net at 14:21, a real dagger of a goal against for the Wings.
McMichael swatted a loose puck past Mrazek just over a minute after Wilson’s milestone marker to account for the 4-1 final.
“I’ve never really thought too much about it,” says Wilson of the 30-goal plateau. “And then you get close, and it’s something that you really want to do. I truly think it’s a testament to some great players that I’ve played with this year, and it’s just been a really fun year.
“That first week of the year, bringing [Brandon Duhaime] and all these characters in, I’m like, ‘Aw, it’s going to be a long year; they’re going to be all over me.' But it makes it fun coming to the rink, and I think you can see that with our group. Everyone has a lot of fun, and it makes you want to come to the rink and keep playing, and keep playing hard for each other.”
Thompson improved to 30-4-5 on the season, tying the NHL record for fewest regulation losses for a goaltender at the time of their 30th victory. That record was established by Hockey Hall of Famer Tiny Thompson (no relation) nearly a century ago; he was 30-4-1 with Boston in 1929-30. Montreal’s Bill Durnan – also a Hockey Hall of Famer – matched it (30-4-7 in 1943-44), as did Boston’s Linus Ullmark (30-4-1 in 2022-23).
“It’s exciting,” says Thompson. “I think that’s a team achievement. The guys in front of me have played so well all year, and I definitely wouldn’t have hit that mark without them. So, credit to all the guys in this dressing room.”
For the Wings, Tuesday’s game was a lost opportunity to collect a point or two. Detroit is one of six teams separated by only four points who are doggedly vying for the second wild card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The Wings trail Montreal by three points, but they now must push their way past four teams to get there.
“I thought we started slow and had to play catch-up a little bit in the first period,” says Detroit coach Todd McLellan. “But after that, I thought we played a real good game.
“And at the end of the night, they get one at 2-1. You’ve got to live with that; that happens sometimes. The third one is the one that makes no sense to me; we get beat up ice again and we don’t even put ourselves in a position where we get to pull the goaltender.
“And that’s got to get fixed. It’s the only way we’re going to improve as a hockey club is to rebound from things that don’t go our way. To have that happen is disappointing.”
