Ovechkin scores No. 870 in Capitals loss to Red Wings

DETROIT -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 870th NHL goal, moving within 25 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record, in the Washington Capitals’ 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.

Ovechkin scored for the second straight day after missing the previous 16 games with a fractured fibula. He has 17 goals in 20 games this season.

Nic Dowd also scored, and Charlie Lindgren made 23 saves for the Capitals (24-10-2), who were coming off a 5-2 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Washington allowed four goals on Detroit’s first 12 shots and fell behind 4-1 in the first period.

“In an 82-game season, you get learning experiences for your group,” Dowd said. “We played well enough to win in the second and third, but that’s a tough lead to chase.”

Alex DeBrincat scored twice, and coach Todd McLellan got his first win with the Red Wings (14-18-4) in his second game since replacing Derek Lalonde on Thursday.

“I’m happy for the guys to win -- it obviously hasn’t been real good around here,” McLellan said. “They worked real hard (in practice yesterday) and they got rewarded today.

“So I’m happy for them, but tomorrow, we’ve got to go right back to work again.”

Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist to reach 1,300 career points, and Alex Lyon made 26 saves for Detroit, which had lost four in a row.

“I thought going into the game we had a lot of positive vibes,” Kane said. “Even though we lost the last game 5-2 (against the Maple Leafs on Friday), we had some energy from that game and from practice yesterday.”

DeBrincat gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 3:19 of the first, tipping Ben Chiarot’s shot past Lindgren.

Kane made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 6:44, scoring with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.

“We wanted to carry over the energy from yesterday, and we knew they played in Toronto last night with a 5 o’clock start tonight,” McLellan said. “We all know how hard that it is at times, so we wanted to come out the way we did.”

Ovechkin brought Washington within 2-1 at 12:04 when he one-timed Jakob Chychrun’s pass in the left face-off circle.

DeBrincat scored his second of the period at 12:35 to put Detroit ahead 3-1.

“We obviously got off to a great start,” Kane said. “We knew it was a big shift after they made it 2-1 and we came right back to make it 3-1. That puts momentum right back on our side.”

Lucas Raymond made it 4-1 at 14:18, getting to a rebound and lifting the puck in from the slot.

“In my opinion, it is a three-goal league,” McLellan said. “If you win the race to three, you have a really good chance of winning. Toronto got to it in the first period against us the other day. Tonight, we got there in the first period.”

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery felt the game got away from his team in the moments after Ovechkin’s goal.

“We weren’t sharp, we make some mistakes and it is 2-0,” he said. “OK, it’s 2-1. Take a deep breath, let’s get a few even shifts under our belt. Then we throw a puck away in the offensive zone, transition and the next thing you know, it is in the back of our net.”

Dowd cut it to 4-2 at 10:27 of the third period, tapping in a loose puck.

NOTES: Ovechkin’s goal was his 25th against Detroit. He has scored 25 or more against 16 franchises. … Kane is the fourth active player to reach 1,300 points (477 goals, 823 assists), joining Sidney Crosby (1,636), Ovechkin (1,577) and Evgeni Malkin (1,326). He is also the second United States-born player to hit the mark, joining Mike Modano (1,374).