Recap: Capitals blank Red Wings, 2-0

DETROIT -- In his first career start, Washington Capitals goalie Zach Fucale turned aside 21 shots and was the beneficiary of a stellar defensive effort, leading to a 2-0 shutout of the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The loss ended Detroit's three-game winning streak, and gave the Caps their second straight victory. Washington scored two goals in a 10-second span mid-way through the first period, providing all the scoring it would need.

Fucale became the first goalie with a shutout in his NHL debut since Toronto's Garrett Sparks in 2015.
"I don't think we shot enough pucks. We had opportunities to shoot pucks, and I didn't think we got to enough rebounds," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "Those would be two things. There were rebounds there, not necessarily rebounds, but maybe fronted pucks that were lying there in the slot. We gotta find ways to get those to the cage."
Detroit will wrap up its four-game homestand on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens. The Capitals will travel to Columbus to conclude their road swing on Friday.

Washington scored back-to-back goals in the 12th minute of the first period to quickly claim a 2-0 lead. Dmitry Orlov scored his second of the season at 12:43 after receiving a feed from Evgeny Kuznetsov, and beating Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss from the left faceoff circle. Just 10 seconds later (12:53), Lars Eller scored his first goal of the season.
Robby Fabbri drew a holding penalty on a rush to the net in the final seconds of the opening period, giving Detroit a power play to begin the second frame. The Red Wings outshot Washington in the opening 20 minutes, 11-10.
The second period featured six more combined penalties, but neither team found the back of the net despite earning 5-on-3 power play situations. Washington preserved its 2-0 lead heading into the dressing room at the second intermission, and outshot Detroit in the frame, 12-4.
Washington continued its stingy defending in the third period, preventing the Red Wings from manufacturing any Grade-A scoring chances. Greiss was pulled with just over two minutes remaining, but Detroit was unable to capitalize with the 6-on-5 man-advantage.
"Washington made it very difficult on us," Dylan Larkin said. "We couldn't get to the middle of the ice, we couldn't generate a lot of offense, and our power play wasn't nearly good enough. We had a 5-on-3 there, we've gotta score. Greisser kept us in it all night. It was like a chess match. They were better in the middle of the ice."
Saturday's puck drop is set for 7 p.m., with broadcast coverage on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network.