WASHINGTON — The Detroit Red Wings overcame early trouble to earn a victory against a talented foe.
A couple of penalties forced the Wings to play from behind Wednesday against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena, but they stayed patient, fought their way to a tie, and then captain Dylan Larkin celebrated a 3-2 victory in overtime.
Thomas Greiss made 26 saves as the Wings improved to 4-2-1.
Two seasons, ago, falling behind by a pair of goals would have left them reeling. Now they stay focused and keep working.
It didn’t begin well when Alex Ovechkin, still phenomenal at 36, netted his eighth goal of the season. The Wings were on a penalty kill when Ovechkin got the puck in the left circle; Thomas Greiss stopped the first shot, but Ovechkin slid closer and tapped in his own rebound. The Capitals improved to 2-for-2 on man advantages when Evgeny Kuznetsov scored off a faceoff while Danny DeKeyser was in the box for holding.
The Wings finally were able to build some momentum when Adam Erne scored his second goal of the season, striding into the paint in the second period to pop a loose puck into an empty net. Robby Fabbri followed up with his second goal of the season.
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Second servings
Fabbri slipped the puck five-hole on Vitek Vanecek early in the third period. Fabbri and linemate Pius Suter were exerting pressure down low along with Erne. Stecher forced a save from Vanecek, and Suter scooped the puck and got it to Erne. Fabbri was near the crease, and used a quick shot to tie the game. The second line — Fabbri, Suter and Filip Zadina — has had chances throughout the first two weeks of the season, and came through with a big goal Wednesday.
Hronek reappears
An injury to Gustav Lindstrom opened the door for FIlip Hronek to return to the lineup after spending two games watching from the press box. Hronek, who turns 24 Tuesday, usually plays in the top four, but Jeff Blashill wanted to send a message that Hronek’s play wasn’t up to par. When Hronek is at his best, he’s a mobile puck mover who makes smart decisions offensively and defensively. He partnered with Nick Leddy, saw time on both special teams units and set up Erne’s goal.
Familiar faces among foes
Ex-Wings Anthony Mantha and Nick Jensen were in the lineup for the Capitals. Jensen has been gone since the 2019 trade deadline, while Mantha was moved at the 2021 deadline. Several Wings, including Fabbri, had dinner Tuesday with Mantha. The one ex-Wing not in the lineup was defenseman Dennis Cholowski. The Wings exposed Cholowski in the expansion draft, but the Seattle Kraken dumped the 2016 first-round pick on the waiver wire Oct. 13. The Capitals grabbed him, but Cholowski hasn’t been able to crack the lineup.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
