Detroit — The Red Wings couldn’t do what a lot of other teams haven’t been able to do this season and throughout Alex Ovechkin’s career: Stop him from scoring.
Ovechkin’s power-play goal at 17 minutes 10 seconds of the third period snapped a tie and Ovechkin added an empty-net goal with 40 seconds remaining, leading Washington to a 3-1 victory.
It was Ovechkin’s 23rd and 24th goals of the season. He has 754 in his illustrious career.
The teams traded second-period goals, after a goal-less first period.
Pius Suter ended a nine-game goal-less drought with his sixth goal at 1:43, sending the Wings (15-14-3) to a 1-0 lead.
BOX SCORE: Capitals 3, Red Wings 1
Sam Gagner gathered the puck behind the Capitals net and whirled a backhand pass into the slot, where Suter snapped a shot past goaltender Ilya Samsonov, just as a Wings power play expired.
Both teams failed on power plays before the Capitals (20-6-7) tied it late in the second period.
Defenseman Lucas Johansen found Evgeny Kuznetsov with an outlet pass near the top of the circle. Kuznetsov got around Marc Staal, drove to the net, and slid his 11th goal past goaltender Thomas Greiss.
The Capitals have earned a point in 15 straight games against the Red Wings (12-0-3), dating to Nov. 18, 2015. During that span, Ovechkin leads the team with 13 goals in 15 games.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan