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Capitals’ defensemen come through on both ends in preseason win over Red Wings

By Matt Weyrich

Caps’ defensemen stand tall in preseason win over Red Wings originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Darcy Kuemper made his Capitals preseason debut Friday, but the veteran goaltender wasn’t needed much as Washington’s defense blanked the Red Wings in a 2-0 victory on the road.

The Capitals (2-0-1) brought a large traveling party with them to Detroit for the first of a rare preseason back-to-back. In addition to Kuemper, several stars appeared in their first exhibition game of the year including Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson.

It was Carlson who notched the first goal for Washington, benefitting from some strong passing by Kuznetsov and defenseman Lucas Johansen to catch Red Wings goalie Victor Brattstrom on the wrong side of the crease. Center Lars Eller added an empty-netter late to seal it.

Kuemper, who signed a five-year, $26.25 million deal with the Capitals in free agency this offseason, stopped all nine shots he faced in 31:30 of ice time. He did make a pair of impressive saves and emerged unscathed from a Red Wings power play.

Yet the story of the game was Washington’s defense, which limited Detroit to only 19 shots all night. Head coach Peter Laviolette broke up the Capitals’ top blue line pairing of Carlson and Martin Fehervary, lining the former up with Johansen and the latter with Vincent Iorio. Both Johansen and Iorio are hoping to crack Washington’s roster, though spots are limited.

Even after the Capitals switched goaltenders midway through the second period to get Charlie Lindgren in the game, the netminder coasted through the rest of the game with 10 saves.

The Capitals also got their first look at their top power play unit in game action. Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Oshie, Carlson and Dylan Strome were the first players on the ice for each of Washington’s power plays. While they didn’t score in either of their opportunities, the group did generate some strong scoring chances.

After wrapping up in Detroit, the Capitals head to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the Blue Jackets in a Metropolitan Division matchup Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET.

Watch the Washington Capitals on NBC Sports Washington

By NBC Sports Washington Staff
Watch Capitals' season finale vs. Devils on NBCSW originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe Washington Capitals are back on NBC Sports Washington for the 2022-23 season.Don't miss the Caps' quest for a second Stanley Cup championship and Alex Ovechkin's historic chase of Wayne Gretzky. Head coach Peter Laviolette is in his third season at the helm with high expectations where he finally has a bonafide No. 1 goalie in reigning Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper. Can Washington get over the hump for a second time?All season long you can catch games, pregame and postgame coverage with the top insight from those who know the team best. Play-by-play Joe Beninati and color commentator Craig Laughlin are in the booth for their 26th year together of calling Capitals hockey.NBC Sports Washington will also surround all games with live gameday programs Capitals Pregame Live and Capitals Postgame Live. Capitals Pregame Live will be broadcast 30 minutes prior to the scheduled game start. Alexa Landestoy will host a talented and accomplished crew of analysts and insiders, including Alan May, Al Koken and Brent Johnson.NEXT CAPITALS GAME ON NBCSWWhat: Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey DevilsWhere: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.When: Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. ETTV Channel: Capitals vs. Devils will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington. Find your channel here.Live Stream: You can live stream Capitals vs. Devils on NBC Sports Washington's live stream page and on the NBC Sports App.LATEST CAPITALS HEADLINESCapitals' season ends with overtime loss to DevilsWhen is the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs?Lindgren exits with injury as Capitals fall to BruinsCapitals play spoiler, sprint past Islanders to snap skidCaps’ Carlson nominated for Bill Masterton Memorial TrophyCAPITALS GAMEDAY COVERAGE SCHEDULECapitals Pregame Live: 30 minutes prior to the scheduled startCapitals GameCapitals Postgame Live: 30 minutes to an hour following the final hornFULL CAPITALS SCHEDULE:PreseasonSun. Sept 25: Sabres 4, Capitals 3 (OT)Wed. Sept 28: Capitals 3, Flyers 1Fri. Sept 30: Capitals 2, Red Wings 0Sat. Oct 1: Blue Jackets 2, Capitals 1Wed. Oct 5: Capitals 4, Red Wings 2Sat. Oct 8: Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 3Regular SeasonWed. Oct 12: Bruins 5, Capitals 2 (0-1-0)Thu. Oct 13: Maple Leafs 3, Capitals 2 (0-2-0)Sat. Oct 15: Capitals 3, Canadiens 1 (1-2-0)Mon. Oct 17: Capitals 6, Canucks 4 (2-2-0)Thu. Oct 20: Senators 5, Capitals 2 (2-3-0)Sat. Oct 22: Capitals 4, Kings 3 (3-3-0)Mon. Oct 24: Capitals 6, Devils 3 (4-3-0)Thu. Oct 27: Stars 2, Capitals 0 (4-4-0)Sat. Oct 29: Capitals 3, Predators 0 (5-4-0)Mon. Oct 31: Hurricanes 3, Capitals 2 (SO) (5-4-1)Tue. Nov 1: Golden Knights 3, Capitals 2 (OT) (5-4-2)Thu. Nov 3: Red Wings 3, Capitals 1 (5-5-2)Sat. Nov 5: Coyotes 3, Capitals 2 (5-6-2)Mon. Nov 7: Capitals 5, Oilers 4 (6-6-2)Wed. Nov 9: Penguins 4, Capitals 1 (6-7-2)Fri. Nov 11: Capitals 5, Lightning 1 (7-7-2)Sun. Nov 13: Lighting 6, Capitals 3 (7-8-2)Tue. Nov 15: Panthers 5, Capitals 2 (7-9-2)Thu. Nov 17: Blues 5, Capitals 4 (SO) (7-9-3)Sat. Nov 19: Avalanche 4, Capitals 0 (7-10-3)Wed. Nov 23: Capitals 3, Flyers 2 (OT) (8-10-3)Fri. Nov 25: Capitals 3, Flames 0 (9-10-3)Sat. Nov 26: Devils 5, Capitals 1 (9-11-3)Tue. Nov 29: Capitals 5, Canucks 1 (10-11-3)Thu. Dec 1: Kraken 3, Capitals 2 (OT) (10-11-4)Sat. Dec 3: Flames 5, Capitals 2 (10-12-4)Mon. Dec 5: Capitals 3, Oilers 2 (11-12-4)Wed. Dec 7: Capitals 4, Flyers 1 (12-12-4)Fri. Dec 9: Capitals 4, Kraken 1 (13-12-4)Sun. Dec 11: Capitals 5, Jets 2 (14-12-4)Tue. Dec 13: Capitals 7, Blackhawks 3 (15-12-4)Thu. Dec 15: Stars 2, Capitals 1 (15-13-4)Sat. Dec 17: Capitals 5, Maple Leafs 2 (16-13-4)Mon. Dec 19: Capitals 4, Red Wings 3 (OT) (17-13-4)Thu. Dec 22: Capitals 3, Senators 2 (OT) (18-13-4)Fri. Dec 23: Capitals 4, Winnipeg Jets 1 (19-13-4)Tue. Dec 27: Capitals 4, Rangers 0 (20-13-4)Thu. Dec 29: Senators 4, Capitals 3 (OT) (20-13-5)Sat. Dec 31: Capitals 9, Canadiens 2 (21-13-5)Tue. Jan 3: Sabres 5, Capitals 4 (OT) (21-13-6)Thu. Jan 5: Capitals 6, Blue Jackets (22-13-6)Fri. Jan 6: Predators 3, Capitals 2 (22-14-6)Sun. Jan 8: Capitals 1, Blue Jackets 0 (23-14-6)Wed. Jan 11: Flyers 5, Capitals 3 (23-15-6)Sat. Jan 14: Flyers 3, Capitals 1 (23-16-6)Mon. Jan 16: Capitals 4, Islanders 3 (OT) (24-16-6)Tue. Jan 17: Wild 4, Capitals 2 (24-17-6)Thu. Jan 19: Capitals 4, Coyotes 0 (25-17-6)Sat. Jan 21: Golden Knights 6, Capitals 2 (25-18-6)Tue. Jan 24: Avalanche 3, Capitals 2 (25-19-6)Thu. Jan 26: Capitals 3, Penguins 2 (S/O) (26-19-6)Sun. Jan 29: Maple Leafs 5, Capitals 1 (26-20-6)Tue. Jan 31: Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 3 (OT) (27-20-6)Sat. Feb 11: Capitals 2, Bruins 1 (28-20-6)Sun. Feb 12: Sharks 4, Capitals 1 (28-21-6)Tue. Feb 14: Hurricanes 3, Capitals 2 (28-22-6)Thu. Feb 16: Panthers 6, Capitals 3 (28-23-6)Sat. Feb 18: Hurricanes 4, Capitals 1 (28-24-6)Tue. Feb 21: Red Wings 3, Capitals 1 (28-25-6)Thu. Feb 23: Ducks 4, Capitals 2 (28-26-6)Sat. Feb 25: Capitals 6, Rangers 3 (29-26-6)Sun. Feb 26: Sabres 7, Capitals 4 (29-27-6)Wed. Mar 1: Capitals 3, Ducks 2 (OT) (30-27-6)Sat. Mar 4: Capitals 8, Sharks 3 (31-27-6)Mon. Mar 6: Kings 4, Capitals 2 (31-28-6)Thu. Mar 9: Devils 3, Capitals 2 (SO) (31-28-7)Sat. Mar 11: Capitals 5, Islanders 1 (32-28-7)Tue. Mar 14: Rangers 5, Capitals 3 (32-29-7)Wed. Mar 15: Capitals 5, Sabres 4 (SO) (33-29-7)Fri. Mar 17: Blues 5, Capitals 2 (33-30-7)Sun. Mar 19: Wild 5, Capitals 3 (33-31-7)Tue. Mar 21: Blue Jackets 7, Capitals 6 (OT) (33-31-8)Thu. Mar 23: Capitals 6, Blackhawks 1 (34-31-8)Sat. Mar 25: Penguins 4, Capitals 3 (34-32-8)Wed. Mar 29: Islanders 2, Capitals 1 (SO) (34-32-9)Thu. Mar 30: Lightning 5, Capitals 1 (34-33-9)Sun. Apr 2: Rangers 5, Capitals 2 (34-34-9)Thu. Apr 6: Canadiens 6, Capitals 2 (34-35-9)Sat. Apr 8: Panthers 4, Capitals 2 (34-36-9)Mon. Apr 10: Capitals 5, Islanders 2 (35-36-9)Tue. Apr 11: Bruins 5, Capitals 2 (35-37-9)Thu. Apr 13: Devils 5, Capitals 4 (35-38-10)
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