RECAP: Unable to hold early first-period lead, Red Wings fall to Capitals, 5-2

WASHINGTON -- Following a 5-2 setback to the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Friday night that extended their losing streak to five straight games, captain Dylan Larkin stated what the Detroit Red Wings need now perhaps more than ever as they enter the final quarter of the season.

"We just got to get a win, get off the schneid, find a way to win and then continue to find ways to win, not find ways to lose," Larkin said. "We''re not scoring enough. We got to get to the hard areas. Tonight, we didn't shoot. We had a good start and then we didn't stopped shooting the puck and it cost us."

Goalie Cam Talbot stopped 23 shots for Detroit (30-27-6; 66 points), which went 1-for-3 on the power play against Washington (41-14-6; 90 points) and was coming off a 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Friday night.

"At this time of the year, any loss is tough," Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. "I think the way we lost it stings more than anything. Our power play has been outstanding all year, but the last two games I thought we really gave back a lot of momentum in each game when we needed it."

Coming out of the gate with energy and attacking the offensive zone, Detroit took a quick 1-0 lead just 43 seconds into the first period. Larkin, who was assisted by Lucas Raymond, snapped a shot from below the goal line that deflected off the mask of Capitals netminder Logan Thompson and into the back of the net.

Not only was that goal Larkin’s 26th of the season, but it also marked his fourth career NHL tally in the first 60 seconds of a game, his 54th career game-opening goal and the Red Wings' fastest goal to kick off a road contest since Nov. 6, 2021.

That early momentum continued, and Detroit converted on its first power-play chance of the night, as Moritz Seider beat Thompson through the five-hole with a slap shot from the point to make it 2-0 at 7:00 of the first period. The assists on Seider’s sixth goal of the season went to Patrick Kane and Raymond.

"A great start for us," said Kane, who has reached the 40-point mark for the 18 straight campaign. "Obviously, first shift of the game you score. Couldn't have asked for a better start. We got one on the power play, so a 2-0 lead. We played well in the first [period] and had some other looks too. Just kind of lost momentum as the game went on."

Unfortunately, the Red Wings couldn't get anything else past Thompson, who finished with 17 saves, for the rest of the night.

Washington started to chip away at the end of the first period, getting one back on Taylor Raddysh’s rebound goal in front to make it 2-1 with 1:21 to play before the first intermission.

After a scoreless second period, the Capitals suddenly took control of the game by scoring four goals -- two while short-handed -- before the 10-minute mark of the third for a 5-2 advantage and what stood as the final score.

"Obviously, a clean sheet in the third period," McLellan said. "You're counting on [the power play] to at least establish some momentum for the period. Bad turnover and it's in our net, then a few minutes later we get another opportunity and it's in our net again. That really sucks the life out of the group."

A short-handed tally 51 seconds into the final frame by Aliaksei Protas tied it 2-2, then Jakob Chychrun scored on a snap shot through a screen to give Washington its first lead of the night (3-2) at 1:57. Protas struck again at 5:17, getting Connor McMichael’s pass on the rush before finding twine to make it 4-2.

Wrapping up the scoring was Tom Wilson, who put home a backhand on a breakaway for Washington’s second short-handed goal at 9:19 of the third period.

"Obviously, you're up 2-1 going into the third [period]," Kane said. "We have a power play and give up a short-handed goal. We give up another one right as the penalty expired and another short-handed goal, so those are our chances to get momentum at least or enhance our lead a little bit. It went the opposite way tonight, so pretty frustrating when the power play has been so good all year and lets you down in a big game like this."

POSTGAME: The Red Wings will try to get back into the win column when they take on the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on the third period

"We talked about the power play. We enter, we just carelessly throw one into the middle and it comes back the other way. Then, the second one we're pinching and to keep a puck alive, you got to gamble a little bit, but no cover at all. Everybody just froze in one spot. The one guy that read the play was Wilson. Those were the mistakes on the power play."

Larkin on the moves Detroit's top brass made before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

"The message is the message. We didn't do a whole lot, but I think it's honestly been hard to follow today because of our game and back-to-back turnaround. You look at it and what's going on around the League - it's pretty wild with all the big teams loading up. It is what it is right now. We got a group in here that we believe can win. We just got to start doing it."

Kane on Detroit's five-game losing streak

"Every game is different. There's been games where we've played well and there's been games where maybe we didn't play as well as our opponent. Sometimes, you got to find a way to win those games too."

Kane on picking themselves up and looking ahead to Monday's game in Ottawa

"We have no choice.Nineteen games left in the year. We have no choice. We have to be ready for the next one."