Red Wings earn point in Washington but fall further out of playoffs with 4-3 OT loss

WASHINGTON — Getting into the playoffs for the Red Wings just became a tad more difficult.

Washington's Dylan Strome scored his second goal of the game at 1 minute, 55 seconds of overtime, giving the Capitals a 4-3 victory over the Wings.

Strome drove to the net and deflected a pass from John Carlson past goaltender Alex Lyon.

With the one point earned, the Wings (36-29-7, 79 points) find themselves two points behind Washington (36-26-9, 81 points) for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals also have one game in hand on the Wings.

Patrick Kane tied the game 3-3 at 14:40 of the third period. The Wings forced Washington into a turnover deep in the zone, and Alex DeBrincat fed Kane in the slot, Kane unleashing his 17th goal.

Washington overcame a 2-1 deficit on goals from Connor McMichael (17th goal) and Strome (24th goal) and Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren continued his stellar play with 30 saves.

The Wings continue this rugged five-game road trip — they're 0-2 — with games Thursday in Carolina, Saturday in Florida and Monday in Tampa. All three opponents are soundly in the playoff picture.

McMichael tied the game 2-2 just 35 seconds into the third period.

Lyon (26 saves) leaned the wrong way on a shot off the end boards and McMichael had room to stuff a puck past Lyon, for McMichael's 17th goal.

Strome then gave the Capitals the lead at 4:49. Strome won a faceoff, the puck got to defenseman Carlson who drove a shot to the net, and Lyon's rebound went straight to Strome near the side who backhanded a shot past Lyon.

"We want these tight games as late (into the season) as possible," said coach Derek Lalonde after the morning skate. "Again, the teams that win find themselves in position and Washington is winning. We've done our part (winning three of six after a seven-game losing streak) to stay in this battle."

David Perron broke a 1-1 tie with 43 seconds left in the second period, and DeBrincat got the Wings going offensively with his 24th goal.

Lalonde appreciated the Wings' resilience after a recent seven-game losing streak.

"To fight back into it," said Lalonde of what he's liked during this turnaround. "That losing streak was real tough on the group. They kept it afloat and obviously getting (captain) Dylan (Larkin) back helps solidify our lineup a little bit. But I've liked our team game since then."

Perron broke a 1-1 tie with his 14th goal. The Wings had a strong power play going, pressuring the Capitals, and off a scramble, after Lindgren had made two sliding saves, Perron put a loose puck past a prone Lindgren, Perron's 14th goal.

Washington's Nic Dowd and DeBrincat traded second-period goals earlier in the period.

Lalonde wanted to see a sound, tight game from the Wings, similar to Saturday's in Nashville, despite the difficult 1-0 loss to the Predators.

"We've played eight good periods, from the third period on of the Columbus game," said Lalonde before the Washington game.

Dowd opened the game's scoring, just 2:09 into the second period. Former Wings defenseman Nick Jensen had possession of the puck along the boards and found Dowd drifting into the slot. Dowd unleashed a shot past Lyon, his ninth goal.

But DeBrincat answered quickly. DeBrincat drove to the net and converted a nice centering pass from Jeff Petry, DeBrincat's first goal in 13 games, at 4:53 of the second period.

The Wings are relishing these important late-season games, meaningful games they've been wanting to play for seven years now. But they understand they need to begin winning these games to reach the ultimate goal of making the playoffs.

"Part of us wanting to be in this situation is growth in our organization," Lalonde said. "We have to have steps. We've taken the step now, and the other part of growth is how youth handles (these games)."

Said Lyon, who was part of an improbable late-season and playoff run with Florida last spring, "it's one of the most treasured times for me. We were eight points out with like six games to go (in Florida last season). It was like, let's enjoy the moment, let's enjoy the group, let's enjoy the experience. That's how you’re going to yield the best results, just being in the moment."