Feb. 27 vs. Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
Washington Capitals (27-21-9)
Detroit Red Wings (32-20-6)
The Caps finish up a set of back-to-back games – and the February portion of their 2023-24 schedule – on Tuesday night in Detroit against the Red Wings. Tuesday’s tilt marks the first time the Caps and Wings have tangled this season, and they’ll meet two more times down the stretch. The Capitals will host the Wings in Washington on March 26 and the two teams will meet once more in Motown as well, on April 9.
Hosting the Ottawa Senators on Monday night in the District, the Caps got off on the good foot in the front end of the back-to-backs, doubling up Ottawa by a 6-3 count. The Caps erupted for four goals in the first period – their fourth four-goal period of the season and their second in succession at home; Washington scored four times in the third period of its previous home game – a Feb. 20 tilt against the Devils.
Aliaksei Protas started the scoring in the game and finished with his second three-point game of the season and his NHL career, and Hendrix Lapierre scored each of Washington’s last two goals for his first multi-goal game in the NHL. Beck Malenstyn also scored for the Caps, who got power-play goals from both John Carlson and Max Pacioretty in the first period.
On a night in which he was honored for surpassing Calle Johansson (983) for most games played by a defenseman in Washington’s franchise history, Carlson broke a 19-game dry spell with his second power-play goal of the season, and the 145th goal of his NHL career, pushing him past Sergei Gonchar (144) for second place among blueliners in franchise history.
The veteran defenseman’s timing was impeccable; fans had barely settled back into their seats after giving Carlson a lengthy ovation following a stirring tribute to him on the overhead scoreboard during the game’s first television timeout. Ten seconds into Washington’s power play – and just two seconds after Dylan Strome swept a draw cleanly to him – Carlson put Gonchar in his rear view mirror.
“It was a cool little moment, especially after all that,” says Carlson. “It was one of those things you can’t make up, when good things happen.”
The Capitals’ six-goal outburst enabled Darcy Kuemper (18 saves) to earn his 13th victory of the season.
Washington is now 4-0-1 in its last five games, a span in which Protas has piled up two goals and seven points.
“One of his best games of the season,” exudes Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery of Protas’ Monday night performance. “He had three or four instances where he used his size, his brain and his skating to protect a puck, or to make a play, even when he had defenders draped all over him. If he can develop that, it’s such a unique skill because of his size, and his reach, and his skating ability. I was really proud of him for showing that and making a few plays. He gets rewarded offensively with the goal and two assists.
“And Lappy, coming in right away, steps right into that fourth line center role. I thought that line was arguably our best line, start to finish.”
Already missing defenseman Martin Fehervary (lower body) and forwards Nic Dowd (upper body) and T.J. Oshie (upper body), Washington also played without Nick Jensen (lower body) and Sonny Milano (illness) in Monday’s win. Pierrick Dubé, the rookie recalled from Hershey last week who made his NHL debut in Florida on Saturday, stepped in for Milano and showed well in 12:25 of ice time. He landed two hits and a couple of shots on net, and had a blocked shot.
“Dubé steps in last second,” says Carbery. “He was slated to warm up. I thought his game was solid with Sonny going down. So yeah, those guys stepping in – Pro, Dubé, and Lappy – all did a real good job for us tonight.”
Now, it’s on to Detroit, and their first meeting of the season with the Wings. With a sizeable lead for the back half of Monday’s game, Carbery was able to manage the minutes of his top players while giving some reps and experience to some of the younger players. Once again though, the Caps will need all hands on deck on Tuesday in Motown.
“Given the circumstance, I was very conscious of it,” says Carbery of managing workloads on the front end of back-to-backs. “I tried to even things out at the end of the game without taxing guys on back-to-back shifts. We were able to spread it around a little bit there.
“[Alex Ovechkin] and Stromer had the three or four minutes of power play time, so they weren’t taxed, which should help us [Tuesday] night. They had a tough night [Monday], but the luxury for us is now they’re a little bit rested and can come into a massive game [Tuesday] night on the road, and feel real fresh.”
Since their NHL record string of 25 straight playoff appearances ended in 2017, the Red Wings have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the last seven seasons, matching a dubious franchise mark. But the Wings are firmly on track to be back in the postseason this spring.
Detroit enters Tuesday’s tilt with a five-game winning streak. Although three of those five victories came in overtime, the Red Wings have outscored the opposition by a whopping 20-7 over the life of the streak. Most recently, the Wings overcame the Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday night, spoiling the retirement of Chris Chelios’ sweater at United Center with a 3-2 overtime victory over their fellow Original Six club.
Making his first return to United Center as a member of the Red Wings, Patrick Kane bit the hand that once fed him, scoring the overtime game-winner, just over a year after he last played in the building as a member of the Blackhawks.
With its current winning run, Detroit has surged past Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division standings, and the Wings now occupy the first wild card slot in the Eastern Conference. Detroit is four points behind third-place Toronto in the Atlantic, and the Leafs hold a game in hand on the Red Wings.
Detroit’s dining scene just got even more flavorful with the opening of Sunda New Asian, bringing modern Southeast Asian cuisine to the city.
Restaurant owner Billy Dec joins the show to share what guests can expect from the new hotspot, from bold dishes and incredible cocktails to an energetic atmosphere.
Watch the video above to see what’s cooking up at Sunda New Asian.
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Detroit Lions podcast includes Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
Nolan and Richard are joined by Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
By this point in the offseason, it’s well documented who the Detroit Lions have added, as well as who they’ve lost.
Former Carolina Panthers center Cade Mays was the prize of free agency. He’ll replace Graham Glasgow in the middle of Detroit’s offensive line. Clemson’s Blake Miller, selected 17th overall in April’s draft, is poised to quickly take over at the tackle spot opposite Penei Sewell, stepping in for Taylor Decker. The pass rush was overhauled across from Aidan Hutchinson, with Ahmed Hassanein and Tyler Lacy being the only other edge defenders still on the roster from last season.
Today, we’ll try to take our analysis a step further, identifying a few patterns within Detroit’s offseason approach and exploring what those acquisitions, retentions and departures mean for a Lions team looking to bounce back and reemerge as a title contender in 2026.
Detroit’s offense had its own share of issues throughout 2025. But what the defense produced down the stretch with the season on the line failed to meet reasonable expectations. Opponents averaged 28.1 points and 382.1 yards per game from Weeks 12-18, a stretch that resulted in four losses. Pinning all of Detroit’s defensive woes on one factor would be foolish (and you can’t ignore the role injuries played), but an inconsistent, at best, pass rush certainly didn’t help. The Lions owned the third-slowest time to pressure (2.86 seconds) in the NFL last season, according to Next Gen Stats.
Aside from the retooling opposite Hutchinson, the Lions also seemingly put an emphasis on acquiring interior defensive linemen who can get after the passer. Levi Onwuzurike is back after his contract tolled last season — Josh Paschal, a run-defending lineman who also had his contract tolled but was released in March, wasn’t afforded the same opportunity — and the Lions spent a couple of late-round draft picks on Texas Tech’s Skyler Gill-Howard and Tennessee’s Tyre West. Both players were drafted because of the flashes they’ve shown as pass rushers, particularly Gill-Howard, whose win rate in 2025 (14.4%) ranked 10th out of the 512 FBS interior defenders who rushed the passer on at least 100 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Copying the Super Bowl champions isn’t always wise — every team’s personnel has its own set of skills — but it’s striking how much Detroit’s defense differed from that of the Seattle Seahawks, who rode their defense on the way to winning the franchise’s second title. The Lions led the league in use of base defense (three linebackers) last season, deploying those packages for 657 plays, according to Next Gen Stats. The Seahawks were last, with 66 plays. It was the opposite for use of nickel defense (five defensive backs), with the Seahawks leading the league (815) and the Lions at 32nd (355). Of course, Seattle is unique, given head coach Mike Macdonald’s defensive system and nickelback Nick Emmanwori’s immediate impact as a rookie.
The Lions won’t overhaul their entire scheme in one offseason, but it’s difficult to see their moves in totality and not come away thinking they could lean more on nickel packages in 2026. Alex Anzalone, one of the league’s better linebackers against the pass, allowed the Lions to play base defense as much as they did, as he was comfortable in coverage. He’s now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions added a number of viable options to play nickelback next season, including veterans Christian Izien Jr. and Roger McCreary, as well as fifth-round rookie Keith Abney II (Arizona State).
Assuming the starting five, from left to right, winds up being Sewell, Christian Mahogany, Mays, Tate Ratledge and Miller, Detroit’s offensive line will have an average age of 25.2 next season. That’s down from 2025 (27.8) and 2024 (29.8). In no way does the influx of youth indicate surefire success, but the Lions would certainly be set up for sustained success if each of the five projected starters reach their ceilings. The offensive line could be even younger if 2025 fifth-rounder Miles Frazier, who is 11 months younger than Mahogany, wins the starting job at left guard. Juice Scruggs, another contender at left guard, is nine months older than Mahogany. Ben Bartch, 27, is the veteran option.
Whether Mays continues ascending at center will be key to Detroit’s success in 2026. He’s only started 20 games at the position over his four seasons in the NFL, and all of those starts have come within the last two years. He showed week-to-week growth in his 12 starts in 2025, enough for the Lions to commit $25 million ($14 million guaranteed) to him over the next three years. Mays surrendered 13 pressures last season and didn’t allow sack, according to PFF.
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
How the PWHL unveiled Detroit’s team amid much fanfare
Chris Ilitch, Mary Sheffield, Jayna Hefford and Amy Scheer talk about the PWHL Detroit team on May 6, 2026.
Josh Sciba comes to the Detroit Professional Women’s Hockey League team with a tremendous recent accolade.
Named to coach the ninth franchise in the PWHL’s history on Thursday, May 28, Sciba joins the team fresh off having served as an assistant coach with the women’s team that won the gold medal at the 2026 Milano Olympics.
“I’m incredibly honored and excited for the opportunity to become the coach of PWHL Detroit and beyond grateful for the trust placed in me to help lead the organization from the beginning,” Sciba said in a statement. “This is home and especially meaningful for me and my entire family, knowing Detroit’s rich hockey history and identity firsthand and how much the women’s hockey community has been yearning for this moment.”
The Detroit PWHL team has taken shape over the past month: From being introduced on May 6 in a gala event at Little Caesars Arena (where the team will play starting late November/early December 2026) to naming Manon Rheaume general manager on May 15.
“Josh is a highly respected coach with a knowledge of the game and experience at all levels of women’s hockey that set him apart, and his passion for teaching and individual character are qualities I value in a leader,” Rhéaume said in a release “Hockeytown is in his blood, and this is an opportunity I know he is eager to embrace with an understanding of what it means to represent this city and be part of its legacy.”
Next on the agenda is shaping the roster itself, which will happen at the June 17 expansion draft at Detroit’s Fox Theatre.
Sciba, 41 and a native of Westland, has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the PWHL’s New York Sirens and brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to the role.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
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