WASHINGTON — The Detroit Red Wings showed signs of embracing the pressure of chasing a playoff spot, but ultimately couldn’t handle the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Their outing against the Washington Capitals Tuesday at Capital One Arena came 11 days after a trade-deadline meltdown; even with Petr Mrazek, one of their acquisitions from that day, in net, the Wings crumbled in the third period, falling 4-1.

The Wings (32-30-6) lost for the seventh time in 10 games, which has bumped them to the outside of the playoff picture, with only 14 games left to make up ground.

There were no penalties in the game, and only two goals through two periods, with Dylan Larkin making it 1-1 on his 28th goal of the season. But the Capitals ran off three straight goals in the third period: Pierre-Luc Dubois made it 2-1 when he backed down Justin Holl while closing in on Detroit’s net and sent a fluttering shot into the twine. Tom Wilson essentially put the game away when he drove to the net and called for the puck, and Connor McMichael delivered the final blow with a goal at 15:27.

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It doesn’t end with us

Capitals superstar Alex Ovechnkin entered Tuesday’s game eight goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals. It’s history in the making, but like every other opponent, the Wings don’t want to see it in person.

“It’s going to be really exciting when he does break it, because he will,” Wings coach Todd McLellan said earlier in the day. “To be watching it, you just don’t really want to be on the bench. And let’s face it, if he gets to the record tonight, we’re in real deep trouble.”

Mrazek busy early on

The Wings started well and Mrazek made a notable save on McMichael near the five-minute mark when McMichael ripped a shot on net. Mrazek made a pad save, and then scooped away the puck to prevent a rebound chance. But McMichael was part of a scoring shift soon after, screening Mrazek so that he couldn’t see Dylan Strome’s shot until the puck sank into the far corner, at 6:36 of the first period. That was the only blemish, though, as the Caps directed 14 shots on net in the first 20 minutes.

Offense from defense

The Wings got one back at 12:28, thanks to some nifty work by defenseman Ben Chiarot. Ovechkin fired the puck out of Washington’s zone, but Chiarot intercepted the puck at the red line and circled back, going up ice and firing a backhand shot. Logan Thompson stopped that, but had no answer for Larkin’s second-chance goal. It was Chiarot’s second assist the last three games – and one game after fellow defenseman Albert Johansson scored a beauty of a goal in the Vegas game.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

Matchup: Red Wings (32-30-6) at Golden Knights (39-20-8).

Faceoff: 8 p.m. Saturday; T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada.

TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit/ESPN; WXYT-FM (97.1).