Detroit, MI
Monday’s hockey: Capitals pass Wings in standings, Ovechkin joins Howe in elite class
Calgary, Alberta — Alex Ovechkin scored twice and became the third player in NHL history to have at least 20 goals in 19 consecutive seasons as the Washington Capitals beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Monday night.
The 38-year-old Ovechkin had two power-play goals in the second period as Washington won its third straight game. He joined former Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe (22) and Brendan Shanahan (19) as the only players to achieve the goal-scoring feat.
Dylan Strome, Hendrix Lapierre and Tom Wilson also scored for Washington (33-25-9), which moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of idle Detroit. It’s the first time the Capitals have occupied a playoff spot since Jan. 2.
In fact, since Washington lost in Detroit, 8-3, on Feb. 27, the Capitals have gone 6-3, including consecutive road wins in Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary. They’ll begin a four-game homestand against Toronto on Wednesday, Carolina on Saturday, Winnipeg on Sunday and then the Wings on Tuesday, March 26.
Kevin Rooney and MacKenzie Weegar scored for Calgary (33-30-5). The Flames finished 2-2-0 in a four-game homestand.
Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren had 34 saves and improved to 18-11-5. He has won five of his last six games with a .956 save percentage.
Calgary rookie Dustin Wolf allowed four goals on 32 shots in his third straight start and saw his record dip to 3-4-1. Wolf had allowed three goals on 67 shots in winning his last two games.
Ovechkin’s 20th goal of the season made it 2-0 at 5:58 of the second period. Ovechkin went to the net where he neatly deflected a hard centring pass from Max Pacioretty (Michigan) into the top corner. After pumping his arms in celebration, Ovechkin immediately looked over at Pacioretty and pointed, acknowledging the terrific pass.
Just over three minutes later, Washington’s power play struck again. Ovechkin set up at the top of the faceoff circle, stick cocked. When John Carlson slid a pass across, Ovechkin leaned into a slap shot that beat Wolf inside the near post.
Ovechkin has 12 goals in 20 games since the All-Star break after scoring just nine times in 44 games before that. He raised his career goal total to 843, second to – and 51 behind – Wayne Gretzky.
The Capitals have been helped in their playoff chase by a rejuvenated power play. On Jan. 18, Washington had the league’s third-worst power play at 13.3%. Over the last two months, including going 2-for-3 against Calgary, the Capitals have the league’s third-best power play at 29.1%.
Buffalo 6, (at) Seattle 2: Jeff Skinner had a hat trick, with his first goal coming during a three-goal outburst in the first six minutes to chase goaltender Joey Daccord, and the Buffalo cruised to a 6-2 victory.
Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch also scored in the first period for the Sabres, who earned their first win in six tries against the third-year Kraken. Buffalo is now three points behind Detroit and four points behind the Capitals for the second wild-card spot.
Owen Power (Michigan) had Buffalo’s other goal. Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves.
The three-goal barrage came after Jordan Eberle gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead just 24 seconds into the game. Matty Beniers (Michigan) scored on a power play late in the first but the Kraken lost their fifth straight game – all at home.
Playoff tracker
Atlantic
▶ Bruins (95)
▶ Panthers (94)
▶ Maple Leafs (85)
Metropolitan
▶ Rangers (94)
▶ Hurricanes (90)
▶ Flyers (76)
Wild card
▶ Lightning (78)
▶ Capitals (75)
(Top two wild-card teams make the playoffs)
▶ Red Wings (74)
▶ Islanders (73)
▶ Sabres (71)
▶ Pittsburgh (69)
▶ Devils (68)
Two Broncos earn awards
Western Michigan’s Logan Pietila was named forward of the week and teammate Max Koskipirtti rookie of the week in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) on Monday.
Pietila (Howell) led the Huskies to a 4-3 victory over Minnesota State in the Mason Cup semifinals on Saturday, scoring two goals, including the game-winner with 9.1 seconds left in regulation. Koskipirtti (Espoo, Finland) picked up a league-best two assists in Saturday’s victory.
N. Michigan’s Van Unen off to ECHL
Northern Michigan defenseman Mike Van Unen signed with the Adirondack Thunder, the ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils and Utica Comets.
Van Unen, 25, finished his fifth season at Northern Michigan University and recorded four points in 17 games. In 150 games with Northern Michigan, he recorded nine goals and 28 assists for 37 points and 181 minutes in penalties.
Michigan-area hockey this week
Tuesday
▶ Columbus at Red Wings, 7 (BSD/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 11:30 a.m. (AHL/96.1)
Wednesday
▶ Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
Thursday
▶ N.Y. Islanders at Red Wings, 7 (BSD/97.1)
Friday
▶ Michigan Tech at Bermidji State, 8
▶ NTDP U17’s at Green Bay, 8
Saturday
▶ Red Wings at Nashville, 5 (BSD/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids at Rockford, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ Michigan at Michigan State, 8 (Big Ten)
▶ NTDP U17’s at Madison, 8
After getting absolutely annihilated in his previous start on Monday in Minnesota to the tune of 11 runs in just 1.2 innings, Garrett Crochet is set to retake the mound today and convince us all that everything will be fine as far as he and his health are concerned.
Unfortunately, he won’t just be battling the Tigers. Mother Nature is once again destined to play a roll in today’s match up, and here’s how the radar looks inside of an hour from first pitch:
The good news is the initial batch of heavier precipitation has moved out and east of Boston, but more unsettled weather still lurks to the west ahead of a slow moving front. That mess will push through eastern Massachusetts over the next several hours, filling in the current dry slot. While this incoming precipitation won’t be as heavy as what fell at times earlier today, it will come attached with colder and windier conditions, so a miserable weather game lies ahead (if they even try and play through it at all — The Yankees did not and waited around for three hours before starting their game against the Royals at 4:20pm). The other option will be to just wait until after sunset when it will be dryer, but still very cold and windy.
When they do get started, today’s lineup includes Roman Anthony leading off in leftfield, Andruw Monasterio at first base, and Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, and Marcelo Mayer all starting on the bench with an opposing left-handed starter on the mound in Framber Valdez for Detroit.
OTM’s own pitching guru Jacob Roy will be around later to handle the postgame wrap and tell us if we should should be freaking out or breathing a sigh a relief when it comes to Crochet.
The Pistons have made recent moves to add more shooting, but still don’t have anyone quite as lethal as former Detroit guard Luke Kennard. On Saturday night, Kennard had a brilliant start to his postseason with 27 uber-efficient points for the Lakers in a win against the Rockets. His level of 3-point accuracy is something the Pistons have desperately been seeking all season long to bolster their offense.
Luke Kennard’s shooting makes him a dangerous playoff performer
Kennard was originally drafted to Detroit with the 17th pick of the 2017 Draft. The Pistons have plenty of draft regrets from that general era of team history, but picking Kennard has never been one of them. Despite any other weaknesses he may have, his strength as a shooter has always been enough to offset them.
In terms of pure 3-point percentage, Kennard is one of the best shooters in NBA history. He averages 44% behind the arc for his career, and shot a blistering 48% this season – the best mark in the league. Given his incredible track record, it’s not exactly a shocker to see him shoot 5-of-5 from three en route to 27 points in Game 1.
Not only is Kennard obviously an excellent standstill shooter, but he’s also a master of getting himself open with his movement. On Saturday night, he was able to play off LeBron James perfectly for a few easy looks. After that, he caught enough of a rhythm to create 3-point looks for himself, even in transition.
A player like Kennard is easily capable of turning an entire playoff game when he gets hot. In a close series, that one game where Kennard hits several threes can be all the difference his team needs to advance. If the Lakers do manage to win this series, even without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves, Kennard’s shooting will be a major reason why.
The Pistons could use someone like Kennard
Kennard would be a perfect marginal addition for the Pistons that only makes them better without taking anything away from the team. To be fair, the Pistons do have two shooters who have been hot recently in Duncan Robinson and Kevin Huerter. But having more than one respected shooter on the court at a time is often necessary to maintain a solid offense in today’s NBA.
Given the Pistons’ current lack of shooting, any additional shooters are welcome. And Kennard is understandably one of the most feared shooters in the league, capable of bending defenses just by the threat of him taking a three. Rolling him out on the Pistons would surely open up more lanes for Detroit’s stars to attack the paint and score easier points.
Follow
A Detroit woman was arrested in the aftermath of a hit-and-run collision and shooting on Interstate 94, Michigan State Police reported.
Emergency dispatchers were called shortly after midnight Saturday about the altercation. Troopers reported the caller said while they were driving eastbound on I-94, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a black Jeep sideswiped them and sped off.
The caller then decided to follow the Jeep.
In response, police said, the driver of the Jeep fired several gunshots in the caller’s direction.
None of the gunshots struck the vehicle.
Troopers were able to use license plate reader camera technology to locate the Jeep while it was on the Lodge Freeway, made a traffic stop. The driver and two passengers were taken into custody without incident.
The passengers were released shortly afterwards; troopers believe that the 19-year-old driver was the shooter. She has been lodged pending further review by the prosecutor’s office.
In addition, a firearm was recovered from the vehicle.
The above video originally aired on Aug. 19, 2025.
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