Caps lose to Red Wings in shootout

DETROIT — Henrik Zetterberg scored a tiebreaking goal on Detroit’s fifth shootout attempt and then Petr Mrazek stopped Alex Ovechkin, sending the Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Detroit jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals by Fran Nielsen in the first period and Tomas Tatar in the second, but high-scoring Washington responded. Zach Sanford scored late in the second period and Daniel Winnik tied it with 4:48 left in the third.

Mrazek made 34 saves, including two on a power play with 6-plus minutes left in regulation and one early in overtime. Led by Mrazek, the last-place Red Wings avoided a season-long, six-game losing streak.

The Eastern Conference-leading Capitals had won six straight, but couldn’t overcome a league-wide trend for teams coming off a bye. Entering the weekend, teams were 3-9-2 in their first game after a five-day break.

Washington’s Braden Holtby stopped 21 shots. He had won his last 14 decisions, tied for the third-longest winning streak by a goaltender in a season.