WASHINGTON _ The Detroit Red Wings looked spent, and their opponent spent the game taking advantage.
Playing for the third time in four nights, second in two nights, and facing the defending Stanley Cup champion in their building, the Wings had to accept a 6-2 loss Tuesday at Capital One Arena.
The game highlighted the disparity in talent between the teams, as Alex Ovechkin registered a hat trick and Nicklas Backstrom bagged four assists.
The Capitals benefited from one lucky bounce in the first period, feasted on two power plays, and reaped a five-goal lead midway through the game. Unlike the back-to-back routs in Boston and Montreal that were the eyesores of October, the Wings did keep trying to work their way into this game.
Dylan Larkin put the puck in Washington's net a minute into the third period, picking up his eighth point in the last five games. Gustav Nyquist put the puck top shelf late in the game, and the Wings finished with a 37-25 edge in shots.
The Capitals daunt under any circumstance, but the Wings were playing their third game in four nights. They fell behind 3:39 into the first period while Frans Nielsen served a penalty for tripping.
Evgeny Kuznetsov passed the puck to John Carlson in the high slot, and he fired a puck Brett Connolly tipped. Travis Boyd connected on Nic Dowd's pass out front to make it 2-0 at 10:50, and the Capitals benefited from Alex Ovechkin's shot _ which was going wide _ bouncing in off Niklas Kronwall to move ahead 3-0 at 12:59. The Wings directed 11 shots at Braden Holtby in the first period.
Tyler Bertuzzi fired a shot from the bottom of the right circle in the opening minute of the second period as the Wings kept trying to work their way into the game. Dylan Larkin had a couple good looks. But their hopes of rallying worsened when the Capitals turned a two-on-one rush into a second Ovechkin goal, at 9:05. Then came another penalty to Nielsen, and another power play goal _ this time, it was T.J. Oshie who scored.
That was enough to end Bernier's night after five goals on 15 shots, with Jimmy Howard taking over.
Ovechkin completed a hat trick at 9:33 of the third period when he blasted a puck that Howard seemed to stop, only for the puck to slip beneath him and trickle across goal line.
The Wings went on a power play at 16:18 of the second period. Thomas Vanek had a chance down low but shot wide, and Holtby stopped Dennis Cholowski's attempt. It was the 11th straight man advantage the Wings failed to convert, dating back six games. The Wings have struggled with man advantages since mid-November _ through their first 18 games, their power play was at 24.1 percent, ranking eighth in the NHL. Since then, they've converted 6.5 percent of opportunities, ranking 31st.
