Capitals beat Red Wings; Howard leaves on stretcher

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Capitals got goals from Troy Brouwer, John Carlson and Joel Ward in a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Braden Holtby made 26 saves in his 18th consecutive start for the Capitals, who extended their point streak to seven games (5-0-2).

Jonathan Ericsson scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Detroit lost goaltender Jimmy Howard to a groin injury just 1:53 into the game. With the Red Wings killing a penalty, Howard left the puck behind the net for his defense to play. Instead, Brouwer got the puck and quickly scored on a wraparound as Howard scrambled to get back into position.

Howard hurt his groin while extending his left leg awkwardly trying to cover the post. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Prior to the game, Howard was named to the 2015 NHL All-Star game.

Petr Mrazek stopped 12-of-14 shots in relief.

"Both goalies were good," said Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg. "Petr came in and played well and made some huge saves there in the third (period) to keep us in it. Obviously, their goalie played well too but we just have to bear down a little better when we get a chance."

Carlson gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at 1:35 of the second when his one-timer from the high slot got past Mrazek.

"I think we play good with the lead," said Carlson. "I don't think we changed too much after we got it. I thought we kept playing hard and stuck to our game plan like we should."

Ward extended Washington's lead to three at 11:39, settling a bouncing puck in the slot and firing it past Mrazek.

Ericsson's first goal of the season put Detroit on the board with 11.9 seconds left in the middle stanza. Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen's giveaway led to Ericsson's blast from the point.

Holtby made 15 saves in the third to preserve the victory and Detroit failed to make headway with Mrazek on the bench for most of the final two minutes.

Game Notes

Carlson celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday ... Washington forward Alex Ovechkin had scored a goal in his previous five games ... The Capitals have won five straight on home ice ... Detroit forward Tomas Jurco sat out his second straight game with a back injury.