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DETROIT (AP) The Washington Capitals are in first place because of victories like this.Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season http://www.officiallightningprostore.com/authentic-adidas-mikhail-sergachev-jersey , and Brett Connolly scored the game’s only goal on a third-period breakaway to lift the Capitals to a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. Washington was far from dominant, but the Capitals created the game’s best scoring chance and that was enough.”I know they had a lot of shots, but this was a pretty easy game,” Grubauer said. ”The guys kept the front of the net clear, so I could see everything they were taking.”Washington is last in the NHL in shots per game, but the Capitals have won six of seven and lead Pittsburgh and Columbus by four points atop the Metropolitan Division as the regular season winds down.Washington has turned increasingly to Grubauer of late after Braden Holtby struggled in February and at the beginning of March. Holtby wasn’t available Thursday because of an injury coach Barry Trotz described as a tweak.The Capitals took the lead with 13:19 remaining after Detroit defenseman Xavier Ouellet couldn’t control the puck near Washington’s blue line. Connolly and teammate Jakub Vrana went the other way on a two-man breakaway , and Connolly beat Jimmy Howard with a wrist shot to the glove side.Connolly has 15 goals this season on 64 shots.”You can get too cute on a 2-on-0, and I didn’t want to mess it up,” Connolly said. ”I think Howard was expecting a pass, but I haven’t had many good looks in the last few games, so I was taking this one. I needed it.”Howard was indeed expecting a pass.”The way Vrana opened up for the one-timer Nikita Kucherov Jersey , I was expecting at least one pass,” Howard said. ”He caught me by surprise there.”Detroit has lost 11 of 12 and was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The Red Wings will miss the postseason for a second consecutive season.The Red Wings had a goal called back for goalie interference in the first period – replays showed Tyler Bertuzzi appearing to make contact with Grubauer in front of the net. Detroit squandered a great opportunity in the second when the Red Wings had a two-man advantage for the full 2:00.”Gru was the difference in the game. Detroit had a great game plan and really used their speed to box us up,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”We were in a lot of tough spots, but Gru kept making the big saves we needed. We just need to score a few more goals for him.”Andreas Athanasiou had a breakaway in the third, but couldn’t beat Grubauer . Athanasiou had another chance in the final minutes, but his deflected shot went wide as Grubauer tried unsuccessfully to grab it with his glove.NOTES: The Red Wings announced before the game that D Mike Green will have season-ending surgery on his cervical spine. ”This dates back to a year ago, basically. He’s played through it. We knew at some point that this was inevitable,” coach Jeff Blashill said. ”I know there was some wondering why Green wasn’t traded. Well, this was why, because teams knew that if again, if he took the wrong hit Ondrej Palat Jersey , he might be out.” … Capitals F Evgeny Kuznetsov missed a third straight game with an upper-body injury. … Washington signed D Tobias Geisser to a three-year entry-level contract beginning in the 2018-19 season, and the Capitals also recalled G Pheonix Copley from the Hershey Bears.UP NEXTCapitals: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.Red Wings: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.— SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) James Reimer found a great way to celebrate his 30th birthday: He tied a season high with 46 saves to lead the Florida Panthers over the Boston Bruins 3-0 on Thursday night.”If that’s what happens on my birthday, I’ll take it every day,” Reimer said.Making his first start in six games, Reimer earned his third shutout of the season. Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist, and Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad also scored. Evgenii Dadonov added two assists.Florida moved within three points of idle New Jersey for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers, who have won 11 of 13 at home, have two games in hand on the Devils.”It’s nice to get in a groove, get in a rhythm, when you haven’t played in a long time Ryan Callahan Jersey ,” Reimer said. ”It’s big. We’re trying to catch some teams. We’ve got games in hand, which is nice, but those games are useless if you don’t win them.”Anton Khudobin stopped 25 shots for the Bruins, shut out for the first time since their second game of the season, a 4-0 loss to Colorado on Oct. 9. The Bruins are four points behind Atlantic Division leader Tampa Bay, with one game in hand on the Lightning.”Give them credit, their goaltender credit, but sometimes it bounces your way, sometimes it doesn’t,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.The Panthers stretched their lead to 3-0 on a power-play goal by Trocheck with 5:53 left in the second period. Trocheck’s shot from the right circle went top shelf shot over Khudobin. Trocheck leads the team with 27 goals.”We’ve been in this situation before and you’re expecting that we’re going to be back in the game,” Khudobin said. ”But http://www.officiallightningprostore.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-mcdonagh-jersey , unfortunately this wasn’t that day.”Aleksander Barkov’s assist gave him 70 points, making him the first Panthers player since Olli Jokinen (71) in 2007-08 with 70 points in a season.”I’ve got to thank my teammates for setting me up and playing really well with me,” Barkov said. ”I wouldn’t be there without them, but we still have 14 games left and all I think about is getting wins and getting to the playoffs.”The division foes will play three more times this season, and the game had the feel of a must-win for the Panthers.”With the race we’re in and the time left in the season, we couldn’t afford to lose two in a row, and we’re going on the road,” coach Bob Boughner said. ”It was important to get back in the win column and get some points on the board.”Ekblad made it 1-0 at 6:25 of the first when he swatted in a rebound out of midair past Khudobin. Dadonov made a cross-ice pass to Bjugstad in front and he pushed in the puck to make it 2-0 at 9:06.Bruins forward David Backes was assessed a match penalty for a first-period hit from behind on Trocheck. Backes didn’t agree with the call.”But it’s one of those things I can’t do anything about,” he said. ”I watched the rest of the game when I wished I could help my teammates win a game against a good team.”NOTES: Bruins D Zdeno Chara and LW Jake DeBrusk both missed the game with upper-body injuries sustained in Tuesday’s 6-4 win at Carolina. Boston recalled forward Anton Blidh and defenseman Paul Postma from Providence of the AHL. … Panthers D Alexander Petrovic was scratched with a lower-body injury. … C Frank Vatrano faced his former team for the first time since being traded from the Bruins to the Panthers on Feb. 22.UP NEXTBruins: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.Panthers: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.—