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DETROIT (AP) -- Washington finally got back to playing like the best team in the Eastern Division. As a result, the Capitals are still the hunt for the top seed in the playoffs.
The Capitals, needing a victory far more than Detroit, got two goals from Andrei Nikolishin and downed the Red Wings 4-2 Friday night.
|  | | Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig and forward Andrei Nikolishin make a Sergei Fedorov sandwich in front of the Capitals goal. |
"This takes a lot of pressure off," Capitals coach Ron Wilson said. "We don't have to worry about Florida so much. We've still got home ice, and we've scored over 100 points.
"How can you be disappointed about that?"
Adam Oates and Richard Zednik also scored for the Capitals, who close the regular season at home Sunday against Buffalo.
"We scored when we got the opportunity," defenseman Calle Johansson said. "When you do that, it's easier to play."
A 4-0 lead early in the second period also made it easier for Washington goaltender Olaf Kolzig to take over the game. He dominated the Red Wings for a while, then came up with big saves later when Detroit finally tried to turn up the heat.
"I wish I'd played like this against them two years ago in the playoffs," Kolzig said. "But this was still nice."
Larry Murphy and Igor Larionov scored for Detroit.
Because St. Louis already clinched the President's Trophy and home-ice advantage in the Western Conference, there was no urgency for the Red Wings to win and earn more points.
Washington, however, had lost three of its last four games and, with just one game left after this one, knew it could end up as low as the No. 5 seed in the East.
"I thought we played pretty well," Detroit forward Sergei Fedorov said. "We just didn't score when we had to. We had some chances. We just couldn't put the puck in the net."
The Capitals, who went into the game with 99 points -- two behind New Jersey and Philadelphia -- didn't dominate the first period. Still, they took a 2-0 lead thanks to two soft goals off Detroit
goaltender Chris Osgood.
Oates made it 1-0 with his 15th goal at 2:59. His weak shot from the right side of the net caromed off Osgood's skate and across the goal line.
Zednik's 18th goal, with 49.5 seconds left in the period, was almost as accidental. As Osgood slid across the ice, the puck hit the handle of his stick, popped into the air and landed in the net.
But there was nothing cheap about Nikolishin's goals. He took a pass in the left circle from Joe Murphy and one-timed it over Osgood's shoulder into the upper right corner of the net for his 10th goal at 2:46 of the second period.
After defenseman Larry Murphy misplayed the puck, Joe Murphy again fed Nikolishin, who fired it over Osgood's shoulder from between the circles for a 4-0 lead at 5:54 of the second.
Larry Murphy made it 4-1 with his 10th goal at 8:31 of the second while Washington's Rob Zettler was off for hooking.
Larionov beat Kolzig from the right circle for his ninth goal, making it 4-2 at 1:28 of the third period.
Kolzig came up with tough saves on Stacy Roest, Tomas Holmstrom and Pat Verbeek in rapid succession during the ninth minute of the third.
The Red Wings, who swept the Capitals in the 1998 Stanley Cup finals, outshot Washington 27-19.
"The guys all had a great attitude tonight," Kolzig said. "As a result, we won a big game."
This was Washington's first regular-season victory over the Red Wings since Jan. 30, 1994. The Red Wings were 7-0-2 against Washington since.
The Red Wings, who close out the regular season Sunday at Colorado, played without Steve Yzerman, who sat out his third game with a mild right knee sprain.
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NHL Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
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Pittsburgh 2
Buffalo 1
Washington 4
Detroit 2
Toronto 2
NY Islanders 1
Chicago 4
St. Louis 3
Anaheim 5
Nashville 1
Colorado 3
Calgary 1
San Jose 3
Phoenix 1
Edmonton 5
Vancouver 4
Los Angeles 3
Dallas 2
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