Sidney Crosby scored twice and Bryan Rust provided the go-ahead goal midway through the third period as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Thursday night.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored twice and Bryan Rust provided the go-ahead goal midway through the third period as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Thursday night.
The 39-year-old Crosby’s two power-play goals in the first period increased his season total to an NHL-best 11. Rust’s fifth of the season helped the Penguins avoid a second straight collapse. Anthony Mantha got his seventh of the year for Pittsburgh. Connor Dewar created an empty goal in the closing minutes.
Rookie Ben Kindel collected the first two assists of his young career for the Penguins. Arturs Silovs made 28 saves as Pittsburgh stopped a two-game skid.
Ovechkin rallied in the second period by collecting a pair of assists on the night after becoming the first player reaching the plateau of 900 goals.
Ryan Strome, Tom Wilson and Rasmus Sandin scored for the Capitals, but the 99th all-time meeting between old rivals Crosby and Ovechkin ended with the surprising Penguins keeping their composure after blowing a three-goal lead.
Pittsburgh was a surprise early in the season under first-year coach Dan Muse, although the Penguins’ hot start took a dip Monday when two dominant periods in Toronto turned into a third-period meltdown, with the Maple Leafs scoring four straight goals and pulling off a stunner.
Not this time. Pittsburgh’s second-down power play scored three times, including a pair from Crosby in the first.
Pittsburgh appeared to be firmly in control when Mantha pushed Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-0 just over two minutes into the second.
Washington responded by scoring three times, the last being a nifty shot from his knees by Tom Wilson that tied the game 5 seconds before the horn sounded to end the period.
The Penguins held on and Rust put them ahead with a nice redirect from a cross-ice feed from Evgeni Malkin.
Next
Capitals: Travel to Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Penguins: Visit New Jersey on Saturday.
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