Consult the reports of the games played Friday in the NHL.
Penguins win over Capitals 4-2
Danton Heinen, Brock McGinn and Kasperi Kapanen scored, Sidney Crosby had two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat their top rivals, the Washington Capitals, 4-2 on Friday.
The Penguins largely controlled play in the first two periods, threatening to overwhelm on several occasions and putting goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov to the test. Their efforts paid off as Kapanen’s goal, prepared by Crosby midway through the second period, gave the visitors a 3-0 lead.
“It’s still so impressive to be honest,” Kapanen commented of playing on the Crosby line. The goal allowed him to end a shortage of five games without scoring.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller tried to bring the Capitals back into the game in the third period, but Carter sealed their fate by sending the puck into an empty net with less than two minutes to go.
With this gain, the Penguins extended their winning streak to three. For their part, the Caps saw their streak come to an end with two wins. It was the 85e duel between Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in the National Hockey League.
Ovechkin also had two assists in the game.
On the other hand, the loss could have cost the Capitals dearly, who lost the services of Tom Wilson due to an upper body injury. Defender Martin Fehervary also left the game with an upper body injury following a body check.
Tristan Jarry made 29 saves in front of the Penguins’ net, as did his opponent Samsonov.
The Penguins’ top three lines contributed to the offensive production. Heinen scored as he redirected defenseman John Marino’s pass to the back of the net. Then, a McGinn pass attempt hit Evgeny Kuznetsov’s right skate before entering the net. Finally, a perfectly coordinated counterattack between Evan Rodrigues, Crosby and Kapanen led to the latter’s goal.
Stephen Whyno, Associated Press