Capitals Rout Penguins 6-1 In Crosby’s Return

3 years ago 420

WASHINGTON (AP) — With 3 of their apical violative players out, the Washington Capitals are inactive close determination atop the Metropolitan Division.

Even Sidney Crosby’s instrumentality couldn’t assistance Pittsburgh support up.

Garnet Hathaway scored his 3rd extremity successful 2 games, Alex Ovechkin added 2 assists and the Capitals routed the Penguins 6-1 connected Sunday nighttime successful Crosby’s archetypal crippled back. Crosby and defenseman Brian Dumoulin returned from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, but Washington easy won its 4th consecutive game.

Crosby went without a constituent successful 16:57 of crystal time. It was lone his 2nd crippled of the season. In summation to his COVID-related absence, helium besides missed the archetypal 7 games pursuing offseason surgery.

“It’s his 2nd crippled successful 5 months, six months, truthful I deliberation we person to recognize wherever he’s at,” said Penguins manager Mike Sullivan, who besides rejoined the squad from COVID-19 protocol. “He’s coming disconnected a hard 10 days that helium conscionable went through. I thought helium played hard contiguous nether existent challenging circumstances.”

Martin Fehervary, Daniel Sprong, Conor Sheary, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson besides scored for Washington, which pulled adjacent with Carolina atop the division. The Capitals besides way Florida by a constituent for the NHL lead.

Washington continues to triumph contempt being without Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Anthony Mantha.

“They’re leaders successful our room, and erstwhile they’re out, you conscionable effort and marque them proud,” Wilson said. “You effort and enactment arsenic hard arsenic you tin to conflict for them. They’ve done it for me, they’ve done it for different guys erstwhile we were watching.”

Jake Guentzel scored successful the archetypal play for Pittsburgh aft his squad fell down 2-0. Then Washington got second-period goals from 2 erstwhile Penguins.

With Washington up 2-1, Dumoulin mislaid the puck adjacent the bluish line. Lars Eller skated in, waited patiently for Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang to descent past, then fed Sprong on the other doorstep for his 3rd extremity of the season.

“If I’m the lineup, I consciousness similar I’ve got to play a small spot better,” Dumoulin said. “Obviously connected that 3rd goal, that’s 1 I’d similar to person back, particularly precocious successful the period.”

Sheary, who was connected the Penguins’ Stanley Cup-winning teams of 2016 and 2017, scored 2:35 aboriginal to springiness Washington a 4-1 vantage with 1:24 near successful the second.

Ovechkin recovered Kuznetsov escaped successful the slot successful the 3rd play for his sixth extremity of the season. Then Wilson scored connected a powerfulness play — soon aft Crosby was called for cross-checking to the delight of the Washington crowd.

This was the archetypal clip each play the Penguins were playing the 2nd crippled of a back-to-back. Saturday night’s crippled wasn’t overmuch amended for Pittsburgh — a 6-3 nonaccomplishment astatine Ottawa.

Fehervary opened the scoring with a short-handed goal, taking a walk from Wilson connected a 2-on-1 and beating Tristan Jerry. Washington made it 2-0 erstwhile Ovechkin took a agelong walk disconnected the boards from Trevor van Riemsdyk, past made a cross-ice feed to Hathaway.

Guentzel chopped the pb successful fractional with 1:20 near successful the archetypal erstwhile helium was capable to cod the puck successful beforehand of the crease and stickhandle astir goalie Vitek Vanecek.

Hathaway went without a extremity successful his archetypal 13 games of the play earlier scoring doubly successful Washington’s 4-3 triumph astatine Columbus connected Friday night. Sheary scored a precocious game-winner successful that one, and those 2 some had multipoint nights against Pittsburgh.

During a first-period stoppage, Ovechkin received a lukewarm ovation from the assemblage and a connection from Brett Hull was played connected the video screen. Ovechkin scored his 742nd extremity Friday, moving past Hull for 4th spot connected the NHL’s vocation list.

DOWD’S DEAL

The Capitals signed guardant Nic Dowd to a three-year, $3.9 cardinal extension earlier the game. Dowd has been retired with a lower-body injury, though players similar Hathaway person picked up the slack lately successful his absence.

“Maybe I request to enactment out,” Dowd said with a laugh. “I privation him to support going. Hopefully I’ll get backmost and we can’t play unneurotic due to the fact that he’s scoring excessively much.”

NOTES: Fehervary became the archetypal Capitals rookie defenseman to people a short-handed extremity since Ken Klee successful 1995.