Capitals take down Penguins for 4th straight win

Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist each and Logan Thompson made 18 saves in the Washington Capitals' 4-1 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

Defenseman Jakob Chychrun also scored for the Capitals, who won their fourth straight.

Bryan Rust got the Penguins' goal and Joel Blomqvist stopped 28 shots for the Penguins, who have lost four of their last five. Blomqvist was recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the American Hockey League on Thursday.

Rust made it 2-1 with 8:31 left in the third period. He scored on a wrist shot from the inside edge of the right circle on a 2-on-1 rush, after taking a pass from Sidney Crosby.

The goal snapped Thompson's 198:23 shutout streak, which dated back to last Saturday and included two shutouts. He has also won nine consecutive games.

But DuBois' goal with 2:10 left clinched it for Washington and Brandon Duhaime added an empty-net goal.

Thompson's biggest save came about three-and-a-half minutes into the third period when he robbed Evgeni Malkin on a one-time shot from the slot.

Chychrun gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead 7:42 into the game with a one-time slap shot from the left point. It was his 13th goal of the season

Protas made it 2-0 with 7:52 left in the second period. He beat Blomqvist with a one-time shot from the slot after a turnover by Pittsburgh in its own zone. The goal came 28 seconds after the Penguins killed off a Capitals' power play.

Washington's Andrew Mangiapane hit the goal post about 1:15 into the game and the Capitals had the game's first seven shots. Blake Lizotte finally got the Penguins' first shot a little under seven minutes into the contest.

Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang returned after missing Friday night's 5-2 win in Buffalo with an illness, while fellow Penguins' blueliner P.O. Joseph did not play Saturday due to an illness.

It was the 800th career game for Washington's Tom Wilson.

--Field Level Media