Pens outlast Capitals in first meeting of season

Sam Lafferty, Patric Hornqvist, Dominik Simon and Brandon Tanev each scored a goal as the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 Sunday. This was the first time the two rivals have met this season, and the 75th game where Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin did battle -- including the playoffs. Crosby and his friends took this one, as their offense kept the pressure on Washington for long stretches.

Lafferty was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Saturday but hadn't scored a point in his previous 15 NHL games. He ended that slump with his first-period goal, his fifth of the season. Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray was in just his eighth game since the start of December but now has won six in a row. He finished with 29 saves, including 11 in the third period.

Meanwhile, Washington rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov had won his previous 11 decisions before dropping this one. He also finished with 29 saves. Lars Eller gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead in the first period on a high shot that beat Murray with 9:22 remaining, but the Penguins answered quickly. They tied the game just 68 seconds later and took a 2-1 lead 54 seconds after that. The game-tying goal came from Lafferty on a shot from the left side.

The go-ahead goal came lead when Hornqvist gently redirected a shot off Samsonov's stick from in front for his 12th goal of the season. With eight minutes left in the second period, Simon found the rebound of a Crosby shot and backhanded it through Samsonov's five-hole for a 3-1 lead.

Washington cut it to 3-2 when Evgeny Kuznetsov scored six minutes into the third period. He made a quick move from the left circle and backhanded one past Murray. The Capitals repeatedly found scoring chances in the third period, but Pittsburgh actually broke through next when Tanev beat Samsonov with a shot that deflected off defenseman Dmitry Orlov's stick. That came with 2:33 left. Eller made it 4-3 just 15 seconds later, but the Caps couldn't net the equalizer.

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