WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Washington Capitals hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, November 14, 2021 for a Metropolitan Division battle.  The Penguins looked to shake off a rough performance the night previous where they surrendered six goals to Ottawa. Meanwhile, the Capitals looked to extend their three-game winning streak with a win over a division rival. Pittsburgh added Sidney Crosby back from a five-game absence for COVID-19 protocol.

Balanced scoring was the name of the game for Washington in their 6-1 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday night. They scored two goals in each of the three periods. Also, despite a six-goal team effort, no one scored more than once for Washington.  Martin Fehervary, Garnet Hathaway, Daniel Sprong, Conor Sheary, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each scored for Washington.

Alex Ovechkin contributed two assists while Sprong, Wilson, Kuznetsov and Sheary each contributed an assist each. Which gave them all two-point nights. Vitek Vanecek turned in a stellar performance in net as he stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced to earn an easy win.

Pittsburgh Notables

The Penguins scored a late first-period goal to cut the lead to 2-1 heading into a break. Jake Guentzel scored his fourth of the season with assists from Kris Letang and Mike Matheson. However, that was all their offense could muster as they fell for the second game in two days.

Tristan Jarry started in goal, but didn't fare much better than the prior night's starter, Casey DeSmith. Jarry made 26 saves on 32 shots faced, while also taking the loss for Pittsburgh.

What's next

Washington improves to 9-2-4 on the year and is now tied for first place in the Metropolitan division.  They also extend their winning streak to four games. Next up they will challenge Anaheim on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. 

The Penguins fell to 5-5-4 this year.  Their next game is Tuesday, November 16, 2021 against Buffalo.