PITTSBURGH — T.J. Oshie scored twice and added an assist as the Washington Capitals spoiled Mike Sullivan’s coaching debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-1 win on Monday night.
Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists, John Carlson added his fifth goal of the season and Braden Holtby stopped 44 of Pittsburgh’s season-high 45 shots.
Evgeni Malkin scored his team-leading 14th goal, but the Penguins failed to keep pace with Washington in Sullivan’s first game since taking over for Mike Johnston. Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves, and Pittsburgh’s power play went 0-for-2.
The Penguins fired Johnston on Saturday with Pittsburgh off to a sluggish start and unable to separate itself in the middle of the congested Metropolitan Division thanks in large part to an ineffective power play and Johnston’s apparent inability to connect with his roster of high-profile stars.
Sullivan stressed he doesn’t think the Penguins need to be rebuilt so much as refocused. The opening minute of his tenure seemed to prove his players were listening, as Crosby centered an electrifying opening shift that produced a couple of quality chances.
Then the adrenaline faded and the reality set in. Washington needed just more than seven minutes to build a two-goal lead. Backstrom took a backhand feed from Oshie and cruised down the slot before beating Fleury over his glove. Carlson scored his fifth of the season 7:04 into the first by flipping his own rebound past Fleury as Pittsburgh’s defense scrambled to protect the front of the net.
Malkin’s slick redirect off a shot from Ben Lovejoy pulled Pittsburgh to 2-1 by the end of the first, but Holtby withstood a steady barrage and, when Oshie tucked a nifty wraparound past Fleury 8:50 into the third period, Washington was on its way to a third consecutive win in Pittsburgh.
The Capitals are 11 points clear of their rivals in the standings more than a third of the way through the season.
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