Crosby, Rust help Penguins cool Caps

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust scored and the Pittsburgh Penguins ended hot streaks by Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals with a 2-1 victory Wednesday night.

The third meeting this season between these longtime rivals featured tight checking, strong goaltending and more than a few punches. Rust broke a 1-1 tie late in the second period with his sixth goal in five games, and the Penguins held on against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Playing in his second game since returning from a lower body injury, Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray stopped 31 shots.

Lars Eller scored the lone goal for the Capitals. They had won five in a row.

Ovechkin was held without a goal for the first time in seven games and had his career-high run of games with a point end at 14.

In addition, Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov had his streak of eight straight games with an assist come to an end, one shy of the franchise record.

Eller put the Capitals up 1-0 at 6:38 of the second period, pushing the puck past Murray after taking a lead pass from Tom Wilson.

Crosby tied it less than three minutes later, deflecting a pass from Evgeni Malkin into the right side of the net with Pittsburgh on the power play.

Rust made it 2-1 with just over a minute left in the period, hacking away at the puck in front of the net before it finally went past goalie Braden Holtby.

In the third period, Holtby snagged a shot by Malkin on a breakaway to keep Washington within striking distance.