Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition

Miguel Rojas, thanks to added playing time, has a career high in home runs already this season.

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Alex Ovechkin scored his seventh goal of the playoffs, Braden Holtby made 32 saves and the Capitals built a lead and this time held on to beat the Penguins 4-1 in Game 2 on Sunday in Washington to even the secondroun­d series.

After blowing a two-goal lead for the third time in these playoffs in Game 1, this time the Capitals built on it. They also were the beneficiar­y of a questionab­le video review in the third period when the NHL ruled there were no definitive replays showing the puck crossed the goal line on what would have been the Penguins’ second goal.

Jakub Vrana scored on the power play and Brett Connolly on a breakaway for the Capitals, who have beaten goaltender Matt Murray glove-side all five of their goals against him through two games. Nicklas Backstrom scored an empty-netter to seal it with 6.1 seconds left, shortly after T.J. Oshie appeared to be injured.

Murray made 18 of his 28 saves in the first period when the Capitals built their lead.

Holtby robbed Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel with sliding pad saves on the way to evening the series going into Game 3 Tuesday in Pittsburgh, which could mark the return of Penguins star center Evgeni Malkin. In Malkin’s third consecutiv­e game out of the lineup with an apparent leg injury, the Penguins felt his absence as they failed to mount much of an offensive attack beyond the top line of Crosby, Guentzel and Hornqvist.

Crosby and Hornqvist were on the ice for the Penguins’ only goal, Kris Letang scoring from the point through traffic at 4on-4. The Capitals improved to 2-3 in the playoffs when scoring the first two goals of the game.

Blowing two-goal leads had become a theme for the Capitals, who made Connolly’s early-second-period goal all that much more important.

Minutes later, Capitals winger Tom Wilson hit Brian Dumoulin in the head as the Penguins defenseman appeared to be pulling up to avoid a check from Ovechkin. Dumoulin left the game and did not return. No penalty was called on the play, but Wilson could face a suspension considerin­g the contact to Dumoulin’s head and his track record.

Monday matchups:

The Lightning hope to draw even in their series with the Bruins after they surrendere­d home-ice advantage Saturday in a 6-2 defeat . ... The Sharks host the Golden Knights in Game 3 after splitting the first two in Las Vegas.

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