Penguins take control with an overtime win
PITTSBURGH— Patric Hornqvist scored 2:34 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins captured Game 4 against the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Wednesday night, and now lead the second-round series 3-1. Hornqvist grabbed hold of a blocked point shot, beating Braden Holtby for the game winner.
Trevor Daley and Matt Cullen also scored for the Penguins. Jay Beagle and John Carlson found the back of the net for the Capitals. Matt Murray stopped 34 of 36 shots, while Holtby surrendered three goals on 33 shots at the other end.
Pittsburgh won despite playing without top defenceman Kris Letang, who was serving a one-game suspension for his hit on Marcus Johansson in Game 3.
Each of the first four games of the series has been decided by a goal.
An increasingly testy series started with two odd goals, the first from Washington.
Scooping up a puck dumped deep into the corner of the Penguins zone, Beagle flipped an innocent-looking backhand over the left shoulder of Murray. The puck, shot far side, pinged right out of the goal, almost catching the Consol Energy Center crowd off guard.
The Penguins evened the score at one with a weird one of their own a few minutes later. Shortly after Justin Schultz hit a post for the Pen- guins, Daley send a shot from the point that was initially blocked by Capitals defenceman Karl Alzner before skipping off the ice and under the pads of Holtby.
Sidney Crosby, charging hard to the net, provided the screen, also landing an assist on the play. It was the first point of the series for the Penguins captain, who had eight points in the opening round against New York. Momentum gathered for the home side before the action turned sour. Swedish winger Carl Hagelin dished a hit on a puck-less T.J. Oshie, for which he was penalized, then rolled over Holtby when he raced in for a scoring chance out of the penalty box.