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Sports

Pens top Caps for 13th straight home win

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Olli Maatta scored the go-ahead goal with 1:54 remaining in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins set a franchise record with a 13th consecutive home win by edging the Washington Capitals, 4-3.

Kris Letang, Jussi Jokinen and Taylor Pyatt also scored for the Penguins, who are 5-0-1 in their last six games. Marc-Andre Fleury earned the win with 25 saves.

The Capitals have lost three straight and seven of their last nine games (2-3-4).

Washington had taken a 3-2 lead on Alex Ovechkin's NHL-best 34th goal of the season at 8:35 of the third, but Jokinen tied the game three minutes later while the teams skated 4-on-4.

Maatta then gave Pittsburgh its only lead of the game when he took an Evgeni Malkin pass and snapped a wrist shot from atop the left circle through a Pyatt screen.

"Even though it didn't go our way at times, got down in the third, we kept fighting back and it was a great way to get the 13th win," said Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma.

Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera supplied the other goals for Washington, which got 33 saves from Michal Neuvirth.

"We figured out a way to get a lead in the third against a fresher team and we didn't sustain it and you have to be able to," said Washington head coach Adam Oates.

The Capitals were outshot 17-10 in the first period, but held a 1-0 lead on Laich's short-handed marker. Laich picked up Letang's wayward pass, triggering a counterattack. Letang went down to deny a pass on the 2-on-1 rush, but Laich was able to get the puck back and beat Fleury from the slot at 13:09.

Letang pulled Pittsburgh even seven seconds prior to the midway point of the second period, firing home a Sidney Crosby pass to finish a rush.

Washington regained the lead when Chimera concluded a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with a tap-in goal from the doorstep at 14:31 of the second period.

Pyatt's one-timer from the slot quickly tied things up at 16:08.

Game Notes

The Penguins previously won 12 straight home games from Feb. 22-March 30 last season ... Pittsburgh has won six straight over the Capitals ... Crosby extended his point streak at home to 17 games ... Washington forward Joel Ward played in his 400th career NHL game ... Penguins forward James Neal missed Wednesday's game with an upper-body injury.