Malkin's 3 assists help Penguins earn 1st win of season over Capitals

WASHINGTON - Sidney Crosby scored his 20th goal of the season, Evgeni Malkin added three assists, and the Pittsburgh Penguins held on to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 on Wednesday night, averting a sweep of the season series.

Patric Hornqvist, Brandon Sutter and Chris Kunitz also had goals for Pittsburgh, which has won three straight and leads Washington by three points for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Crosby and Malkin both netted their first points of the season against Washington, which won the first three meetings by a combined score of 10-1.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 shots, including Joel Ward's breakaway attempt in the second period.

Alex Ovechkin's power play tally, his NHL-leading 39th goal of the season, made it 4-3 with 3:34 left in the game, but Fleury made several saves in the final minutes to preserve Pittsburgh's win.