Caps Rally for Four in Third to Topple Pens, 5-3

First place in the Metropolitan Division was on the line Sunday afternoon in Washington when the Capitals and Penguins met for the second time this season. In a hotly contested and wildly entertaining seesaw affair, the Caps rallied for a 5-3 win over Pittsburgh, pouring home four goals in the third period to end their slide at four straight (0-3-1), and saddling the Penguins with three straight regulation losses for the first time since mid-October.

Carl Hagelin scored twice against his former Pittsburgh teammates, and the second of those strikes - an empty-netter in the game's final minute - sealed the victory and was the 100th goal of Hagelin's career.
The game featured a number of lead and momentum changes, and it was T.J. Oshie's goalmouth scramble tally with 9:20 left in the third that put Washington on top for good and stood as the game-winner.

"[We had] a few breakdowns that they were able to capitalize on," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "but for the post part, I would say that was the most connected five-man game that we have played - probably in all three zones - in quite some time.
"There were still mistakes and we still have to get better in a number of areas, but this was a step in the right direction. It was good to see the guys get rewarded with a big third."
Three different forward lines contributed for the Caps, who have had difficulty mustering offense of late. Washington had long stretches in Sunday's game when it didn't generate anything of note in the Pittsburgh end.
"I thought we played real well," says Pens coach Mike Sullivan. "I thought it was one of our better games in a while. I thought we had a lot of really good moments in the game."
The Caps grabbed an early lead when Jakub Vrana tore into Pittsburgh ice with speed and with Pens defenseman Marcus Pettersson in close pursuit. Pens goalie Matt Murray blockered Vrana's shot aside, but Pettersson lost his footing and careened into the net, pushing the rebound of Vrana's shot with him. Vrana's 24th of the season gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 6:12 of the first.
Washington navigated its way through a couple of penalty-killing missions late in the first and early in the second, and it seemed to lose its way offensively in the process. The Caps went more than a period - from 7:27 of the first to 8:46 of the second - without a shot on goal at 5-on-5. Their lone shot on net during that span was a Tom Wilson deflection on what would turn out to be Washington's only power play of the afternoon.
In the back half of the middle period, the Penguins struck twice in short order to take a 2-1 lead into the third. From the top of the paint, Patric Hornqvist chipped a rebound of a Kris Letang point shot to the top shelf to make it a 1-1 game at 14:17, and Sidney Crosby scored off the rush just 26 seconds later to give the Pens the lead.
Washington managed only 11 shots on net in the first 40 minutes, but it got started early in the third. With Letang and Evgeny Kuznetsov boxed for matching slashing minors, Nicklas Backstrom sprang Wilson on a breakaway, and the Caps' power forward beat Murray with a backhander at 1:16, his 20th goal of the season tying the game at 2-2.

The Caps regained the lead a few minutes later on a strong offensive zone shift. Murray stopped Carlson's right point shot, but the rebound came to Lars Eller. Murray stopped Eller as well, but Hagelin was right there for the third opportunity, and he buried it from the top of the paint, giving Washington a 3-2 lead at 4:41.
Just over four minutes later, it was a tie game once again. Evgeni Malkin went from the red line in, threading the puck through Carlson and beating Braden Holtby to make it a 3-3 game at 8:50 of the third.
Less than two minutes later, the Caps got the lead back for good. Backstrom got in on the forecheck with support from Oshie, and they worked the puck to the front. Murray stopped Oshie's backhander from in tight, but Washington's relentless puck hound kept at it, and his second backhand bid got through the netminder, putting the Caps up 4-3 at 10:40 of the third.
Holtby held off the Pens the rest of the way, and Backstrom and Oshie combined to set up Hagelin's milestone marker with 46.7 seconds left, giving the Washington netminder his 22nd win of the season.
"We tried to go out there and play," says Wilson. "Obviously we've been saying a lot of stuff to you guys, and you guys have been asking us a lot of questions. The only way to work through it was to go out there and get it done.

"It wasn't an easy game. There were ups and downs and that's a character win. It's one win and we want to learn from it. It was great for the team, but we've got to keep going here."
Sunday's win was Washington's ninth this season in games in which it trailed after 40 minutes of play, tied for the most in the NHL. The Pens fell to 22-3-1 when leading after two periods, and they are carrying a three-game regulation losing streak for the first time since Oct. 19-23.
"Overall, I think we were the better team," says Hornqvist. "We didn't get the start we wanted in the third period, and they get that breakaway goal off a turnover. But that happens in hockey, and I thought we responded really well after that. We got the tying goal there, and then they scored on a scrum in front of the net, to find the puck, and that was the game for them."