One night after getting a goalie goal, the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-21-8) struggled to get a skater to score. The revamped and increasingly dominant Washington Capitals (31-10-5) smothered the Penguins’ every offensive hope and got just enough offense to pin down the Penguins for a 4-1 at Capital One Arena Saturday.

Rather than ice a roster merely helping Ovi break Gretzky's record, the Caps have been one of the NHL's best. Here's how they threaded the needle.

The Penguins and Capitals renewed arguably the highest-profile rivalry of the salary-cap era on Saturday night.

WASHINGTON (AP) Jakob Chychrun ... Penguins: Even with defenseman Kris Letang back from his illness, they couldn’t keep the momentum going after beating Buffalo on Friday night and celebrating ...

by STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer TOPICS: WASHINGTON (AP ... Penguins: Even with defenseman Kris Letang back from his illness, they couldn’t keep the momentum going after beating Buffalo ...

Jakob Chychrun, Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored, Logan Thompson made 18 saves and the NHL-leading Washington Capitals ... Even with defenseman Kris Letang back from his illness, ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins probably don’t expect Joel Blomqvist to save their season. But just being reliable by saving a few shots is a fair hope for the rookie goaltender. That’s something would-be franchise netminder Tristan Jarry was not able to provide,

Letang (illness) will be a game-time decision Saturday versus Washington, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Letang missed Friday's 5-2 win over Buffalo due to the illness. He has seven goals, 17 points, 18 PIM, 71 hits and 45 blocks in 40 appearances in 2024-25. If Letang returns Saturday, then Ryan Graves will likely be a healthy scratch.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have one of the oldest teams in the National Hockey League. Their most important players — guys like Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson — generally are their oldest.

WASHINGTON — The Penguins kept Joel Blomqvist busy in his return to the NHL. The rookie goalie made 29 saves, a few of them spectacular, to give the Penguins a chance at a comeback Saturday against the rival Washington Capitals on Saturday. But they couldn’t generate enough offense and lost, 4-1, at Capital One Arena.

The Pittsburgh Penguins locker room was a mixture of sullen and encouraged. From coach Mike Sullivan to Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, the internal reaction to their 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals was an expansive mixture of emotions.