Penguins battle in 4-3 shootout loss to the Capitals

Penguins gain valuable point in shootout loss

The Washington Capitals scored three consecutive shootout goals and Mike Knuble scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout as the Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Wednesday night at the Verizon Center.

The Capitals (49-14-10, 108 pts) improved to 27-4-4 on home-ice and have won all three meetings against Pittsburgh, outscoring the Penguins 7-1 in the third period. Third period troubles against the Capitals date back to last season, where the Penguins were outscored 9-1 in the third period by the Capitals during the 2008-2009 regular season.

Trailing 2-1, Washington struck again in the third period as Alexander Semin scored a short-handed goal with a great effort and Eric Fehr added another goal in the third but it was Pittsburgh with the late heroics in regulation as Jordan Staal fired a wrist shot past Jose Theodore to tie the game 3-3 with just 3:06 remaining in the third.

Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins in the shootout.

Playing without Evgeni Malkin for the fourth time in five games and Sergei Gonchar who was a late scratch about 90 minutes before game time due to an illness, Pittsburgh played an inspired game against the Capitals.