PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin had two goals and two assists, Phil Kessel added two goals and an assist, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins rolled past the Washington Capitals 7-4 on Friday night.
Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who won their fourth straight to pull within four points of first-place Washington in the crowded Metropolitan Division.
Sidney Crosby had two assists to push his scoring streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NHL. Matt Murray stopped 29 shots for Pittsburgh, which won its seventh consecutive home game by jumping on the Capitals early then pulling away late.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to push his season total to an NHL-best 32 and Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetzov also scored for the Capitals. Braden Holtby finished with 27 saves but gave up three goals in the opening 8 minutes of the third period before being pulled in favour of Phillpp Grubauer as Pittsburgh broke open a tight game.