Caps Lose To Penguins 4-3, Still Hold Highest NHL Points

The most dangerous team as the playoffs approach though might be the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sidney Crosby scored the game-winner with 1:00 left in overtime and the Penguins defeated the Capitals 4-3 on Thursday night despite squandering a 3-0 second-period lead.

The Penguins (48-25-8), winners of eight straight and 14 of 15, clinched second-place in the Metropolitan Division and home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

"(The players) have worked real hard over the last two months to put ourselves in the best possible position to reach our ultimate goal, and this is one more checked box that we were able to accomplish, against a very good team," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said.

If form holds, Washington and Pittsburgh would meet in the second round.

The Capitals (55-17-8) tied it with two third-period goals.

In overtime, Crosby came on the ice and immediately received a long pass from defenseman Kris Letang. He skated in alone on Braden Holtby, went to his backhand and lifted the puck home for his 36th goal.

Pittsburgh got two goals from Matt Cullen, his 15th and 16th, and one from Conor Sheary in regulation while Matt Murray made 27 saves in winning his seventh straight decision.

Marcus Johansson scored his 16th and 17th, and Andre Burakovsky scored the tying goal with 6:34 left in regulation, and added an assist for Washington.

The Capitals, who locked up home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs last month, have dropped three straight -- for the first time all season -- and five of seven.

Holtby stopped 31 shots and remains one win behind tying Martin Brodeur (48) for the NHL one-season record. Washington has back-to-back games remaining Saturday and Sunday, and Trotz confirmed after the game Holtby will play just one of those contests.

Trailing 3-1, Washington killed off two penalties early in the third and Johansson halved the deficit when his wrist shot from the top of the left circle snuck under Murray's stick arm.

Burakovsky tied it when he deflected a pass from John Carlson (two assists) by Murray with 6:34 left in regulation for his 17th of the season.

It took 44 seconds for the streaking Penguins to take a 1-0 lead as Cullen took a pass from Tom Kuhnhackl on a 3-on-2 rush and beat Holtby to the glove side with a wrist shot from the left circle. Cullen needed 28 seconds to score a short-handed goal at the beginning of period number two.

Entering the Washington zone 2-on-1, Cullen attempted a backhand pass across to Eric Fehr down low, but the puck deflected off defenseman Matt Niskanen's skate and past Holtby.

Pittsburgh failed to score during a 5-minute boarding major on Washington's Tom Wilson, but made it 3-0 shortly thereafter when Sheary took a pass from Oskar Sundqvist on a 3-on-2 rush and his shot trickled through Holtby's pads.

Washington got on the board with 2:41 left in the period as Johansson, at the far post, one-timed a cross-ice dart from Carlson into the Pittsburgh net for his first goal since Feb. 28.