PITTSBURGH |
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals took advantage of the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins with a 1-0 win on Monday to continue their regular-season dominance over their East rival.
With Crosby out of the lineup since early January with a concussion, the meeting between the two teams lacked much of the excitement that normally surrounds their games.
Ovechkin grabbed the spotlight with a goal in the second period while Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season and second against Pittsburgh in two weeks.
After leading the NHL in goals scored a season ago, the Capitals (32-19-10) have made a recent transition to becoming more defensive oriented.
"I think our new system is something that gives us a chance to play good defensively. Offensively, we have to create it," Ovechkin told reporters after scoring his 24th goal of the season. "Every new system takes time. It's time (for us) to play good."
Washington (32-19-10), which moved within one point of the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Southeast Division, have won 10 of their last 12 regular-season games against the Penguins.
Pittsburgh (36-20-5) has lost six of their last eight games and fell to 10-8-2 without Crosby, the team's captain and top scorer, in the lineup. The Penguins are also without Evgeni Malkin, their third-leading scorer, after he had season-ending knee surgery in early February.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves but got little support from his offense. The Penguins, losers of two straight, are fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Earlier, the Penguins added some spark to their injury-hit offense by acquiring left wing James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen from the Dallas Stars. Neither player was in the Penguins lineup against the Capitals.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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