Logan Thompson posted his fourth shutout of the season, and Connor McMichael scored a pair and added an assist for the Washington Capitals, who scored a 3-0 victory Sunday over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins in a must-win game for the host squad.
McMichael had his third three-point game of the season, and Trevor van Riemsdyk added his third goal of the season. Martin Fehervary assisted on a pair, and Ryan Leonard, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Alex Ovechkin each added an assist, as well.
Thompson posted his fourth shutout of the season, stopping 24 shots, in a must-win game for the Capitals (42-30-9, 93 points).
Stuart Skinner made 23 saves on 25 shots for the Penguins (41-24-16, 98 points), who lost their second straight.
Persistence paid off for van Riemsdyk as the Capitals defenseman scored the first goal of the game. In a scrum at the net, his third shot on Skinner in as many seconds finally succeeded with 7:38 left in the second.
Besides the drama surrounding Washington’s playoff chase, Sunday also may have been Ovechkin’s final home game in his record-breaking career. The NHL’s all-time goal-scoring king, who has scored 929 times in 21 seasons with a team-leading 32 as a 40-year-old this season, has been mum about his plans.
After Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, among several Penguins veterans, sat out Saturday’s home finale against the Capitals, the duo returned to the ice for the game in Washington. On the opening faceoff, center Dylan Stromme sent himself out to let Ovechkin, who entered Sunday taking just three this season, go up against Crosby in what was also the 100th career game between the two NHL all-time greats.
McMichael secured the win for the Capitals with two goals 86 seconds apart late in the third. The last was an empty-netter with 2:44 left. The crowd hoped Ovechkin would get it. Instead, he was trapped along the boards and fed the puck to the speedy McMichael.
In the final moments, the Capitals fans switched between chants of “one more year” and “Ovi” for their captain.
After the game, Pittsburgh stayed on the ice, trying to shake hands with Ovechkin. He waved them off.
In order to qualify for the playoffs, Washington needs Philadelphia to not earn two or more points in its final two games, and the Capitals must win Tuesday at Columbus.
