Power play helps Penguins steady ship, beat rival Capitals
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Ben Kindel doesn’t have strong memories of how the enduring rivalry between his captain, Sidney Crosby, and Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin began.
And for good reason.
Kindel was born in 2007, approximately two years after Crosby and Ovechkin first encountered one another on an NHL rink back in aught five.
“I remember watching it growing up,” said Kindel, who is still growing up as an 18-year-old. “It was always big when Sid and ‘Ovi’ played against each other. So, just really excited to get that opportunity to witness it firsthand.”
Kindel saw a win Thursday as the Penguins beat the Capitals, 5-3, at PPG Paints Arena. The result snapped a modest two-game losing streak (0-2-0).
The teenager wasn’t just an observer Thursday. He was a significant part of the team’s power play, which generated three goals on five opportunities. The outburst marked the fourth consecutive game the Penguins generated offense with the man advantage.
In total, Kindel recorded two assists during power-play sequences, including the winning goal by forward Bryan Rust in the third period.
“He’s been awesome,” Rust said. “He’s going out there, he’s obviously working really hard. He’s an extremely smart kid, knows where to be on the ice, knows which plays to make and when you combine that intelligence with his skill level, obviously, really good things are going to happen.”
Goaltender Arturs Silovs made 28 saves on 31 shots as his record improved to 4-2-2.
The victory was achieved despite a patchwork lineup that included three players — not counting rookie backup goaltender Sergei Murashov — who all opened the week with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
In addition to Murashov, forwards Danton Heinen and Joona Koppanen and defenseman Ryan Graves were summoned to the NHL roster in recent days.
Crosby opened the scoring with his team-best 10th goal of the season during a power-play sequence 2:22 into regulation.
Accepting a pass above Washington’s left circle, Rust offloaded it to Kindel low to the left of the cage. Identifying a seam above the crease, Kindel slid a pass between Capitals defensemen Matt Roy and Trevor van Riemsdyk to the right circle, where Crosby shuffled in a forehand shot to the near side that glanced off of goaltender Charlie Lindgren’s stick and found the back of the net. Kindel recorded his first career assist along with Rust.
Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins (10)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/xe1AaF4i86— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 7, 2025
Another power-play goal by Crosby came at 11:32 of the first period.
Controlling the puck at the center point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson surveyed for a shooting lane and then lobbed a wrister. Rust positioned himself above the upper right hashmark and deflected the puck on net with the shaft of his stick. Lindgren knocked the puck down in the blue paint with his glove but was unable to freeze the rebound as Crosby, stationed to the right of the crease, jabbed it in to the net with a forehand shot. Rust and Karlsson collected assists.
#Capitals 0 @ #Penguins 2 [P1–8:28]:
Goal: Sidney Crosby (11)
6’ Power-Play Tip-InAssists: B.Rust (9), E.Karlsson (11)#ALLCAPS #LetsGoPens #NHLpic.twitter.com/PdXFbAJoWU
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) November 7, 2025
The hosts went up by a field goal via former Capitals forward Anthony Mantha’s seventh goal 128 seconds into the second period.
Graves, making his season debut at the NHL level, made a strong effort to keep a puck in the offensive zone at the left point, allowing Penguins forward Blake Lizotte to swat it to above the near circle. Penguins forward Tommy Novak took possession and flipped a low-velocity backhander on net from the hashmarks. Lindgren tried to envelop the puck with his abdomen but allowed Mantha to sneak in from the left of the crease and jab a backhander into the cage. Novak and Lizotte logged assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) November 7, 2025
Unlike other occupants of Washington, the Capitals refused to be shut down and forced a tie with a trio of scores over the final 10:19 of the second frame.
Former Erie Otters forward Dylan Strome struck first at the 9:41 mark with his fourth goal.
Attempting to backhand a pass out of the defensive zone off the right half-wall, Penguins forward Philip Tomasino wound up backhanding it to Ovechkin at the near point. Accepting that charity, Ovechkin dished it to the right circle for Strome. Operating with enough time to cook braised abalone, Strome roofed a wrister over Silovs’ left shoulder on the near side. The lone assist went to Ovechkin.
#Capitals 1 @ #Penguins 3 [P2–10:19]:
Goal: Dylan Strome (4)
20’ WristerAssists: A.Ovechkin (6)#ALLCAPS #LetsGoPens #NHLpic.twitter.com/iZHUfgjBBE
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) November 7, 2025
Capitals rookie forward Ryan Leonard appeared to score his fourth goal at 14:17 of the middle period but the Penguins issued a coach’s challenge, alleging the sequence was offside. Officials checked the video and euthanized the goal.
O gol do Ryan Leonard foi lindo, mas a arbitragem deu offside.
Capitals 1 - 3 Penguins #ALLCAPS @Capitals ????pic.twitter.com/5GYzP6OFxo
— Capitals Brasil ???????????? (@WCapitalsBrasil) November 7, 2025
Only 38 seconds later, a valid goal was scored by Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who registered his first of the season.
Gaining the offensive zone on the right wing, Ovechkin left a drop pass for Strome, who pulled up on the half-wall and slid the puck to the top of the left circle. An on-rushing Sandin accepted the offering and then pumped a wrister by Silovs’ glove on the far side. Strome and Ovechkin had assists.
Rasmus Sandin - Washington Capitals (1) pic.twitter.com/GhalJXav17
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 7, 2025
Capitals forward Tom Wilson’s team-best ninth goal came very late at the 19:55 mark.
Taking a pass deep on the left wing, Capitals defenseman John Carlson flicked a hopeful backhand pass attempt toward the crease. Crosby got his stick on the puck but wound up deflecting it to the right of the blue paint, where Strome corralled it, spun to his left and chopped a forehand shot on net. Silovs kept it out with his stick but allowed a rebound that Wilson pounced on and fired in with a wrister, beating Silovs’ glove. Strome and Carlson claimed assists.
Tom Wilson - Washington Capitals (9) pic.twitter.com/jgIuKcDoMf
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 7, 2025
The Penguins were on their heels a bit in the third period, particularly after defenseman Connor Clifton took an interference minor at the 4:43 mark. But an energetic shift by forward Connor Dewar, which resulted in two short-handed shot attempts, gave the Penguins a badly needed boost.
“On the penalty kill, it can change the game,” Dewar said. “You go down and frustrate the other team’s best players if you can keep the puck out of their hands. It can have a big impact on the game.”
The impact of the Penguins’ power play continued as Rust’s fifth goal of the season restored a lead at 11:16 of the third period.
Settling a rimmed puck on the left half-wall of Washington’s zone, Malkin one-touched a feed to the far side of the crease where a mostly undetected Rust tapped in a forehand shot with precision behind Lindgren’s blocker on the near side. Malkin and Kindel had assists.
Bryan Rust - Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/JEQMPllpKv— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 7, 2025
“Trying to find the open space in the slot, and (Malkin) just took it off the wall and zipped it right up on my tape right away,” Rust said. “It was awesome.”
Dewar capped the scoring with his fourth goal on an empty net at 17:56 of the final frame off a solitary assist by defenseman Kris Letang.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) November 7, 2025
Unlike Monday’s carbuncle of a 4-3 road loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Penguins found a way to triumph after yielding a three-goal lead.
“Unfortunately, we had some experience with (giving up a three-goal lead) rather recently,” Rust quipped. “But I think (it helped) being able to come in here after the second, kind of regroup a little and say, ‘Hey, like, we need to be a whole lot better.’ Our puck management needed to be a whole lot better, and I thought we were better in the third.
“We were able to find a way.”
Once a captivated spectator for Penguins-Capitals, Kindel got a dazzling and direct account of this rivalry on Thursday.
“It was really cool,” Kindel said. “Both of them got on the score sheet there. So, kind of like the old Sid and ‘Ovi’ rivalry there. It was great to see and unreal to watch.”
Notes
• In addition to Graves, Heinen and Koppanen made their season debuts in the NHL.
• Silovs (4-2-2) moved into a tie for 41st place on the franchise’s career goaltending wins list. He joins Joel Blomqvist (4-9-1), Gord Laxton (4-9-1), Cam Newton (4-7-1) and Ron Tugnutt (4-2-0).
• Penguins defensemen Harrison Brunicke and Matt Dumba were healthy scratches, while forward Filip Hallander was scratched due to an undisclosed injury.
• With Capitals fans offering a boost, the Penguins enjoyed their first sellout of the regular season with 18,384 in attendance.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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