Penguins Beat Capitals in OT, NHL Schedule

Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist makes a living by working in tight spaces. Given a rare moment of freedom from his usual spot parked in front of the opponent's net, he pushed the Washington Capitals to the brink of elimination.

Hornqvist fired a loose puck between Braden Holtby's legs 2:34 into overtime to give the Penguins a 3-2 victory Wednesday night in Game 4 of the tightly contested second-round series.

Washington's Mike Weber tried to steer the puck out of harm's way in front of the net, but it went right to Hornqvist charging in from the right circle. Hornqvist buried it for his fifth goal of the postseason to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

"That's a big win,'' Hornqvist said. "Now we have to stick with it. We haven't done anything yet."

Maybe, but the Penguins can advance to the conference final with a victory in Game 5 in Washington on Saturday after sending the Capitals to a third straight loss. Washington dropped three consecutive games just once while capturing the Presidents' Trophy for posting the league's best record. Now the Capitals are three periods away from an eighth playoff series loss to the Penguins in nine all-time postseason meetings.

"We have to have the mentality shift by shift, period by period, try to turn it around," said Washington captain Alex Ovechkin, who had seven of his team's 36 shots but was held without a point.

Wednesday, May 4 Scoreboard

Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2 (OT)

Game 4 - Penguins lead 3-1

Thursday, May 5 Schedule (All Times Central)

Dallas at St. Louis

Game 4 - Blues lead 2-1, 7 p.m.

San Jose at Nashville

Game 4 - Sharks lead 2-1, 8 p.m.

Friday, May 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Tampa Bay at NY Islanders

Game 4 - Lightning lead 2-1, 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 7 Schedule (All Times Central)

St. Louis at Dallas

Game 5 - Blues lead 2-1, noon

Pittsburgh at Washington

Game 5 - Penguins lead 3-1, 6:15 p.m.

Nashville at San Jose

Game 5 - Sharks lead 2-1, 9 p.m.

Sunday, May 8 Schedule (Time Central)

NY Islanders at Tampa Bay

Game 5 - Lightning lead 2-1, 2 p.m.