Crosby, Malkin show ‘they’re still elite players’ for Penguins in win against Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were up to their old tricks Friday, a good sign for the Pittsburgh Penguins and bad news again for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Crosby scored two power-play goals, and Malkin had a goal and three assists in a 4-0 victory that spoiled Washington’s season opener at Capital One Arena.

It helped that the Penguins cleaned up a lot of the mistakes they made in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in their season opener Tuesday. When Crosby and Malkin elevate their play the way they did Friday, however, the rest of Pittsburgh’s game usually looks a lot better.

“When they’re at their best, I think they’re still elite players,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought tonight was a great example of it.”

Pittsburgh received contributions from other key players, including two assists form Jake Guentzel. Reilly Smith scored his first goal since being acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on June 28 and Erik Karlsson, the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman, had an assist on Malkin’s goal for his first point with the Penguins after being acquired in a trade from the San Jose Sharks on Aug. 6.

And, of course, goalie Tristan Jarry made 19 saves, including one on Ovechkin on a breakaway with 4:07 left in the second period, for his 14th career shutout.

But the Penguins’ formula for success hasn’t changed much in Crosby’s and Malkin’s 18 seasons as teammates. Although Crosby is 36 and Malkin is 37, and some of the faces around them have changed, Pittsburgh is still likely to go only as far as its two star centers takes it this season.

The Penguins hope that’s back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify last season for the first time since Crosby’s rookie season of 2005-06 -- the season before Malkin joined him. Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup three times during that run (2009, 2016, 2017), and games like this provided a reminder of the impact Crosby and Malkin can still have.

“You work really hard, and you want to win and it's nice to get rewarded,” said Crosby, the Penguins captain. “It doesn't always work that way. It's a challenging league. It's tight every single night, regardless of who you're playing. To get rewarded and get a big two points after a tough opening night, it's nice.”

The Penguins and Capitals are in similar situations trying to squeeze more out of their aging stars and return the playoffs after missing last season. Pittsburgh entered 2023-24 as the oldest team in the NHL with an average age of 32; Washington, which missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2014, has the League’s second-oldest roster with an average age of 31 despite having eight players who are 25 or younger.

But the Capitals still rely heavily on their older core of Ovechkin, 38, Nicklas Backstrom, 35, T.J. Oshie, 36, John Carlson, 33, Evgeny Kuznetsov, 31, and Tom Wilson, 29. Just as the Penguins rely heavily on Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang, 36, Bryan Rust, 31, Guentzel, 29, and now Karlsson, 33.

Crosby and Malkin were the two best players on the ice Friday, and it was the difference in the game, which isn’t new for either against the Capitals. Crosby has 88 points (30 goals, 58 assists) in his 66 regular-season matchups with Ovechkin, and Pittsburgh improved to 39-23-4 in those games. Malkin has 77 points (26 goals, 51 assists) in 59 regular-season games against Washington.

Malkin’s four-point game was the 29th of his NHL career.

“He was just all over the ice,” Crosby said. “He made some great plays. He had that early chance, too, that he tried between his legs. Nights like this where he's feeling it, he's going to set up guys or create chances himself. He was just all over the puck tonight.”

Malkin started the scoring with his goal from the slot 4:07 into second period. Crosby followed with power-play goals at 5:51 and 11:46 of the second, each assisted by Malkin and Guentzel, to increase Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-0. Malkin’s backcheck and pass up to Smith led to the final goal at 16:57 of the third period.

“He’s still such a dominant player out there and I thought tonight he was at his best,” Sullivan said. “He sees the ice so well. That play he made on Reilly’s goal at the end, just an unbelievable pass. It started with a track, just tracking the puck from behind.

“He was playing at both ends of the rink. He’s competing hard. I just think when he’s on his game, he’s as dominant player as there is in the League.”

It was a frustrating night for Ovechkin, whose defensive-zone turnover led to Malkin’s goal, and a disappointing one overall for Washington, which was shut out for the first time in 49 season openers and in its debut under first-year coach Spencer Carbery. Like the Penguins did after losing their opener, the Capitals will try to regroup for their second game here against the Calgary Flames on Monday.

Ovechkin had four shots on goal in 18:42 of ice time.

“Just move on,” Ovechkin said. “We didn't get the results, you know? Boys was ready, but we’re going to watch the video and going to play better the next game.”