PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins blew another three-goal lead, and, make no mistake, that’s a problem.

At least they recovered this time.

Three nights after imploding against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Penguins again went ahead of an Eastern Conference power, only to let the lead evaporate with disturbing ease. But the Penguins had the last laugh this time, as Bryan Rust scored the game winner in the third period to propel them to a 5-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Sidney Crosby scored twice in the first period to give the Penguins an immediate lead, and Anthony Mantha made it 3-0 early in the second.

MAN OH MAN-THAAA 👏 pic.twitter.com/5AjT6H0Iwx

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 7, 2025

Then, the Penguins turned sloppy. Just like in Toronto, 72 hours earlier.

The Capitals made them pay with three goals in 10 minutes. Tom Wilson evened it with less than four seconds remaining in the third period.

that’s the stuff https://t.co/iOm2o15htN pic.twitter.com/ZjKJZ0T1Gw

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 7, 2025

It was up to the Penguins to regroup during the second intermission.

“We were just in this situation three days ago,” Dan Muse said. “It would have been really easy for this group to cave. I thought we came out in the third period and we did the things we needed to do to win the game.”

Special teams played a massive role. The sizzling Penguins power play went 3-for-5 as Pittsburgh blanked Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals on all three of their power-play opportunities.

The Penguins were able to settle down during the second intermission and again took control in the third period.

“We learned a lot (in Toronto),” Ben Kindel explained. “Obviously, the second period didn’t go our way. The character we showed to bounce back — to get the 2 points was massive — it says a lot about our group.”

This marks the last time the Penguins and Capitals will meet until the second weekend in April, when they’ll meet twice in 24 hours.

The Penguins are 1 point behind the Colorado Avalanche for the most points in the NHL.

Ten postgame observations

• The Penguins aren’t exactly putting 60 minutes together at the moment, but give them credit for how they composed themselves in the third period. This would have been a worse loss than it was a good win, if that makes sense. Collapsing two games in a row in that manner would have been quite the psychological blow.

But they gathered themselves and earned the victory in the third period.

Let’s give particular credit to the Penguins’ penalty-killing unit. Washington had two power plays early in the third period when the score was tied. Arturs Silovs closed the door on the Capitals, but the job his penalty killers did was even more impressive. Connor Dewar enjoyed a spectacular third period, nearly scoring short-handed on two occasions and simply playing out of his mind on the penalty kill. What a nice job he’s done for the Penguins this season.

Ovechkin had only one legitimately good look on the power play all evening, and Silovs was there to make the save. The Penguins did a nice job on Ovechkin and on the Capitals’ power play in general.

The Penguins have a bad habit of turning into the Harlem Globetrotters when they’re playing well. We saw that in each of the past two games. That’s not the only issue with their failure to protect leads, but it’s part of the problem. Drop passes in the neutral zone tend to multiply with this team when it’s feeling good about itself. It’s long been a bad habit, and Muse needs to do whatever he can to eliminate it.

• As good as the Penguins were in the first period, they were even worse in the second. They were flailing at the Capitals for most of that period.

The Penguins are probably never going to be good in their defensive zone. It simply isn’t how they’re built. As a result, they need to make smart decisions with the puck. Otherwise, they’re simply enabling the worst part of their game to be on greater display.

We saw that in the second period. It was ugly.

• Erik Karlsson was the best player on the ice. I can’t say enough about how good he is right now.

Every facet of his game seems to be clicking, and he’s playing at such a high level that even his defensive work is good right now. Really. He made a couple of wonderful pokechecks to thwart Washington rushes, and his play in his own territory was quite clean.

Meanwhile, he’s creating offense at an alarming rate, and his play on the power play — which has never been considered a strength of his — was stellar. When Karlsson is in full flight, he’s something to see.

And right now, he’s in full flight. This is the player the Penguins thought they were getting a couple of years ago. He’s displaying some seriously high-level hockey. His ability to suck players toward him and then properly distribute the puck is a marvel at the moment.

• Kindel continues to dazzle. He earned the first two assists of his NHL career, and the first one came on a gorgeous pass to Crosby for a one-timer on the power play.

Things you love to see: Sidney Crosby scoring against the Capitals 💪 pic.twitter.com/LmfUiXdmSb

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 7, 2025

I paid close attention to Kindel on the power play all evening and came away impressed. Very, very impressed.

His ability to anticipate the play is at a freakishly advanced level. If you recorded the game, go back and watch him on the power play. He is seemingly getting rid of the puck before he receives passes, because he always knows where he’s delivering the puck, and he almost always does it with precision. When we talk about hockey IQ, this is the kind of thing we’re talking about. He sees the play and determines where he’s going to go with it at lightning-quick speed.

When you hear about quarterbacks who can process information quickly and distribute the ball to the right place before a defense can react, think about Kindel and watch him on the Penguins’ next power play. He has that gene. You’re born with it or you’re not. There’s no coaching it. He was outstanding once again, and he’s a weapon on the power play.

• Crosby finished with two goals, and Ovechkin had two assists.

The Penguins’ captain now has 11 goals in 15 games, and that 11-goal mark is tied for the NHL lead.

The Penguins are now 43-27-4 against the Capitals when Crosby and Ovechkin are in the lineup. Crosby has 35 goals and 97 points in those 74 games. Ovechkin has produced 38 goals and 70 points in those games.

Crosby could have had four or five goals Thursday. Karlsson’s pass just missed Crosby, who had a wide-open cage in the second period. He also was stopped on a semi-breakaway in the first period. Crosby was flying all night and looked good on the same line as Kindel.

• The Pittsburgh crowd gave Ovechkin a standing ovation in recognition of his 900th career goal, which he scored the night before against the St. Louis Blues.

Standing ovation for Ovi in Pittsburgh: pic.twitter.com/g88e0eCKxC

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) November 7, 2025

It was a nice moment and a job well done by the crowd.

Boy, have things mellowed between the two hockey giants over the years.

time sure does fly https://t.co/cLQtAyGMqi pic.twitter.com/0eTQOdgMal

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 7, 2025

• You can always count on Rust to show up in big moments. It’s just who he is, and he did it again in the third period.

Also, Evgeni Malkin fired a beauty of a pass to find him.

TRUSTY RUSTY 🙌

… AND WE GET 1/2 OFF RUSTY’S SHAKE AT THE @MShakeFactory TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/9QQla3OiAJ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 7, 2025

• Blake Lizotte played quite a game. I mentioned Dewar earlier, and he enjoyed a sensational third period, putting the game away with an empty-netter.

But Lizotte deserves a mention also. Wonderful stuff from him. He helped the Penguins get settled in the third period when the game could have gotten away from them.

• Silovs was perfectly steady. He wasn’t perfect, but he was plenty good when he needed to be and played at a fairly high level.

• I was surprised the Penguins went with Silovs as opposed to Sergei Murashov, who was the backup and figures to make his NHL debut either at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday or against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.

All’s well that ends well, so I can’t say the Penguins made the wrong choice. But I would have gone with Murashov. Penguins, Capitals, ESPN, Sid, Ovi: Murashov making his debut in that setting would have been something to see.

Alas, the fans got their money’s worth anyway.