Penguins close gap to two points for wild card spot Capitals fall from wild card with loss, and New York Islanders win on Thursday night

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In Washington, DC, the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins downed the Capitals, 4-1 on Thursday night. The win pushed the Pens past the Caps, and two points back of the New York Islanders for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference,  who defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves  in the win.

“’Ned’s’ been phenomenal,” Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust said. “You can see how calm and confident he is in the net. I think that’s kind of going through the net on out kind of throughout our lineup. I think guys are realizing that and that just breeds a whole bunch of confidence throughout the lineup.”

The Penguins moved to 35-30-11 off their third straight win.

“I couldn’t be happier for the players,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think they’re having a lot of fun right now. They’re competing. They’re battling hard. It’s not perfect, but I love our energy, our enthusiasm, our compete level is fun to watch. … Certainly have been proud of them here the last little while just trying to dig in and give ourselves a chance.”

The Pens took an early 1-0 lead when Ryan Shea hit for his first career NHL goal at 1:49 of the opening stanza. He scored off a shot from the point

Pierre-Olivier Joseph pushed the lead to 2-0 at 11:03, scoring off another shot from  the point.

“They were very opportunistic tonight,” the Capitals’ Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “They did the hard work. They got to the front of the net. Just threw pucks there and that’s the recipe this time of year. We just didn’t get enough of that going tonight.”

The Capitals dropped to 36-30-10 off their fourth straight loss.

“I think we try to create the extra pass,” the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin said. “We’re holding the puck a little bit longer, trying to find the pretty play. It’s not going to work, especially at a moment in the season when everybody is concentrating on a win, everybody is playing a little faster. You have to make a decision quicker.”

Michael Bunting stretched the lead to 3-0 midway through the second period, scoring off a shot from the left circle on the rush.

In the third period, the Caps finally broke through with a goal from Ovechkin at 6:02 to close the gap to 3-1. The goal came just as a two-skater power play ended for the Caps.

“It actually wasn’t as bad as you’d think,” Nedeljkovic said of the 5-on-3. “We did an unbelievable job of delaying them and breaking up their first couple entries. I don’t think they got in the zone until maybe under a minute left total there. The guys did a great job tying up sticks, giving me a sightline to find pucks. On the goal there, he made a nice pass cross-crease back door. You can only cover him for so long.”

Lars Eller sealed the win with an empty-net marker at 17:23 for the 4-1 final count on the scoreboard.

Charlie Lindgren made 20 saves in the loss.