Penguins Take Control of NHL Eastern Conference Series

Outhit, outshot and largely outplayed, Pittsburgh grabbed control of its Eastern Conference semifinal series against Washington.

Blame it on a 21-year-old rookie goaltender who hardly seems intimidated by the stakes, his mentor watching from the bench or the avalanche of shots from the NHL's best team.

Matt Murray made 47 stops, and the Penguins did just enough counter punching to edge the Capitals 3-2 on Monday for a 2-1 lead in an increasingly fractious best-of-seven series that is living up to its billing.

Patric Hornqvist and Tom Kuhnhackl scored a minute apart in the first period, Carl Hagelin added his third of the playoffs in the second, and the Penguins held on despite relentless pressure from the Capitals. Alex Ovechkin and Justin Williams scored in the third, but the Capitals find themselves in a deficit against a franchise they have beaten just once in eight previous playoff meetings.

"They throw a lot of pucks at the net, and without Murray, there's no way we win this game," Hornqvist said. "That's what good teams team do. They find a way to win games when they don't play their best, and that's exactly what we did tonight. We have to be better the next game."

The Penguins might have to play without Kris Letang. The star defenseman earned a two-minute minor for interference in the first period after launching himself at Washington's Marcus Johansson in a sequence that had some of the same hallmarks of the hit that earned Washington's Brooks Orpik a three-game suspension for drilling Olli Maatta in Game 2.

Johansson was skating into the offensive zone late in the first period when he was headed off by four Penguins. The puck was steered away and long gone by the time Letang turned toward Johansson and nailed him.

"I saw him coming full-speed. I tried to step up in the middle," Letang said. "Things happen fast."

Unlike Maatta, Johansson was able to return, although he doesn't believe that should absolve Letang. Asked whether he felt Letang should be suspended, Johansson said, "Yeah, I'd say so," adding he was cleared of a potential concussion but is dealing with the effects of whiplash."

Monday, May 2 Scoreboard

Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2

Game 3 - Penguins lead 2-1

Tuesday, May 3 Schedule (All Times  Central)

Tampa Bay at NY Islanders

Game 3 - Series tied 1-1, 6 p.m.

San Jose at Nashville

Game 3 - Sharks lead 2-0, 8 p.m.

Dallas at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.

Game 3 -- Series tied 1-1