Penguins 3, Capitals 2

Some news and notes, facts and quotes from the Penguins’ 3-2 victory over Washington at the Verizon Center Monday night:

*** The victory moved the Penguins (43-17-4) one point ahead of Boston in the battle for first place in the Eastern Conference.

*** The Penguins won despite being outshot, 33-20, including a 15-1 shortfall during the first half of the second period. “They’re a desperate team right now, and that was their push,” Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland said. “We didn’t do a great job getting pucks deep. … They’re out of the playoffs right now, and they have to come out hard.”

*** Chris Kunitz scored the Penguins’ first and third goals, including the game-winner at 12:40 of the second period, while Crosby got the second. Crosby also chipped in with two assists.

*** After the game, coach Dan Bylsma announced that winger Chris Conner, who was about to return to the lineup after recovering from a hand injury, will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks because of a broken left foot. Conner ws injured when he was struck by a shot during practice Sunday.

*** The Penguins have won seven consecutive games against the Capitals, tying their longest such streak against Washington.

*** The Penguins had to survive a too-many-men minor in the final three minutes of regulation to claim the victory. “We can’t get a penalty like that late in a game,” Crosby said. “It just can’t happen. So for guys to go out there and do the job they did was a great response.”

*** The Penguins have won four of their past five games at the Verizon Center.

*** Rookie goalie Jeff Zatkoff made 31 saves to raise his record to 10-3-1.

*** Crosby and Malkin have six-game scoring streaks against the Capitals.

*** Washington winger Alex Ovechkin, one of the game’s most lethal shooters, does not have a goal in his past eight home games against the Penguins.

*** Kunitz leads the NHL with 12 first goals and has tied the team record Crosby set in 2009-10.

*** The Penguins are 10-1-1 in the 12 games in Washington for which Crosby, Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin all have been in uniform.

*** Capitals coach Adam Oates, on his team’s performance: “It very tough because the guys played a good game. Probably one of the better games we’ve played against that team. To come out on the short end of the stick is difficult.”

*** Washington has scored nine power-play goals in its past seven games.

*** The Penguins blocked 20 shots, including one Ovechkin rocket that Craig Adams probably couldn’t have avoided even if he had tried. “You don’t have time to think about it,” Adams said. “You know that off the faceoff, if they win the draw, that’s where the puck’s going (to Ovechkin). Usually, honestly, it gets you in a good spot, and it’s not too bad. But every once in a while, it hurts more than other times.”

*** Malkin does not have a goal in his past 12 games in Washington, but has 15 assists during that span.

*** Capitals LW Jason Chimera has an assist in five of his past six games.

*** Despite the victory, Adams remains concerned about how much time the Penguins are spending in the defensive zone, an issue that was especially obvious during the first half of the second period: “We were spending too much time playing in our end,” he said. “We were defending hard, but we don’t want to play down there all game. We want to get in, retrieve pucks, break up their cycle and get out of there as fast as we can. We’re struggling with that right now.”

*** The teams will meet Tuesday night at 7:38 at Consol Energy Center to complete this home-and-home series. “Everybody needs points, especially at this time of year,” Crosby said. “You could tell they were playing desperate. We’re going to expect much the same (tonight).”