Dan Bylsma (Getty Images)
CLASSIC STYLE: Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma (above) might have wanted to tip his outdoor hat to Mike Green and the Capitals, who flattened Sidney Crosby (right) and the Penguins, 3-1, in last night’s Winter Classic at Heinz Field. (REUTERS)
PITTSBURGH — Eric Fehr upstaged stars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin by scoring twice and the Capitals waded through rain drops to beat the Penguins 3-1 in a wet Winter Classic last night.
It was the NHL’s first nighttime Winter Classic, and the first played in occasional rain, but the Capitals handled the elements — and a scoreless Crosby — just fine.
Fehr gave the Capitals their first lead at 2-1 in the second period after Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury abandoned the net, then sealed it with a breakaway goal in the third. Mike Knuble also scored.
“It was raining pretty good out there,” Fehr said. “But it was a perfect night.”
Washington goalie Semyon Varlamov gave up Evgeni Malkin’s goal in the second period but turned aside the other 32 shots.
The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. EST, before the NHL pushed back the start because of the rain threat. Neither team seemed to mind, and the Capitals — led by an animated Ovechkin — clearly enjoyed the prime-time stage.
“I can’t imagine what football players [feel] playing like this,” Ovechkin said. “It makes you want to do it all the time.”
The Capitals, perennial playoff underachievers, warmed up to this big game.
“It was close to the Stanley Cup finals,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We don’t deny it meant more than just two points.”
Crosby went scoreless for a second successive game after posting at least one point in 25 consecutive games.
The teams changed ends halfway through the third period, to keep it fair for both squads.
“In the third period, weather became a problem,” Ovechkin said. “But we handled it.”