After gifting an early goal to Capitals rookie Ethan Frank on a team kerfuffle, the Pens tied it late in the first period on a power-play goal by Kris Letang, thanks to a terrific play off the wall and feed by Evgeni Malkin.
The Caps retook the lead early in the second on a goal off the rush by defenseman Martin Fehervary, but the Pens knotted the score again on a vintage backhander through the wickets by Sidney Crosby.
Then, to bend the lyrics of the old Chicago hit, Lowdown, “the hockey team I was rooting for fell apart and died.