One night after getting a goalie goal, the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-21-8) struggled to get a skater to score. The revamped and increasingly dominant Washington Capitals (31-10-5) smothered the Penguins’ every offensive hope and got just enough offense to pin down the Penguins for a 4-1 at Capital One Arena Saturday.

Letang will return to the top pairing and should see power-play time after missing Friday's 5-2 win over Buffalo. He has produced seven goals, 17 points, 92 shots on net, 45 blocked shots and 71 hits in 40 appearances this season. Letang will replace Pierre-Olivier Joseph (illness) in Saturday's lineup.

Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist each and Logan Thompson made 18 saves in the Washington Capitals' 4-1 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

The Penguins and Capitals renewed arguably the highest-profile rivalry of the salary-cap era on Saturday night.

Jakob Chychrun, Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored, Logan Thompson made 18 saves and the NHL-leading Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 for their fourth consecutive victory.

Letang (illness) will be a game-time decision Saturday versus Washington, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Letang missed Friday's 5-2 win over Buffalo due to the illness. He has seven goals, 17 points, 18 PIM, 71 hits and 45 blocks in 40 appearances in 2024-25. If Letang returns Saturday, then Ryan Graves will likely be a healthy scratch.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have one of the oldest teams in the National Hockey League. Their most important players — guys like Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson — generally are their oldest.