The Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage of a freak own goal by Washington rookie Nicklas Backstrom to beat the Capitals 4-2.

Sidney Crosby received credit for the goal, his second of the game, after Washington's Nicklas Backstrom pushed the puck into his own goal with 28 seconds remaining.

Jordan Staal then added an empty-netter with 13 seconds left.

"That was officially heartbreaking," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said.

"He [Backstrom] was doing everything that he could to prevent [a score] and ends up shooting it in his own net."

The play developed after Crosby one-handed a pass through the crease.

Backstrom went to clear the puck, but instead snapped it between netminder Cristobal Huet and the goal post to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead.

"We've been on the other side of that before, and it's not fun," Crosby said. "Obviously, it's a big break for us."

Crosby also scored in the second period and Evgeni Malkin had three assists, including one on Petr Sykora's second-period goal for Pittsburgh.

"This definitely was the best game of Crosby," Penguins coach Michel Therrien of his All-Star player who missed 21 games with an ankle sprain before returning March 4.

"It is going to take him sometime to bring his game where it was, but there is no doubt tonight that this was his best performance since he's been back."

Malkin now has 92 points as he chases Washington's Alex Ovechkin for the NHL scoring lead.

Ovechkin assisted on goals by Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin to boost his total to 95 points.

The San Jose Sharks won their ninth consecutive game, defeating the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Patrick Marleau's winning shootout goal.

Rookie Andrew Cogliano scored his second goal of the game 3:01 into overtime to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-5 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nigel Dawes scored the only goal of a shootout to give the New York Rangers a 1-0 home win over the Boston Bruins.

The Columbus Blue Jackets ended a seven-game home skid with a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Johan Franzen had two powerplay goals, including the game-winner, as the Detroit Red Wings collected a 4-3 home win over the Nashville Predators, who scored three times in the third period after trailing 4-0.

Anaheim Ducks won their seventh consecutive home game, stopping the Montreal Canadiens 3-1.

The Dallas Stars ended a three-game skid, shutting out the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 on Marty Turco's 19 saves.

Reuters