PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ilya Protas scored his first NHL goal and added two assists as the Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Saturday.
The 100th career matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin didn't materialized. The Penguins opted to sit Crosby and several other regulars after clinching a playoff berth for the first time since the 2021-22 season and home ice advantage throughout the first round.
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Pittsburgh Penguins' Kevin Hayes, left, celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Aliaksei Protas (21) is defended by Pittsburgh Penguins' Jack St. Ivany during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Justin Sourdif (34) battles Pittsburgh Penguins' Anthony Mantha (39) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Brandon Duhaime (22) can't get off a shot in front of Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) with Connor Clifton (75) defending during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) is defended by Pittsburgh Penguins' Ryan Graves (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, Ben Kindel, Parker Wotherspoon, Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar also missed Saturday’s game against Washington, which kept its faint playoff hopes alive.
Ovechkin scored a late empty-net goal to pass Ron Francis for the fifth-most road points in NHL history.
Ryan Leonard scored twice for Washington and became the eighth rookie in team history with 20 goals in a season, Aliaksei Protas scored and Tom Wilson continued a six-game point streak with a goal and an assist, giving him back-to-back 30-goal and 60-point seasons.
Logan Thompson stopped nine shots for the Capitals, who have won six of their last eight games.
Anthony Mantha scored his team-best 32nd goal, while Noel Acciari and Kevin Hayes also scored for Pittsburgh.
Arturs Silovs made 25 saves for the Penguins, whose three-game win streak ended. Pittsburgh has wins in six of its last nine games overall.
Ilya Protas, playing in his second game, scored his first NHL goal on the power play to give the Capitals a 5-3 lead.
The Penguins showed a video tribute honoring Ovechkin and his longstanding rivalry with Crosby during a television timeout in the second period. Ovechkin received a standing ovation from the visiting crowd, as he stood up from the bench and waved while players tapped their sticks on the ice in appreciation.
The teams combined for seven goals in the second period, as Pittsburgh scored its three goals on seven shots.
Up next
The Penguins and Capitals meet again in Washington on Sunday afternoon.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Pittsburgh Penguins' Kevin Hayes, left, celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Aliaksei Protas (21) is defended by Pittsburgh Penguins' Jack St. Ivany during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Justin Sourdif (34) battles Pittsburgh Penguins' Anthony Mantha (39) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Brandon Duhaime (22) can't get off a shot in front of Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) with Connor Clifton (75) defending during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) is defended by Pittsburgh Penguins' Ryan Graves (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal secured Barcelona's 4-1 win over Espanyol after setting up Ferran Torres for a double and the La Liga leaders took another step toward retaining the title on Saturday.
Yamal passed for Ferran to score in the 10th and 25th minutes before the teenage phenom ensured the victory in the 87th with Espanyol threatening to equalize. Marcus Rashford made it four for the hosts at Camp Nou in the 89th.
Barcelona capitalized on Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at home to Girona on Friday to increase its lead to nine points with seven rounds remaining.
Barcelona and Madrid will try to overcome losses in the Champions League quarterfinals in their next games after Barcelona lost to Atletico Madrid 2-0 and Madrid fell to Bayern Munich 2-1 this week.
While Madrid will travel to Germany on a three-game winless streak, Barcelona’s attack is clicking as it heads to Spain’s capital needing a big win to advance to the European semifinals.
Barcelona’s fans chanted “Yes we can!” after the match with its team playing at Atletico on Tuesday.
“The team is in a good place. We’ll be ready. We want to go there and fight Atlético," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “We don’t need a miracle. We need to play our best football.”
Barcelona's best play is coming from the 18-year-old Yamal, who leads the team both in goals (22) and assists (18) across all competitions this season.
Yamal also picked up another record for precociousness after he became the youngest player to reach 100 appearances in La Liga at 18 years, 272 days. That beat the previous mark of Bojan Krkic who played his 100th game at age 20.
Yamal's other records include youngest player to debut and to score in La Liga.
Ferran started the season in good form, scoring 16 goals among more starts than aging star Robert Lewandowski. While lacking the clinical scoring touch of the Poland striker, Ferran provided more movement, speed and linked up well with Yamal and his midfielders.
But Ferran then hit a slump and had not scored since Jan. 31.
His goalless run stretched across 13 games in all competitions and finally ended on Saturday when Yamal delivered a corner kick to the far post where Ferran leapt over Carlos Romero and nodded it home.
Ferran celebrated by gesturing with his hands as if they were talking, apparently in reference to the talk in the sports press and social media about his scoring troubles.
He made it a brace when he used a subtle touch to roll a pass by Yamal under on-rushing goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
“A forward is always judged by the goals he scores,” Ferran said. “It is true I hadn’t scored in some time but I believed in my efforts and that the payoff would come when least expected.”
Espanyol midfielder Pol Lozano put the result in doubt when he used one touch to fire in a rebound of a loose ball to make it 2-1 in the 56th.
But Yamal finished off the Catalan derby when Dmitrovic tried to clear a long pass but ended up knocking it off Yamal, who only had to push the ball into the open net.
“The final score was too lopsided for the game we saw,” said coach Manolo González, whose Espanyol remained in 10th. “We had our chances and their first three goals were from our defensive mistakes.”
Rashford got his goal when he was set up by fellow substitute Frenkie de Jong, who made his first appearance in over a month after the Netherlands midfielder recovered from a right leg injury.
An Atletico side with several second-choice players and member of its youth squad lost 2-1 at Sevilla, which moved away from the relegation zone with its first win under new coach Luis García.
Akor Adams and Nemanja Gudelj scored for Sevilla. Atletico defender Javier Boñar scored in his debut at age 20.
Elche escaped the danger zone and leapfrogged Valencia with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal by Lucas Cepeda.
Alaves striker Lucas Boyé struck late in stoppage time to complete a 3-3 draw at Real Sociedad.
In this round the referees and some teams wore throwback shirts as part of a "La Liga Retro" promotion.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, centre, controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Ferran Torres, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal with Barcelona's Lamine Yamal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Ferran Torres, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal with Barcelona's Lamine Yamal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Ferran Torres, centre, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal with Lamine Yamal, left, and Fermin Lopez during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after Ferran Torres, right, scored their side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
