Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals: Score, highlights, and key moments

The Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals rivalry has been well documented in recent seasons. The two best players in the NHL over the past two decades, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, have added fuel to the fire as both suffered heartbreaking playoff losses to each other.

The Capitals and Penguins squared off on Saturday night on national TV for the last meeting between the teams of the season. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the season’s rubber match 4-3 in a third-period thriller.

Evgeni Malkin buries late game winner as Pittsburgh Penguins topple Washington Capitals in second period scoring explosion

The goalies came to play in the first half of the final rivalry game of the season. Just halfway through the game, both Darcy Kuemper and Casey DeSmith kept goose eggs on the scoreboard while facing the exact same amount of shots in 16.

Darcy Kuemper came up especially big for the Capitals in the early going of the game when Penguins' Jason Zucker came into the zone hot, flipping a backhander that was shut down by Kuemper. Zucker then attempted to bat the rebound out of the air, which Kuemper adjusted to and batted the puck out of the danger zone.

DeSmith would shut down two power-play opportunities by the Capitals in the first half of the game, keeping the puck out of the net against one of the most lethal and dangerous power plays in the NHL.

With 9:50 remaining on the clock in the second period, the Pittsburgh Penguins struck first. Ryan Poehling forced a turnover at the blue line in the defensive zone, sprinted down the ice on a breakaway and beat Kuemper stick side to take the lead.

Just two minutes later, the Pittsburgh Penguins found the twine again. A point-blank shot from Chad Ruhwedel, set up by some pretty passing from Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund, flew by Kuemper to leave the Capitals shell shocked.

Just 27 seconds into the third period, the Pittsburgh Penguins would essentially put the game out of reach when Jake Guentzel was able to grab an errant pass from Tom Wilson, get behind the Caps defenders and extend the lead.

Wilson would make up for his mistake five minutes later, taking the Capitals donut off the board for good. Wilson landed the first on DeSmith with a sleek wrister in the goal crease past an out-of-position DeSmith, assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Alex Ovechkin would make his mark on the rivalry game down the stretch as well, scoring his 42nd of the season on an 88 mph howitzer on the power play from his patented office.

The Capitals, riding their two-goal hot streak, would tie the game in the final moments. With just 2:44 left in the game, Dylan Strome struck gold for the Capitals, backhanding a rebound past an out-of-position DeSmith to make it 3-3.

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't let the tie stand for long. Just a minute and 20 seconds later, Evgeni Malkin sealed the deal for the Penguins in front of a raucus PPG Paints Arena. Malkin would swipe the puck away from the Capitals in the neutral zone and find himself one-on-one against Darcy Kuemper. The savvy vet buried the opportunity and clinched the season series against the bitter rivals.