PITTSBURGH — As the Winter Classic got wetter and wetter, the NHL nearly experienced its first rain delay.
The Washington Capitals weathered the conditions with a performance that proved they can handle a big-game setting, even one in the great outdoors.
Eric Fehr upstaged stars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin by scoring twice and the Capitals waded through rain drops to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in the NHL’s first nighttime Winter Classic on Saturday night.
“It was raining pretty good out there,” Fehr said. “But it was a perfect night.”
Fehr gave Washington its first lead at 2-1 in the second period after Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury abandoned the net, then sealed it with a breakaway goal in the third. Mike Knuble also scored on a power play.
Washington goalie Semyon Varlamov, starting because of Michal Neuvirth’s thigh injury, gave up Evgeni Malkin’s goal in the second period but turned aside the other 32 shots.
“I can’t imagine what football players (feel) playing like this,” Ovechkin said. “It’s unbelievable. It makes you want to do it all the time.”
The game was originally scheduled for 11:00 a.m. MST, before the NHL pushed back the start to 6 p.m. because of the rain threat. Neither team seemed to mind, and the Capitals — led by an animated and motivated Ovechkin — clearly enjoyed the prime-time stage. Even if it was a slick one.
