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BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Capitals weren't happy about the way they moved into a tie for the Eastern Conference lead.
Hans Jonsson scored 2:25 into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 victory over Washington on Thursday night, but the Capitals earned a point for the regulation tie to pull even with New Jersey in the Eastern Conference.
|  | | Washington defenseman Joe Reekie looks to keep Steve Leach away from goaltender Olaf Kolzig. |
"We'll wake up tomorrow, and we're still tied for first," Washington defenseman Ken Klee said. "We have to stay positive."
Washington's Chris Simon scored his 29th goal of the season with 6:08 left in the third period to force overtime.
Both Washington and New Jersey have five regular-season games remaining. Each team has 42 victories, but the Capitals have a 3-1 advantage in head-to-head competition.
The Capitals, who were 21 points behind the Devils on Jan. 11, are 18-2-3 in their last 23 home games and 29-8-5 since Jan. 1.
"Being No. 1 was our goal for a lot of reasons," Washington's Jeff Halpern said. "We'd get home ice throughout the playoffs ... and we're trying to get to the top of our game before the playoffs."
Washington entered the game tied for fourth in the league in penalty-killing, but Pittsburgh went 3-for-4 on the power play. Jonsson's goal was the Penguins' lone even-strength score.
Jonsson beat goalie Olaf Kolzig with a hard shot from between the circles to finish a 3-on-2 rush. Jonsson was the trailer on the play and took a good centering pass from Martin Straka.
"I joined the rush and waited and waited for Marty to give me a really good pass," Jonsson said. "I just shot it."
Straka took a pass from Robert Lang on the game-winning play. Lang had a goal and three assists.
Pittsburgh played without Jaromir Jagr, the NHL's leading scorer, who was sidelined for a second straight game because of a bruised back.
Washington wasted numerous scoring chances throughout the game, missing several in a wide-open first period when it had 16 shots. The Capitals held a 35-32 overall advantage in shots, but had trouble beating goalie Ron Tugnutt.
"They threw everything at us in the first period, the kitchen sink and what have you," Pittsburgh coach Herb Brooks said. "We gave up a couple, but we kept battling back and our power play was excellent."
Halpern gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 5:18 of the first period, knocking in the rebound of Ulf Dahlen's shot. Dahlen swung out from behind the net with Pittsburgh defenseman Jiri Slegr on his left arm and somehow got off a shot that bounced off goalie Ron Tugnutt and over to Halpern.
Pittsburgh's Alexei Kovalev tied it with a power-play goal at 15:16 of the period. Richard Zednik gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead 43 seconds later following a pass from Joe Murphy on a 2-on-1 rush.
But Murphy was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the goal, and Lang tied it 1:04 later.
Josef Beranek gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead with the team's third power-play goal with 9:20 left in the third period.
The loss ended the Capitals' seven-game home winning streak.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
Pittsburgh 4
Washington 3
St. Louis 3
Boston 2
Tampa Bay 6
Ottawa 3
Chicago 4
Toronto 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Hans Jonsson scores the game-winner in OT.
avi: 676 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Chris Simon scores late in the third period to tie the game.
avi: 733 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Alexei Kovalev fires a shot past Olaf Kolzig.
avi: 664 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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