LANDOVER, Md. -- A new year brought new resolve from the Washington Capitals.
Mike Gartner scored on a breakaway 1:30 into overtime Thursday, lifting the Capitals to a 4-3 victory over the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins.
'What happened in 1986 is gone. It's a new year, and let's try to make it a new year,' said Gartner. 'It's important to the team to win anything just because we're in a tight spot right now.'
Gartner beat goalie Roberto Romano with a wrist shot over the left shoulder, extending Pittsburgh's winless streak to nine games.
The Capitals forced the extra session with 42 seconds left in regulation. Gaetan Duchesne deflected Lou Franceschetti's slapshot from the right faceoff circle past Romano, wiping out the Penguins' 3-2 lead.
'We told ourselves today that this has got be a brand new year for us,' Franceschetti said. 'We have 10 divisional games this month. This was a big game. It was either nine points behind Pittsburgh, or five.'
Three minutes earlier Penguins defenseman Ville Siren put a slapshot past goalie Bob Mason. Siren's fourth goal of the season broke a 2-2 deadlock.
The Penguins, 15-16-7 and in third place in the Patrick Division, have tied three games during the winless stretch.
The Penguins took a 2-0 lead in the first period but the Capitals scored twice within 11 seconds in the period's final minute. Gartner scored at 19:12 and then, at 19:23, Bob Gould poked a shot past Romano.
Pittsburgh managed its 2-0 lead by the 16:57 mark of the first period. Dave Hannan beat Mason on a breakaway, slipping a wrist shot past the netminder's right shoulder. Pittsburgh's Jim Johnson opened the scoring at 2:19.
