PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins were glad to be back at Consol Energy Center after their longest road trip in three years. Recently, though, theyve felt right at home against the Washington Capitals regardless of where they play. Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, leading Pittsburgh to a 2-0 victory over Washington on Tuesday night. Jussi Jokinen and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins, who swept the teams home-and series one night after beating the Capitals 3-2 in Washington. Pittsburgh has beaten its longtime rivals a franchise-record eight straight times. "Every time we play them, its pretty intense," said Fleury, who has 28 career shutouts. "Its always a close game and a hard-fought game, so its nice to get the W." The Penguins have also won three in a row and picked up at least a point in eight of their last 10 games. Pittsburgh was at home for the second time since the end of the Olympic break, having travelled more than 6,000 miles in playing five games over three time zones the previous 10 days. Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 shots in his third start for Washington. Alexander Ovechkin was held without a point for the fourth consecutive game as the Capitals lost for the fourth time in their last five. Fleury tied his career high for shutouts in a season while winning his sixth straight start against the Capitals, whom the Penguins swept the season series from for the second year in a row. "We created a lot more chances than last game and more shots, and that was something we wanted to improve on," Crosby said. "But defensively we were pretty good." Pittsburgh widened its lead in the Eastern Conference to three points over the idle Boston Bruins and also increased its Metropolitan Division bulge to 16 points over the New York Rangers. Unlike Fleury, Halak was played both games on consecutive nights between the teams. Acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres last week, Halaks first three starts with the Capitals have come over a four-day span. Jokinen beat him at 16:41 of the first. Left unchecked by Capitals defenceman Mike Green while skating through the slot, Jokinen offered a deft re-direct of Matt Niskanens shot from the right point for his 17th goal of the season -- but first since Jan. 30. Evgeni Malkin earned the second assist on the play, extending his assists streak to five games. Crosby scored for the second straight night against Halak, this time with a low wrist shot to the stick side with 5:48 left in the game after skating swiftly down the right wing. Halak said he was surprised by the shot -- he was expecting Crosby to pass it to Chris Kunitz. "I just tried to look to pass as long as I could," Crosby said, "just to see if hed bite and try to hold him there." Lee Stempniak had the only assist on the goal in his home debut for Penguins after he and fellow forward Marcel Goc were acquired in trade-deadline day deals last week. Eleven minutes into the second period, the Capitals came the closest to scoring when rookie Evgeny Kuznetsov flipped a shot from just to the right of Fleury that clanged off the post before deflecting off of Fleurys left pad as he sprawled out. "If we tie the game there," Ovechkin said, "maybe its a little bit different game." Largely untested and forced to make just 12 saves through two periods, Fleury faced the brunt of the Washington onslaught during the third. "The first period, they controlled the game," Ovechkin said. "The last 30 minutes, we played our game, got the puck deep, started to cycle. Maybe we were just a little bit tired, maybe we were just a little sleepy. We just werent ready for the first period. The Capitals No.2 NHL power play had two opportunities over the games final 12 minutes, plus an extended 6-on-5 with Halak pulled over the final 90 seconds. But Fleury denied chances by Mark Chimera, Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson for some of his best third-period saves. "The first and second, there werent too many shots," Fleury said. "The third was crazy -- but it was fun though. You get a good sweat and get a win." Washington dropped into 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and dropped three points out of the final playoff spot. "(The desperation level) needs to be a little more from everybody," Halak said. "Now, its do-or-die for us." NOTES: Kunitz missed a shift after crashing violently into the goal post during the third period. Bylsma said the contact was not directly to Kunitzs knee. ... Washington C Brooks Laich did not make the trip to Pittsburgh because he continues to be hampered by a groin injury. Laich has missed two of the past four games. ... Early Tuesday, the Capitals recalled C Casey Wellman and D Patrick Wey from their American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey. Wey, a native of a Pittsburgh suburb, was a healthy scratch. ... Before the game, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said that D Kris Letang has been skating and working out in Pittsburgh. Letang has not played since suffering a stroke Jan. 29. He remains out indefinitely. Adrian Clayborn Jersey . And while taking highly-touted Simon Fraser offensive lineman Matthias Goossen second overall on Tuesday night will definitely help in an area of need for the club, it was a swap of draft picks that may prove to be his most shrewd move. "When Jesse Briggs started to fall a little bit, you could just see Kyle perk up in his chair. Brett Favre Jersey .Y. - Terry and Kim Pegula have no immediate plans to tinker with their new NFL team. http://www.falconsapparelsshop.com/kema ... rsey-c-49/. It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Desmond Trufant Jersey . The 30-year-old Texas native was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Duke spent six years in Pittsburgh and also had stints with Arizona, Washington and Cincinnati. Duke Riley Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Moving up, from 10 to seven this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won seven straight despite a depleted lineup.WASHINGTON -- Wilson Ramos talked himself into the lineup. His calm approach at the plate took care of the rest. Ramos drove in four runs and Ian Desmond homered to help Jordan Zimmermann and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 6-3 on Sunday. Desmonds solo shot tied the score in the second inning and Ramos two-run double in the third put the Nationals ahead for good. The catcher drove in two more with a bases-loaded single in the fifth off starter Zack Wheeler (1-4) for a 5-1 lead. "His heart rate doesnt increase," Washington manager Matt Williams said of his cleanup hitter. "Thats key for anybody in the middle of the lineup driving in runs. ... Its no different at-bat just because there are guys out there." There was some debate about putting Ramos in the lineup for a third straight game, something he had not done since returning to action May 9. He missed more than a month with a hand injury and played only 78 games last year after multiple stints on the disabled list. "There was a conversation (Saturday) night about how he felt," Williams said "He was adamant about playing today because he felt that it was coming along." Though he was hitless in Saturdays 5-2 loss, Ramos sensed better days were ahead. On Sunday, he produced his first multihit game of the season. "Yesterday I was feeling good. I hit the ball well, "Ramos said. "I talked to (Williams) and said I want to play (Sunday). Every time I play games straight I feel better and better and better." Zimmermann (3-1) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings for his first win in three starts. It came hours after Washington put left-hander Gio Gonzalez on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano shut out the Mets over the final three innings. Washingtons bullpen pitched 13 scoreless innings in the series as the Nationals took two of three. Soriano worked the ninth for his 10th save. One day after New York snapped a nine-game losing streaak to the Nationals, a scuffling Wheeler gave up five runs -- three earned -- and six hits in six innings.dddddddddddd He struck out five and walked two. "Its been a bunch of bad starts in a row here," said Wheeler, who has not won since April 14, "so I need to hurry up and turn it around and get back on the right track." Results aside, manager Terry Collins liked what he saw from the 23-year-old righty. "Its all about locating his pitching. But I tell you, I thought he had really good stuff today, he just made a couple mistakes and they got some big hits," Collins said. Juan Centeno hit a pair of RBI singles and Juan Lagares had a run-scoring single for the Mets, who have lost four of five. Washington is 5-1 against New York this season. The Mets scored twice against Zimmermann in the sixth, but the rally ended when Centeno was thrown out at second base after his run-scoring hit. All the New York momentum was stopped when the Nationals went to their bullpen. The Mets did not get a hit over the final three innings. "We feel very confident," Clippard said. "Were kind of in that mode right now of just, get us the lead and well do our thing." Zimmermann, a .385 hitter this season, singled in the fifth and later scored on Ramos base hit. Ramos doubled in two runs in the third after shortstop Ruben Tejadas fielding error with a runner on and two outs kept the inning going. Desmond has homered in back-to-back games. Kevin Frandsens RBI groundout in the eighth added an insurance run for Washington. NOTES: Gonzalez had an MRI. Results showed inflammation but no structural damage, Williams said. ... The Nationals recalled RHP Ryan Mattheus from Triple-A Syracuse to replace Gonzalez on the roster. ... New York RHP Rafael Montero (0-1) makes his second major league start Tuesday night against RHP Josh Beckett (1-2) and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. ... Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg (3-3) faces Cincinnati RHP Mike Leake (2-3) in the opener of a three-game series Monday night. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '