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Caps send Penguins to 6th straight loss

Jan 12, 2012 - 5:11 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season, leading the Washington Capitals to a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Verizon Center.

Jason Chimera recorded the only goal and the Capitals snapped a two-game slide.

"I didn't think one goal would be enough, but it turned out to be enough. We'll take it," said Chimera.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 20-of-21 shots for the Penguins, whose losing streak reached a season-high six games. They have been held to one goal or fewer in five straight games.

Chimera's tally came at the 15:25 mark of the first period when Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin had the puck poked away from him in the offensive zone, leading to a 3-on-1 rush for the Capitals.

Jeff Halpern grabbed the loose puck near the Penguins blue line before feeding a pass into the slot for a wide-open Chimera, who snapped a shot past Fleury's stick for the game-deciding goal.

Vokoun was peppered with 11 shots in the second period and 10 shots in the third as the Penguins were awarded a power play in both of the last two frames. But Pittsburgh could not find an answer to the goaltender, who notched his 46th career shutout.

"Certainly getting shut out 1-0 is not something we like, but we earned a lot tonight," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said. "We're going to keep playing that way and we'll get wins playing just like that."

Game Notes

The Capitals improved to 13-0-0 when leading after two periods...Washington's only penalty was a Matt Hendricks fighting major in the first period...The Capitals hold a 2-1 advantage in the season series. They are 15-5-1 at home this season...Pittsburgh fell to 10-10-2 on the road.