No Sidney Crosby. No Conor Sheary. No problem.

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't dominate in Game 4 of their second-round series against the Washington Capitals, but they now have their opponents on the brink of elimination despite playing without their all-world superstar and his talented young linemate Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh was out-played for much of Game 4, but the Penguins continued to show they're capable of succeeding even without multiple difference-makers.

Both Crosby and Sheary were concussed - the captain in more controversial fashion - in Game 3, but their linemate, Jake Guentzel, stepped up his game in their absence.

Guentzel scored a goal and added an assist on the winner, continuing his remarkable run of playoff production. He became the first rookie since Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand in 2011 to notch at least eight goals in a single postseason.

"He's a guy (who) finds ways to have success," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said of Guentzel postgame. "He plays with courage. He's a smart player that can adapt his game."

Marc-Andre Fleury has also been delivering amid an injury to a positional counterpart, and he excelled Wednesday night, stopping 36-of-38 shots to earn another win.

"He has elevated his game at an important time," Sullivan said of Fleury. "He's a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, and he's showing it."

Pittsburgh has played the entire postseason without goaltender Matt Murray, who got the lion's share of the starts in the regular season but was hurt during the warmup before Game 1 of the Penguins' first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Compounding matters, the Penguins have also been without their best defenseman, Kris Letang, who had season-ending neck surgery in early April.

Yet somehow, some way, Pittsburgh finds itself within a single win of knocking out the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals for the second straight year, and for the ninth time in 10 playoff series in their history.

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