The Washington Capitals know they're in a must-win situation down the stretch, regardless of the scenario.

So, even with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson and more players sitting for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Washington was focused on getting two points — and Ilya Protas, comfortable as ever, and their young guns stepped up again to make that happen.

Ilya Protas had his first NHL goal and two assists, Ryan Leonard struck twice and several players hit milestones in a 6-3 win over the Penguins.

Here are the takeaways as D.C. moves within one point of third in the Metropolitan Division.

Ilya Protas Continues Impressive Start To NHL Tenure With Three-Point Night, '700' Line Packs Punch

"Little Pro" looks like he belongs at the NHL level, and his second game was even stronger than his memorable debut.

Again playing on that heavyweight line with big brother Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson, Ilya Protas again shined, using his reach and hockey IQ to help tilt the ice as D.C. dominated in the offensive zone early and often.

After a scoreless first period, Ilya Protas found his big brother Aliaksei backdoor to open the scoring, making it a 1-0 game. Aliaksei's goal was his 25th of the season.

ILYA PROTAS CONNECTS WITH ALIAKSEI PROTAS 💪

These two are going to be such a handful for the @Capitals.

📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/uPciMplRAu

— NHL (@NHL) April 11, 2026

Later on, he took matters into his own hands, driving a feed from Protas to the slot and cutting to the middle for a chance before Wilson tapped home the rebound.

It gave Wilson his 30th goal of the season, marking the second consecutive year he's recorded back-to-back 30-goal campaigns. Meanwhile, it marked Ilya Protas' first-career multi-point game.

Big, b-big, b-big, big boy pic.twitter.com/cdF4ySLhHJ

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 11, 2026

Ilya Protas wasn't done there; on a power play in the third, he did what he does best and got to the net front, where he buried a rebound for his first NHL goal and three-point performance.

Alex Ovechkin made sure to grab the puck for Ilya Protas after his first career NHL goal 🥹 pic.twitter.com/IeCPeuMujh

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 11, 2026

Overall, Ilya Protas was strong again and has four points in his first two NHL games, and his line showed chemistry in all three zones, generating chances, protecting the puck and using its size, physicality and vision to its advantage.

Ryan Leonard Stays Hot, Hits 20-Goal Mark

Ryan Leonard has been one of the Capitals' most vital players down this stretch as they try to sneak into the playoffs, and he sttepped up again on Saturday with a two-goal, milestone performance.

For his first of the game, Leonard got to the front and wired a one-time feed from Pierre-Luc Dubois right into the glove of Arturs Silovs, whose glove went over the line. After testimony from Leonard and official review, it was ruled a good goal.

Leno had an idea and it was that this was a good goal pic.twitter.com/62QTKDv1Ot

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 11, 2026

Then, after the Penguins had cut the lead to 3-2, Leonard got open in front and put home Cole Hutson's rebound to restore the two-goal lead.

Peep the filthy little dangle here by Cole Hutson on Ryan Leonard's second of the game! 🥵

📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/y6VJisvSri

— NHL (@NHL) April 11, 2026

Leonard's second goal marked his 20th of the season, and also stood as the game winner. He also leads the Capitals in goals since March (10), and has points in six of the last seven.

Pierre-Luc Dubois & Rasmus Sandin Leave With Injuries

Washington also got some tough news on the injury front, losing both Pierre-Luc Dubois and Rasmus Sandin to injury.

To start the second period, Dubois was being pressured from behind by Anthony Mantha and went down going to the net. After sliding a pass over to Ryan Leonard for a goal, Dubois crashed hard into the end boards and subsequently went down the tunnel. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an upper-body injury.

Dubois missed 47 games earlier in the season after having undergone adduction surgery in November, and his absence took a toll on D.C. as it failed to find consistency in the lineup and slipped down the standings.

Then, in the third, Rasmus Sandin was in the defensive zone when he was hip-checked by Justin Brazeau. His leg buckled and he went down in visible pain, favoring his right leg. After being attended to by trainer Jason Serbus, Sandin was helped off the ice and down the tunnel, not putting any weight on his leg.

The 26-year-old Swede has been playing top-pairing minutes with Martin Fehervary following the John Carlson trade, and he's also been putting up offense and ranks second in scoring among Washington defensemen behind only Jakob Chychrun.

It's a tough scenario for the Capitals, who are in a must-win situation entering their final two games as they try to remain in the thick of the playoff race. There is no update yet on their statuses for Sunday.

Top Shelf Takes

• Alex Ovechkin put home a late empty-net goal — which he was pretty much forced to on the give-and-go with Tom Wilson, who refused to shoot — for his 32nd of the season.

• Wilson is also on a six-game point streak.

• Cole Hutson picked up two assists and leads all rookies in scoring since making his debut on March 18.

• Dylan Strome and Justin Sourdif have points in back-to-back games. Strome has four points in the last four games, and Sourdif's got on the scoresheet in three of the last four overall.