PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't look that much different under new coach Mike Sullivan. The Washington Capitals looked about the same, too -- and goaltender Braden Holtby was a big reason for that.

Right winger T.J. Oshie scored twice in the third period and added an assist and the hot Capitals spoiled Sullivan's debut as Pittsburgh's coach, beating the Penguins 4-1 on Monday night.

The Capitals (21-6-2) won for the ninth time in their last 11 games and are 10-3-1 on the road.

Center Nicklas Backstrom, who assisted on both Oshie goals while also having a three-point night, and defenseman John Carlson scored in the opening 7:04. Holtby -- who has not allowed more than two goals in his last seven starts -- made the lead hold up with 44 saves.

"To be honest, I haven't seen him any better than this," Backstrom said of Holtby, whose 1.875 goals-against average leads the NHL.

Sullivan said the Penguins (15-11-30) must play much better than this -- they had a season-high 45 shots, but a team loaded with scoring talent still isn't finding the net. They came in ranked 26th in scoring even with stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel in their lineup.

"It's going to be a process but I hope we can expedite it," Sullivan said. "I still think a lot of it stems from our frame of mind. We've got to make sure we become a more determined team and a resilient team, under difficult circumstances."

Sullivan, the Boston Bruins' coach from 2003-06, didn't make many noticeable changes after replacing Mike Johnston 28 games into the season. But the Penguins clearly were pressing more offensively with 31 shots in the first two periods.

Crosby, who has only six goals in 29 games, did not score, but Malkin found the net for the second game in a row for Pittsburgh's only goal.

"I thought our effort was there," Crosby said. "We generated some good chances, but I think execution-wise he wants us to make a few more plays."

Oshie was the difference maker, scoring on a wraparound 8:50 into the third and adding a power-play goal in the final minute for his 10th of the season. He made an impact with his stick and his shoulder in only the fourth Capitals win in their last 14 games in Pittsburgh.

Penguins right wing Beau Bennett did not return after a shoulder check by Oshie drove him into the boards late in the first period. After the game, Sullivan said Bennett is expected to be out for a while with an undisclosed injury.

"You want to play hard, you want to play physical but you don't want guys to get hurt," Oshie said.

Pittsburgh was 0-for-2 on the power play and is 0-for-11 in its last five games. The Penguins are 10-20-5 in Metropolitan Division games over the last two seasons, including 1-3-1 this season.

No Penguins coach who took over the team with the season already started has won his debut since Rick Kehoe in 2001.

The NHL's top two scorers over the past 10 years, Washington left winger Alex Ovechkin and Crosby, were on the ice, but neither figured in the early scoring.

The Capitals, who are 15-1-2 when scoring the initial goal, did exactly that 3:53 in on Backstrom's hard wrist shot from between the circles that beat goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (30 saves) to the glove side. Oshie created the goal by skating hard into the Penguins' zone, stopping abruptly and dropping a pass to Backstrom, who scored his 10th goal.

"We were stressing quite a bit before the game that they're going to come out with some intensity, they're going to try to impress their new coach and earn their ice time," Oshie said. "I thought we did a good job of matching their intensity and having a good start."

Carlson made it 2-0 just over three minutes later, putting in a rebound of his own miss along the left circle for his fifth goal. He was left undefended following his initial miss.

Malkin cut the Washington lead in half with just over six minutes left in the period, getting his 14th goal on a redirection of defenseman Ben Lovejoy's shot from the top of the right circle.

NOTES: New Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is assuming control of the NHL's 27th-ranked power play, a responsibility previously held by assistant Rick Tocchet. Offensively, Sullivan wants more breakouts from the defensive zone to create off-man rushes and more scoring chances. ... Newly retired Pascal Dupuis, who spent nine seasons as a Penguins forward, plans to discuss a role in the organization with GM Jim Rutherford. ... Former Capitals C Eric Fehr, now with Pittsburgh, opposed his former team for the first time and visited with some ex-teammates after the game. ... Sullivan didn't make any pregame lineup changes in his first game as coach. ... Penguins D Kris Letang (upper-body injury) missed a second successive game. Also out was Washington D Brooks Orpik (lower-body injury), the former Penguins player who is on the injured reserve list. ... The Capitals scratched RW Chris Brown, C Michael Latta and D Aaron Ness. Pittsburgh held out D Rob Scuderi, who was traded during the game to the Chicago Blackhawks for D Trevor Daley.