Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) exchanges blows with Pittsburgh Penguins' Chris Kunitz (14) at the end of the third period of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game in Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Capitals won 3-1.

PITTSBURGH — Eric Fehr upstaged stars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin by scoring twice and the Washington Capitals waded through rain drops to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in a wet Winter Classic on Saturday night.

It was the NHL’s first nighttime Winter Classic, and the first played in occasional rain, but the Capitals handled the elements — and a scoreless Crosby — just fine.

Fehr gave Washington its first lead at 2-1 in the second period after Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury abandoned the net, then sealed it with a breakaway goal in the third.

Washington goalie Semyon Varlamov, starting because of Michal Neuvirth’s thigh injury, gave up Evgeni Malkin’s goal in the second period but turned aside the other 32 shots.

The game was originally scheduled for 10 a.m. PST, before the NHL moved the start because of the rain threat.

After a scoreless first period in which the two teams adjusted to playing outdoors at night — many never had at any organized level — and the choppy ice, the Penguins took a 1-0 lead. Malkin took Kris Letang’s banked pass off the boards to beat Varlamov inside the near post at 2:15.

Malkin’s 14th goal caused a never-before-seen sight at Heinz Field: fans in the crowd of 68,111 twirling Terrible Towels to salute a Penguins goal rather than a Steelers touchdown.

Pittsburgh couldn’t maintain the momentum, though, as the Capitals held down Crosby, who went scoreless for a second successive game after posting at least one point in 25 consecutive games. He had five shots.

“In the third period, weather became a problem,” Ovechkin said. “But we handled it.”

Also on Saturday:

Lightning 2

Rangers 1

TAMPA, Fla. — Nate Thompson scored 19 seconds into overtime to help Tampa Bay beat the New York Rangers. Thompson scored from in-close off a pass from the left wing boards by Dana Tyrell.

Sabres 7

Bruins 6

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Drew Stafford scored three times and Tyler Ennis netted the decisive shootout goal in rallying Buffalo to a win over Boston. Jason Pominville had two goals and two assists and Thomas Vanek had a goal and an assist.

Hurricanes 6

Devils 3

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sergei Samsonov and rookie Jeff Skinner scored two goals apiece, and Carolina beat struggling New Jersey for its third straight win. Tuomo Ruutu added a goal and three assists.

Maple Leafs 5

Senators 1

OTTAWA — Tyler Bozak scored two goals, rookie James Reimer made 32 saves in his first NHL start, and Toronto beat Ottawa. Darryl Boyce scored his first NHL goal and Clarke MacArthur and Luke Schenn also tallied for Toronto, which led 5-0 just over 5 minutes into the second.

Sharks 1

Kings 0

LOS ANGELES — Antti Niemi posted his ninth NHL shutout with 29 saves, and Devin Setoguchi scored on his 24th birthday to lead San Jose to a victory over Los Angeles.

Flames 2

Oilers 1

EDMONTON, Alberta — Mark Giordano’s second-period goal stood up as the winner as Calgary extended its winning streak to a season-best four games with a victory over Edmonton.