Penguins Get Even With Capitals at 2:22 a.m.

Night had long turned to early morning, and all that remained of the sellout crowd was a few thousand fans who had been waiting more than three hours to see someone put the puck in the net.

As the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins started the fourth overtime of their Stanley Cup playoff game, only two questions remained:

Who would win? And would the Zamboni run out of gas before the players did?

The Penguins and Capitals might as well go directly to Game 6 of their playoff series, because Game 4 was the equivalent of two games--and then some. By the time the marathon ended in the wee hours of Thursday morning, many of the fans who had dinner at the USAir Arena six hours earlier were ready for breakfast.

Pittsburgh goaltender Ken Wregget didn’t start the game but ended up with a franchise-record 53 saves in the Penguins’ 3-2 victory. Wregget and Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig kept the game scoreless for the equivalent of 1 1/2 games before Petr Nedved scored a power-play goal with 44.6 seconds left in the fourth overtime to end the longest NHL game in six decades.

“It was anybody’s game. Anything could have happened there at any time,” Wregget said.

Actually, almost everything did happen. Consider that:

--For the first time in NHL history, there was a penalty shot in overtime. The Capitals’ Joe Juneau missed it.

--Mild-mannered Mario Lemieux lost his cool, got into a fight and missed the final 100 minutes.

--Kolzig stopped 62 shots, a franchise record, and took the loss.

The game started at 7:38 p.m. and ended at 2:22 a.m. The fans that stuck it out had to do so without food or drink, because the concession stands shut down well before midnight.

Pittsburgh outshot Washington, 65-63, and tied the best-of-seven series, 2-2. Game 5 is tonight in Pittsburgh.