Dressing a lineup that looked as if it could be a dark horse candidate to win the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins scratched a number of their more prominent players Saturday during a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena.

While the team officially cited unspecified injuries as the reasons for mass scratches, the reality is that they want to get the most important parts of their lineup as healthy as possible to compete for the Stanley Cup.

Forwards Sidney Crosby, Ben Kindel, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, along with defensemen Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and Parker Wotherspoon, were all absent Saturday for what the team labeled with nugatory “upper-“ and “lower-body” designations.

But with the team locked into second place of the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins had nothing tangible to gain or lose in their regular-season home finale. Aside from relieving the presumed consternation of executives at ABC who wanted a national television showcase for Crosby and his longtime foil, Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, there was absolutely no reason — from a team-wide perspective — for any of the Penguins’ top players to suit up.

Reserves such as forwards Kevin Hayes, Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen and Rutger McGroarty, as well as defensemen Ryan Graves, Ilya Solovyov and Jack St. Ivany, all got into the lineup. In some cases, it was their first NHL contest in months.

“I felt good,” said St. Ivany, who last dressed for an NHL game Jan. 25. “Obviously, not the result I wanted personally or the team wanted, but overall, it was nice to be out there with the guys again and playing.”

For the Capitals (41-30-3, 85 points ), the result kept their flickering postseason hopes alive. They entered the day in sixth place of the Metropolitan Division, only three points behind the third-place Philadelphia Flyers (40-27-12, 92 points).

The Penguins and Capitals are scheduled to rematch Sunday in Washington.

The Penguins were limited to 12 shots, one more than the mark for fewest in franchise history.

(The record low of 11 shots was achieved seven times between 1977 and 2008.)

Presumably, the Penguins are capable of offering a more competitive performance Sunday, no matter the composition of the lineup.

“Anytime you put this jersey on, you’ve got to play with pride,” Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea said. “We competed hard. … The compete was there. The execution was off.”

Rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs’ record fell to 19-11-8 after he stopped 25 of 30 shots.

Following a scoreless first period, Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas tallied his 25th goal 99 seconds into the second period.

Off a defensive zone turnover by St. Ivany, Protas claimed the puck at the left point, advanced it up the wall a bit, then fed a pass to his brother and linemate, Ilya Protas, who scooted behind the cage. Emerging to the right of the net, Ilya Protas tapped a pass towards the left post, where Capitals forward Tom Wilson failed to get a clean shot off. The puck slid below the left circle, where Aliaksei Protas fired a wrister off Silovs’ right skate and into the cage. Wilson and Ilya Protas had assists.

Former Capitals forward Anthony Mantha tied the game only 26 seconds later with his 32nd goal.

Controlling the puck at the center point of Washington’s zone, Shea offloaded it to the left wing for Mantha, who advanced up the wall and snapped a wrister. The puck struck off Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun’s right leg and fluttered past goaltender Logan Thompson’s blocker on the far side. Shea and forward Tommy Novak negotiated assists.

The Capitals reclaimed a lead through unusual circumstances at 6:02 of the second frame when rookie forward Ryan Leonard scored his 19th goal.

Lugging the puck from his own zone, Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois cruised through the neutral zone and gained the Penguins’ zone on the left wing. Mantha applied pressure, causing Dubois to fall to the ice and crash into the end boards. But before he made contact, Dubois was able to slip a pass to the far side of the crease, where Leonard directed a forehand shot on net. Silovs gloved the puck and appeared to keep it out of the cage. But as Dubois labored to get off the ice and retreated to the dressing room to be examined, officials reviewed video of Leonard’s shot and ruled it crossed the goal line and awarded him the goal. Dubois and linemate Connor McMichael merited assists.

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Dubois did not return to the game.

Wilson got in on the act with his 30th goal 126 seconds later.

After an alert effort to keep a puck on side at the right point of the Penguins’ zone, Ilya Protas dished a pass to the near circle Aliaksei Protas, who dished it right back to his brother. Attacking down the slot, Ilya Protas’ attempt at a backhander was snuffed out by an aggressive Silovs. But a rebound sat loose above the crease, which Wilson was able to easily clean up with a forehand shot into a mostly vacant cage. The only assists went to people named Protas.

Penguins forward Noel Acciari continued to contribute a surprising level of offense as he accrued his 13th goal at 11:47 of the second.

After Penguins forward Joona Koppanen won a draw in Washington’s left circle against Ilya Protas, Penguins defenseman Sam Girard settled the puck at the near point, sashayed his way to the slot and flicked a backhand pass toward the lower right circle, where Penguins forward Elmer Soderblom deflected a backhand shot on net. Capitals defenseman Matt Roy batted the puck into Thompson’s blocker, causing it to deflect to the slot, where Acciari crashed in and chopped a forehand shot that clunked through Thompson’s five hole and into the cage. Soderblom and Girard generated assists.

Leonard reached the 20-goal mark a mere 12 seconds later.

Off the ensuing faceoff following Acciari’s goal, Capitals rookie forward Justin Sourdif entered the Penguins’ zone on the right wing, then centered a pass to the high slot for rookie defenseman Cole Hutson. Barging down the slot, Hutson was rejected on a wrister by Silovs’ stick but the rebound slid to the right of the crease, where Leonard cleaned it up with a forehand shot past Silovs’ left skate. Hutson and Sourdif secured assists.

An unlikely source supplied the Penguins with more offense at 16:50 of the second frame when Hayes scored his fourth goal.

After the Penguins killed off the final stages of a hooking penalty by Hayes, Ilya Protas battled Shea for a puck on the Penguins’ end boards and tried to play the puck into the crease, only to have his attempt deflect off of Shea’s stick and clear the zone. Hayes was liberated from his detention and claimed the puck in the neutral zone. Chugging into Washington’s zone on the left wing, Hayes advanced to the near faceoff dot and sniped a wrister past Thompson’s glove on the near side. The only assist went to Shea.

“It’s always fun to score,” said Hayes, who had not enjoyed the fun of scoring since Dec. 13. “No matter what level, little kids, NHL players, it’s always fun to score when you can help the team a little bit.”

Ilya Protas’ first career goal came during a power-play sequence 5:56 into the third period.

From the left point of the offensive zone, Hutson snapped a wrister to the far side that Silovs booted out with his left skate. A rebound was surrounded just below the right circle and Ilya Protas cleaned it up with a forehand shot through Silovs’ five hole. Hutson and former Erie Otters forward Dylan Strome satisfied the requirements for assists.

Mantha was awarded the Penguins’ first penalty shot attempt of the season at 8:10 of the third period but was unable to beat Thompson.

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leader in goals, buried his 929th career goal — and 32nd this season — on an empty net at the 16:22 mark off an assist from Wilson.

Presumably, the Penguins will dress a threadbare lineup for their final two games of the regular season, including the finale, a road contest against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

But even with their postseason position determined, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything left to accomplish.

“I think today was about getting guys who haven’t been in, in (the lineup),” Penguins defenseman Connor Clifton said. “Getting some game reps, feeling good. If we get to go where we want to go, it’s a couple rounds. You get two, three, four rounds, you’re going to need a lot of bodies.

“Some guys have been sitting out months, they’ve been (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), whatever it is, I think it’s about getting game reps.”

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Notes:

• The Penguins matched their season-low in shots with 12. They previously established that mark during a 6-3 home loss to the Dallas Stars on March 28.

• The seven games in which the Penguins were limited to 11 shots:

March 27, 1977 – Boston Bruins 3, Penguins 0

March 22, 1985 – Buffalo Sabres 3, Penguins 1

Dec. 16, 2001 – Carolina Hurricanes 7, Penguins 0

Oct. 10, 2003 – Los Angeles Kings 3, Penguins 0

Dec. 18, 2003 – Hurricanes 2, Penguins 1 (OT)

Dec. 25, 2003 – Ottawa Senators 3, Penguins 3

Oct. 28, 2008 – San Jose Sharks 2, Penguins 1

• Mantha attempted the Penguins’ first penalty shot against the Capitals since forward Jared McCann was denied by goaltender Braden Holtby in a 5-2 road win for the Capitals, March 7, 2020.

• At 14:17 of the second period, during a television stoppage, the Penguins acknowledged Ovechkin on the video board. As fans offered a standing ovation, Ovechkin offered a wave and clapping from the visiting bench.

• Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin did not complete the game after he was dropped by Penguins forward Jared Brazeau on a hip check at 14:58 of the third period.

Sandin appeared to injure his right knee on the sequence and required assistance off the ice.

Following the game, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery did not provide a substantive update on Sandin or Dubois.

• Prior to the game, the Penguins recalled Koppanen, as well as rookie forwards Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty, from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. All three dressed.

• Wotherspoon missed his first game of the season. That left Mantha and forward Tommy Novak as the only players to appear in all 80 of the Penguins’ games this season to date.

• The Penguins announced forward Connor Dewar would be sidelined on a “week-to-week” basis due to an undisclosed injury. He was scratched for the second consecutive game.

• Penguins forward Blake Lizotte was scratched for a 13th consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury.

• Rookie defenseman Jake Livanavage, whom the Penguins signed to a two-year entry-level contract Friday, was a healthy scratch. The undrafted Livanavage just completed his junior season with North Dakota on Thursday.