Forgive the Capitals if they lack any sympathy.

In another sign that this bitter rivalry may finally be turning in Washington’s favor, the Caps dominated their longtime tormentors on Sunday afternoon at Verizon Center.

Washington exploded for three second-period goals, including a pair from defenseman Shaone Morrisonn and forward Brooks Laich just 25 seconds apart, as the Caps earned an impressive 5-2 victory.

Pittsburgh (29-26-6, 64 points) – which fired head coach Michel Therrien on Feb. 15 – finds itself in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and four points out of a playoff spot with just 21 games left.

“We always want to beat those guys. We might face them down the road in the playoffs so we want to put in their minds that they can’t beat us,” said Caps forward Donald Brashear. “That’s the spirit you’ve got to have and you’ve got to have the killer instinct. If it were us that was down [in the standings] I’m sure they would want to push us out of the way and we are just trying to do the same thing. Every time we play a team, we’re playing to win and we want to push every team that we can out of the playoffs.”

Brashear’s statement is remarkable given the recent context of this series. After the NHL lockout ended, Pittsburgh went 7-1-1 against the Caps. But since coach Bruce Boudreau took over early last season, Washington is 4-1-1 against the Penguins, winning all three games this season. They meet for the last time on March 8.

“There’s a lot of tension between these two teams,” said Pittsburgh defenseman Hal Gill.

Alex Ovechkin recorded his NHL-best 43rd goal of the season on a first-period power play. After Pittsburgh’s Maxime Talbot scored, Caps winger Alexander Semin put his team back on top with a power-play goal of his own. From there it was all Washington.

Forward Sergei Fedorov struck just 56 seconds into the second period as he skated alone in the slot. Pittsburgh defenseman Sergei Gonchar answered 3 minutes, 50 seconds later.

But then the Caps struck twice in 25 seconds. Morrisonn scored for the second time in a week at 12:56 of the second. Forward Brooks Laich then watched his bad-angle shot trickle past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. It was the last of 20 shots Fleury faced. He was immediately pulled for back-up Mathieu Garon.

“Everything has peaks and valleys,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We’ve won three [in a row] against them, but I don’t think [the series is] changing unless we win seven or eight in a row.”

Caps notes

» The Caps improved to 38-17-5 and now have 81 points. They are 14 wins away from topping the franchise record for points in a season set in 1985-86 (107). Their .675 winning percentage is also the best in team history through 60 games.

» Jose Theodore is 3-0-0 with a 2.67 goals-against average in three games against the Penguins this season. He stopped 19 of 21 shots.

» Washington recorded its eighth sellout in a row at Verizon Center. That matches a team record. The Caps are averaging 18,044 fans per game and have won 13 in a row at home vs. Eastern Conference opponents.

» The Caps have recorded at least one power-play goal in nine of their last 11 games.

» F Eric Fehr recorded an assist on D Shaone Morrisonn’s goal in the second period. He now has 11 points in his last 11 games.

» Washington has earned just three full power plays in its last two games. But it converted 2-of-3 on Sunday.

“They’re a good team. You make a wrong move and they snap it around pretty good,” said Penguins defenseman Hal Gill. “Five on five I thought we were alright — we were in the game. We needed to keep it that way.”

» Sergei Fedorov’s second-period goal was his sixth of the season and his first game winner. He finished a pass from teammate Alexander Semin, who had a goal of his own. Semin is the only Caps’ player to score in each of the three games with Pittsburgh. He earned the game’s hard hat for his efforts.

 » Forward Boyd Gordon sat out much of the third period with an undisclosed injury. He didn’t shed any more light on his ailment afterwards, either.