Alex Ovechkin scored twice to spark the high-flying Washington Capitals to a 6-3 victory over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
It was a fifth straight win for the Capitals (32-12-6), but the first over Pittsburgh since the Penguins (31-20-1) stopped them 4-3 in the second round of the playoffs last year.
“We just wanted to win this game and it didn’t matter how,” Ovechkin told reporters. “We have now won five in a row and just want to continue it. It’s a big sign for us.”
PHOTO: AFP
Ovechkin recorded the first and last of four unanswered Washington goals, leveling the scores at 3-3 with a power play conversion at 16:25 in the second.
Ovechkin then watched as his teammates Tomas Fleischmann and Nicklas Backstrom netted goals 53 seconds apart in the third before the dynamic Russian added one final wrist shot with 26 seconds remaining.
Crosby, the face of the NHL along with Ovechkin, recorded his 33rd goal of the season in the first to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
Washington went ahead 2-1 on scores from Mike Knuble and Eric Fehr before the Penguins surged ahead in the second with a wrister from Nick Johnson and a slap shot by Kris Letang.
The Capitals now have a three-point lead in the Eastern Conference and have won eight of their last nine.
Goaltender Jose Theodore finished with 35 saves and had 13 in the third where he kept the defending Stanley Cup champions scoreless.
Penguins netminder Brent Johnson filled in for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury and had 28 saves. He performed well before the NHL’s top scoring team went on a run beginning late in the second.
“It’s pretty tough when teams want to shut us down right now,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I think anybody can score on the team and I think that is the way they feel on any given night, that a new hero can arise.”
The league’s two standouts did not disappoint and the supporting cast for each team also performed well. Both Knuble and Fleischmann added assists, while Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko both chipped in three assists each.
Senators 3, Blues 2
In Ottawa, Peter Regin had a goal and two assists — all on the power play — to help the Ottawa Senators edge St Louis and extend its winning streak to five.
Chris Phillips and Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators.
The Blues’ goals came via Brad Boyes and Eric Brewer.
Flyers 2, Rangers 0
In Philadelphia, Ray Emery made 24 saves for his second shutout of the season, as the Philadelphia Flyers blanked New York.
James van Riemsdyk and Mike Richards scored for the resurgent Flyers, who prevailed after a second period that involved three fights.
The Rangers have been shutout three times in the past six games.
Islanders 2, Panthers 1, SO
In Uniondale, New York, Matt Moulson scored the decisive goal in a shootout to give the New York Islanders its sixth straight home win, pipping Florida.
Rob Schremp also found the net in the shootout, while goalie Dwayne Roloson turned away both Panthers’ attempts.
Blake Comeau scored in regulation for New York.
Blue Jackets 3, Bruins 2
In Boston, R.J. Umberger tipped in Anton Stralman’s power-play slap shot with 1:16 remaining to give Columbus a comeback victory over the Boston Bruins.
In other NHL action, it was:
• Lightning 3, Maple Leafs 2, OT
• Hurricanes 5, Thrashers 2
• Blackhawks 3, Flames 1
• Sharks 3, Ducks 1
• Kings 4, Sabres 3, SO
• Coyotes 4, Predators 2
• Canucks 4, Stars 3
• Red Wings 4, Wild 3, SO
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Starting with three fights in the first nine seconds and ending with a celebration and a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final, the US on Saturday delivered exactly what Matthew Tkachuk hoped for by beating Canada. “We needed to send a message,” Tkachuk said. “The message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time.’” Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett the next time the puck dropped, J.T. Miller dropped the gloves with Colton Parayko next and the Americans followed those fisticuffs with a 3-1 victory over their biggest rival. “That was one of the
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,