Mike Knuble scored on the power-play with
2:11 remaining in overtime, and Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick, as the
Washington Capitals fought back from a three-goal deficit to edge Pittsburgh,
5-4, and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 14 games.
Eric Fehr also tallied for the Capitals, while Washington goaltender Jose
Theodore made 31 saves.
The last club to win 14 in a row were the Penguins when they set an NHL
record with 17 consecutive victories from March 9-April 10, 1993.
Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal each scored twice for Pittsburgh, which didn't
arrive to the team hotel until 2:15 a.m. (et.) because of the blizzard that
struck the Nation's Capital.
Marc-Andre Fleury allowed five goals on 34 shots to take the loss.
Staal scored two goals in an 84-second span in the second period to give
Pittsburgh a 4-1 cushion. His second tally came off a nifty setup by Evgeni
Malkin at 13:07.
Fehr put a backhander on net and buried his own rebound to make it a two-goal
game with 2:48 remaining in the middle stanza.
The Penguins lost to the Canadiens on Saturday and were forced to take a
flight from Montreal to Newark, New Jersey and then endure a five-hour bus
ride to Washington because of the crippling storm.
The difficult circumstances might have caught up to the club as the Caps
rallied in the third period.
Ovechkin swatted a rebound after deflecting a Tom Poti shot at 6:51 and
completed the trifecta a little over four minutes later. Ovechkin, who now
boasts a league-leading 42 goals, took a drop pass from Knuble after a Nicklas
Backstrom faceoff win and snapped the puck behind a stunned Pittsburgh
netminder.
Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik caught Washington forward Alexander Semin
with a high stick at 2:26 of the extra session and Ovechkin unloaded a shot
from the left wing that hit the post before Knuble pushed in the rebound.
Crosby staked the visitors to a 2-0 lead before the game was 10 minutes old.
The Pittsburgh captain picked off Tyler Sloan, who went for the stretch pass
from his own zone, and beat Theodore on the backhand at 6:59. Crosby converted
a power play exactly three minutes later.
Ovechkin scored on a breakaway to put Washington on the board at the 9:01 mark
of the second period.
Game Notes
Backstrom and Malkin both had two assists...The Caps haven't lost since a 7-4
setback at Tampa Bay on January 12...Theodore has won 10 consecutive
starts...Left winger Chris Kunitz returned to the lineup for Pittsburgh. He
missed 15 games after undergoing abdominal surgery.
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