Living up to the Hype

The Penguins and the Capitals are two of the most heated rivals in the NHL, and with games like this one, that won't end any time soon. I don't think there's much question about Wednesday's Game of the Night:

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They did it again. An epic battle from start to finish, with a back-and-forth regulation, a frantic overtime, and a shootout that was an unbelievable game all in itself; and it wasn't all about Crosby and Ovechkin this time.

Jose Theodore stood his ground in a scoreless first period, stopping 17 Pittsburgh shots. The 1st goal of the game came from Mike Knuble 1:09 into the 2nd period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. After the goal, Marc-Andre Fleury shined for the rest of the 2nd period.

Maxime Talbot and Bill Guerin scored for the Penguins in the 2nd, and Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead into the 3rd period.

In the 3rd, it was the other Alex that stole the show. With the Capitals short-handed, Alexander Semin intercepted a Sidney Crosby pass in the defensive zone, and raced down the ice. He cut to the slot and unleashed a wicked wrist shot to wake up the 50th consecutive sellout crowd at Verizon Center.

Almost 2 minutes later, Eric Fehr deflected a Mike Green shot and put Washington up 3-2. Jose Theodore continued to play awfully well throughout the 3rd period including a huge save that preserved the Capitals lead for the time being with about 3:30 left in regulation.

But with 3:06 remaining, Jordan Staal snapped a wrist shot that eluded the glove of the screened Theodore, tying the game at 3 for Pittsburgh.

A back-and-forth overtime couldn't solve it, and then came the shootout.

The home team has the opportunity to choose whether they want to shoot first or not in the shootout, and most of the time, they choose to go first. But the Capitals let the Penguins shoot first in this one, and it didn't get off to a good start.

Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby scored on the Penguins' first 2 shots of the shootout, but then everything that had to go right for the Capitals did go right, as they scored 3-straight goals and won the shootout 3-2. Ovechkin kept it alive in the 2nd round, Semin in the 3rd, and Mike Knuble, who was 0-for-3 in shootout attempts in his career, scored in the 4th round to win it for Washington.

Jose Theodore is 17-0-2 in his last 19 games, and the Capitals are 27-4-4 at home.

The Penguins were without Evgeni Malkin for the 11th game this season. They have won only 3 of those games, and Sidney Crosby hasn't scored a goal in any of them.

The win gives the Capitals 108 points on the season, 17 points ahead of the 2nd-place Penguins in the East. The point for the Penguins, however, moves them into 1st-place in the Atlantic Division, a point up on the Devils, but they have played 2 more games than New Jersey.

These two teams meet for the final time in the regular season in Pittsburgh on April 6th.

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On Monday in L.A., the Avalanche tied the game against the Kings late in the 3rd period to get a point, but lost it in overtime. On Wednesday in Denver, the opposite happened.

Colorado's Matt Hendricks started the scoring 7:38 into the 1st period, and Anze Kopitar tied it for the Kings just over 2 minutes later.

But Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny would score power-play goals for the Avalanche in the 1st period to give them a 3-1 lead and have the Kings pull Jonathan Quick. Erik Ersberg came in for the 1st time in 11 games and stopped all of the final 14 shots, keeping L.A. in the game.

After a scoreless 2nd period, Drew Doughty scored on the power-play only 40 seconds into the 3rd to cut the lead to 3-2. And with only 1:21 left in regulation, Alexander Frolov would tuck in the game-tying goal, again on the power-play.

The game would go to a shootout, where the Avalanche prevailed. Craig Anderson stopped 27 shots for Colorado.

Colorado's win gives them 89 points on the year and moves them to 6th in the West. They are tied in points with Nashville but have a game-in-hand on the Predators. The big point for the Kings moves them up to 90 and gives them sole possession of 5th in the West. They have a game-in-hand on Colorado and 2 on Nashville. They also have 2 on the Coyotes, the team they trail by 7 points for 4th.

The Kings play in Denver again for their last game of the regular season, April 11th.

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Islanders 0 Rangers 5

In the 1st-ever live sports event telecast in 3D, the Rangers dominated their New York rivals. Henrik Lunqvist recorded 27 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season. The huge win for the Rangers gives them 73 points, 2 points behind the 9th-place Thrashers, and 5 points behind Boston for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. The Islanders have 68 points and are 14th in the East.

Canadiens 2 Sabres 3 (SO)

Montreal was 2 minutes away from a shutout. That disappeared when Tim Connolly scored for Buffalo with 1:59 left in regulation to cut the lead to 2-1. The lead disappeared with 48 seconds left in regulation, when Paul Gaustad scored for the Sabres while Ryan Miller was on the bench for an extra attacker. And the win disappeared when Buffalo capped the stunning comeback in a shootout. Buffalo now has 90 points, leading the Northeast Division by 7, and sitting 1 point behind the Penguins for 2nd in the East. Montreal's point moves them up to 80, and they take possession of 6th in the East, 1 point up on 7th-place Philadelphia and 2 points up on 8th-place Boston.

Blues 2 Red Wings 4

Everybody has continued to say that the Red Wings will end up making the playoffs and be one of the toughest 8th-seeds a team could ever play. But if they keep playing like this in the final 9 games of the year, they won't be an 8th-seed. Their 3rd win in-a-row gives them 87 points, moving them to within 2 points of the Avalanche and Predators, who are tied for 6th. They are now 4 points up on the 9th-place Flames. St Louis sits 11th in the West with 77 points.

Ducks 1 Canucks 4

Vancouver bounces back from their loss in Edmonton and all but eliminates Anaheim from the playoffs. The Canucks win gives them 94 points, as they hold a 5-point lead over Colorado for 1st in the Northwest Division. They are 3rd in the West, 4 points behind 2nd-place San Jose. Anaheim is in 13th-place with 76 points, and their 2nd-straight loss now has them 11 points back of a playoff spot.

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Thursday's Schedule (ET):

Lightning @ Bruins, 7:00

Rangers @ Devils, 7:00

Flames @ Islanders, 7:00

Wild @ Flyers, 7:00

Capitals @ Hurricanes, 7:00, CSN

Maple Leafs @ Thrashers, 7:00

Blackhawks @ Blue Jackets, 7:00

Panthers @ Canadiens, 7:30

Kings @ Blues, 8:00, FS West

Coyotes @ Predators, 8:00

Stars @ Sharks, 10:30, NHL Network

Pens-Caps Rd. 3; NYI-NYR in 3D

Round 3 of 4 between the Penguins and the Capitals is set to begin tonight at 7:00 ET at Verizon Center. The game can be seen locally, as usual, on Fox Sports Pittsburgh and Comcast SportsNet Washington. It will also be broadcast on the NHL Network, which happens to be offering a free preview of the channel for everyone in the U.S. through Saturday.

The Capitals have gone 5-0-1 against the Penguins over the past 2 seasons, including a 6-3 win in Pittsburgh in January and an epic 5-4 win in D.C. during the February blizzard.

Washington holds the best record in the NHL with 106 points and remains the only team to have clinched a playoff spot so far. Pittsburgh has 90 points, tied with New Jersey for 1st in the Atlantic Division and 2nd in the East.

Evgeni Malkin will be out for Pittsburgh with a sore foot, and Brooks Laich will miss his first game because of injury in his NHL career. He had played 257 consecutive games for the Capitals. He was hit in the face with a puck at the end of practice Tuesday and is day-to-day.

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The New York Islanders-New York Rangers rivalry will make television history tonight, as it will be the first hockey game produced in 3D. MSG will provide the feed, which is the first live 3D sports event telecast in the U.S. Not too many people have their 3D TVs yet, but this game will just be the beginning of 3D sports games in America. The game is also available on the regular MSG channels for both the Rangers and Islanders feeds.

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The Kings look to sweep a home-and-home from the Avalanche tonight, a team they are fighting with for playoff positioning, and move even higher in the standings. That game will take place in Denver and begins at 6:00 Pacific Time on Fox Sports West in Southern California.

Also tonight, Montreal is in Buffalo, St Louis visits Detroit, and Anaheim will be in Vancouver.

No Miracle This Time for Phoenix

On a 10-game Tuesday night, the Phoenix Coyotes were looking to win their 10th-straight and move into 1st-place in the Western Conference. The only problem is they would have to skate through the team they were tied with for 1st, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Coyotes give us our Game of the Night for their 4th-straight game:

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Great defense, just enough offense, and a fantastic outing by goaltender Antti Niemi showed why the Chicago Blackhawks could be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs--not that their 2nd-best record in the league needs any more proving to do.

The win puts the Blackhawks back atop the Western Conference with 99 points, 1 point ahead of the now-2nd-place San Jose Sharks.

Patrick Kane scored his 28th goal of the year 1:45 into the 2nd period to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. 5-and-a-half minutes later, Marian Hossa made it 2-0 for the Blackhawks. That was all they would need.

Antti Niemi made 28 saves en route to his 6th shutout of the season. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 30 shots for Phoenix.

The Coyotes did have their chances, including numerous scrums in front of the net and even hitting a couple of posts, but the bounces wouldn't fall for Phoenix tonight, ending their 9-game winning streak--tied for the 3rd-longest winning streak this season.

The Phoenix loss, coupled with the San Jose win over Minnesota, moves the Coyotes back to 2nd in the Pacific Division and 4th in the Western Conference with 97 points. San Jose is up to 98 and they have a game-in-hand on the Coyotes.

But it's only time until the Coyotes clinch their 1st playoff spot since the 2001-02 season, bringing the white-out back to Phoenix.

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Panthers 4 Maple Leafs 1

Florida's win moves them up to 11th in the East with 71 points and ties them with the Rangers in points for 10th. They are 7 points out of a playoff spot with only 10 games remaining. Scott Clemmensen made 42 saves for the Panthers and came within 3 minutes of his first shutout of the season. Toronto remains last in the East with 64 points.

Blue Jackets 3 Devils 6

New Jersey explodes for 6 goals, including 1 from Ilya Kovalchuk and 2 each from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac, after scoring a total of 1 in their previous 2 games. Martin Brodeur records his league-leading 40th win for the Devils. The win puts them atop the Atlantic Division, tied with the Penguins in points, with 90, but they have 1 game-in-hand on Pittsburgh. Columbus remains 14th in the Western Conference with 70 points.

Bruins 4 Thrashers 0

Coming into the night, Boston held the 8th and final playoff spot in the East, with 76 points, and Atlanta was 1 point behind them. The Bruins now have a 3-point lead over the Thrashers after a 27-save shutout from Tuukka Rask. Atlanta could never get anything going as they saw their 4-game winning streak come to an end. Boston has won 2-straight, and both were over the 2 teams chasing them for 8th--the Rangers on Sunday and Atlanta tonight. Their lead over the 10th-place Rangers is now 7 points.

Flyers 0 Senators 2

Ottawa wins their 2nd-straight and Philadelphia loses their 3rd-straight after a 26-save shutout from Brian Elliott, his 2nd shutout in as many nights. Before their game on Monday, the Senators had lost 5 in-a-row and were tied in points with both Montreal and Philadelphia for 5th in the East. No problems here, though, as they down both teams in consecutive nights and don't allow a goal. Ottawa now has 83 points and sits 5th in the East, while the Flyers remain with 79 points and are still tied with the Canadiens for 6th. They are only 1 point ahead of the 8th-place Bruins, but 4 points up on the 9th-place Thrashers.

Hurricanes 2 Lightning 3 (OT)

Martin St Louis scored twice for Tampa Bay, including the overtime winner only 29 seconds into the extra session to break their 5-game losing streak. They are 12th in the East with 70 points and are 8 points out of a playoff spot, while Carolina's point moves them up to 69, 9 points out.

Stars 3 Predators 1

Dallas scored 2 goals 30 seconds apart in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd period, and they keep their very slim playoff hopes alive despite being outshot 35-14. The Stars have 78 points, sit 10th in the West, and are 7 points behind 8th-place Detroit with only 9 games remaining. Nashville remains in 6th in the West with 89 points, tied with the Kings in points for 5th, but they have played 3 more games than L.A.

Sharks 4 Wild 1

San Jose moves back into 1st-place in the Pacific Division with their 1st win in 6 games, 1 point ahead of the Coyotes. They have 98 points and move back into 2nd in the West, 1 point behind Chicago for the lead. Minnesota has all but been eliminated, as they are 13th in the West with 76 points and are 9 points out with only 9 games left.

Ducks 1 Flames 3

Anaheim loses their 1st game in 5, badly hurting what were their slim playoff chances. The Ducks are 9 points back with 10 games remaining. Calgary, on the other hand, gets a huge win, moving back to within 2 points of the Red Wings for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West. They have 83 points with 9 games left, while Detroit has 10 games left.

Canucks 2 Oilers 3

The Edmonton Oilers have the worst record in the league, are 9 points behind the 29th-place team, and remain the only team to have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. But the Oilers--or, SpOilers. . . . .are not playing by the numbers. Their current home-stand saw the Red Wings, Sharks, Canucks, and Ducks on the schedule. Well, they're 3-for-3 so far, beating 3 of the 8 current playoff teams in the West who happen to be 3 of the best teams in the NHL. Edmonton now has 55 points, while Vancouver remains 2nd in the West with 92 points, and tops in the Northwest Division, 5 points up on the Avalanche.

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Wednesday's Schedule:

Islanders @ Rangers, 7:00, MSG 3D (first ever live 3D sports event in the U.S.)

Penguins @ Capitals, 7:00, CSN, NHL Network (during free preview of NHLN for U.S.)

Canadiens @ Sabres, 7:30

Blues @ Red Wings, 7:30

Kings @ Avalanche, 9:00, FS West

Ducks @ Canucks, 10:00, Prime Ticket