For two periods Wednesday night's Penguins-Capitals tilt lived up to the hype -- and we certainlyhyped it. Following some spirited trash talk between Alex Ovechkin and the Penguins bench prior to the start of the third period, Ovechkin transformed himself into a one-man wrecking crew, as he helped take over the game and lead the Capitals to a 6-3 win.
The Capitals scored four goals in the third period -- including two from Ovechkin -- as they snapped a three-game losing skid. Meanwhile, for the Penguins, the inconsistencies continued, as they failed to win back-to-back games yet again. In case you haven't been paying attention, the Penguins have not won consecutive games since the middle of November.
Still, the worst news of the night for the Penguins may not have been the loss itself, but the injury suffered by Sidney Crosby late in the third period. Crosby left the ice with what appeared to be a leg injury, after he he collided along the boards with Washington's Dave Steckel. The Penguins also lost Rob Scuderi earlier in the contest when he was hit with a shot in the forehead, and then had to watch Max Talbot exit in the third period with an undisclosed injury. Just a bad night for the Penguins, which seems to be happening quite a bit lately.
Alexander Semin also scored for the Capitals, while Jeff Schultz added an empty-netter for his first goal since December 17, 2007.
Senators 3, Thrashers 2: In a game that didn't have quite the appeal the Penguins-Capitals contest had, Ottawa pulled out a 3-2 win in Atlanta, thanks to goals from Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Dean McAmmond. Alfredsson and Spezza each finished with a goal and an assist for Ottawa, while 23-year-old rookie netminder Brian Elliott turned aside 29-of-31 shots.
Prior to the game, Atlanta started to sell off its spare parts by sending forward Jason Williams to Columbus in exchange for defenseman Clay Wilson and a sixth-round pick. Solid trade for the Blue Jackets, as Williams should help what has been the worst power play unit in the league this season. Williams signed a one-year, $2.2 million deal with Atlanta back in July.
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For a team that's attempting to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, it's a nice little move for Columbus.
Blackhawks 4, Sabres 1:Ales Kotalik gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, only to have the Blackhawks roar back with four unanswered goals on their way to a 4-1 win. Cristobal Huet stopped 22 shots for Chicago, while Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, James Wisniewski and Martin Havlat all scored goals. Chicago's Duncan Keith left the game in the second period after he was hit by Buffalo's Drew Stafford.
Red Wings 4, Ducks 3:Dan Cleary and Johan Franzen scored 40 seconds apart in the third period on Wednesday night, helping lead the Red Wings to a 4-3 win over the Ducks. Detroit has now won seven of its past eight games, as it completely shut down Anaheim over the second and third periods, surrendering only 11 shots.
Newsmakers in the NHL: Alex Ovechkin Takes Over, Capitals Win originally appeared on NHL Main on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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