Crosby gets SO winner as Pens top Caps for sixth win in a row

Hockey Betting Lines

03/08/2009 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby scored the lone goal of the shootout and added a goal and an assist in regulation as the Pittsburgh Penguins edged the Washington Capitals, 4-3, at Verizon Center.

After a scoreless, but spirited overtime, Crosby beat Jose Theodore with a wrist shot high to the glove side in the second round to give the Penguins the advantage.

Alex Ovechkin then needed to score to keep the game alive for the Capitals, but the Russian star was stopped on a pad save by Marc-Andre Fleury and Pittsburgh prevailed.

Bill Guerin added a goal and two helpers, while Sergei Gonchar lit the lamp for Pittsburgh, which has won six straight and eight of nine overall.

Fleury turned aside 29-of-32 shots for the Penguins, who have won six in a row for the first time since November 1-15, 2008.

Brooks Laich had a goal and an assist and Ovechkin tallied his league-leading 47th of the year for the Capitals, who have dropped four straight, all coming on their four-game homestand. Alexander Semin also scored in defeat.

Ovechkin returned to the lineup after sitting out the Caps' 2-1 loss to Toronto on Saturday with a bruised heel.

Theodore allowed three goals on 22 shots for Washington.

Trailing 3-1 after two periods, Washington quickly came back to tie the contest. Ovechkin's power-play marker from the right circle drew the Caps to within one only 29 seconds into the third.

Pittsburgh then got caught in a line change less than a minute later and Laich's breakaway tally tied it. There would be no further scoring the rest of the third and the game went into overtime.

Crosby opened the scoring 4:29 into the contest when he took a feed from Guerin on a 2-on-1 down low and put it home to give the Penguins the early lead.

Washington would even things with 7:14 left in the stanza on a giveaway by Kris Letang. The Pittsburgh defenseman tried a clearing attempt up the middle from beside his own net, but hit Nicklas Backstrom in the backside. Semin then picked up the loose puck and beat Fleury with a backhander from in close.

The Pens tallied twice within 3 1/2 minutes apart in the second. Gonchar's power-play blast from the point got through several players and went over Theodore's shoulder to make it a 2-1 game at 7:25.

Guerin then lit the lamp on a quick wrist shot off a feed from Crosby with just under nine minutes left in the frame to put Pittsburgh up by a pair.

Game Notes

Washington will play at Nashville on Tuesday, while the Penguins host Florida...Despite the loss, the Capitals won the season series with Pittsburgh this year 3-1-0, and have taken four of six overall...Pittsburgh improved to 18-14-4 as the visiting club this season...Washington dropped to 25-9-2 at home.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.