Associated Press
WASHINGTON ó In the end, just as it should have, the game came down to Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s past two MVPs, each with the puck on his stick.
This wasn’t about talking trash or swapping shoves. This was about who would come through in a shootout between Sid the Kid’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex the Great’s Washington Capitals in a late-season game played in a playoff-like atmosphere.
Crosby came through this time. Ovechkin did not.
Unlike their last meeting, Crosby avoided much in the way of face-to-face confrontations with rival Ovechkin on Sunday, instead producing a goal and assist in regulation, then the shootout’s only score to help Pittsburgh edge Washington 4-3 ó the Penguins’ sixth consecutive victory and the Capitals’ fourth straight loss.
Thrashers 5, Flames 2
ATLANTA ó Bryan Little scored two goals, and Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist to help the Thrashers beat the Flames 5-2.
Rangers 4, Bruins 3
NEW YORK ó Sean Avery was warmly welcomed by Rangers fans in his first home game at Madison Square Garden in nearly a year, and newly acquired forward Nik Antropov had a goal and assist Sunday to lead New York to a 4-3 victory.
Avalanche 5, Blackhawks 1
CHICAGO ó Peter Budaj made 24 saves, and Marek Svatos and Ryan Smyth each had a goal and an assist in Colorado’s 5-1 victory Sunday.
Islanders 3, Coyotes 2
UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó Yann Danis stopped 40 shots to help the New York Islanders beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
ST. LOUIS ó Ali Farokhmanesh scored Northern Iowa’s 12 points in overtime, helping the top seed (23-10) overcome a big finish from Osiris Eldridge in a 60-57 victory over Illinois State (24-9) in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game.
CAA
RICHMOND, Va. ó Cam Long scored 14 points, had three 3-pointers and two key assists in the last eight minutes to lift George Mason (22-9) past Towson 56-48 and into the championship game of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
The 11th-seeded Tigers (12-22), the lowest seed to make it to the CAA tournament semifinals, fell to 0-15 against George Mason since 2002, when Towson joined the conference.
VCU 61, Old Dominion 53
RICHMOND, Va. ó Eric Maynor scored 13 of his 23 points in the second half for top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth.
TOP 25 EAST LANSING, Mich. ó Kalin Lucas scored 21 points to help Spartans win their fifth straight game heading into the Big Ten tournament.
The Spartans (25-5, 15-3) already had clinched the outright conference title. They scored nine straight points early in the second half to break open a tight game, and pushed the lead to as many as 14 in the second half.
JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore each scored 12 points for Purdue (22-9, 11-7).
No. 24 Florida State 63, Virginia Tech 53
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) ó Toney Douglas scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, helping give the Seminoles their first opening-round bye in the ACC tournament.
Douglas, the top scorer in conference play at more than 23 points per game, scored a dozen points in just over four minutes after the Hokies pulled within 45-42.