Fleury shines as Penguins beat Capitals in shootout

Center Sidney Crosby, without a college course to his credit but nearing a PhD in scoring with 23-game point streak, was ready with an answer.
"He was unbelievable," Crosby said of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 32 saves through overtime and five straight stops to close a seven-round shootout.


That goal pushed the Penguins to 24-10-2 (50 points). The Capitals, who are 20-12-5 (45 points), benefitted from a late shorthanded goal by Washington winger Mike Knuble. He forced overtime and provided his club with five points in six games after an 0-6-2 skid.
After all, they played 4 minutes and 51 seconds with only three Penguins on the ice because of two delay-of-game minors committed by defenseman Zbynek Michalek (first period) and left wing Matt Cooke (second period).
The Capitals managed only four shots during a 4-on-3 advantage and two 5-on-3 advantages.
They finished 1 for 6 on the power play, with defenseman Mike Green scoring early in the second period just one second after the expiration of a second 5-on-3 advantage.

"It seems like the better our (penalty kill) is going the more we want to test it," Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said.
He wasn't a fan of the officiating crew.

"It's difficult to tell what is and isn't a penalty in this league anymore," he said. "I know they've got a tough job, but ... "
Moving away from the officiating and onto the unofficial MVP-in-waiting, Crosby had an eye-popping deflection off a shot from defenseman Kris Letang that staked the Penguins a 1-0 lead early in the opening period.
HBO might show that one a few times during the third episode of "24/7" Wednesday night.
The cable network's cameras are capturing a superstar reaching rarefied air.
Add his primary assist on left wing Chris Kunitz's early third-period marker, and Crosby is on pace for 64 goals and 132 points. Each total would be a career high.
The Penguins' other superstar center, Evgeni Malkin, has matched a season-high with points in five consecutive games, adding an assist go give him 10 points over that span and 32 overall.
There is a belief around the hockey world that the Penguins are difficult to tame when their "Big 3" is rolling.
Well, they're rolling - with Fleury perhaps matching Crosby's consistency.