ho poked his way through under the posts.The Dally M contender stood up tiring Sharks Andrew Fifita and Luke Capewell, and

PITTSBURGH -- Marc-Andre Fleury spent the better part of the Pittsburgh Penguins push to a fourth Stanley Cup watching from the bench while rookie Matt Murray backstopped the franchise to a title.Yet rather than trade the winningest goaltender in team history in the offseason, the Penguins hung onto him, confident they could find a way to make their two-goalie tandem work.Maybe theyre right.With Murray out with a broken hand, Fleury made 39 saves in regulation and overtime then stuffed Washington star Alexander Ovechkin in the fourth round of a shootout as the Penguins edged the Capitals 3-2 in the season opener on Thursday night.Fleury had a chance to end things after three rounds but let Nicklas Backstrom slip the puck past him and extend the game. Pittsburghs Phil Kessel then beat Braden Holtby with a wrist shot initially ruled no goal before being overturned on replay and Fleury stuffed Ovechkin to help the Penguins improve to 5-0 all-time against Washington in openers.I didnt finish it out, so I was a little mad, Fleury said. It was nice to see (Kessel) put that in and I had a chance to redeem myself and finish it out.Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin scored as the Penguins capped a celebratory night in which they lifted their latest Stanley Cup banner to the rafters during an electric pregame ceremony by tripping up one of their biggest rivals.It felt like a midseason game where youre in position and you pull one of those great wins off, Hornqvist said.Andre Burakovsky scored twice for Washington and Holtby made 28 stops but allowed three goals in the shootout.Obviously they have a lot of energy coming off the ceremony and weve been waiting to play some meaningful games for a while here, said Holtby, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHLs top goaltender last season. Two good teams and it always ends up in a pretty good game against them.The Penguins began their 50th year with one final nod to their 49th, as Sidney Crosby carried the Stanley Cup onto the ice one last time and placed it on a table at center ice before joining his teammates to watch the banner slowly raised to join others the organization earned in 1991, 1992 and 2009.No team has repeated since the Detroit Red Wings did it nearly 20 years ago, and Pittsburgh will begin its second defense of the Crosby-era without their captain, who is out indefinitely while dealing with a concussion. Considering the slog the six-month, 82-game regular season provides, theres no sense of urgency for Crosby to return. The two-time MVP and Conn Smythe winner of last years playoffs he is skating with his teammates and described himself as day to day.The Capitals began the season where they ended their last following a six-game loss to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was another bitter setback that took some of the shine off winning the Presidents Trophy for having the best record in the league.Washington stayed in its dressing room while Pittsburgh threw one last bash with the Cup and Burakovsky wasted little time providing a buzzkill to the yellow glow-stick waving crowd. He finished an end-to-end rush by taking a feed from Nicklas Backstrom and beating Fleury between the legs just 59 seconds into the game.Hornqvists power-play tip-in 8:47 into the second tied it and Malkin put the Penguins in front when a Washington giveaway and a setup pass from Conor Sheary allowed Malkin to deke his way by Holtby, the puck smacking off the post then off Holtbys left pad and into the net.Burakovskys second 6:13 into the third tied it and set up another taut finish, fitting considering five of their six playoff meetings were decided by a goal.I swear we had six chances to put the puck in the back of the net 3-on-3, so give full marks to Fleury, Washington coach Barry Trotz said.Game notes Pittsburgh improved to 95-49-18 in 162 regular-season games without Crosby in the lineup, including 53-19-9 at home. ... Pittsburgh went 1 for 2 on the power play. The Capitals were 0 for 3.UP NEXTWashington: hosts New York Islanders in home opener on Saturday.Pittsburgh: welcomes Anaheim on Saturday night. Percy Miller Hornets Jersey . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Miles Bridges Hornets Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Dell-Curry-Hornets-Jersey/ . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Malik Monk Jersey . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Glen Rice Jersey . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. A 75th-minute penalty goal from James Maloney has taken Cronulla to a memorable 16-14 comeback win over Canberra and within one game of the NRL grand final.Maloney kept dreams of a maiden premiership alive on Saturday evening when he calmly broke a 14-14 deadlock with a 25-metre shot after Raiders second-rower Elliot Whitehead was pinged for a high tackle.It was a brave effort from the Sharks, who had captain Paul Gallen ruled out on game day with a back injury and then lost second-rower Wade Graham seven minutes into the match.They also fell behind 12-0 after 20 minutes, and appeared to be at the mercy of a white-hot Raiders side who had all the early momentum in front of the sellout 25,292 home crowd at GIO Stadium.But the Sharks held the home side to just two points for the final hour to get a week off.The Raiders host the winner of Sundays Penrith-Canterbury elimination final, however nervously await the status of star hooker Josh Hodgson, who came off with a second-half ankle injury.Cronulla were trailing 14-6 when veteran Luke Lewis set up Valentine Holmes 19th try of the season with a precise 49th-minute grubber.Maloney levelled the game with a penalty goal in the 66th minute.Sharks coach Shane Flanagan also made the shock move of benching halfback Chad Townsend for the first time this year, shifting centre Jack Bird into a playmaking role in the second half.And the move paid off, with the Sharks straightening their attack and flat-footing the Raiders defence in a second half that was spent mostly on Canberras goalline.Raiders pivot Aidan Sezer had a chance to nail a field goal in tthe 73rd minute, but fired wide, leaving the door open for the Sharks to surge upfield and secure victory.ddddddddddddCanberra were relentless for the opening half hour.Big men Josh Papalii, Shannon Boyd and Joey Leilua made plenty of early inroads into the Sharks defence, including one Leilua run that left Graham dazed in the seventh minute.But while the crowd were enthralled with the Raiders power game, it was the little man in Hodgson who poked his way through under the posts.The Dally M contender stood up tiring Sharks Andrew Fifita and Luke Capewell, and momentarily lost the ball before retrieving it for first points.Leiluas presence was again felt for his sides second try, running Ben Barba off his chase of Jordan Rapanas breakaway 80-metre try in the 18th minute.NRL QUALIFYING FINAL 1: CANBERRA V CRONULLA:* Result: Cronulla 16 bt Canberra 14.* Key moment: Elliott Whiteheads swinging arm on Ben Barba with six minutes to go hands the Sharks a penalty kick 22m out, which James Maloney slots for the win* Key quote: We wore them down, we wore them down and we got the result. A week off to rest up and were ready to do it again in two weeks, Cronulla playmaker Maloney* Judiciary: Nil* Injuries: Raiders: Josh Hodgson (lower leg). Sharks: Wade Graham (concussion), Paul Gallen (back, pre-match)* Whats next: The Raiders will host the winner of Penrith-Canterbury in next Saturday nights second semi-final. The Sharks get the week off before their grand final-qualifier ' ' '