sidney crosby

Brooks Orpik called it a career Tuesday after 15 bruising NHL seasons in which he established himself as a big-hitting, shutdown defenseman.

Surprise, surprise, all four division champions lost in the first round for the first time in major four North American pro sports history, the teams that played in last year's Cup Final are out and the team that finished 21 points ahead of the rest of the NHL got swept.

The Washington Capitals reaching the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 1998 is perhaps most special to the superstar captain and his coach who had never made it out of the second round before.

Evgeny Kuznetsov's breakway goal 5:27 into overtime gave the Washington Capitals a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 on Monday night, and a berth in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 20 years.

The Capitals scored first but couldn't hold the lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The NHL Eastern Conference semifinal series is tied at 2 heading to Game 5 on Saturday night in Washington.

Alex Ovechkin's initial shot clanged off the post. When the puck bounced back to him, he hit nothing but net to break a 3-3 tie in Pittsburgh and give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 advantage in the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Alex Ovechkin scored his seventh goal of the playoffs, Braden Holtby made 32 saves and the Washington Capitals built a lead and this time held on to beat the Penguins in Game 2 of the second-round series.

Patric Hornqvist, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel scored in a 4:49 span to help the Pittsburgh Penguins rally to beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the second-round series.

Like tourists flocking to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, the Pittsburgh Penguins making a trip to Washington in the playoffs has become a rite of spring.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to survive without injured star Sidney Crosby.

Digest: Capitals beat Penguins in OT after blowing late two-goal lead

Speedskater Thomas Hong (Maryland, Atholton) won the silver medal in the men's 500-meter A final Saturday in Innsbruck, Austria, becoming the United States' first men's Short Track World Junior Championships individual medalist since 2012.

Pro wrestling news: I would like nothing more than for Brock Lesnar to score a convincing and emphatic win over John Cena at Extreme Rules.

Brian Roberts said he had just experienced his first pain-free two weeks since the concussion. Friends were telling him he looks completely different from the way he did as recently as September. He and his doctors say he'll be recovered by spring and in the Oriole lineup for 2012.

The pre-Super Bowl showdown between the Capitals and the Penguins was significantly lacking sizzle with Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup. But that doesn't mean the Capitals' 3-0 win on Sunday wasn't impressive.