NEU » ng a perfect two from two at the three-point

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. Clyde Drexler Blazers Jersey . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Bill Walton Blazers Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Cj-Mccollum-Blazers-Jersey/ . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Brandon Roy Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Zach Collins Blazers Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. A stunning fourth-quarter display has given the NZ Breakers the perfect start to the NBL season, defeating Melbourne United 76-71 in Auckland on Friday.The 2015/16 NBL runners-up trailed by four points at three-quarter time in an end-to-end affair but blew away their much-fancied opponents in the final period, scoring 28 points.Shooting guard Corey Webster turned on the heat as the clock wore down, nailing 11 points which included a treble of three-pointers. Swingman Tom Abercrombie drained 14 points.The Breakers endured a miserable six losses from six in pre-season but came out of the blocks strongly at Vector Arena, as each side landed blows and counter-blows.New import Ben Woodside looked assured running the point against ex-Breakers gun Cedric Jackson, while skipper Mika Vukona landed six first-quarter points.The two sides went into the first break at 17-16, but the class of Breakers stalwarts Webster and Tom Abercrombie subsequently shone through.Swingman Abercrombie nabbed 10 points in the first two quarters, including a perfect two from two at the three-point line, while Webster picked up five assists.United, meanwhile, struggled to gain rhythm or shooting precision, scoring fewer than 40 per cent of their overall shots as they went into the break trailing 31-40.ddddddddddddHowever, the Melbourne-based outfit hit back early in the third, as the Breakers nine-point lead quickly evaporated and United piled on 13 points in five minutes.Former Breaker Tai Wesley nailed a three-pointer, as part of his game-high 15, to put United into the lead 47-45, which stretched to a 52-48 lead by three-quarter time.But the Breakers hit their stride again in the final quarter, cancelling a Majok Majok two-pointer with three-pointers to veteran Kirk Penney and Webster.A Webster two-pointer then gave the side a four-point buffer with six minutes to play, before the 27-year-old picked up another three-pointer.The game stretched away from United as the Breakers put on more points through centre Rob Loe and Vukona, before a United mini-revival pulled them back within three.But composed free throws from Abercrombie, Vukona and Woodside settled the side as they went on to claim a 76-71 victory. 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