TOP GAME

Capitals 5, Penguins 4, OT

Ovechkin's hat trick helps Washington run winning streak to 14

Three goals from Alex Ovechkin. Two feet of snow on the ground. One big comeback against a detested rival, with punches and name-calling added for good measure.

The biggest number of all: 14, the length of a winning streak topped by just two other teams in NHL history.

What a Super Sunday it was for the Washington Capitals, who got a hat trick from Ovechkin and made up a three-goal deficit to beat Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in overtime in Washington.

"It was what people pay to see, when the superstars shine," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "There's tension, and there's excitement, and there's physical play, and there's passion on both sides. That's what hockey is all about."

Ovechkin's three goals gave him a league-high 42, pulling away from Crosby after the Pittsburgh center had tied him at 39 by scoring two in the first period. The crowd that braved terrible travel conditions went wild and threw dozens of hats on the ice when Ovechkin tied the score with 8:54 to play, completing a comeback from a 4-1 second-period deficit.

The celebration reached another level when Mike Knuble poked in a rebound 2:49 into overtime after Ovechkin's shot hit the post during a Capitals power play. Washington got the man advantage when Brooks Orpik was sent off for high-sticking Alexander Semin, a call that prompted Orpik to call Semin "a baby." The assist gave Ovechkin a league-leading 86 points.

"Ovie was crazy. He was awesome. He took the team on his back and he carried us," said Eric Fehr, who scored Washington's other goal. "That's what we needed, and he was wonderful."

Washington's winning streak ties the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for third longest in league history and is three shy of the record of 17, set by the Penguins from March 9 to April 10, 1993.

OTHER GAME

• Bruins 3, Canadiens 0 : Tuukka Rask made 36 saves for his third shutout, Marco Sturm scored twice and Boston ended a 10-game losing streak with a win over host Montreal.

The Bruins won for the first time since Jan. 14 and avoided tying the longest losing streak in franchise history -- set in their first season, 1924-25.

NOTABLE

• The San Jose Sharks bolstered their defense by acquiring Niclas Wallin in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.

San Jose also acquired a fifth-round draft pick in 2010 and sent a 2010 second-rounder that previously belonged to Carolina to complete the deal.

Wallin, 34, will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. He had spent all nine of his NHL seasons with Carolina.

-- Associated Press