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Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom have spent their entire careers chasing the Pittsburgh Penguins and shouldering their own franchise’s onerous history of playoff failures.

One brilliant end-to-end rush gave the two Washington Capitals teammates and their resilient club something they’ve rarely enjoyed against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions: momentum.

Ovechkin knocked his own rebound out of midair and by Matt Murray with 1:07 remaining to lift the Capitals to a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night in Game 3 of their increasingly testy Eastern Conference semifinal series with Pittsburgh.

Ovechkin’s initial shot smacked off the far post.

The Russian star Customized Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys , however, stayed with the play and with Murray out of position, he deftly flicked it into the open net to give the Capitals a 2-1 series lead.

”It’s a good thing I didn’t raise my arms up (after the first shot), you know to (celebrate) the play,” Ovechkin said after scoring his eighth goal of the playoffs. ”Got lucky.”

Matt Niskanen, John Carlson and Chandler Stephenson also scored for Washington, which improved to 4-0 on the road in the postseason. Braden Holtby finished with 19 saves. Backstrom had three assists, including the helper on Ovechkin’s winner.

”It’s huge, huge goal,” Ovechkin said. ”Obviously for our team, you know we want to win tonight and we did. It doesn’t matter what, it doesn’t matter who scored. We sacrifice. We play hard. And we have to do the same moving forward.”

Game 4 is in Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist also scored, but the Penguins lost consecutive playoff games for only the fourth time since the start of their run to consecutive Stanley Cups began in 2016.

Pittsburgh also lost forward Zach Aston-Reese to a broken jaw and a concussion following a violent collision with Washington’s Tom Wilson at the game’s midway point.

Aston-Reese was stickhandling near the Washington bench when Wilson slammed into him, sending the 6-foot-4 Aston-Reese to the ice.

Wilson was not penalized on the play James Washington Color Rush Jersey , the second time in as many games he was not disciplined for a borderline hit.

Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin went into the league’s concussion protocol after Wilson blindsided him in Game 2 while Dumoulin was bracing for a collision with Ovechkin.

The NHL’s Department of Player safety didn’t ask Wilson to explain himself during a hearing and Dumoulin was back in the lineup to start Game 3.

Both teams stressed the need to move forward with so much at stake. But that was before Aston-Reese slowly made his way off the ice, flinging one of his gloves at the Washington bench in frustration, his jaw mangled and his status for the rest of the postseason uncertain.

The initial point of contact was hard to discern, even on replay. Was it the shoulders? The head? Either way the tenor changed considerably.

Asked afterward about the hit, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan replied ”at some point we hope the league might do something.”

Maybe not. Officials conferred for several minutes before deciding to take no action against Wilson.

”They all got together and they said, `You know what, we’ve got a good, clean check here,”’ NHL on-site supervisor Paul Devorski said through a pool reporter.

Stephenson tied the game shortly after the sequence and a crescendo of pushing, shoving and jawing followed.

Crosby put the Penguins back in front with 3:33 left in the second when he took a pretty pass from Guentzel – who occupied three Capitals before sliding the puck to his teammate – and buried it into an open net.

Niskanen, who spent four seasons in Pittsburgh before signing with Washington in the summer of 2014, blasted a one-timer by Murray 5:06 into the third to set up the finish.

Ovechkin and Backstrom’s two-on-one gave the Capitals the series lead over Washington for the first time since they won Game 1 of the 2016 Eastern Conference semifinal.

Of course, the Capitals lost that series. As they almost always do when the Penguins are on the other side of the ice.

The champions have proven to be an impossible out during their current reign. Three tight games in, Washington is well aware there’s little margin for error.

”It’s a funny game Ryan McDonagh Jersey ,” Niskanen said. ”Boy, sometimes the puck takes a different bounce and the score can be completely different.”

NOTES: Penguins C Evgeni Malkin played 19:07 and assisted on Hornqvist’s goal in his return after missing three games with a lower-body injury. … The Penguins hosted Humboldt Broncos junior hockey player Brayden Camrud , a survivor of the bus crash that killed 16 people – many of them teammates – last month. … Pittsburgh F Carl Hagelin skated with his teammates for a second straight day, but remained out of the lineup. Hagelin is dealing with an upper-body injury and has worn a full face shield while on the ice. … Both teams went 1 for 4 on the power play. … Guentzel has recorded a point in seven straight playoff games.

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From the time James Bettcher was hired as defensive coordinator by Pat Shurmur, there has been speculation whether the New York Giants were switching from a four-man front to a three-man look.

After all, it’s what the 39-year-old Bettcher ran with the Arizona Cardinals last season.

Bettcher dropped a hint Wednesday in his first interview since taking the job: He is not into labeling defensive schemes.

The Giants are going to use a lot of formations, including three- and four-man fronts. Sometimes, they are going to put five up front. They are going to keep offenses guessing, and they are going to attack.

”What it is about is playing relentless,” Bettcher said. ”The game is about playing hard. The game is about playing physical. The game is about playing smart. Those are things that our guys are going to do whether we are bringing five or six or dropping eight, whatever we are doing, whatever the field position is. The thing our fans are going to see, they are going to see a defense that is going to run around, that plays hard Quenton Nelson Jersey , plays fast and plays smarts and plays physical. That’s what playing defense is about.”

Bettcher will start laying the foundation for his defense Monday when players show up for organized team activities. The OTAs are a time that most coaches and coordinators begin discovering what they have, especially with a new team.

”Right now, if you asked me who we are on defense, I have no clue,” Bettcher said, adding by the end of training camp he will know.

The Giants certainly will have a different look, at least based on personnel.

Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was released and fellow CB Ross Cockrell was signed by Carolina as a free agent. The Giants added Alec Ogletree in a trade with the Rams and signed fellow linebacker Kareem Martin as a free agent. LB Devon Kennard signed with Detroit as a free agent, while defensive captain Jonathan Casillas, also a linebacker, remains a free agent.

The mainstays up front will be tackles Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson along with end Olivier Vernon. Ogletree and Martin will be the core of the linebackers, and cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Landon Collins will anchor the secondary.

”This isn’t going to be James Bettcher’s defense,” Bettcher said. ”This is going to be our players’ defense, this is going to be these assistant coaches’ defense, this is going to be our defense.”

The process of putting the defense together will be done over the next five-plus months Packers Authentic Jerseys , and a version of the final product will be rolled out in early September. Bettcher said everyone is starting with a clean slate. There are some who need that.

There was squabbling among the defensive backs last season, and 2016 first-round draft pick Eli Apple miffed some teammates with his attitude and play.

Defensive end Josh Mauro, who played for Bettcher in Arizona before signing with the Giants as a free agent, will sit out the first four games of the regular season for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancers.

Bettcher called Apple a very talented player who can do everything expected of a cornerback.

”He’s a guy that, I think it’s a guy that has expectations for himself and that’s the most important thing,” Bettcher said.

In his three years as Cardinals defensive coordinator, Bettcher’s unit was consistently among the NFL’s best in yardage allowed and run defense. Arizona led the league in sacks (48) in 2016, and Chandler Jones had a league-high 17 last season.

”I just love football, I love watching football, I love talking about it, I love being around it,” Bettcher said. ”I probably tire my wife out very much when we watch football. We’re home and it’s in-season and it’s a Saturday afternoon when we have some time and we have college football in the house and we’re watching ball. So it’s an exciting time.”

And a time to build a defense.

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