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WASHINGTON - Alex Ovechkin scored goals. Sidney Crosby lost faceoffs.Lots and lots of faceoffs.The latest Ovi-Sid showdown was a no-contest. Ovechkin netted twice to take the NHL lead in goals, and Crosby struggled mightily in his return from his latest injury as the Washington Capitals snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.That was more of the team that Im used to seeing, said Capitals coach Barry Trotz, clearly relieved after a recent spate of too much finesse and too many blown leads.Ovechkin had a tip-in goal in the first period and then scored from his customary spot in the left circle with a one-timer on a power play in the second. His 29 goals are one more than Rick Nash and Tyler Seguin.Eric Fehr and Mike Green scored in the third, and Braden Holtby recovered from a mini-slump to get his fifth shutout of the season.But nothing was more jarring than the sight of Crosby lining up again and again in the faceoff circle and having the puck go the opposite way time after time. He lost 15 of his first 18 faceoffs and finished 17 of 24, a 29 per cent success rate that is among the worst in his 594 NHL games.Im not sure what it was, Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. But I know after the first period and partway through the second we were monitoring faceoffs and we werent doing too well as a team on draws. Usually on nights like that its help from your wingers on draws. Its not always the centres.It was Crosbys first appearance since receiving an injection last week to treat a lower-body injury that caused him to miss one game as well as the NHL All-Star game.Crosby didnt seem fazed much by the faceoff struggles. He said there are nights that for whatever reason, bounces and stuff like that dont go a centres way.I thought we wanted to win them, he said. Its a matter of executing it.The chief beneficiary was Fehr, who is getting more comfortable as a centre and won 17 of 22 draws. When the teams met in Pittsburgh last month, both Crosby and Fehr were 7 for 18.He got me pretty good in Pittsburgh, Fehr said, so maybe just the home-ice advantage helped. ... I was confident in the circle today and felt good.The Penguins also played their third straight without franchise stalwart Evgeni Malkin, who also has a lower-body injury. Pittsburgh has lost five of six.Holtby had been the stabilizing force that helped the Capitals recover from a slow start to the season, but had allowed four goals in each of his last three starts. On Wednesday he was back to his reliable self, stopping 27 shots to blank the Penguins for the second time in a little over a month. Pittsburgh hasnt scored on Washington in 120 minutes this season.You cant just keep saying theres more time left in the season. You want to fix these things as soon as they happen, Pittsburgh defenceman Rob Scuderi said. I dont think its certainly any time to panic yet, but we certainly would like to get our fingers on the problem immediately.NOTES: Ovechkin has 43 points in 37 regular-season games vs. the Penguins. ... The Capitals have earned a point in 10 consecutive home games. ... Looking to shake things up because of the losing streak, Trotz played Michael Latta after sitting the young centre for nine of the previous 10 games. Lattas most noticeable contribution was a tussle with Steve Downie in a fight-filled third period. Andre Burakovsky was scratched for the first time since New Years Day. ... Johnston said Malkin might return for next weeks Canada road trip: If he gets on the ice (for practice) this weekend, then we would plan on probably taking him out west.___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP Isaiah Canaan Jersey . Yoenis Cespedes proved he can play through a hurting right heel, giving Scott Kazmir and the As a spark with a pair of RBIs that helped spoil the Minnesota Twins home opener with an 8-3 victory on Monday. Elie Okobo Jersey . The league announced Thursday that Tom Higgins is leaving that post effective immediately. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/char...ey-suns-jersey/. Interestingly, the culprits were not rookies, but well paid, experienced pros. The first gaffe came in the 24th minute of arguably the biggest early season MLS game in history between Seattle and Toronto. Sounder newcomer Marco Pappa, (with over 100 MLS games, and 39 Guatemalan Caps to his name) attempted a back pass to one of his central defenders. Richaun Holmes Jersey . -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Custom Suns Jerseys . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder.The Indiana Pacers drew even in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Washington Wizards last time out, but the action shifts to our nations capital Friday night for Game 3. Watch the game on TSN2 and TSN GO at 8pm et/5pm pt. Friday will mark the first second-round playoff game in Washington since 2005. That year, the Wizards were swept by the Miami Heat in the semis, but that wont happen this time around. The Wiz won Game 1 on Monday, but the Pacers clawed back into the series with an 86-82 home victory on Wednesday. Indiana was carried by the unlikeliest of players in Game 2. Roy Hibbert, who scored zero points and grabbed zero rebounds in Game 1s loss, scored 28 points and grab nine rebounds on Wednesday. Hibbert went scoreless three times this postseason and put up donuts in both categories twice, but the All-Star took his mind off things and dominated the Wizards. "Sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve and other times I just keep things in," admitted Hibbert. "Tonight, I just felt like I just had one thing on my mind: to help this team win. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in my sweet spot and believing in me. I just wanted to return the favor." Head coach Frank Vogel acknowledged he didnt call any plays for Hibbert, but the big man was active from the jump. He scored the games first five points and totaled 17 in the first half. "Im sure he didnt like the way he played the other night," said Vogel. "Im sure he didnt like the criticism. Thats the remarkable thing. You play with a certain amount of force and the ball finds you." Another factor that may have freed up Hibbert was the teams announcement that Andrew Bynum, who was signed as a backup in February,, would not appear in a game this postseason and that his tenure with the Pacers was over.dddddddddddd Some reports indicated Hibbert wasnt pleased with the Bynum signing. George Hill finished with 14 points, followed by 12 from Lance Stephenson and 11 out of Paul George. Marcin Gortat had 21 points to lead the Wizards, Bradley Beal added 17 and Nene scored 14 despite rolling his left ankle in the first quarter. All-Star guard John Wall and Trevor Ariza, who scored 22 in Game 1, combined for 12 points in Game 2. Hibberts magical return to form meant a lot for the Pacers, but Game 2 was tightly contested until late in the fourth quarter. Gortat scored with 3:23 to go to get the Wiz within one, but Washington couldnt buy a bucket after that. The Wizards didnt score again until 11 seconds remained in the game and Indiana did enough to knot the series. "End of the day, we played a pretty good game," said Gortat. "We didnt shoot the ball well, especially from the 3-point line. Weve just got to play better." Playoff basketball returned to Washington for the first time since 2008 and this season is the third time since 1982 the Wizards advanced out of the first round. "I hope that when we get back to D.C. were going to see the crowd ready at least 30 minutes before the game," said Gortat. "We need them. I hope they come early and were going to try and bring it." The Wizards went 1-1 at the Verizon Center against the Chicago Bulls in round one. Washington has won two in a row over the Pacers as the host, but Indiana won four straight prior to that. "This is playoff basketball. You cant lose at home," noted Gortat. Game 4 will be Sunday night in Washington. 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