Lee Diekemper recaps Sunday’s NHL action.

Pittsburgh 4, Washington 2: The Pens had thrown everything at Caps goalie Cristobal Huet in the third period but the beer vendor. And the Caps netminder threw everything back. But he didn’t expect his own teammate to shoot the puck. With 28 seconds left in regulation and the game tied 2-2, Caps center Nicklas Backstrom tried to clear a loose puck coming across the crease, only to shoot the puck past Huet. Alexander Ovechkin and Huet both collapsed face-first in disbelief on the ice. Sidney Crosby was credited with the goal. He was mic’ed by NBC and could be heard giggling in delight of Backstrom, “He shot that into his own net!”

Dallas 3, Colorado 0: Solid job by the Stars defense, which only allowed the Avs 19 shots and goalie Marty Turco did the rest.

Detroit 4, Nashville 3: The Wings built a 4-0 lead and nearly blew it after the Preds scored three times in the final 10 minutes of the third. Darren McCarty isn’t quite physically ready to skate with the Wings yet.

San Jose 3, Minnesota 2 (SO): The Sharks continue to roll while the Wild continues to struggle. Despite taking a 2-0 first period lead, the Sharks got two goals in the shootout for their ninth straight win, a franchise record.

New York Rangers 1, Boston 0 (SO): Henrik Lundqvist was sensational, stopping 29 shots, including all three in the shootout.

Edmonton 6, Chicago 5: The Blackhawks lost their second close game in as many days. Because of the ‘Hawks recent solid play, even noted hockey evangelist Jay Mariotti has jumped on their bandwagon.