By Steve Kolbe
CSNwashington.com

The Capitals spotted the Penguins a three-goal lead, but came back to win 5-4 in overtime to run their winning streak to 14 games.

Two of the Caps wins during the streak have come against Pittsburgh. The Caps and Penguins will meet two more times in the regular season, March 25 at Verizon Center and April 6 in Pittsburgh. Washington is 8-3-3 against teams from the Atlantic division this season.

Not even a blizzard could slow the Capitals down. Alex Ovechkin recorded the Caps first hat trick of the season, and he also had an assist on the game-winner in OT. It was the ninth time in his career that Ovechkin has been the "cat in the hat", and it was his first hat trick in nearly a year(Feb. 15, 2009).

Like a scene from the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobile's travel troubles for the Penguins after their game in Montreal on Saturday had them scrambling to make it into town for the game. They traveled by plane to Newark, NJ, then another five hours on a bus through the snow to get to Washington. They arrived in DC around 2am, and their gear was ready around 4am Sunday morning.

But by the end of the first period, Pittsburgh had jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by Sidney Crosby. It's the fourth straight game the Caps have allowed the first goal. The Caps improved to 15-6-2 when they give up the first goal, the best record in the league. Crosby's 39 goals are six more than he had all last season.

In the second period, Ovechkin scored on a breakaway for the first of his three goals on the day, and that cut the lead in half. It was a pass by Jeff Schultz that sent Ovechkin on his way. Ovechkin leads the league at +41, Schultz is second with a +37 rating. Both were +3 on the day.

Jordan Staal broke out of a scoring slump by finding the back of the net twice on two straight shots in a span of 1:24 in the second, and the Penguins increased their lead to 4-1. Staal had scored just one goal in his previous 14 games.

The game turned late in the second. After his first attempt was stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Fehr drove to the net and put in his own rebound to cut the lead to 4-2. The goal was his 15th of the season, and put the Capitals within striking distance.

Ovechkin scored the only two goals of the third period to "cap" off his hat trick. They needed some extra time and an over-sized bin to cart away all the hats that were tossed to the ice during the celebration after the game-tying goal. In the last six regular season games against Pittsburgh, the Caps have outscored the Penguins 14-1 in the third period.

In overtime defenseman Brooks Orpik was whistled for high-sticking Alexander Semin, and the Caps came though on the 4-on-3 advantage. Ovechkin's shot from the left point hit the post, but Mike Knuble put in the rebound for his 21st goal of the season. And the Superbowl Sunday comeback was complete!

Ovechkin increased his league-leading point total to 86, eight more than Vancouver's Henrik Sedin. Ovechkin's 42 goals are also tops in the league. He has reached to 40-goal mark each of his five seasons.

The Capitals started this winning streak with a 5-4 shootout win in Florida Jan. 13. In that game they also trailed 4-1.

The Capitals 14-game winning streak is tied for the third longest in NHL history with the 1929-'30 Boston Bruins. The Penguins 17 straight wins in 1992-'93, and the New York Islanders 15 straight victories in 1981-'82 are the only two streaks longer. The Caps have outscored their opponents 67-33 during their run.

With 88 points the Caps lead over San Jose is up to five for the overall league lead. 14 points separate the Capitals and New Jersey in the East.

Jose Theodore beat the Penguins for the second time this season, stopping 31 of 35 shots to win his 10th straight game. The streak ties the franchise mark held by Pat Riggin for most consecutive wins by a Caps goalie. He won 10 in a row from Jan. 27 to Feb. 18, 1984. Theodore improved his record to 20-7-4 on the season. He has won six in a row at Verizon, and overall is 9-2-3 on home ice. His 17 wins against Pittsburgh are his most against any NHL opponent.

Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 29 saves. In two games over the weekend he allowed nine goals on 62 shots against the Capitals and Montreal. Fleury entered the game with a 12-6 record all-time against Washington including last year's playoffs.

The Caps finished the day 1-for-4 on the power play. Knuble's game winner in overtime was the Capitals 17th power play goal during the 14-game winning streak. The Penguins were 1-for-6 with the advantage.

Washington set the franchise record with their 11th straight win on home ice, and improved to 23-3-3 at Verizon this season. The previous mark was 10 consecutive wins, set in 1999-'00. The Capitals have outscored the opposition 56-22 in the last 11 in the District.

The Penguins entered the game with a 10-1 record in overtime.

Mike Knulbe, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin are tied for the team lead with five game-winning goals each this season. Eight different Caps have at least three game-winners.

Eric Fehr was the game's third star. He finished with five shots on goal. Sidney Crosby was the second star with his two-goal game. Alex Ovechkin was the first star with the hat trick, an assist, and six shots on goal. This season in two games against the Penguins, Ovechkin has five goals and seven points.

The Capitals last three games before the Olympic break are on the road with stops in Montreal, Ottawa, and St. Louis. This season the Caps are 2-1 against the Canadiens, and 1-0-1 against the Senators.