Flyers come back to beat Ovechkin, Capitals 4-2 By HOWARD FENDRICH AP SPORTS WRITER Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter scored two of Phil adelphia's three goals in a 3 1 / 2 -minute span of the third period Tuesday night, and the Flyers came back to beat Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 4-2 Tuesday night. Ovechkin finally seemed to have figured out the Fly ers, assisting on Washing ton's first goal and scoring the second for a 2-0 lead. BY: LOGAN ZUGAY STAFF WRITER LXZSOI6@PSU.EDU It was a game for the ages as the Pittsburgh Steelers topped the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Tampa, Florida. The win gave the Steel City its sixth NFL title leaving them as the unprecedented kings of the football world. Like most kings, however, there was resistance to overcome; a crafty veteran quarterback, a three headed monster as wide receiver, and the chant of "Destiny" from Red Birds was the task that this new era Steel Curtain was up against.lt was a game that appealed to all as NBC revealed that it was the most watched Super Bowl of all time with nearly 99 million viewers! If you were one of the few that skipped it, here are the five best moments that shaped the game. NOT SO FAST The Steelers received the opening kickoff and methodically waltzed 71 yards down the field in six plays landing them on the Cardinal one. On a third and goal, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger scrambled to his right and ran for what appeared to be the first touchdown of the game. Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt felt differently. After throwing his red challenge flag, the officials gathered and reviewed the play on He was held without a point in two previous games this season against Philadelphia, the only Eastern Confer ence opponent that hadn't allowed a goal by Ovechkin in 2008-09. But the Flyers cut their def icit to 2-1 during a 5-on-3 midway through the second period, when Claude Giroux scored. And then, suddenly, Capitals goalie Jose Theo dore couldn't stop anything in the third. Philadelphia tied it 9:11 into the final 'period on Hartnell's 22nd goal, off assists from Joffrey Lupul Superbowl Highlights 2009 instant replay. It was determined that there was sufficient enough evidence to overturn the play, placing the ball on the half yard line and forcing the Black and Gold to kick the field goal. The four-point turn around proved to be a crucial element to the ball game. STUMBLIN', BUMBLIN', RUMBLIN' It's quite an honor to earn the Defensive Player of the Year award for the regular season. Almost as sweet as making the defensive PLAY of the year in the Super Bowl. Steelers Linebacker James Harrison intercepted a Kurt Warner pass at his own goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown right before halftime. It seemed as though Arizona was going in for the go-ahead touchdown on a goal-to-goal situation when Harrison faked a blitz and dropped back into coverage. Warner never saw him. The rest of the Cardinals got to see him as he sprinted past their bench all the way to the end zone. Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald eventually caught up to him to make the tackle but by then physics had taken over and momentum carried both players over the goal line. It's more than possible that he would have made the tackle had his defensive teammate Antrel Rolle not been so close to the action. Rolle stepped and Carter. Then, 1:25 later, Carter's 25th goal with assists from Lupul and Hartnell put Philadelphia ahead for the first time. • Arron Asham put the final touch on the rally with his fifth goal, giving Philadel phia its season-high fourth consecutive road victory. The Flyers appeared head ed for a loss when Ovechkin stole Carter's weak clearing attempt and while falling to the ice after a teammate accidentally bumped • the NHL's reigning MVP flicked the puck past Antero Niittymaki to put the hosts forward toward the field after Harrison passed and accidentally became a human roadblock for Fitzgerald. The extra second or two made all the difference. GOAL TO GO...AGAIN Mid way through the third quarter, Pittsburgh was poised to put the game away. Still clenching their 17-7 lead, the Steelers moved the ball down the field with the help of three Cardinal personal foul penalties accounting for 45 yards of the drive. Looking to place the metaphorical steak into the heart of their opponents, the Steelers had a first and goal from the five-yard line. Arizona's "never give up" attitude held the offense on three straight plays and forced a field goal attempt. On came Jeff Reed who nailed a 27-yard kick only to have it nullified due to yet another personal foul penalty on the defense. This time it was Cardinal captain Adrian Wilson who plowed over place kick holder Mitch Berger. After a fantastic stop, the Red and White was forced to repeat what they had just accomplished. Now with a first and goal from the four, it would be impossible to stop the powerful Steelers again. Or would it? First it was Willie Parker stopped short, then Reothlisberger misfiring on a pass, and finally a botched QB draw left Pittsburgh with no touchdown. Six plays ahead 2-0. It was Ovechkin's league high 44th goal, and he cel ebrated by punching the air and kicking up a leg. Ovechkin was in the middle of things, too, only 1:48 into the game and 4 seconds into the first of the rough and-tumble game's many power plays as Washing ton went up 1-0 on Nicklas Backstrom's 16th goal. Backstrom, who stretched his point-scoring streak to seven games, got help from two past league MVPs. Vet eran Sergei Fedorov won a faceoff and drew the puck from inside the ten-yard line a still no points to show for it. Reed was right down the middle on the 21 yards attempt that ensued. Another four point swing. Could the Cards really be the team of destiny? "AND HE'S GONE!" Nearly four minutes into the fourth quarter and the score remained 20- 7 until Warner found Fitzgerald in the corner of the end zone to cut the lead to six. With the Cardinal defense stepping up, the game quickly became a field position battle. This was obvious after Ben Graham pinned Pittsburgh on its own 1-yard line with a punt. On third down, a holding call in the end zone resulted in a safety against the Steelers. Now with just a four point deficit and the ball back, Arizona had an opportunity to take the lead. They did just that. The second and ten play from Cardinal 36 set the world on fire. Kurt Warner hit star wide out Larry Fitzgerald on a post and he did the rest, taking off with tremendous speed for the 64 yards go-ahead score. With no defensive back deep for Pittsburgh, all Fitz had to do was step out of a diving tackle to give himself nothing but open field to run through. 2:58 left on the clock, 23-20 Arizona. BIG BEN STRIKES MIDNIGHT In sports, there are your good back to Ovechkin. He slid a pass right onto the stick of Backstrom, who flipped in a backhander. That assist was Ovechkin's first point against the Flyers this sea son. There was some hard hit ting early on, with Rich ards and Hartnell delivering big shots along the boards. Hartnell's first-period hit on Mike Green landed the Philadelphia forward in the penalty box. There were 13 penal ties, seven on Washington, through the first two peri ods. players and your bad players; there are great players and there are stars; and then there are legends. Ben Roethlisberger established himself as one of those legends after a drive that had many thinking back to the Super Bowl heroics of . .Toe .Montana twenty years before in Super Bowl XXIII. The drive seemed to be doomed from the get go after a holding penalty put the Steelers in a first and twenty situation from their own 12. Roethlisberger went 5- 7 on pass attempts on the drive including fourto Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes for 73 yards and the game-winning touchdown. . After just missing Holmes on first and goal from the six, Roethlisberger and PittsbUrgh would not be denied again. One, two, Three pump fakes later, Ben Roethlislberger threaded his pass through and over three Cardinal defenders where Holmes snagged it and dragged the toes of both feet in bounds. The seven-second play felt like an eternity. It was the second Super Bowl in a row that had a game winning touchdown catch with 35 seconds remaining on the clock. Time had run out for the Cinderella Cardinals. Big plays, great defensive play, and late game heroics made Super Bowl XLIII one of the greatest games ever played. We can only hope next year will be even better!
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