miaowang123: seconds left off a feed in front from Malkin,

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NEW YORK -- Redskins coach Mike Shanahan spoke Monday with the NFLs director of officiating after the league said Sunday nights crew made an error on Washingtons final drive. Wholesale Suns Jerseys . The league said officials should have stopped play and eliminated confusion about the down and distance at the end of the Giants 24-17 victory at Washington. "I talked to Dean earlier today, he gave me a call and just went over the scenario," Shanahan said, referring to Dean Blandino, who oversees NFL officiating. "Obviously they made a mistake and you live with it." With New York leading by seven points just after the two-minute warning, a catch by the Redskins Pierre Garcon on second-and-5 was spotted short of a first down at the Washington 45. Referee Jeff Triplette signalled third down. But the head linesman, with the Redskins in a hurry-up offence, incorrectly motioned for the crew to advance the chains, which caused the down boxes to read first down. "In this situation where there is obvious confusion as to the status of the down, that play should have been stopped prior to third down and the correct down communicated to both clubs," Blandino said Monday in a statement. "This should have occurred regardless of the fact that Washington had no timeouts and it was inside two minutes." Only the referee can rule and signal a first down. The official nearest to the down markers and chain crew, the head linesman, is required to wait for that first-down signal from the referee before moving the chains. That did not happen at FedEx Field. After Washingtons incomplete pass on the next play -- which many Redskins believed was on first down -- the chains were moved back and the down boxes correctly reset to fourth down. Blandino said instant replay review was not used on Garcons catch because the replay official determined the ball was "correctly spotted short of the line to gain for a first down." Shanahan was asked if he would be in favour of scrapping the chains and using laser technology to help spot the ball. "You talk about it at the owners meeting, kind of go through the variables, exactly how accurate it is and how it would be implemented," he said. "I think theres a lot of technology that you could possibly use, but before you do that you go through all the situations and find out if its effective and how effective." Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III said the confusion affected the play calling. "The chain said first down, and then when we came back, we think its second-and-10, and theyre yelling out its fourth down," Griffin said. "No explanation. No measurement. Didnt stop the clock to allow the chains to move back. And we just had to go ahead and call the play." Griffin did complete a 6-yard pass to Garcon on fourth-and-1, but safety Will Hill stripped the ball. The Giants then ran out the clock. "I told him I wanted a measurement because I knew it was close," Shanahan said, not specifying which official he was referring to. "It was inches. And he said, No, its a first down. And he moved the chains. And then after I saw it was fourth down, I asked him, You already told me it was first down. He didnt say anything. So that was quite disappointing." Speaking to a pool reporter Sunday night, Triplette said: "We signalled third down on the field. The stakes were moved incorrectly. After that play, we said it was still third down. We had signalled third down prior to the play starting. The stakes just got moved incorrectly." Triplette defended not stopping play, saying it would have given an "unfair advantage." But Blandino said Monday that was the wrong decision. Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, who played every snap, said he was aware it was not a first down. "I remember turning to the referee and saying, Thats not a first down, " Tuck said Monday. " Obviously, theyre hurrying up, you dont really have time to argue it. "I think at the end of the day, it was actually the right call. It might not have come across in the right manner, but I think it was the right call. And when the ball is getting snapped that fast, its very tough for a referee to get all of these calls right." Phoenix Suns Pro Shop . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. Stitched Suns Jerseys . - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning. UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Sidney Crosby went through a cluster of New York Islanders like they werent even there. With the puck on his stick in overtime, all he saw was the net. And then he hit it. Crosby, who scored the tying goal in the third period, netted the winner with a brilliant individual effort 3:44 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Tuesday night. He stole the puck from Thomas Vanek just outside the New York blue line, streaked down the middle between two defenceman and jammed a backhander past Anders Nilsson for his 15th goal. "The puck just came to me, and I found a way," Crosby said. "I had some time to wind up and get some speed. It was a good situation. "I didnt notice how many guys were hanging on me. I just went for the net." Simple enough for Sid the Kid, who had made it 2-all with 12:00 left in regulation by firing in a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Evgeni Malkin. Nilsson was the hard-luck loser in overtime for the second straight game. New York, which has dropped seven straight (0-5-2), gave up the lead late to Washington on Saturday and was beaten in overtime on a goal by Alex Ovechkin. "Every goal you let in is frustrating," said Nilsson, who made 31 saves in his seventh NHL game. "I thought I should have had the winner from Ovi and I should have the winner tonight." Malkin assisted on power-play goals by James Neal and Crosby to back Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 21 saves. His best stop came on Frans Nielsens penalty shot in the third when New York led 2-1. If a standard penalty was called instead of a penalty shot, it would have wiped out the rest of the Penguins power play that produced the tying goal. "That definitely might have changed things," Crosby said. Kyle Okposo scored twice in the first period for the Islanders, who are third from the bottom in the East. Despite the gap in the standings, the Islanders play the Penguins much tighter on the ice. The teams have split two games in Pittsburgh this season, following the Penguins six-game, first-round playoff triumph over New York last spring. "The rivalry is real," Fleury said. "They play us close and really make us work. They are a good team against us just about every time we play them." The Penguins (19-9-1) moved one poiint ahead of idle Boston atop the Eastern Conference with their fourth straight win, and completed a 3-0 road trip. Suns Jerseys 2021. Pittsburghs potent power play, ranked No. 1 in the NHL, got the Penguins back in the game. Neal connected in the final seconds of the second period, and Crosby tied it in the third. Nilsson held off the Penguins long enough for New York to salvage a point in the standings. John Tavares assisted on both of Okposos goals. "I thought we played very well," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We really needed that third one and didnt get it. Its very hard for us to win with two goals. "It came down to special teams again. My frustration is the same as what the players are feeling because weve all been there." Okposo hadnt scored in eight games but he broke out with two during a 4:35 span of the first and nearly netted a third before the intermission. He backhanded a shot from the bottom of the left circle into the crease. The puck and Tavares, along with Crosby and Kris Letang of the Penguins all arrived on Fleurys doorstep at the same time. It found its way in off of Letang to make it 1-0 with 7:05 left. Okposo got even more help on his second goal, which was his eighth of the season. He wound up from above the right circle and ripped a drive that struck Fleury and then squeezed under his left arm before trickling behind him with 2:30 to go. Pittsburgh had a chance to cut into its deficit late in the frame when Vanek and Aaron Ness took penalties 1:17 apart, giving the Penguins a two-man advantage that lasted the final 37.3 seconds of the first period and 5 seconds of the second. What Pittsburgh couldnt do in the first, it did in the second when Neal notched a power-play goal with 15.6 seconds left off a feed in front from Malkin, who extended his point and assist streaks to nine games. He has 15 assists and 19 points during the run, earning star of the week and month honours in the NHL. Neal scored his ninth goal of the season and seventh in six games to make it 2-1. He has 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in the last 13 games. NOTES: Malkin had league-best 25 points and 21 assists in November, the most assists in a month since Wayne Gretzky also had 21 in January 1996. ... The Islanders hadnt scored first in seven games and hadnt held a two-goal lead since a 3-2 loss to Los Angeles on Nov. 14. ' ' '