If you’re like me Womens Anthony Nelson Jersey , football league’s playoff race. Even if you’re on the outside looking in, these are the weeks you can use to develop your strategies and figure out what went wrong so you come back next year a smarter and wiser player.Either way, daily fantasy football is available to all who seek it, so don’t go away just yet folks! We’ve got plenty of advice coming up, and plenty of opportunities to do better than we did last week. Before I even dive into all of the Week 8 stats, I already know two of our quarterbacks turned our thoughts upside down. Here’s how it all went down.QUARTERBACKS (0/3): Goose egg. Nada. Not one of our projections panned out. I blame global warming. Winston got benched in real life, so you can figure out how his fantasy day went. Carr absolutely torched the Colts defense - although I stand by my Oakland Raiders analogy gif - and Keenum just couldn’t up his fantasy football game against the Chiefs’ porous defense. We’ll do better this week folks, because we can’t do any worse.RUNNING BACKS (3/3): If you came looking only for quarterback advice, and didn’t take a gander at the running back advice - well - you may not be reading this today. But if you looked at more than the QB, you should be happy to see how fierce the comeback was here.James Conner as our start and Marlon Mack as our sleeper turned in RB1 and RB3 performances respectively. Our sit of the week, LeSean McCoy, continued to have his talents wasted on the land of the wing, as he totaled just sixteen points on his way to a RB18 finish.RECEIVERS (2/3): Alshon Jeffery as our sleeper just didn’t pan out despite facing a Jacksonville Jaguars defense who had been victimized regularly as of late. His team won, but he came out a fantasy football loser. Brandin Cooks delivered on our sit projection, despite doing better than our sleeper. And Travis Kelce turned in a TE1 performance to save the group a bit.DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS (0/3): Started poorly, ending with a whimper. Chicago’s defense didn’t do bad finishing as the 13th best defense in the fantasy football weekend, but DST12 or better is required to land a win in the starter category, so we take the loss on that. Indianapolis’ defense was torched in Week 8 (see, Derek Carr) and our sleeper projection took a beating right along with them. Finally, our sit of the week was Cincinnati against the Buccaneers, and well, they scored 22-points on the back of four Jameis Winston interceptions including one pick-six.We’ll do better this weekend, right? Let’s find out.QUARTERBACKSJake Roth-USA TODAY SportsSTART: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (@ New England Patriots)A battle between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady is always must-see tv if you ask me. This weekend’s match-up will be no different. Sunday Night Football should see plenty of action when two of the best to ever do it take center stage.SIT: Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens (vs Pittsburgh Steelers)Flacco’s final descent into retirement, benching, or journeyman quarterback has begun. Facing the Steelers is going to show a little more of why the Ravens drafted a young and electric quarterback this past off-season.SLEEPER: Ryan Fitzpatrick Anthony Nelson Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@ Carolina Panthers)The last time we saw Fitzpatrick, he was being benched for Jameis Winston after one half of really bad Bucs football in Chicago. Before that, he threw three interceptions in the first half against the Steelers only to combine forces with a suddenly effective defense and nearly come all the way back on Tony Dungy Night.Before that, we had the emergence of Fitzmagic in Tampa Bay and the Bucs were the talk of NFL Town.What will we see this weekend? Well, that’s why they call them sleepers.RUNNING BACKSJay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY SportsSTART: Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs (@ Cleveland Browns)The Browns have a better defense than credited, and if their offense ever found a way to stay on the field, everyone might actually get to see it.Alas, the 2018 Browns don’t look much different than the 2017 version, and Kareem Hunt will get plenty of opportunity to make things happen.SIT: LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills (vs Chicago Bears)We’re not picking on McCoy, just stating facts. With a name like his, he’s always going to pop into someone’s mind as a guy they may hover their finger over as a starting option. Don’t do it. Especially against the Bears defense.SLEEPER: James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers (@ Baltimore Ravens)You might be surprised to see Conner listed as a sleeper, but going against the Ravens defense you may need to take pause before inserting him in your lineup. I say, go for it. Conner is one of my favorite players this year, and he’s earned the trust of his team. He’s going to come into this one a little more excited than some others, as the Steelers try to assert their dominance over their AFC North rivals.WIDE RECEIVERSBrace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY SportsSTART: Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings (vs Detroit Lions)Can Thielen continue his 100+ yards per game average against the Lions? I say he’s got a pretty good shot at it.SIT: Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams, (@ New Orleans Saints)The Rams have some decent options, but I see a game where they lean heavily on Todd Gurley, and the Saints force Goff to spread the ball to beat them. Woods will still produce, just not at WR1 numbers for your fantasy football lineup.SLEEPER: Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos (vs Houston Texans)Demaryius Thomas’ trade to Houston will trigger an uptick in opportunity for one Courtland Sutton, but it’s also going to trigger a higher focus on Sanders from quarterback Case Keenum.In PPR leagues, this is an automatic upgrade O. J. Howard Jersey , but his numbers should climb a bit in all formats for the first few weeks.TIGHT ENDSJonathan Dyer-USA TODAY SportsSTART: David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (vs Kansas City Chiefs)Outside of Jarvis Landry, Njoku provides Baker Mayfield his biggest opportunity for consistent success in the passing game.Look for him to get plenty of targets this weekend, and he should stack up nicely amongst NFL tight ends in Week 9.SIT: Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers (@ Baltimore Ravens)The Ravens are going to pose a significant battle for the Steelers, and while McDonald certainly has talent, he’s not become one of the weekly regulars quite yet. Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin are going to lean on household names a bit more than usual in this one, making McDonald a guy I just can’t roll with, with much confidence.SLEEPER: Trey Burton, Chicago Bears (@ Buffalo Bills)The Bills haven’t seen their stadium filled with snow just yet, and Burton should get plenty of attention from quarterback Mitch Trubisky given the strength of the Buffalo defense resides mainly in their secondary.DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMSSteve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsSTART: Chicago Bears (@ Buffalo Bills)Whichever defense is facing the Bills always has a shot at rising up the fantasy football scoreboards, but when it’s one of the best defensive units in the league, you really want to take advantage.SIT: Cleveland Browns (vs Kansas City Chiefs)Like I said, the Browns have a better defense than most realize. It’s going to get harder to convince people after watching them face the Chiefs this weekend.SLEEPER: New York Jets (@ Miami Dolphins)The Jets defense is opportunistic, and the Dolphins offense provides opportunities. This unit should be good for a couple turnovers in this match-up, and it’ll help them stick right around starting D/ST numbers for Week 9. For most of the season, outside of a handful of games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of the worst defenses in the league. In fact, it was so bad early on that they were forced to fire Mike Smith, who announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday. Yes, they had some good stretches later on in the season under interim defensive coordinator Mark Dufner, but those were mostly against the bottom feeders of the NFL and the defense still wasn’t good enough. Now, the Buccaneers have to adjust to their new defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles, who is considered one of the better defensive coordinators in the league. Obviously, a lot of adjustments and learning will take place over the next eight months, but it was evident Tampa Bay needed a whole new philosophy on defense. Anyway Justin Evans Jersey , below are four players from the Buccaneers defense who had high expectations coming into last season and how their 2018 numbers compared to their career averages. Gerald McCoyCareer stats avg (2010-2017): 33.6 total tackles, 29 solo tackles, 6.9 sacks per year, 2.8 pass defenses2018 season stats: 28 total tackles, 17 solo tackles, 6 sacks and 1 pass defense. Opinion: 2018 very well could have been Gerald McCoy’s final season with the Buccaneers. Unless a restructure happens, I can’t see the Buccaneers paying him $13 million dollars. The production just doesn’t line up anymore. It was his worst season statistically since 2011 and the new regime has now ties to him which doesn’t help his case. Hew gave it his all in Tampa Bay, there is no question about that, but it’s time for both sides to move on. Jason Pierre-PaulCareer stats avg (2010- 2017): 61.8 tackles, 44 solo tackles, 8.2 sacks per year, 1.8 Forced fumbles 2018 season stats: 58 total tackles, 48 solo tackles, 12.5 sacks and 1 forced fumbleOpinion: It was a hell of a season by JPP. Not only did he break the 12 year drought of no Buccaneer reaching 10 sacks, but he battled through numerous injuries all season long and was a force almost every Sunday. Props to general manager Jason Licht for acquiring JPP for only a third round pick back in March. Except JPP to be an important piece of Todd Bowles defense moving forward and become one of the true leaders on the defensive side of the ball. Lavonte DavidCareer stats avg (2012-2017): 127.5 total tackles, 91.3 solo tackles, 3 sacks, 2.8 forced fumbles and 1.8 fumble recoveries.2018 stats: 119 total tackles, 94 solo tackles and 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.Opinion: It was another solid year for one of the best outside 4-3 linebackers in the league. Lavonte David is never really mentioned in the national media, but he deserves to be. He’s another Buccaneer who shows up week in and week out and Todd Bowles will love to have him in his defense. The only negative from David is that he hasn’t had an interception in two seasons and the forced fumbles were a bit lower than normal. Either way, he will be an important piece moving forward. Brent GrimesCareer stats avg (2007-2017): 13.4 pass-breakups, 2.6 INT’s2018 season: 6 pass-breakups, 0 INT’sOpinion: Grimes wasn’t paid enough to do much of anything on the field. Yes, that’s according to him.
"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 49ers Salary CapLevi’s Stadium Events49ers Transactions49ers Injury News49ers Press Conferences & Conference CallsSan Francisco 49ers News49ers RosterHow 49ers plan to use Dee Ford in 2019New Trent Taylor Jersey ,207commentsTwo words: Quarterback menacePDTShareTweetShareShareHow 49ers plan to use Dee Ford in 2019Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY SportsThe biggest move of the San Francisco 49ers’ offseason was trading for former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford. General manager John Lynch sent a 2020 second-round pick to the Chiefs in exchange for the standout pass rusher. To facilitate the trade, the 49ers signed Ford to a five-year, $85 million contract. How does San Francisco plan to use their new asset on defense?NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger, as only he can, took to Twitter to explain Ford’s skillset and his impact on the 49ers’ defense. In short: Get after the quarterback.The 49ers view Ford as their LEO, a position along the defensive front that rushes the passer from the edge of the offensive line. Baldy compares Ford to former Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin, who filled the same role in Seattle. Coordinator Robert Saleh spent three seasons with the Seahawks from 2011-13, and sees Ford as the 49ers’ version of Irvin. Ford is listed at 6-foot-2 and 252 pounds, just one inch shorter and two pounds heaver than Irvin.“He fits the LEO mold perfectly,” Lynch said at the team’s introductory press conference. “That’s what we see him as. I guess it matters in that we’ve got to put him in the program as something, but I know he’s a difference-maker. We’ve been looking for a closer, someone who can close halves, close games, get off the field on third down.”Ford played outside linebacker in the Chiefs’ 3-4 defensive scheme in 2018 and put together one of the NFL’s best seasons as a pass rusher. Ford totaled 55 tackles Aaron Burbridge Jersey , 13 tackles for loss, 29(!) quarterback hits and 13 sacks. He had the No. 1 pass-rush grade (91.0) and the most total quarterback pressures among edge defenders (78), per Pro Football Focus.During base downs, where the 49ers utilize their standard 4-3 scheme, Ford will fill the LEO role. In sub-packages, usually reserved for passing downs, Ford’s role will resemble that of the outside linebacker he played in Kansas City, standing up and rushing the passer. Either way, Ford’s role on the 49ers’ defense will revolve around getting to the quarterback on every down.“My role is to go that way,” Ford said, simulating toward the quarterback. “Nothing else.”The second half of Baldy’s breakdown focuses on Ford’s ability to generate turnovers. The 49ers’ defense only generated seven turnovers last season, the fewest in NFL history. Ford matched that number on his own, forcing seven fumbles for a Chiefs defense that created 27 turnovers in 2018.Another benefit to adding Ford not mentioned in Baldy’s video is his ability to draw focus away from the interior of the defensive front. DeForest Buckner, the 49ers’ best pass rusher in 2018 Jimmie Ward Jersey , generated 17 tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hits and 12 sacks while rushing from the interior. He now will face less attention from the offensive gameplan now that coordinators will need to account for Ford.We’ll leave you with every Dee Ford sack in 2018: Fooch’s update: The NFL provided some updated information about what would be required to relocate the game.California once again finds itself dealing with devastating wildfires, and even as people get out of the path of them, air quality is a problem across the state. While football games are entirely insignificant in the face of the problems these fires are creating across the state, they could be impacted nonetheless.The San Francisco 49ers had their second practice of the week on Friday and bumped it up from 1:50 to 12:45 because air quality was expected to get considerably worse by the time practice was underway. The 49ers have a practice scheduled for Saturday, but there is no word yet as to the status of it. The final practice can be a walkthrough, which is something that can happen indoors if needed.The NFL has three games in California this week. On Sunday, the Raiders host the Chargers at 1:05 p.m. PT, and the Rams host the Seahawks at 1:25 p.m. On Monday, the 49ers host the Giants at 5:15 p.m. The NFL issued a statement late Friday morning about the two Sunday games.Per Chris Biderman, a spokesperson said the answer is the same for the 49ers-Giants Monday Night Football game.Just a reminder that you can contribute to an evacuation relief fund for Northern California.
RENTON http://www.seahawkslockerroom.com/authentic-bobby-wagner-jersey , Wash. (AP) — not to let the final pass in Seattle’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last week bother him for long.It’s not easy when it’s a throw that could have potentially tied the game and forced overtime, but instead bounced off Moore’s shoulder and fell incomplete on the final play of Seattle’s 25-17 loss.It was shown on seemingly every TV broadcast playing highlights of the game , and while it would have been an exceptionally difficult catch after getting tipped by a Chargers defensive back, Moore wishes he could have made the grab.“I tried to stay away from it,” Moore said on Thursday. “After a while, I’d say Monday after meetings, I tried to watch it and then I was like, ‘It’s over with now. I’m on to (the Rams).'”The incompletion was the most difficult moment the second-year wide receiver has faced since becoming part of Seattle’s wide receiver rotation. The Seahawks had an untimed down from the 6-yard line needing a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to force overtime.Quarterback Russell Wilson stepped up away from the pass rush and Moore had flashed open running across the back of the end zone.Wilson zipped his pass in Moore’s direction, but just a couple of yards away from finding the receiver’s hands, the ball was tipped by the Chargers’ Jahleel Addae. The tip slightly changed the trajectory of the pass and it started severely wobbling offline. Moore was unable to adjust his hands in time and the ball thudded off his shoulder pads and to the turf.“I (saw) it get tipped. I saw the dude come across and I tried to adjust to it but it was a little bit too late,” Moore said. “It was a fastball coming in hot Frank Clark Jersey , getting touched, it’s kind of hard to get your hands where it needs to be after that.”Moore said he spent time Sunday night wondering if there are even drills to mimic having a pass change as that one did so close to the receiver.“It’s a really tough catch. He’s tracking the ball, he sees it coming and all of a sudden the ball takes kind of a strange turn,” Seattle offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “He was really dejected, really upset. Got a chance to talk to him after the game, said a lot of things still had to happen. That wasn’t the reason we won or lost that game, but it was a very difficult play.”Moore’s development has been one of the big stories of the season for Seattle. His progression from an unknown seventh-round pick in 2017 to becoming the Seahawks’ No. 3 receiver was so rapid Seattle felt comfortable releasing veteran Brandon Marshall last week to open a roster spot.While it wasn’t a dropped pass, the final play is the first major adversity Moore has faced this season. He was emotional after the game, but said the moment was quickly put in perspective.“At first I took it kind of hard, but then I had Doug (Baldwin) and Tyler (Lockett) and all the brothers and stuff, and all the coaches tell me stuff like this happens all the time http://www.seahawkslockerroom.com/authentic-mychal-kendricks-jersey ,” Moore said. K.J. Wright Is Back; But Several Seahawks Starters Questionable For Sunday’s Game vs ChiefsInjury updates from Seahawks coach Pete Carroll ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.Tedric Thompson out, 2 more Seahawks DBs questionable for KC | The News TribuneFree safety Tedric Thompson is out. Fellow starting defensive backs Shaquill Griffin and Bradley McDougald are questionable, as are the right side of the offensive line and other starters. Sunday night’s task against the soaring Chiefs is getting even tougher.Seahawks have the perfect offense to beat the Chiefs. But......the big question for the Seahawks this week is if their defense can hold up. If the version that faced the Vikings plays, the answer is a definite yes.Sunday Night Football: Seahawks host Chiefs as underdogsTied for the AFC West lead, the Chiefs are 2.5-point road favorites on the NFL odds against the Seahawks with a 54.5-point total in their Sunday Night Football matchup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.Keys to the Game: Can the Seahawks slow down Patrick Mahomes at all? Can the Seattle offense keep up? | The Seattle TimesSeattle's defense will have a big challenge in slowing down Mahomes, who leads the NFL with 45 touchdown passe --- 11 more than anyone else in the league.Baldwin still showing up for Seahawks in injury-filled season | Q13 FOX NewsDoug Baldwin knows he's fortunate to have spent eight years in the NFL and to have established himself as one of the better players on several elite teams. He also knows he's fortunate to have gotten this far without having a season defined by obvious injuries affecting his play — until this year.Three Key Matchups: Seahawks vs ChiefsTaking a look at three matchups that could make the difference in Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.Seahawks Host 2018 CenturyLink High School Athletes of the WeekThe Seahawks, CenturyLink, and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM partnered to host this year’s standout student-athletes for a leadership summitCliff Avril Hosts Holiday Shopping Surprise With Jacob Martin And Poona FordAlongside Jacob Martin and Poona Ford, Cliff Avril surprised unsuspecting shoppers at Target and Fred Meyer, covering their shopping expenses and spreading holiday cheer.Rams RB Todd Gurley game-time decision vs. Cards - NFL.comLos Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley is a game-time decision ahead of Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, coach Sean McVay told reporters.Matt Barkley signs 2-year contract extension with Bills - NFL.comSigned off of his couch by the Bills earlier this season Womens C. J. Prosise Jersey , Matt Barkley can now move the rest of his furniture to Orchard Park. Buffalo handed Barkley a two-year contract extension through 2020 on Friday.Falcons' Julio Jones 'game-time decision' vs. Panthers - NFL.comJulio Jones' availability for Sunday is up in the air. Falcons coach Dan Quinn told reporters that the wide receiver will be a game-time decision against the Panthers.Frank Gore intends to return for 15th NFL season - NFL.comFrank Gore's season might be over, but his career is not. The Dolphins running back will not need surgery on his injured foot and intends to play a 15th season in 2019.Injuries: Lamar Miller 'has a chance to play' vs. Eagles - NFL.comTexans running back Lamar Miller (ankle) has a chance to play Sunday against the Eagles. Miller was limited in practice the past two days. Plus, other injuries we're tracking on Friday.Sean Payton wants to increase game-day rosters - NFL.comNew Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton recently advocated for the 46-man roster on game day to increase. The Saints had two offensive lineman exit with injuries in last week's Week 15 matchup.Leonard Fournette admits he 'could be in better shape' - NFL.comA hamstring sidelined Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette for six weeks. Ahead of Sunday's Week 16 game, Fournette indicated he could be in better shape at this point in the 2018 season.Washington’s Montae Nicholson had previously unreported DUI – ProFootballTalkWashington safety Montae Nicholson, who was arrested in Virginia this week for assault and battery and public intoxication, had a previously unreported drunk driving arrest. FOX 5 in D.C. reports that Nicholson was arrested for driving under the influence in Pennsylvania in 2017.Seahawks won’t back off if they can’t clinch with a win on Sunday night – ProFootballTalkThe Seahawks will be playing to win on Sunday night, no matter what. As if there was ever any doubt about that. A reporter asked coach Pete Carroll on Friday whether the Seahawks would rest starters on Sunday night against the Chiefs if other results earlier in the day would prevent Seattle from ...Geoff Swaim headed to IR – ProFootballTalkThe Cowboys apparently have given up on Geoff Swaim returning this season. The team is expected to place its starting tight end on injured reserve Saturday, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Running back Darius Jackson will get the call-up from the practice squad.
NEWARK Custom Florida Panthers Jerseys , N.J. (AP) Devils are back after ending a six-year playoff drought.John Hynes’ team went from last in the Eastern Conference in 2016-17 to the postseason in less in the year, riding a career year by left wing Taylor Hall and outstanding first seasons by No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier and Will Butcher. This was a team that made it tough on opponents almost every time it stepped on the ice.The standings said it all. New Jersey went from 28 wins and 70 points to 44 wins and 97 points.Still, it was only good enough to outlast the hard-charging Florida Panthers in the closing weeks of the regular season and get the No. 8 seed.The Devils discovered that playoffs were another level. They were eliminated by Tampa Bay, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, in five games.”Of course, we’re disappointed,” veteran center Travis Zajac said Tuesday as the Devils cleaned out their lockers. ”But we accomplished a lot as a team. This is just the beginning. I like how we come together as a team. We faced a lot of adversity, but we survived. Because the league is so close and it’s going to be that way again next year, we have to continue to get better.”The Devils have ridden a roller-coaster in Hynes’ first three seasons as coach. They exceeded expectations in his first year, plummeted two years ago and then stunned the league in getting back to the playoffs.”You have no idea of how good I feel about what we did this year,” said captain Andy Greene www.officialkings.com , who like Zajac was with the Devils when they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. ”We were a lot better. The way we competed every game down the stretch. We were fighting for each other. We were picked last in the division and last in the conference. We took that to heart. It’s all part of the process. You don’t go from the bottom to the top unless you work hard.”Hall carried the Devils this season, scoring points in 26 straight games in which he played. He finished with 39 goals and 54 assists. His 93 points were 41 more than the next closest player on the team, Hischier (20 goals, 32 assists).”I knew he was a really good hockey player, but it was nothing like what I saw this year,” said forward Marcus Johansson, who was limited to 29 games by concussions. ”He was unbelievable day in and day out.”If Hall can match next season and young players like Hischier, Butcher, Myles Wood, Blake Coleman and Jesper Bratt improve and the work ethic remains the same, the Devils can easily make it back to the playoffs next season.Here’s some things to watch next season:GOOD GOALTENDING: The Devils have two starters. Backup Keith Kinkaid had 16 wins in the final two months to secure the playoff berth. Cory Schneider Los Angeles Kings T-Shirts Authentic , who lost the starting job after groin and hip injuries in January, was outstanding in the playoffs after taking over for Kinkaid in the second game.FREE AGENCY: General manager Ray Shero has three big decisions with unrestricted free agents: forwards Patrick Maroon and Michael Grabner and defenseman John Moore. Maroon, who like Grabner was acquired in a deal near the trading deadline, played better and provided a net-front presence. Moore might be let go to create space for youngsters Mirco Mueller and Steven Santini.Blake Coleman and Stefan Noesen, who were the wings on the checking line with Zajac, are restricted free agents along with Wood, who had 19 goals. Expect them back along with Santini, another restricted free agent.HISCHIER: The 19-year-old can play. He’s not in the same class as Connor McDavid or Austin Matthews. Still, he does all the little things and he will score more if he starts hitting the net.DEFENSE: For the second straight year the Devils gave up 244 goals. That’s too many. Sami Vatanen, who was acquired from Anaheim, helped the defense and was Greene’s partner on the top pair. The defense needs a star and Shero may go after the Capitals’ John Carlson.—Associated Press freelancer Jim Hague contributed to this report.— ANAHEIM Los Angeles Kings Hoodies Authentic , Calif. (AP) — Jakob Silfverberg didn’t want to test free agency, even as the Anaheim Ducks struggle through one of their worst seasons.The 28-year old signed a $26.5 million, five-year extension with the Ducks, forgoing the chance to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.“I like it here a lot and wanted to stay,” Silfverberg said after practice Saturday. “I feel like I am a hard-working guy and to get rewarded with a five-year deal means a lot. I had a feeling once talks started going that it was going to be pretty fast.”Silfverberg leads the Ducks with 16 goals and has 24 points in 56 games. The Swedish forward has 99 goals and 115 assists over six seasons with Anaheim.The Ducks are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Anaheim is next-to-last in the Western Conference with 57 points and has lost four straight going into Sunday’s game against Colorado.Silfverberg said he weighed the Ducks’ rebuilding process before making a final decision.“Over the next five years I think it is going to be a contending team again. They know what it takes,” he said.General manager and interim coach Bob Murray made a lot of moves near the trade deadline to get younger, but he also said it is important to have a veteran like Silfverberg as a building block.“You can’t just go with a bunch of 21- and 22-year-olds,” Murray said. “It’s just like building your minor league team. You can have a bunch of kids, but you need quality veterans. It’s not any different here. He can play the game, but he’s also a role model. He does all the right things.”
The Montreal Canadiens needed a full-team effort to shut down the NHL’s best offensive line.Carey Price stopped 28 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Canadiens beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 on Saturday night.Brett Kulak Jesper Bratt Jersey Kids , Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordie Benn all scored in the third period for the Canadiens, who had lost three of their last four games. Price got his 43rd career shutout.Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen — who have combined for 73 goals and 112 assists this season — hardly threatened Price, firing a total five shots on net.“We played them well,” Price said. “They’re a good line and we did an excellent job tonight.”The Avalanche’s top trio has scored nearly half of the team’s goals but it was harmless against the Canadiens, who clogged up the neutral zone and limited the visitors’ chances.“Obviously they’re one of the best lines in the league,” Montreal captain Shea Weber said. “Dangerous from one side to the other. We talked about not just the five guys that are out there, there are other guys that had to play against them and everybody did a good job tonight.”Semyon Varlamov gave up two goals on 30 shots for the slumping Avalanche, losers of nine of their last 10 (1-7-2).‘MacKinnon saw his eight-game point streak snapped while Landeskog’s three-game multi-point streak ended.“We didn’t give them much space,” Canadienns coach Claude Julien said of the MacKinnon line. “We kept trying to kill the play as quickly as possible. And we had more than one line playing against their top line so we were always fresh when they hit the ice.”After two scoreless periods, Kulak scored his second of the season to break the deadlock. With the Canadiens playing short-handed, Kulak scored right off a faceoff in Colorado’s zone at 8:21 of the third.The goal revitalized the home side and Kotkaniemi made it 2-0 at 10:39 on a one-timer after nifty stick work by Jonathan Drouin along the half-wall.“We got running around, an extended shift Leo Komarov Jersey Womens , Montreal kept it in our zone,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of the reaction to Kulak’s goal. “Probably their best shift of the game, and not so much on our side. There was probably some disappointment from our guys, maybe hanging their heads for a couple of seconds. Next thing you know, Montreal turns it on and gets the second one.“That’s how our game’s been going right now.”Benn added an empty-netter with 1:16 left.Colorado has dropped the first three games on its current five-game Canadian road trip.“We have to stick together and find a way through this,” Landeskog said. “We can’t look at anybody else and hope that we’re going to get help. We have to come together and figure a way out of this. And I have no doubt we will, but nonetheless it’s frustrating.”Price was solid between the pipes, making key saves to keep the Canadiens in the game. In the first, Price made a hard glove save look easy when Tyson Jost walked in all alone. In the third, with the game still scoreless, the 31-year-old stopped Matt Calvert on the breakaway.With Montreal’s recent scoring woes — five goals in its previous four games — Julien shuffled his top three lines to provide a spark on offense. Brendan Gallagher and Phillip Danault were moved to the top line with Drouin, and Max Domi was dropped to center the second line. Tomas Tatar, who’s played the entire season with Gallagher and Danault Womens Kyle Palmieri Jersey , was demoted to the third line alongside rookie Kotkaniemi and Paul Byron.Julien also tweaked his two power-play units, to no avail. Montreal’s league-worst power play went 0 for 3. Montreal’s best chance with the man advantage came four minutes into the third period when captain Shea Weber’s one-timer hit the post.NOTES; The Canadiens are 1 for 20 on the power play in their last six games. They’re 0 for 27 on the power play at home dating back to Dec. 1. … Price is three shutouts away from tying Ken Dryden for third on the Canadiens all-time list. … Colorado F Nathan MacKinnon saw his eight-game point streak snapped. … The Avalanche have allowed 41 goals in their last nine road games.UP NEXTAvalanche: At Toronto on Monday night.Canadiens: At Boston on Monday night. OTTAWA — The sagging Ottawa Senators suffered another loss and another big injury on Friday night. Already without No. 1 goalie Craig Anderson (concussion), the Senators watched second-year defenseman Thomas Chabot head to the dressing room in the second period of their 6-3 road defeat at the hands of the New York Islanders. Chabot, who has 38 points in 38 games, appeared to be favoring his shoulder after a questionable hit from winger Matt Martin. Coach Guy Boucher said Chabot won’t play when the Senators (15-19-4) try to stop a three-game losing streak in a home game against the Washington Capitals at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.Article continues below ...The Senators, who are now just a point from the NHL basement, showed their frustrations with four fights late in the third period, including a bout between defenseman Mark Borowiecki and Martin.“It’s a message to us, we have to send messages to ourselves in here,” Borowiecki told the Ottawa Sun of the scrap. “You’ve got to man up sometimes and give the you-know-what’s a squeeze, and you’ve got to make sure we’re there for each other and for ourselves and show a little bit of pride. It’s not acceptable. We’re not happy about it, but we’re not going to roll over and let stuff like that happen.”Journeyman Senators goalie Mike McKenna made 33 saves in Friday’s loss and could get thrown right back into action against the Capitals. Boucher’s other option is to give rookie Marcus Hogberg his first NHL start.McKenna gave up four goals on 33 shots when the Senators hosted the Capitals last Saturday and lost 4-0.Meanwhile, the Capitals (23-10-3) are on a roll. They returned from the Christmas break to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Thursday. It was their third consecutive victory and eighth in their last nine games. Washington has gone through some injury problems of its own. Especially along the blue line. Matt Niskanen http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-david-savard-jersey , a top four defenseman, went hard into the boards on Thursday and he is expected to miss the meeting with the Senators. So is veteran blue liner Brooks Orpik, who has missed the last 26 games with a knee injury. Also out indefinitely after surgery on his thigh is defenseman Christian Djoos.In their place, the Capitals have relied on 21-year-old Jonas Siegenthaler, who has played 11 NHL games; 24-year-old rookie Tyler Lewington, who made his debut last week, and Madison Bowey, a 23-year-old in his second season who will likely assume Niskanen’s minutes.“We’ve been able to see our young players and how they’re developing,” Capitals coach Todd Reirden told the Washington Post. “And that’s what it’s all about. You can have them play in the American (Hockey) League and you can have them watch video and practice and all those types of things, but until they get into NHL game action, there’s nothing that compares to it.“We were able to see Lewington do that. I thought he handled himself real nicely. And Siegenthaler continues to do real well, and Bowey continues to make strides also.”
TOWNSHIP William Nylander Jersey , Pa. (AP) The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without center Evgeni Malkin and forward Carl Hagelin when the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions open their Eastern Conference semifinal series Thursday night in Washington.Coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday that Malkin and Hagelin will be scratched from the lineup because of injuries.Malkin, who led the Penguins in goals (46) and points (98) during the regular season, missed Game 6 of Pittsburgh’s opening-round win over Philadelphia with a lower-body injury. The Russian star was injured when he got tangled with Flyers forward Jori Lehtera in Game 5. Sullivan says Malkin will travel with the team, which leaves open the possibility he could be available for Game 2.Hagelin, who scored twice in the first round, is dealing with an upper-body injury after colliding with Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux in Game 6. He won’t travel with the team.Riley Sheahan filled in for Malkin on Pittsburgh’s second line in Game 6. Dominik Simon took Hagelin’s spot on a line with Sheahan and Phil Kessel in practice on Wednesday.— OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Ottawa Senators played one of their best defensive games of the season, yet still fell short against the Detroit Red Wings.Jonathan Bernier stopped 35 shots for his first shutout of the season and the Red Wings defeated the Senators 2-0 Saturday night Zach Hyman Jersey , despite Ottawa allowing a season-low 21 shots.“This one’s frustrating,” Ottawa head coach Guy Boucher said. “When you have 35 shots and you only give up 21 and you see your players’ hard work, it was a great improvement off Friday night, our execution, we created some nice plays and we did a lot of good things, but we weren’t able to produce.”Danny DeKeyser and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings, who won their third straight and improved to 5-2-0 in their last seven games.Overall, the Red Wings felt they didn’t play their best game Alex Burmistrov Jersey , but were pleased to see Bernier rewarded for a solid performance.“We didn’t do a whole lot of things right, but we found a way to get the two points,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “We didn’t play well enough, not even close to where it needs to be, but we got a great goaltending performance and that’s what made the difference.”Craig Anderson made 19 saves for the Senators, who are mired in a four-game losing streak.Ottawa has lost its last two games since returning from a nine-day break.“Not getting the results is frustrating, but I think we’re playing pretty good,” said Senators defenseman Dylan DeMelo. “Obviously http://www.officialcanucks.com/authentic-adidas-bo-horvat-jersey , that first game back against Pittsburgh we were a little loose defensively, but I think (Saturday), against a pretty good offensive team and we kept them under 25 shots so we did a really good job of committing to that defensive game and we didn’t go out of sorts in order to cheat for offence or anything like that like we did against Pittsburgh.”Both teams were playing the second half of a back-to-back. The Red Wings posted a 3-2 overtime win over Toronto, while Ottawa lost 5-3 to Pittsburgh.The Senators looked to rally in the third, but Bernier was solid.“I thought Bernier was real good,” Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said. “They had a number of shots in the first and he was able to keep it out and I thought in the third when Bernier needed to make big saves he was real good. I’ve got lots of faith in Bernier.”The Senators thought they had scored late in the third, but it was waved off.Leading 2-0 to start the second, the Red Wings had a great opportunity to extend their lead as Brady Tkachuk took a double minor for high sticking Luke Glendening. With 29 seconds remaining in the penalty Youth Brandon Sutter Jersey , Zack Smith took a tripping penalty, but Detroit was unable to take advantage of the power-play time.Detroit scored twice in 39 seconds in the first period.DeKeyser opened the scoring with a shot just inside the blue line that made its way through traffic.Seconds later, Detroit made it 2-0 as Helm and Martin Frk played give-and-go, with Helm skating through the goal crease and tucking a backhand past Anderson.NOTES: The Senators recalled Rudolfs Balcers from their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville, Ontario, as Mikkel Boedker was injured in Friday’s game against Pittsburgh. … Nick Paul was a healthy scratch for the Senators. … Detroit was without Dylan Larkin. The Red Wings said he had a strained oblique.UP NEXTRed Wings: Home against Vegas on Thursday.Senators: At Toronto on Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — in the seventh round of the shootout and the New York Rangers rallied from two goals down in the third period to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Wednesday night.Mika Zibanejad Womens Kris Russell Jersey , Kevin Hayes and Filip Chytil scored for New York and Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves. The Rangers won for the second time in five games (2-2-1) after a stretch in which they won four of five.Danton Heinen, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron scored for Boston, Brad Marchand had two assists, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 36 shots. The Bruins had a two-game winning streak end, but earned a point for the fifth straight game (2-0-3).Zibanejad and Marchand each scored in the third round of the tiebreaker Leon Draisaitl Jersey , and the Rangers won it when David Krejci missed on the Bruins’ last attempt.MAPLE LEAFS 5, SENATORS 4TORONTO (AP) — Morgan Rielly broke a tie midway through the third period and Toronto beat Ottawa.Rielly started a rush after an Ottawa turnover, passed to Zach Hyman, and took Hyman’s backhand pass alone in front of the goal for his 14th of the season. It also was Rielly’s career-high 53rd point.Auston Matthews, fresh off news of a contract extension http://www.officialhockeypanthersshop.com/authentic-adidas-roberto-luongo-jersey , Hyman, Andreas Johnsson and John Tavares also scored for Toronto. Magnus Paajarvi scored twice, and Thomas Chabot and Matt Duchene added goals for Ottawa. Toronto won its third straight and handed Ottawa its fifth straight loss. SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers didn’t lose their composure after giving up the lead late in the game.Mike Matheson scored 4:14 into overtime to lift the Panthers over the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Thursday night.Matheson tipped in a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau from the slot, saving Florida after the Panthers let in the tying goal midway through the third period. That came two nights after allowing three third-period goals in a 3-2 loss to the Blues.“That’s the biggest difference between this game and last game http://www.officialkings.com/authentic-adidas-alex-iafallo-jersey , compete and composure, both those things were missing against St. Louis,” coach Bob Boughner said. “Even when they got that last goal, we turned it up and played in their end and didn’t get rattled.”Evgenii Dadonov had his first goal in nine games and Colton Sceviour also scored for the Panthers, and Aleksander Barkov had two assists. Roberto Luongo made 29 saves to help Florida win for the seventh time in nine games.Marcus Pettersson and Jared McCann scored for the Penguins Womens Anze Kopitar Jersey , and Casey DeSmith stopped 39 shots. Kris Letang had two assists.Pittsburgh lost its fifth in seven games.“We didn’t execute tonight,” Sidney Crosby said. “We want to make sure we’re playing the same way every night.”The Penguins tied it at 2 when Pettersson’s shot from the blue line got through traffic at 8:17 of the third. The goal was Pettersson’s first of the season and second in his career.“We’ve done that in past games this year,” Matheson said. “We’ve given up a goal and sat back and kind of been scared to not lose.”This time, the Panthers got the extra point.“It’s a big point,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’re disappointed we didn’t earn the extra one in the overtime because we’re capable in that situation.”Sceviour made it 2-1 when he took a drop pass from Barkov and poked in the puck from the slot with 2:28 left in the second. Barkov’s assist was his 300th NHL point.Dadonov’s power-play goal gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Dadonov grabbed a rebound off the end boards and backhanded the puck between DeSmith’s pads at 5:22 of the first.McCann tied the game at 1 with a short-handed goal against his former team. McCann’s shot from the right circle beat Luongo on the stick side with 6:09 left in the second period. The Panther have given up 10 short-handed goals this season.The Panthers killed off a 58-second 5-on-3 in the second.Notes: Penguins C Sidney Crosby tied Mario Lemieux’s team record of 915 games played. … G Matt Murray missed the game with an upper-body injury. … Fs McCann and Nick Bjugstad faced their former team for the first time since being traded for Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan on Feb. 1. The Panthers offered a video tribute to both players on the scoreboard. … Luongo played his 1 Authentic Derek Forbort Jersey Kids ,028th game and move one behind Patrick Roy for second place on the career list for goalies. Martin Brodeur is first with 1,266.UP NEXTPenguins: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.Panthers: Visit the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
media outlet Detroit Red Wings Hats Authentic , including The Hockey News, established the Winnipeg Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning as top contenders for the Stanley Cup this season. Analysts point to their depth of offensive talent, relative youth and the high tempo of play each team employs. Another factor enhances the high expectations for the Jets and Lightning: they both have one of the top young goalies. Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg and Andrei Vasilevskiy in Tampa Bay enjoyed splendid seasons in 2017-18 and elevated their performances in the playoffs. Both teams advanced to the final four. Neither team鈥檚 demise in the conference final was due to goaltending difficulties. Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy are big, athletic, smart and competitive. Every NHL team would be pleased to have either. But if you cou... All-Access +All-Access Member AreaPremium content and in-depth analysis from our team of experts exclusively for magazine subscribers. Simply login to unlock the content or become a member for less than $2.50 a month.LoginBecome a Member COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had two goals and three assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 Monday night for their sixth straight win.Brayden Point scored twice and Steven Stamkos also had a goal for the Lightning, who are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 40 shots and got his 26th win. Kucherov now has 99 points to lead the league, with seven goals in the last five games.Lukas Sedlak scored and Joonas Korpisalo finished with 15 saves for the Blue Jackets, who had won four straight.Columbus outshot the Lightning 19-6 in the first period Custom Detroit Red Wings Jerseys , but Kucherov scored twice. Stamkos made it 3-0 with just 28.1 seconds left in the second, and Point scored twice in the third.Sedlak spoiled Vasilevskiy’s bid for a third consecutive shutout with 1:45 remaining.CAPITALS 3, KINGS 2LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored two power-play goals, and Washington beat Los Angeles.It was the 10th multi-goal game this season for Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 42 goals. He has scored a goal in three straight games and has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in the past eight games. He is on pace for 57 goals, which would be the second-most in his 14-year career. He scored 65 goals in 2007-08.Brett Connolly scored Washington’s other goal and John Carlson had two assists to go over 300 for his career. Pheonix Copley made 26 saves for his third straight win.Alex Iafallo and Ilya Kovalchuk had third-period goals for Los Angeles, which is 0-3-2 in its last five.BLACKHAWKS 8, SENATORS 7CHICAGO (AP) — Alex DeBrincat had three goals and two assists, and Chicago held on to beat Ottawa for its ninth win in 11 games.Patrick Kane scored his 36th goal and added two assists to extend his point streak to 18 games — with 14 goals and 26 assists during the stretch— the longest by a player in the NHL this season. Dylan Strome also had a goal and two assists in his fourth three-point game since joining the Blackhawks on Nov. 25 www.officialoilers.com , and Brandon Saad, Gustav Forsling and Jonathan Toews also scored.The 21-year-old DeBrincat’s five points set a career high. His fourth NHL hat trick gives him 32 goals in his second season.Colin White had two goals and an assist, Thomas Chabot scored twice, and Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan and Rudolfs Balcers also had goals for NHL-worst Ottawa, which lost for the eighth time in its last 11.BRUINS 6, SHARKS 5SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) —Charlie McAvoy scored his fourth goal of the season with 1:01 left in overtime and Boston beat San Jose in a game featuring two of the NHL’s hottest teams.The Bruins won their season-best sixth straight game and extended their point streak to 11 games (8-0-3).Boston moved to three points ahead of Toronto for second place in the Atlantic Division.The Sharks lost despite Joe Thornton’s fifth career hat trick. San Jose had won seven of its previous eight games and 14 of 18 going into Monday.AVALANCHE 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0DENVER (AP) — Andrew Agozzino scored his first NHL goal, Semyon Varlamov stopped 40 shots for his second shutout of the season and Colorado ended a six-game home skid.Tyson Jost and Matt Calvert also scored as the Avalanche won their first game at the Pepsi Center since Jan. 19. Agozzino also added an assist.Malcolm Subban had 35 saves for a Golden Knights team that’s now dropped eight of their last 11 games. Subban started back-to-back games for the first time all season with Vegas electing to rest Marc-Andre Fleury.FLAMES 5 Edmonton Oilers T-Shirts Authentic , COYOTES 2CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Michael Frolik and Mikael Backlund each had a goal and an assist in the third period to help Calgary beat Arizona.Mark Giordano also had a goal and an assist, and Derek Ryan and Austin Czarnik had the other goals for the Flames, who won their second straight to improve to 3-3-2 since the All-Star break. Elias Lindholm assisted on both third-period goals, Rasmus Andersson also had two assists, and Mike Smith stopped 27 shots in his third straight start (2-0-1).Conor Garland and Jordan Weal scored for the Coyotes. Calvin Pickard finished with 29 saves in his third start for Arizona since being claimed off waivers from Philadelphia on Nov. 29.
Adam Jones began the season by hitting a game-winning home run in the 11th inning. He ended it by walking off the field to a standing ovation.In between opening day and the season finale Milan Lucic Jersey Kids , there was a whole lot of anguish for Jones and the Baltimore Orioles.The Orioles closed out a trying season Sunday with a salute to Jones and a 4-0 victory over the Houston Astros that could end up serving as a parting gift to manager Buck Showalter.Jimmy Yacabonis, Paul Fry (1-2) and Mychal Givens combined on a one-hitter against the AL West champions, who open the playoffs at home Friday against Cleveland.Baltimore finished at 47-115, the most losses in franchise history and the most for a big league team since Detroit’s 119 in 2003. The Orioles were only the fifth team since 1900 to lose 115 or more.Baltimore is already in full rebuilding mode, which means the 33-year-old Jones and Showalter may not be back.“These decisions aren’t mine anymore,” Jones said. “It’s going to be fun.”When it came time for the Orioles to take the field before the game, Jones went out alone while players from both sides applauded and the fans stood and cheered.“My teammates sending me out there on an island by myself, I didn’t know that was going to happen,” Jones said. “Weird, because I’m never on the field by myself.”Jones started in center field, the position he held from 2008 until he was bumped to right field in August by 23-year-old rookie Cedric Mullins.Many in the crowd of 24 Oscar Klefbom Jersey ,916 stood before each at-bat by Jones, who went 0 for 4.In the top of the ninth, Showalter sent Joey Rickard in to replace Jones , who received yet another standing ovation as he jogged off the field. Upon his arrival in the dugout, the chain of hugs and high-fives ended with his arms wrapped around Showalter.“It’s been a great run,” Jones said. “Go somewhere and see what the next chapter of my career is.”Hired by Orioles owner Peter Angelos in 2010, Showalter — like Jones — has a contract that expires this year and may not be renewed.“Mr. Angelos’ family has been great to me and mine,” Showalter said before the game. “So whatever direction they decide to go, I’m at peace with it.”Houston manager A.J. Hinch rested most of his regulars, making sure they’re fresh for the postseason. Charlie Morton started and worked three innings, allowing just one hit in a performance that showed he’s ready to be a factor in the playoffs.“He was good. It was nice him go back out there http://www.officialoilers.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-nugent-hopkins-jersey ,” Hinch said. “I think cleared his conscience a little bit that he could let it go and everything was going to be OK.”Morton struck out four to finish with 201, making the Astros the fifth team in baseball history to have three pitchers with 200 Ks. The others were the 2018 Indians, 2013 Tigers, 1969 Astros and 1967 Twins.Brad Peacock (3-5) gave up four runs in the fourth inning, getting only one out.Houston’s only hit came in the fourth, when Jose Altuve hit a sharp single to right before leaving for a pinch runner.The defending World Series champion Astros finished 103-59 and have won a collective 204 regular-season games over the last two years.WHITTLING THE ROSTERHinch shaved five players off his projected playoff roster, with more cuts to come.Right-hander Dean Deetz, OF Kyle Tucker and LHP Reymin Guduan had their seasons end Sunday. Pitchers Framber Valdez and Cionel Perez will work at the team’s spring training facility.CORREA SHARPAstros shortstop Carlos Correa was rested Sunday after an abbreviated appearance Saturday that indicated he was no longer bothered by back soreness.“I don’t think we can forget he’s a really good player, and really good players step up when you need them the most,” Hinch said. “We’re going to need that starting Friday.”DUBIOUS RECORDOrioles first baseman Chris Davis sat out the entire series and finished with a .168 batting average, lowest in major league history by a qualifier.The previous record was .177 Ryan Strome Jersey , by Rob Deer in 1991 and Dan Uggla in 2013.ATTENDANCE DROPThe Orioles drew 1,564,192 for 78 home dates, their lowest figure in a non-strike season since 1978.“It’s up to us to give them something they want to embrace,” Showalter said. “Attendance is down. It’s our fault, not theirs.”UP NEXTAstros: Hinch hasn’t announced his rotation for the playoffs, but Justin Verlander is the likely starter in Game 1.Orioles: The 2019 season opener will be at Yankee Stadium on March 28. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored his 36th goal of the season and the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the Presidents’ Trophy with a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night.The Lightning, who have 116 points, will have home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.Stamkos became the franchise leader in goals with his 384th.Victor Hedman added his 10th goal of the season and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots. Anthony Cirelli scored his fifth short-handed goal of the season while Yanni Gourde notched his 20th goal of the season.Clayton Keller scored for Arizona, which remains one point ahead of Minnesota for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.Darcy Kuemper finished with 20 saves.Stamkos’ record-breaking goal was scored at 6:54 of the first period as Stamkos Womens Wayne Gretzky Jersey , battling in front of the Arizona net, got his stick on Ryan McDonagh’s shot and deflected the puck past Kuemper.The goal came in the 737th game for Stamkos and broke the tie with former captain Vinny Lecavalier, who set the record in 1,037 games with Tampa Bay from 1998-2013.GOLDEN KNIGHTS 7, SHARKS 3SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault each had four points and Vegas won for the ninth time in 10 games by beating San Jose.Smith assisted on three goals in the first period and added a score of his own in the third. Marchessault had a goal and two assists in the first and an empty-netter in the third. William Karlsson, Mark Stone, Paul Stastny and Cody Eakin also scored for the Golden Knights. Malcolm Subban made 36 saves in place of injured Marc-Andre Fleury.In a possible playoff preview, Vegas moved within seven points of the Sharks with nine games to play in the race for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. San Jose remains one point behind Pacific Division-leading Calgary, with the Flames holding a game in hand.The Sharks dropped their third straight home game in regulation for the first time in three years as they failed once again with an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth.Logan Couture scored twice and Joe Thornton had a goal for San Jose. Martin Jones allowed three goals on 11 shots before being replaced by Aaron Dell in the first period.JETS 3, KINGS 2LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist to lead Winnipeg over Los Angeles.Kevin Hayes and Tyler Myers also scored for the Jets Aaron Ekblad Jersey , who have a three-point lead on Nashville atop the Central Division. Laurent Brossoit made 15 saves.Sean Walker and Dustin Brown had the goals for the Kings. Jack Campbell stopped 25 shots.Los Angeles, which has dropped six of seven and 15 of 18, was eliminated from playoff contention. At 58 points, the Kings are last in the Western Conference.CANUCKS 3, BLACKHAWKS 2, OTCHICAGO (AP) — Bo Horvat scored 16 seconds into overtime, and Vancouver stopped Chicago’s five-game win streak with a victory over the Blackhawks.Alexander Edler and Markus Granlund also scored for Vancouver, which was coming off a 3-2 shootout victory in Dallas on Sunday. Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in his third career win.The Canucks (31-32-10) pulled within six points of Arizona for the second wild card in the jumbled bottom of the Western Conference. They begin a seven-game homestand on Wednesday night against Ottawa.Jonathan Toews and Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago (32-30-10), and Corey Crawford made 31 stops.The Blackhawks trailed 2-1 before Gustafsson’s long slap shot got by Demko with 3:13 left in regulation. It looked as if Gustafsson’s shot might have gone off Edler in front.But Horvat stepped up for Vancouver, beating Crawford for his 25th of the season.
That third-period lead isn’t so safe.Not this season Chicago Blackhawks Hats Authentic , anyway. There’s been quite a comeback for the comeback.The NHL has seen 110 third-period comeback wins spanning 611 games through New Year’s Eve. That’s third-most in league history and not far off the 114 rallies in 2014-15 and 113 in ’13-14, according to research by the NHL stats and information department.Going into the new year, the only teams without a third-period comeback for a win in regulation were Carolina (0-13-2 when trailing after two) and Los Angeles (0-17-1). And the only team not to lose with a final-period lead remains Toronto, which is 19-0-0.Translation: Don’t leave early, because anything can and often does happen in the final period.“Fans are getting what they want,” joked Montreal forward Tomas Tatar said. “It’s got to be pretty intense for them.”These days and in this speedy version of the game, no lead seems out of reach. Take Tampa Bay on Saturday: Down a goal in the third against Montreal, Adam Erne tied it up and then scored the game-winner with 1:02 remaining.“There’s no more of sitting back and closing and trying to suffocate the other team,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said when his team was in Denver on Dec. 19. “It’s a skating game now. With the skating game that’s being allowed right now, there’s more offense being showcased.”Try sitting on the puck to protect a lead with the likes of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov or Nathan MacKinnon attempting to swipe it away.Good luck with that.“The league is just getting faster and faster, young guys are coming through the league and they’re really, really good skaters,” Tatar said. “It’s just a fast game. It’s faster than ever.”Not only that, but these youngsters don’t view things as erasing a deficit so much as an opportunity to crank up the intensity.“Everybody is good throughout the lineup Custom Chicago Blackhawks Jerseys ,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “That makes it that much harder to put teams away. It goes to show how many good players there are in the league and how many game-changers there are, that can turn things around.”And no slashing. Or holding. Or hooking. Defensemen need to be on their best behavior.“Defensively speaking, when you can’t clutch and you can’t grab — it’s been that way for 10 years now — that really opens up the ice and allows guys to score,” Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole said. “The guys are as skilled as they’ve ever been. Every year, they’re more skilled and scoring more and more ridiculous highlight-reel goals. Guys are shooting from the goal-line and it’s going off the side of the goalie’s mask and in. Guys are doing stuff now that they haven’t done before — or doing it more often.“The skill level is as high as it’s ever been in the league.”Hence, the volume of comebacks. This also helps when down: A positive attitude.“You always have to believe. You can’t give up,” Tatar said. “And you don’t have to. There’s a big chance you score one or two goals and you’re back in the game.”That was the case on Dec. 15 for Dallas, which fell behind the Avs 3-0 after one period and 4-2 after two. The Stars tied it up late in the final period before Colorado scored twice to earn the win.Nothing is easy.“I don’t feel comfortable with any lead until the buzzer sounds,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s a tribute to the talent around the league. When teams start feeling it, they start coming at you in waves, and it’s tough to defend.”That’s why the best defense is sometimes to remain on the offensive. Don’t sit back — keep striking.“We’re trying to stay aggressive,” Landeskog said. “The O-zone is the best place to play defense. At least, that’s the way we think about it. That’s easier said than done. The team that’s behind is always going to push.”THREE AMIGOSMikko Rantanen (17 goals, 45 assists) and MacKinnon (24 goals, 35 assists) get the lion’s share of the credit on the high-scoring top line for Colorado.Chalk up another assist for Rantanen, though www.officialavalanche.com , because he wanted to make sure Landeskog received full credit, too. Landeskog’s tied for the team lead with 24 goals.“He flies under the radar,” Rantanen said. “The way he plays the game is the right way always. That’s real fun to watch.”WINTER CLASSICThe 2020 Winter Classic will be held at the Cotton Bowl in Texas. Dallas will host the 12th edition of the NHL’s annual outdoor game on New Year’s Day against an opponent yet to be determined. Commissioner Gary Bettman also said the Heritage Classic will return on Oct. 26 when Winnipeg plays Calgary at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. In addition, the NHL will bring an outdoor game to the Air Force Academy on Feb. 15, 2020, as part of the Stadium Series. Colorado will play a team not yet announced.LEADERS (through Monday)Points: Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), 65; Goals: Alex Ovechkin (Washington), 29; Assists: Kucherov, 46; Game-winning goals: Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado), 7; Rookie goals: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver), 19; Goals-against average: Robin Lehner (New York Islanders), 2.14; Shutouts: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas), 5; Wins: Fleury, 22; Save percentage: Lehner, .930.GAME OF THE WEEKJohn Tavares leads Toronto against Minnesota on Thursday. Tavares is two goals shy of 300 for his career. He was the first overall pick by the New York Islanders in 2009. BUFFALO Colorado Avalanche T-Shirts Authentic , N.Y. (AP) With the Flames slipping out of playoff contention, goalie Mike Smith would prefer nothing more than to be back in net for Calgary’s next game, at Buffalo.Knowing that’s not in the cards, Smith settled on accepting the next step in recovering from a lower body injury by practicing with the Flames for the first time in nearly a month on Tuesday.”It’s the worst feeling as a guy who wants to be in there every game and wants to help the team win,” Smith said after taking part in an optional practice a day before Calgary plays the Sabres.”A piece of you feels like you’re letting the team down by sitting there and watching,” he added. ”That’s the sucky part of the position and the sport. But that’s part of the deal. So you’ve got to deal with it.”Though still experiencing some soreness, Smith was encouraged following the half-hour session while saying it’s premature to determine how much more time he’ll miss.”I’d like to tell you that, but your guess is as good as mine. I think it’s just day by day,” he said. ”I’m trying to improve every day, strengthen, get comfortable, and when I’m ready I’ll know.”Smith has been out since being hurt in the final seconds of a 3-2 win at the New York Islanders on Feb. 11.After spending much of the past week skating on his own, Smith at least felt healthy enough to travel from Calgary to rejoin the Flames, who are in the midst of a three-game road swing that closes at Ottawa on Thursday.The Flames could use any type of boost after having gone 0-3-1 in their past four following a 4-3 overtime loss at Pittsburgh on Monday. And they’re 3-6-2 while allowing 40 goals in 11 games since Smith was hurt.In that time, Calgary has gone from sitting third in the Pacific Division to 11th in the tightly contested Western Conference playoff picture. With 15 games left, the Flames entered Tuesday with 74 points Colorado Avalanche Hoodies Authentic , three behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Kings.”There’s still time left and games left,” Smith said. ”I think we’re a good team. It’s time now to put all the chips in, and we need every guy working on all cylinders here.”With a 23-16-6 record, Smith has provided the Flames much-needed stability in net after being acquired in a trade with Arizona in June. His 2.53 goals-against average ranks 12th and 0.921 save percentage is ninth among goalies with 30 or more games played.Without the 12-year veteran, the Flames are leaning on a rookie tandem of Jon Gillies and David Rittich, who have combined to appear in 25 career NHL games.Gillies is 2-2-1 in six games, including a 35-save outing in a 5-2 win at Arizona on Feb. 22. Rittich is 1-4-1, and allowed seven goals on 26 shots in a 7-3 loss at Vegas on Feb. 21.Coach Glen Gulutzan defended his goalies by saying the team has to play better as a whole. And yet, he acknowledged how much of a difference Smith can make both in stopping shots and being one of the league’s best puck-handling goalies.”There’s no scapegoat on goaltending here,” Gulutzan said. ”We’re still fighting. And if we get him back, I think it’s great. It helps you win when you get an elite guy back.”—
coach Jim Montgomery called out the franchise for a “culture of mediocrity Sergei Boikov Jersey ,” led a feedback-sharing session with players and briefly benched one of his top-scoring forwards.And this was all in less than a week, not long after team CEO Jim Lites profanely ripped the performances of captain Jamie Benn and fellow high-priced forward Tyler Seguin.While they will never say Lites’ somewhat shocking comments about his highest-profile and most expensive players have anything to do with it, the Stars clearly are eager to escape a rut of missing the playoffs in eight of the past 10 seasons. Dallas has a precarious hold on one of the final two Western Conference playoff spots at the All-Star break.“Right now we’re getting challenged as a group and individually,” forward Jason Spezza told The Associated Press. “As a veteran guy, it’s exciting because it means they want us to push and they’re not happy with where we’re at. When you’re older, you’re trying to win now. You’re not really worried about the future. I like the way the message is going to help us win now.”Perhaps it’s easier for Spezza to pick a word such as “exciting” because the 35-year-old player, now in his 16th season, wasn’t the target of Lites’ rant late last month.The longtime team executive sought out some of the reporters who cover the team regularly and used plenty of profanity along with “terrible” and “embarrassing” to describe the play of Benn and Seguin. Lites turned down an AP request for an interview Thursday.Asked what he made of the events of the few weeks that started with Lites’ bombshell, Benn smiled through apparent disdain for the question and said, “Nothing.” Seguin wasn’t available to reporters after the last practice Youth Jake McCabe Jersey , morning skate and game before the team’s seven-day break.The day after the criticism from Lites, Benn and Seguin said they needed to play better while taking issue with some of Lites’ more pointed jabs. Both said they played for their teammates, not Lites.“We’re trying to push the envelope,” Montgomery said. “Everybody is, from their respective positions, and trying to make us better and trying to get more consistent at what we are.”Montgomery met with players and the coaching staff on Jan. 14, the same day Dallas traded young forward Devin Shore to Anaheim for 12-year veteran Andrew Cogliano, a move to add experience and speed.Three days later, Montgomery benched Alexander Radulov for the last half of the first period after the Russian forward said he talked back to the coach. In that 2-1 loss to the last-place Los Angeles Kings, the Stars came within 64 seconds of getting shut out in two straight games Jason Pominville Jersey Kids , both at home, for the first time in 20 years. He wasn’t very happy five nights earlier either after a second straight loss to an also-ran, 3-1 to St. Louis at home following a 2-1 defeat at Philadelphia.The coach making the rare transition from college to the pros wasn’t scathing with his comments on the level of Lites, but his reaction was notable nonetheless.“Two games in a row where we don’t compete at a level that is acceptable, and it is everybody and unfortunately, I am very frustrated that I have not been able to gain consistency in our performance and I haven’t been able to change the culture of mediocrity,” Montgomery said.Lites picked Benn and Seguin because he believed they were underperforming for a team falling short of expectations, and because Lites said he had the support of equally frustrated owner Tom Gaglardi.It also had a lot to do with money. Benn is on an eight-year, $76 million contract that started in July 2016, and Seguin signed an eight-year Womens Johan Larsson Jersey , $79 million extension before this season that kicks in for 2019-20.While Benn and Seguin are tied for the team lead with 18 goals apiece, neither is in the top 40 in the NHL in points after both finished among the 25 best their first five seasons together. This is also the first time at least one of the two didn’t make the All-Star game since they’ve been teammates.The timing of Lites’ comments was curious, with Dallas in the playoff picture and coming off a 2-0 win at Nashville that was notable for backup goalie Anton Khudobin’s club record for saves in a shutout with 49.General manager Jim Nill said he agreed with the message , although not with the use of profanity. Then came the “mediocrity” line from his third coach in three seasons .“My biggest thing is, what’s our identity?” Nill said. “We’ve seen we can be fast. We’ve seen we can be a heavy, hard team. Are we that? Or are we a mix of that? That’s what we have to find out right now. And it’s the consistency of the game.”Consistency is what Montgomery seeks. The question is how many more times the quest will be displayed in such raw terms for everyone to see.“I think it’s a coach trying to push buttons and trying to figure out how to get us from being the middle team to being a team that’s comfortably in the playoffs and looking for bigger things,” Spezza said. “It wasn’t a shock at all to me because we all feel like we’re trying to push the right buttons to get this group to take another step.” Two of the NHL’s slickest offensive talents will go head-to-head at the Saddledome on Saturday.Rookie star Elias Petterson leads the Vancouver Canucks into Calgary to face red-hot Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames.Both teams are coming off big road wins on Thursday.Article continues below ...Gaudreau posted his fourth career hat-trick Thursday in a 4-1 win in Winnipeg. He has 32 points in his last 19 games, 13 of those points being goals.Pettersson had a goal and an assist as Vancouver scored on four of their first six shots in Edmonton in a 4-2 win over the Oilers. He has the game-winning goal in four of Vancouver’s past seven wins.Both teams practiced at Calgary’s Stampede Corral on Thursday, walking over from the Saddledome in full uniform. The old 7,000-seat arena was the Flames first home when they moved from Atlanta in 1980.Thursday’s game in Winnipeg ended on a nervous note for Calgary. Gaudreau took a slash from Jets‘ big defensemen Dustin Byfuglien late in Thursday’s game when he raced towards an empty-net goal. He left the ice in discomfort. It was enough of a slash that Byfuglien was fined $2 Authentic Justin Bailey Jersey ,500 on Friday.Gaudreau also shook off the whack when talking to the media.“You know, it’s part of hockey. I mean, it won’t be the last time I’m slashed,” Gaudreau he told reporters. “Just kind of surprised. I had a foot or two on him, so I didn’t think I was going to get a stick to the arm, but I found the empty net and that’s the way it goes.” The Flames get nervous when Gaudreau is slashed because he suffered a broken thumb two years ago and missed 21 games after taking a chop from Minnesota Wild forward Eric Staal. The league began a crackdown on slashing for the 2017-2018 because of an increasing use of the stick.Calgary snapped a three-game losing streak in Winnipeg and is 6-3-1 in their past 10 games. They occupied top spot in the Pacific Division as of Friday afternoon, with a two point lead on San Jose with a game in hand.Vancouver has surprised so far in what was expected to be a rebuilding year and are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games led by Pettersson, who is headed towards a runaway win in the race for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top freshmen. As of Friday Vancouver was a point back of the second wild card spot through 40 games.Though it’s only the midway point of the 82-game season, Saturday’s game is being given plenty of importance.“As much as we’ve been on a good run lately, so has everybody else Kyle Okposo Jersey ,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving told Postmedia News.“It’s not like we’ve built this big (separation between other teams). Most times when you go on a run, you build a significant cushion. We are just trying to keep our heads above everybody right now. There’s lots of runway left in the season, lots of good hockey teams that we’re playing.” The Canucks likewise aren’t celebrating their early season success.“From Day 1, we’ve talked about how we want to play,”head coach Travis Green told reporters in Edmonton. “We want to be faster and harder to play against, and we wanted to play meaningful games down the stretch. “We’re not getting ahead of ourselves – we’re at .500 right now and we have a long way to go.”
Andreas Athanasiou got the Detroit Red Wings‘ offense going http://www.officialcanadiensprostore.com/authentic-adidas-phillip-danault-jersey , and Jimmy Howard backed it up.Athanasiou scored twice, including a penalty shot, and Jimmy Howard made 40 saves in his 500th game to lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.Frans Nielsen scored to break a 2-2 tie late in the second period.“(Athanasiou) doing what he does best in the first period, Frans burying one in the second, that’s all we needed tonight,” Howard said. “It was nice.”Howard joined Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk and Chris Osgood as the only goalies to play 500 games with the Red Wings.“I think one of the biggest things is he’s never satisfied. He’s always looking to get even better,” Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said about the 34-year-old Howard. “I don’t know if I’ve seen him play better than he has this season to be honest with you. It’s pretty impressive.”Brady Tkachuk and Matt Duchene scored for Ottawa, and Anders Nilsson stopped 26 shots.“We gave Athanasiou two breaks. So we know you’ve got to two-man that guy. You can’t expect on your own to be able to catch up to him,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said.“We got beat there 1-on-1. There’s no defensive mistake there. It’s just 1-on-1, one’s faster than the other. And then the other one, we left the middle open there a little too long Womens Craig Smith Jersey , and he took advantage of it, and he got a penalty shot.”Nielsen got the winner with 3:00 left in the second period. He got his ninth goal, from the bottom of the left circle, by converting a pass from Darren Helm after a turnover by Senators defenseman Dylan DeMelo.Duchene had tied it at 2 with 6:21 left in the second. He skated around Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson and beat Howard for his 26th goal.The Red Wings led 2-1 after the first period.Athanasiou scored his first goal with 9:16 left in the first. He cut in off left wing, skated across the crease and beat Nilsson with a backhand shot.Tkachuk tied it with 3:36 remaining in the opening period when he put in a loose puck from in front. It was Tkachuk’s 13th goal.Athanasiou restored Detroit’s lead when he scored on a penalty shot with 2:18 left in the first. Ottawa defenseman Christian Jaros impeded Athanasiou on a breakaway attempt. It was Athanasiou’s career-high 20th goal and third in two games.NOTES: The Red Wings sent rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski to AHL Grand Rapids after the game. Cholowski had seven goals and 16 points and was minus-20 in 52 games. He was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game on Thursday. … Ottawa was without G Craig Anderson (eye) and D Mark Borowiecki (lower-body injury). … The Red Wings lead the NHL with four penalty shot attempts this season. They’ve been successful on two (both by Athanasiou), which ties the Vancouver Canucks for the league lead.UP NEXTSenators: At Winnipeg on Saturday night.Red Wings: At Philadelphia on Saturday night. DENVER (AP) — Don’t be fooled: That third-period lead isn’t so safe.Not this season, anyway. There’s been quite a comeback for the comeback.The NHL has seen 110 third-period comeback wins spanning 611 games through New Year’s Eve. That’s third-most in league history and not far off the 114 rallies in 2014-15 and 113 in ’13-14, according to research by the NHL stats and information department.Going into the new year, the only teams without a third-period comeback for a win in regulation were Carolina (0-13-2 when trailing after two) and Los Angeles (0-17-1). And the only team not to lose with a final-period lead remains Toronto, which is 19-0-0.Translation: Don’t leave early, because anything can and often does happen in the final period.“Fans are getting what they want Filip Forsberg Jersey ,” joked Montreal forward Tomas Tatar said. “It’s got to be pretty intense for them.”These days and in this speedy version of the game, no lead seems out of reach. Take Tampa Bay on Saturday: Down a goal in the third against Montreal, Adam Erne tied it up and then scored the game-winner with 1:02 remaining.“There’s no more of sitting back and closing and trying to suffocate the other team,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said when his team was in Denver on Dec. 19. “It’s a skating game now. With the skating game that’s being allowed right now, there’s more offense being showcased.”Try sitting on the puck to protect a lead with the likes of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov or Nathan MacKinnon attempting to swipe it away.Good luck with that.“The league is just getting faster and faster, young guys are coming through the league and they’re really, really good skaters,” Tatar said. “It’s just a fast game. It’s faster than ever.”Not only that, but these youngsters don’t view things as erasing a deficit so much as an opportunity to crank up the intensity.“Everybody is good throughout the lineup Juuse Saros Jersey ,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “That makes it that much harder to put teams away. It goes to show how many good players there are in the league and how many game-changers there are, that can turn things around.”And no slashing. Or holding. Or hooking. Defensemen need to be on their best behavior.“Defensively speaking, when you can’t clutch and you can’t grab — it’s been that way for 10 years now — that really opens up the ice and allows guys to score,” Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole said. “The guys are as skilled as they’ve ever been. Every year, they’re more skilled and scoring more and more ridiculous highlight-reel goals. Guys are shooting from the goal-line and it’s going off the side of the goalie’s mask and in. Guys are doing stuff now that they haven’t done before — or doing it more often.“The skill level is as high as it’s ever been in the league.”Hence, the volume of comebacks. This also helps when down: A positive attitude.“You always have to believe. You can’t give up,” Tatar said. “And you don’t have to. There’s a big chance you score one or two goals and you’re back in the game.”That was the case on Dec. 15 for Dallas, which fell behind the Avs 3-0 after one period and 4-2 after two. The Stars tied it up late in the final period before Colorado scored twice to earn the win.Nothing is easy.“I don’t feel comfortable with any lead until the buzzer sounds,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s a tribute to the talent around the league. When teams start feeling it, they start coming at you in waves, and it’s tough to defend.”That’s why the best defense is sometimes to remain on the offensive. Don’t sit back — keep striking.“We’re trying to stay aggressive Kyle Turris Jersey ,” Landeskog said. “The O-zone is the best place to play defense. At least, that’s the way we think about it. That’s easier said than done. The team that’s behind is always going to push.”THREE AMIGOSMikko Rantanen (17 goals, 45 assists) and MacKinnon (24 goals, 35 assists) get the lion’s share of the credit on the high-scoring top line for Colorado.Chalk up another assist for Rantanen, though, because he wanted to make sure Landeskog received full credit, too. Landeskog’s tied for the team lead with 24 goals.“He flies under the radar,” Rantanen said. “The way he plays the game is the right way always. That’s real fun to watch.”WINTER CLASSICThe 2020 Winter Classic will be held at the Cotton Bowl in Texas. Dallas will host the 12th edition of the NHL’s annual outdoor game on New Year’s Day against an opponent yet to be determined. Commissioner Gary Bettman also said the Heritage Classic will return on Oct. 26 when Winnipeg plays Calgary at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. In addition, the NHL will bring an outdoor game to the Air Force Academy on Feb. 15, 2020 Youth Matt Irwin Jersey , as part of the Stadium Series. Colorado will play a team not yet announced.LEADERS (through Monday)Points: Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), 65; Goals: Alex Ovechkin (Washington), 29; Assists: Kucherov, 46; Game-winning goals: Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado), 7; Rookie goals: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver), 19; Goals-against average: Robin Lehner (New York Islanders), 2.14; Shutouts: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas), 5; Wins: Fleury, 22; Save percentage: Lehner, .930.GAME OF THE WEEKJohn Tavares leads Toronto against Minnesota on Thursday. Tavares is two goals shy of 300 for his career. He was the first overall pick by the New York Islanders in 2009.
MONTREAL (AP) in the dying minutes crushed Montreal’s comeback hopes.With Drouin in the box for high-sticking http://www.officialblackhawksproshop.com/authentic-adidas-artem-anisimov-jersey , Boston’s John Moore scored a power-play goal to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Canadiens on Saturday night in a hard-hitting and penalty-filled affair.“You can’t take a penalty at that time of the game,” coach Claude Julien said. “If he (Drouin) said that it’s on him, well he’s right. You have to be disciplined. We can’t do those things if we want to win hockey games. “Montreal has lost four games in a row for the first time this season.With less than six minutes remaining in a 2-2 contest, Drouin cross-checked David Backes in the face, cutting the Bruins winger below the bottom lip. The incident happened away from the run of play just minutes after the Canadiens came back from two goals down to equalize.“He was coming at me,” Drouin said about Backes. “I didn’t mean to hit him in the face.”Moore scored his first goal of the season on the four-minute power play, at 17:03 of the third, and the Bruins held on for their third win in four games.“A four-minute power play with five minutes left in a tie game is certainly a good thing to have Brandon Saad Jersey ,” said Backes, who also scored and added an assist. “We made good on it. Kudos to the guys in here for staying with it. I don’t mind bleeding. Bleeding’s better than concussions to me. If that’s what it takes to win, I’ll take blood.”Jake DeBrusk also scored, Tuukka Rask made 32 saves, and David Krejci had two assists.Drouin and Tomas Tatar scored in the third period for Montreal, and Carey Price stopped 32 shots. The Canadiens have lost four straight.Boston finished 1 for 6 with the man advantage, while Montreal was 1 for 5. Both teams combined for 30 penalty minutes.It was the second game of a back-to-back series for both teams. Boston beat Pittsburgh 2-1 in overtime on Friday, while Montreal lost 3-2 in overtime in Buffalo.The Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 13:01 of the first period when Backes swiped the puck from Jesperi Kotkaniemi at the Montreal blue line before beating Price glove side for his first goal of the season.With the teams playing 4-on-4 Brent Seabrook Jersey Kids , DeBrusk doubled Boston’s lead at 14:42 when he got behind defenseman Brett Kulak and tapped in a beautiful pass from Torey Krug.Drouin got one back for the home team at 6:46 for his ninth of the season. Drouin beat Krug with speed in the Boston zone before squeezing a shot between Rask’s pads.Tatar got the equalizer for Montreal on the power play at 10:09 of the third. With David Pastrnak in the box for slashing, Tatar took a pass from Andrew Shaw from behind the net and roofed a one-timer past Rask.NOTES: The Bruins were without the injured Zdeno Chara (knee) and Patrice Bergeron (rib). … It was the second of four meetings between the Canadiens and Bruins this season.UP NEXTBruins: At Toronto on Monday night.Canadiens: Host Carolina on Tuesday night. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The final score was much more important to Tyler Johnson than his fourth career hat trick.Johnson had three goals, Yanni Gourde scored on a power play to put Tampa Bay ahead and the Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Tuesday night.“I don’t think too much about hat tricks. I’m more excited we won,” Johnson said.Johnson scored in all three periods, completing his hat trick on an empty-netter with 1:56 remaining.“When he’s skating, it’s really game-changing for him,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Boy Youth Corey Crawford Jersey , that kid was flying tonight.”Johnson also had a three-goal game against the Hurricanes last January.After Carolina defenseman Calvin de Haan fanned on a clearing attempt, Gourde made it 3-2 on a pass from Ondrej Palat at 7:02 of the third.Lightning backup Louis Domingue stopped 38 shots in his first start of the season. He made strong saves on Sebastian Aho and Micheal Ferland soon after Gourde’s goal.Ferland and Martin Necas had goals, and Petr Mrazek turned aside 23 shots for the Hurricanes.After starting 4-0-1, Carolina has lost consecutive games by two goals to Stanley Cup contenders Winnipeg and Tampa Bay.“We know that we can play with them,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “The difference is we have little, little margin. So, when you self-destruct on certain things, that’s going to come back to bite you against these great teams. That’s what the lesson is.”Aho picked up an assist to extend his season-opening point streak to seven games (eight assists Duncan Keith Jersey , 12 points), which is tied for third-longest in the history of the Carolina/Hartford franchise. Only Victor Rask (eight games, 2016-17) and Ron Francis (11 games, 1984-85) had longer runs.Tampa Bay is 17-2-2 against Carolina since the start of the 2012-13 season.Johnson picked up Tampa Bay’s second short-handed goal this season 12:42 into the game and put the Lightning up 2-1 at 6:07 of the second. The forward, who snapped a 10-game regular-season goal drought, has 11 goals and 19 points in 18 games against Carolina.Necas tied it 2-all with 7:12 left in the second on his first NHL goal, a one-timer from the left circle.Aho stole Victor Hedman’s clearing attempt and helped set up Ferland’s game-opening goal 10:25 into the first.The Lightning converted their only power play, while Carolina went 0 for 4. Tampa Bay is the only NHL team not to allow a power-play goal (18 for 18) this season.The Hurricanes are 2 for 25 with the man advantage overall http://www.officialblackhawksproshop.com/authentic-adidas-gustav-forsling-jersey , and have allowed eight goals on 22 short-handed situations.“As long as we don’t let the negative part of our special teams drift into our overall game, then we’re going to be all right,” Brind’Amour said.Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton had a game-high seven shots on goal. The line of Aho (four), Ferland (five) and Teuvo Teravainen (four) combined for 13.Tampa Bay star Steven Stamkos has gone 16 regular-season games without a goal, dating to last season. He had one shot in 16 minutes of play.NOTES: Domingue tweaked his neck playing basketball during a pregame workout but was cleared to play. . Carolina LW Brock McGinn was cut on the face early in the second on the follow-through of Stamkos’ shot attempt. … Mrazek was briefly shaken up in the second after being struck accidentally by Lightning RW Nikita Kucherov’s stick behind the net. … Mathieu Joseph got his first NHL point by assisting on Johnson’s short-handed goal.UP NEXTHurricanes: Host Colorado on Saturday night.Lightning: Wrap up a season-opening five-game homestand Thursday night against winless Detroit (0-4-2).
the final minutes of another empty season doing what boorish fans do with elimination on deck. They chucked beer cans and threw trash and hats and whatever objects were within reach onto the ice. Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan admonished fans – just as he had two years earlier when giveaway bracelets were hurled on the ice – but there was little anyone could do to stop them.This is how the season ends in Philly http://www.officiallightningprostore.com/authentic-adidas-mikhail-sergachev-jersey , not with a Stanley Cup hoisted in a championship celebration, but with a call for the cleaning crew to pick up the mess.The Eagles, Phillies and 76ers have all won championships – along with Villanova, the Arena Football League’s Soul, and Philly horse Smarty Jones – since the Flyers last won back-to-back Cups in 1974 and 1975.The only banners raised to the rafters are for retired numbers or a Hall of Fame entry.So it goes for the orange-and-black, trudging along without a Process or parade.The Flyers’ season ended with an 8-5 loss in Game 6 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Flyers haven’t reached the second round since 2012 and haven’t played in the Cup finals since 2010. Under third-year coach Dave Hakstol, this season’s berth was considered a mild surprise, especially when the team lost 10 straight games in November/December and all seemed lost.”We came into this playoff series and into (Game 6) very confident that we could not only take this series to a seven-game series, but also win the series,” Hakstol said. ”We didn’t do that so we came up short. There’s one season that ultimately is successful, and obviously we didn’t accomplish that this year. There are a lot of real positives that we’re going to be able to go back and evaluate.”The Flyers clearly aren’t in the class of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins. The Flyers and Penguins are often touted as one of the NHL’s fiercest rivalries. The truth is, the Flyers are nothing to the Penguins but a pesky gnat easily swatted away and quickly forgotten.There’s talent in Philly. But enough to win a championship? That’s for general manager Ron Hextall to assemble in the offseason and the years ahead.Here are more things to know as the Flyers head into a long offseason:HAKSTOL’S FUTUREHakstol, a shocking pick to coach the Flyers out of the college ranks Nikita Kucherov Jersey , has led the Flyers to two playoff berths in three seasons but not much else. Angry Flyers fans chanted ”Fire Hakstol! Fire Hakstol!” in the playoffs and he’s aware the fans at least want him on the hot seat. But Hakstol and Hextall are tight – Hextall’s son, Brett, played for Hakstol at North Dakota. And there’s little reason to think the GM is going to acknowledge his biggest gamble was also his biggest bust of a move. Hakstol had a reputation from developing young players and there are enough on the roster to merit at least one more season.”It took a lot of young guys growing throughout the year to be able to put together the stretch run that we did have,” he said. ”At the end of the day, we didn’t come into this playoff series to make steps though. We came in to win the series.”SUMMER SHAKEUPThe Flyers may have gone as far as they can with the core of Claude Giroux, who was a Hart Trophy candidate, Wayne Simmonds and Jake Voracek. Simmonds, a former All-Star, could be on the market if the Flyers are committed to a true youth movement.Giroux is the last player left from the `10 finals team and had just one goal and two assists in the playoffs.”We’re gonna keep building here and we’re going to come off strong next year,” Giroux said.The Flyers could look to Nolan Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 draft, to play a more pivotal role next season.WHO’S NO. 1Look no further than Philadelphia’s usual unsettled goaltending to understand why the franchise has gone 42 years without a championship. The Flyers signed former Calgary goalie Brian Elliott to a $5.5 million, two-year deal and he was a bust in the playoffs. Michal Neuvirth and mid-season pickup Petr Mrazek weren’t true No. 1s Ondrej Palat Jersey , either.The 28 goals scored by the Penguins set a new Flyers franchise record for goals against in a six-game series. It tied the franchise record for goals against in any length of series, joining the 1979 New York Rangers team that scored 28 in a five-game series win.Who’s next in net?—– RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Cam Atkinson anchored a top line that caused the Carolina Hurricanes fits Saturday night as the Columbus Blue Jackets won 4-1 for their fifth victory in six games.Atkinson scored three goals and assisted on another, and fellow winger Artemi Panarin assisted on all of Atkinson’s goals. Columbus center Pierre-Luc Dubois added two assists as Atkinson stretched his goal-scoring streak to six games.“For all we talk about our balanced scoring, it’s nice to have that one line that can do what they did tonight and really take a game over,” said Blue Jackets assistant coach Brad Shaw, who spoke to the media after the game because head coach John Tortorella was ill.The Blue Jackets (12-6-2) broke a six-game skid against Metropolitan Division rival Carolina (8-8-3). Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots to earn the win.Sebastian Aho scored his sixth goal of the season 6:05 into the second period for the Hurricanes, cutting their deficit to 2-1 with a wraparound that slid just inside the far post. Just 1:17 later, Atkinson backhanded a pass to Zach Werenski in the slot for a wrister that beat Scott Darling on the glove side.“It wasn’t the goalie’s fault,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We were giving point-blank shots up and you can’t do that in this league.”Atkinson completed his fifth career hat trick 3:58 later on a power play with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle to the left of Darling, increasing Columbus’ lead to 4-1. Atkinson has six of his team-high 12 goals in the last four games.“He’s an easy guy to put on the ice right now,” Shaw said. “He’s not just scoring, he’s a big part of our penalty kill as well.”Panarin leads the Blue Jackets with 16 assists and 21 points. Atkinson has 20 points Ryan Callahan Jersey , and Dubois is next with 17 for Columbus, which played penalty-free hockey for the first 34 minutes.Bobrovsky preserved the three-goal lead by stopping Jordan Martinook on a breakaway while Carolina was short-handed early in the third period. Later, Dougie Hamilton clanged a shot off the far post behind Bobrovsky.“When you think of his best five or six saves, they were all 10-bell saves,” Shaw said, “and they all either keep us in the game or keep them frustrated and let us feel good about what we’re doing out there. He can make a huge impact in games, and he’s certainly done that for us lately.”Brind’Amour said he hadn’t been upset with his team’s effort all season, but he wasn’t happy Saturday. Carolina had three days off before this game.“It came down to us playing a good team and they won all the puck battles,” he said. “They were first to everything and they played like a first-place team and we didn’t have the desperation that we needed to, and that was frustrating.”The Hurricanes are 2-5-2 in their last nine games. Columbus’ only loss in the past 13 days came in a shootout against the New York Rangers last Saturday.The Blue Jackets killed off all three Carolina power plays, including two late in the second period after Columbus was called for delay of game and too many men on the ice.NOTES: Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno was scratched because of a personal matter. … Columbus has scored at least four goals in three of its last four games. … Aho extended his point streak to four games. … This was the third game of a six-game homestand for Carolina.UP NEXTBlue Jackets: At Toronto on Monday night.Hurricanes: Host New Jersey on Sunday.
COLUMBUS San Jose Sharks Hats Authentic , Ohio (AP) — has been going through a rough patch, but his performance against the Dallas Stars should go a long way toward pushing his confidence level back up.Bobrovsky, a former Vezina Trophy winner in the last year of his contract with Columbus, was 3-6 this season and had been competing with backup Joonas Korpisalo for playing time as the inconsistent Blue Jackets struggled early.The 30-year-old Russian turned in one of his best games this season, stopping 27 shots to help Columbus end a two-game skid by beating the Stars 4-1 on Tuesday night. He capped it by withstanding a 6-on-5 surge after Dallas pulled its goalie late in the game.“He was really good tonight,” said Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who has been critical of Bobrovsky at times this year. “They had some point-blank chances on some of our breakdowns, and he looked in control.”The Stars finished a 3-2-1 trip. They looked a step behind Columbus at times after losing in overtime at Boston on Monday night.“A lot of good things on this road trip from our team, but tonight we just didn’t have it,” Dallas center Tyler Seguin said. “They were winning a lot of the battles.”Anthony Duclair, Markus Nutivaara Custom San Jose Sharks Jerseys , Nick Foligno and Ryan Murray scored for the Blue Jackets.“We took advantage of a team that went to overtime last night and was probably a little tired, but we knew we had to jump on them,” Foligno said. “They’re a skilled team. If you don’t jump on them and they get going they can make you pay. We knew we had to be physical. We knew we had to do the little things.”Ben Bishop stopped 30 shots, and Jamie Benn scored for Dallas.Duclair used a screen by teammate Boone Jenner to beat Bishop with a shot from the left circle with a minute left in the opening period, giving Columbus its first power-play goal in six games going back to Oct. 25.“It’s something we all know we’re capable of doing,” Foligno said. “It’s funny how your mind can play tricks with you. It’s nice to see guys rewarded in what’s been a tough area for us. It needs to be a big part of our success.” Nutivaara made it 2-0 with his second goal of the season in the middle of the second period, a one-timer from the right circle off a slick cross-ice pass from Artemi Panarin. Foligno rocketed a one-timer over the 6-foot-7 Bishop’s shoulder from the left dot late in the second to give the Blue Jackets a two-goal lead.Dallas scored on a power-play early in the third, with Benn getting his team-leading seventh goal of the season.Murray finished it with an empty-net goal with about two minutes left.“They did a great job in front of me,” Bobrovsky said. “It was a good team win.”NOTES: Columbus has beaten Dallas six straight times. … D Dean Kukan replaced Scott Harrington in the Columbus lineup. F Lukas Sedlak replaced Oliver Bjorkstrand. … Dallas forward Brett Ritchie missed his second straight game due to an illness. D Marc Methot missed his third game with a lower-body injury. F Alexander Radulov missed his fourth game with a lower-body injury. … Jenner has three assists in the past three games. … Bobrovsky is 11-1-1 against Dallas in his career.UP NEXTDallas: Hosts San Jose on Thursday night.Columbus: At Washington on Friday night. Boston Bruins (44-20-9, second in the Atlantic Division) vs. New Jersey Devils (27-38-9, eighth in the Metropolitan Division)Newark www.officialblues.com , New Jersey; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Brad Marchand leads Boston into a matchup with New Jersey. He’s 10th in the NHL with 87 points, scoring 31 goals and recording 56 assists.The Devils have gone 17-13-6 in home games. New Jersey leads the Eastern Conference with 10 shorthanded goals, led by Blake Coleman with three.The Bruins are 25-15-4 in Eastern Conference play. Boston averages 9.7 penalty minutes per game, the second-most in the Eastern Conference. Marchand leads the team serving 92 total minutes. In their last meeting on March 2, Boston won 1-0.TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Palmieri leads the Devils with 27 goals, adding 23 assists and totaling 50 points. Damon Severson has recorded 7 points over the last 10 games for New Jersey.LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 7-3-0, averaging 3.2 goals, 4.8 assists, 3.7 penalties and 8.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.Devils: 2-7-1, averaging 1.9 goals St. Louis Blues T-Shirts Authentic , 3.1 assists, 3.6 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with a .895 save percentage.Devils Injuries: Sami Vatanen: out (upper body), Miles Wood: out (ankle), Nico Hischier: day to day (upper body), Jesper Bratt: out (lower body), Mirco Mueller: out (undisclosed).Bruins Injuries: Marcus Johansson: out (upper body), Kevan Miller: out (upper body), Torey Krug: day to day (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk: day to day (arm).
CALGARY Chicago Blackhawks Hoodies Womens , Alberta (AP) — Zac Rinaldo showed he can score, too.Rinaldo scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Friday night.After Noah Hanifin got caught pinching, Rinaldo broke out on a 2-on-1 with Ryan Hartman and hung onto the puck the whole way before beating Flames goalie Mike Smith on his blocker side with a perfect wrist shot into the top corner at 6:31 of the third to give Nashville a 4-3 lead.In career game No. 335 for the 28-year-old, it was only Rinaldo’s 15th goal.“That’s what I live for. That’s what I play for. I play for pride. I play for the team,” Rinaldo said.It was the fourth time Nashville took the lead in a back-and-forth game. This time, they held it.“The bench was pumped up,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. “Just a great, great play. We ended up catching numbers going the other way. He made the right decision Chicago Blackhawks Hats Womens , made a great shot.”Juuse Saros, who stopped all nine shots he faced in relief of Pekka Rinne, said he’s seen that release from Rinaldo before.“I know he has a good shot,” said Saros, who is 3-0-0. “We’ve seen that many times in practice.”Kevin Fiala and Filip Forsberg each had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Johansen and Craig Smith also scored to help Nashville win its fourth straight.Forsberg sealed the win with an empty-netter with 32 seconds left.“We’re feeling good,” Johansen said. “We understand it’s a long season and there’s a big process, but we’re just going to keep the pedal down and keep continuing to get better.”Rinne had 15 saves on 18 shots before leaving with just under 15 minutes left in the third.Elias Lindholm got his team-leading fifth goal for Calgary, and Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett also scored. Smith finished with 25 saves.Nashville took the lead four times with Calgary answering back to tie it three times.Calgary had a great opportunity to tie up it once again at 4-4 when James Neal set up Bennett at the side of the net with a hard pass Adidas Patrik Berglund Jersey , but the puck went wide of the open cage.“I’m going to have some nightmares about that one I missed, but that’s the way it goes,” Bennett said.Down 3-2 entering the third, the Flames pulled even at 2:20 when Derek Ryan wired a perfect feed to Sam Bennett, who was breaking in off the wing and went to his backhand to neatly beat Rinne.While Rinne was stretching to try and stop the puck, Fiala landed on top of the goalie in an awkward-looking collision. Rinne stayed in the game briefly, but came to the bench at 5:09 and after talking with the training staff went to the dressing room.After the game, still wasn’t clear why Rinne departed.“I can’t comment on anything because I don’t know anything yet. But we didn’t pull him. Something was wrong,” Laviolette said.Saros was excellent in relief Adidas Vladimir Sobotka Jersey , getting tested just seconds after he arrived in the crease. Off the ensuing faceoff, he had to jab out his right pad to rob Lindholm to keep the score tied.Trailing 2-1, Calgary tied the score on the power play with 7:09 left in the second as Lindholm’s shot caromed in off Tkachuk’s skate.Fiala put Nashville back ahead with 5:37 to go in the middle period as the Predators converted their first power-play opportunity of the night, courtesy of a double-minor for high-sticking on former teammate James Neal.Nashville struck first, scoring 51 seconds into the game. TJ Brodie lost his stick along the sideboards and in going to retrieve it, allowed a 2-on-1 in front that was converted by Johansen.Calgary went over 16 1/2 minutes between shots in the first, with Lindholm snapping the streak, burying Johnny Gaudreau’s set-up past Rinne with 1:17 left.Smith put the Predators ahead 2-1 at 4:09 of the second.NOTES: The Flames lost at home for the first time after winning their first two games. …Calgary’s Dillon Dube (lower body) returned after missing one game. That made Austin Czarnik a healthy scratch for the first time this season. … Flames F Sean Monahan played in his 400th NHL game.UP NEXTPredators: At Edmonton on Saturday night.Flames: At the New York Rangers on Sunday night. OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — It was a night of firsts for the Washington Capitals on Saturday.Tom Wilson scored Adidas Scott Wedgewood Jersey , Tyler Lewington and Madison Bowey each got their first career goals and the Capitals beat the short-handed Ottawa Senators 3-2.Lewington and Bowey are the first Capitals defensemen to get their first goals in the same game. Lewington also had a Gordie Howe hat trick with an assist and a fight against Zack Smith in his second NHL game.“The first game I was definitely nervous, and this game I was still a little nervous but the guys have been great making me feel comfortable,” Lewington said. “I wasn’t really thinking of (the Gordie Howe hat trick). It just kind of happened, but it’s kind of cool. I’ve only had one other one back in junior. I don’t know if I’ll ever get another one.”The Capitals have won four straight, and the Senators have dropped four in a row. Pheonix Copley made 31 saves for Washington.The Senators were without top defenseman Thomas Chabot and fellow blue-liner Christian Jaros following injuries Friday in a 6-3 loss to the New York Islanders. Jaros broke a finger, and Chabot was placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury following a hit from Islanders forward Matt Murray in the second period. Both players are expected to miss 3 to 4 weeks.The Senators had goaltender Marcus Hogberg making his first NHL appearance. Hogberg made 21 saves, and Colin White and Mark Stone scored for the Senators, who are last in the Eastern Conference.“It was as tough … for him coming in but he gave us a chance, and we had a chance to the very end so he did his job Adidas Carter Hutton Jersey ,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said of Hogberg.Stone scored at 16:30 of the third period, creating a white-knuckle finish.“The boys played really well in front of me and helped me see some pucks and it’s nice to have it done,” said Hogberg, who has split time between the AHL and ECHL the past two seasons.Lewington assisted on the game’s opening goal by Wilson at 7:12 of the first period for the first point of his career and whistled a shot past Hogberg at 16:00 for his first NHL goal.Late in the second period, he got his first fighting major in a bout with Smith.Bowey gave the Capitals a 3-0 lead just 61 seconds into the second period when he skated in from the point and beat Hogberg with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle.“I’m happy it went in, obviously. It’s been a long time and it definitely felt great. It turned out to be a big goal for us and I’m happy we got the two points,” Bowey said. “To see (Lewington) score and get the Gordie Howe hat trick is really special.”The Senators got one back when White was credited with a goal at 4:22 of the second after a Washington challenge for goaltender interference was dismissed.Senators rookie Brady Tkachuk earned an assist on that goal but just 33 seconds later was knocked to the ice by a hit to the head from Bowey. Tkachuk immediately jumped to his feet and received an instigator minor, fighting major and misconduct for going after Bowey. He drew a loud cheer from the home crowd when he left the penalty box three minutes into the third.NOTES: The Capitals have won the past four meetings between the two teams. … Saturday was the second of three meetings between teams this season. The Capitals were 4-0 winners in Ottawa on Dec. 22 and they meet again in Washington on Feb. 26. … The Senators recalled Ds Stefan Elliott and Christian Wolanin from Belleville of the AHL on Saturday.UP NEXTCapitals: Host Nashville on Monday.Senators: Play at Columbus on Monday night.
career taking him to officiating. He didn’t have to look far to see it was possible.As a young Jeff Carter Jersey , black player, all Alphonso had to do was watch ”Hockey Night in Canada” or the Stanley Cup Final and he saw fellow minority Jay Sharrers working as a linesman.”To be able to see someone who kind of looked like me working at the biggest stage of his job, it was unreal,” Alphonso said.The 34-year-old Alphonso is the NHL’s only African-American official, and Calgary Flames assistant Paul Jerrard is the league’s only black coach. With the sport’s expansion to some nontraditional markets across the United States, there are almost two dozen black players in the NHL, but Sharrers, Alphonso and Jerrard serve as inspiration for more to follow into positions of authority.”I think it’s an evolutionary process,” said Sharrers, who recently retired. ”It’s definitely moved slowly, but I think when you just look at the amount of black players that are now in the league and the fact that that has increased, it would stand to reason that hopefully the opportunity for officials would present itself.”Sixty years after Willie O’Ree of the Boston Bruins broke the color barrier as the NHL’s first black player, the league is still taking steps to increase its diversity. Alphonso is an ambassador for the ”Hockey is for Everyone” campaign this month, which is Black History Month.Sharrers acknowledged the expense of playing hockey has been a hurdle for minority children for years, but said he is optimistic that more will not only lace up their skates but move into other roles.”It just stands to reason that that would be a natural progression, that there would more officials of color,” Sharrers said. ”The league has been very proactive since they partnered with Willie and created the diversity taskforce almost 20 years ago to expose and to present to people of color that hockey is a great game and it’s a viable opportunity.”Opportunities have existed for minorities to get into coaching and officiating http://www.kingsproshop.com/authentic-jonathan-quick-jersey , though the majority have ended up as goaltending coaches like former NHL goalie Fred Brathwaite. Jerrard played five games in the NHL and then went into coaching, where he’s a visible role model – even if that’s not a role he was looking for.”I’m just another coach who’s trying to do a good job in the league and stay in the league,” said Jerrard, 52, who has been an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Flames along with several American Hockey League teams. ”I guess I am now in a little bit of a position of a role model, but my drive to be a role model isn’t due to the color of my skin. It’s just the way I wanted carry myself as a human being, the way I want to be looked at: doing the right thing and working hard.”Jerrard hopes kids seeing minorities on the ice playing or officiating or behind the bench coaching shows that ”if they’re skilled, driven and passionate, there’s an opportunity for them.”That’s what happened for Alphonso, who knew he wasn’t going to make it to the NHL as a player and wanted to stay in the game. He thought to himself, ”If Jay Sharrers can do it, I could do it” and followed him up the ranks.Now Alphonso is the one kids can look up to, and Sharrers – who became the NHL’s first black referee in 2001 – believes his younger counterpart can have an even bigger impact.”Being that his skin is a lot darker than mine and I’m very light-skinned, it wouldn’t register necessarily with someone unless they knew my background to know that I was a person of color,” Sharrers said. ”I think for him having both parents being black and being much more of a visible minority, if you will Nate Thompson Jersey , I think that’s definitely a role that he will now assume.”Alphonso welcomes that position and would love to one day meet a fellow official he inspired to go that route.”It’s huge for younger kids to see there are way more things to hockey than just being a hockey player,” Alphonso said. ”That’s hopefully what we can inspire these kids to do and get them more involved with the game down the road.”— The Buffalo Sabres won more than a game Saturday night.They won their fans back, for now.When they lost their season opener 4-0 at home to the Boston Bruins Thursday, the Sabres were booed.Article continues below ...The Sabres heard cheers Saturday when they defeated the New York Rangers 3-1 at KeyBank Center as Conor Sheary scored twice and Carter Hutton made 43 saves.The Sabres (1-1-0) will face a more difficult opponent Monday afternoon when they face the Vegas Gold Knights (1-1-0), the Stanley Cup finalists last season who came back Saturday to defeat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in a shootout.Hutton said he is looking forward to the challenge presented by the Golden Knights, who added former Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty and former St. Louis Blues center Paul Stastny during the offseason.“They transition really fast, turn pucks over on you and come at you,” said Hutton, who played for the Blues the past two seasons. “Stastny is like a Swiss army knife. He can do it all. He’s a great pro, good friend of mine. It will be fun to play against him, funny to see him in a Vegas jersey.”Hutton, who signed with the Sabres as a free agent, has a goals-against average of 2.09 in his first two games, the same as he had in 32 games last season for St. Louis.“It’s really something else what he did (Saturday) night,” Sabres defenseman Casey Nelson said at practice on Sunday. “He won us a game for sure. That’s what we needed. It was awesome to see him have a big game for us.”Hutton earned a standing ovation when he stopped a three-on-none break by the Rangers in the second period on Saturday.“It gives your team a boost of energy and confidence knowing you have a guy who can make a save when you really need it,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “He’s a very good veteran. Says the right things in the room and is a very likable guy but at the time he says what’s on his chest. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran or rookie, he’s going to leave it out there. I think that guys respect that.”The Sabres had lost six straight home games dating to last season before Saturday.The Golden Knights also had an uplifting victory on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Authentic Oscar Fantenberg Jersey , Minn.Pacioretty tied the game with 1:31 remaining in the third period with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury removed for an extra attacker. Erik Haula then scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Knights the win to open their season-long five-game road trip.“Sometimes results don’t happen there, but they were playing well, and they kept pushing it and pushing it, and it paid off,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “The hockey gods came through late in the game when we played really good. The guys stuck with it. They played hard, and they played our game.”“We really liked our game,” said Pacioretty, who was acquired in a trade with Montreal last month. “We liked our close support, we liked how we were fast on pucks. We were creating turnovers and getting chances, hit some posts, missed some open chances. We knew eventually it would come. That’s just the way it works.”The Golden Knights had lost their season opener 5-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers at home and Fleury lasted just 30:11, allowing five goals on 16 shots, but his defense deserted him.Vegas made up for that Saturday, holding a 42-30 advantage in shots on goal.Center Johan Larsson (lower-body injury) practiced Sunday with the Sabres but Housley said it has not been determined if he will play Monday. He was injured Sept. 26.
UNIONDALE Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey , N.Y. (AP) — at 1:48 of overtime to lift the New York Islanders past the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 Thursday night for their fifth straight win.Mathew Barzal scored twice to keep up his scoring binge and help the Islanders win for the eighth time in nine games. Robin Lehner, making his third straight start, stopped 19 shots as New York moved to 3-0-1 in four games at the Nassau Coliseum this season.Toews, playing in the fifth game of his career, got the winner when he knocked in the rebound of his own shot that Collin Delia stopped, with the puck coming to him at the right side.Patrick Kane and Dominik Kahun and scored for Chicago, which lost for the third time in their last five. Delia, making his third start of the season and sixth of his career, finished with a career-high 47 saves.Kane tied the score with on a one-timer that he didn’t hit cleanly and the puck fluttered off the post and in past Lehner for his 23rd at 5:01 of the third.Barzal put New York ahead with a power-play goal late in the second, putting in the rebound of Nick Leddy’s shot in front for his 12th with 1:04 left. After extending his point streak to six games with his first goal, Barzal — selected for his first All-Star appearance a day earlier — now has eight goals and 11 points in that stretch.Cal Clutterbuck nearly gave the Islanders the lead earlier with about 6:20 left in the period as he batted the puck out of the air from the right side. The officials conferred on the ice and initially ruled it a good goal. However, it was overturned after a video review because Clutterbuck’s stick was above the height of the crossbar when it hit the puck.The teams were tied 1-1 after one period, though the Islanders controlled play for most of the first 20 minutes, outshooting the Blackhawks 14-3.Kahun got Chicago on the scoreboard first. Duncan Keith fired a long shot from the left point and Brandon Saad’s deflection in front was stopped by Leher, However, Kahun backhanded the rebound from the right side for his sixth at 3:05.Barzal tied the score at 6:47 with his 11th. Johnny Boychuk’s shot from the right point deflected up off Anthony Beauvillier in front, and Barzal batted it out of the air from the left side into the top left corner. It extended his point streak to six games.NOTES: The attendance was announced as 13,454 Nate Schmidt Jersey , marking the first time it wasn’t a sellout in the four games the Islanders have played at the Nassau Coliseum this season. … Barzal has nine goals and 17 points in his last 12 games. … Lehner has given up just three goals on 107 shots over his last four games since replacing Thomas Greiss in the second period of the Islanders’ 6-3 comeback win against Ottawa last Friday night. … The Islanders went 1 for 2 on the power play after coming in 2 for 13 with the man advantage their previous six games. … The teams conclude their season series Jan. 22 at Chicago. … Kahun scored for the second straight game and has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last six games. … Chicago, last in the NHL on the penalty-kill at 73.6 percent coming in, has allowed five power-play goals on 16 chances the last five games.UP NEXTBlackhawks: At Pittsburgh on Sunday to complete a two-game trip.Islanders: At St. Louis on Saturday night. LAS VEGAS (AP) Two days after opening the second round with their worst game of the playoffs, the San Jose Sharks responded with a gritty performance.Logan Couture’s second goal of the game, on the power play at 5:13 of the second overtime, lifted the Sharks to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night, tying their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.Moments after Vegas’ Jon Merrill was called for hooking, Couture found the back of the net to give the Sharks their first win inside T Mobile Arena this season.”I thought we were better everywhere,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. ”We were tighter, our team game was better, we were better in every situation, and I knew we would be.”San Jose rallied from two goals down in the second period to take the lead, before Vegas tied it in the third.”We were down by two, but our game was good,” DeBoer said. ”Like I said going in, as long as our game is good – even if we lost tonight – I think we’ve always taken the approach that if we play our game, at the end of the day good things happen. We stuck with it and even when they scored the second goal I really liked how we were playing.”Vegas lost for the first time in the playoffs after winning their first five games by a 14-3 margin http://www.officialknightsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-oscar-dansk-jersey , including a 7-0 victory in Game 1.The Golden Knights thought they won this one in the first overtime when Jonathan Marchessault’s backhand sailed past Martin Jones with 3:02 left, but officials ruled there was goaltender interference when Marchessault ran into Jones’ blocker and spun him around before his shot.Per the NHL: ”After reviewing all available replays and consulting with the Referee, the Situation Room determined that contact between Vegas’ Jonathan Marchessault and Jones prevented him from his job, in accordance with Rule 78.7.”Brent Burns also scored two goals and Jones stopped 26 shots for San Jose, which was playing without suspended forward Evander Kane.”We fixed some things and it was a better team game,” Burns said. ”It’s just one game, obviously we had to win it, but it’s one game.”William Karlsson scored twice for Vegas, while Nate Schmidt got his first of the postseason to tie the score at 3-3 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 43 saves.Game 3 is Monday night at San Jose.”We competed harder all over the ice,” Couture said. ”We were harder on pucks, we won more battles. I think when you’re creating offensive chances and you’re forcing other teams to play defensive hockey, that’s when penalties happen. They get tired and you wear them down.”Unlike the first game of this series, which saw the Golden Knights become the third NHL franchise to score at least seven goals in a playoff game during its inaugural season, Game 2 was much more physical, something that seemingly took Vegas out of its rhythm in the second period.In Game 1, Vegas blocked 26 shots, to the Sharks’ 13, but San Jose held a 36-26 edge in Game 2. And after being whistled for 10 penalties in first series-opener Authentic Oscar Lindberg Jersey , as opposed to Vegas’ five, the Golden Knights found themselves in the box more than San Jose, 11-6.”I wasn’t too happy with a lot of it to be honest with you,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. ”I think we had one penalty and they had seven, so I wasn’t too happy. They better be ready (for Game 3) because we didn’t show up for 45 minutes tonight. … We played a great game the other night and competed and battled. Tonight, whether we thought it was going to be easy or what we thought I don’t know, but we didn’t show up to play our game.”The Golden Knights got on the board late in the first period when Karlsson took a rebound off the end boards and found the back of the net from a tight angle. He notched his second goal when he took advantage of a turnover and beat Jones from the circle to put Vegas up 2-0 just 26 seconds into the second.Burns brought an end to the Sharks’ 82-minute scoring drought when he picked up the puck off the draw and blasted a slap shot from the point to cut Vegas’ lead in half.Couture tied the game at 2 with a goal that conceivably could have been avoided. After blocking a shot by Dylan Demelo, Fleury pushed the puck to Deryk Engelland behind the net, rather than covering it up. Tomas Hertl got ahold of it and fed Couture, who one-timed in with just under nine minutes left in the second.Three minutes later, Burns gave San Jose a 3-2 lead after he snagged the puck off a faceoff, circled the back of the net and tucked it in on a wraparound.NOTES: Burns’ second-period goal ended Fleury’s scoreless streak of 143:51, dating back to Game 3 of the opening round versus Los Angeles. … Vegas surpassed its season-high 13 penalties in minutes with 22 PIM. … The 18,671 in attendance was a new team record at T Mobile Arena. … Kane was suspended Friday because of a cross-check to the head of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in Game 1. … It was the second straight series the Golden Knights went into double overtime in Game 2, with their opponent missing a key player due to suspension. Los Angeles was missing Drew Doughty in the opening round.
LOS ANGELES (AP) big goals in pressure-packed playoff hockey games since way before the Vegas Golden Knights were even a gleam in owner Bill Foley’s eye.When this most remarkable expansion team needed a third-period goal to accomplish another incredible feat Robin Lehner Jersey Womens , their dependable veteran forward skated in on Jonathan Quick and got it with a flick of his wrist.Neal scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:37 to play, and the Golden Knights rallied from a late deficit to move to the brink of their first playoff series victory with a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night.Cody Eakin tied it with 13:50 left, and William Karlsson scored the eventual game-winner 21 seconds after Neal’s goal in a third-period flurry for the Golden Knights, whose storybook debut season just keeps getting more exciting and more outlandish.”Emotions were running high, and it’s physical out there,” Neal said in a voice that confirms he has seen this scenario before, even if his team hasn’t. ”It’s tough. But a lot of guys on our team have been in those situations before and won in them before.”Vegas has a 3-0 series lead and will go for a sweep in Game 4 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.After opening their first postseason series with two home wins in front of their frenzied home crowd, the hockey upstarts from the desert coolly won their first road playoff game in front of an angry sellout crowd at Staples Center, where two recent Stanley Cup banners hang above the ice.It’s nothing that scares Neal, who had 80 games of playoff experience with Pittsburgh and Nashville before joining Vegas in the expansion draft. With a second straight overtime game looking likely, Neal took a pass from Nate Schmidt http://www.officialdevils.com/authentic-adidas-cory-schneider-jersey , coolly skated around Kings defenseman Oscar Fantenberg and put a shot between Quick’s legs.Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves for the Golden Knights, who became the first team to take a 3-0 series lead in this postseason.Quick stopped 23 shots, but the Golden Knights’ three-goal flurry doubled their goal total against the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner from the first 201 minutes of play in this series.The Knights make the improbable look easy, but only because of a balanced, hard-working lineup.”We finally pushed them back far enough to where our guys could make plays,” Schmidt said. ”That’s what happened in Vegas, and we did it here. We finally pushed them back to where our forwards could do some things.”Captain Anze Kopitar had a late goal and an assist, while Alex Iafallo scored his first career playoff goal in the first period. The Kings still haven’t won a playoff game at Staples Center since they last raised the Stanley Cup in June 2014.”I thought we made a good push here tonight, created a lot more zone time and made Fleury work a little harder than he had to this point in the series,” Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. ”But (we) had some critical errors at critical times along the wall (that) ended up costing us.”Vegas’ offensive burst broke open a third straight game of tense, defense-dominated playoff hockey between a franchise that won two Cups with that attitude and another that didn’t exist a year ago.The Kings were reeling from Neal’s goal when Karlsson converted Reilly Smith’s pass from the corner with a one-timer. Vegas needed it: Kopitar added a tipped goal with 2:04 to play Jesper Bratt Jersey Kids , but the Kings couldn’t get the equalizer.While the Kings are down, they know they’re not out: They rallied from an 0-3 series deficit in the first round in 2014 against San Jose.”Oh yeah, we trust in ourselves, and it’s been done before,” said Iafallo, whose goal gave Los Angeles its first lead of the series. ”We look at each other, look across the room, and we trust each other. We can definitely do it.”Drew Doughty played more than 27 1/2 minutes in the star defenseman’s return to the Kings’ blue line following a one-game suspension for hitting William Carrier in the series opener. Doughty also had partner Jake Muzzin back by his side after he missed the previous seven games with an upper-body injury.Neither team got much offensive traction in the first two periods, but the physical tone of the series stuck. Erik Haula butt-ended Kopitar in the face after a cross-check, but went unpenalized.”We get a guy (Doughty) suspended for making a hockey play,” Stevens said. ”(Haula) butt-ends one of the best players in the world in the face with the butt-end of his stick Leo Komarov Jersey Womens , so if I was confused before, I’m bewildered now. That’s an intent-to-injure play.”But the Knights kept pressing and tied it after a prolonged sequence of dominance in which Colin Miller’s shot hit the post before Eakin buried Ryan Carpenter’s cross-ice pass.NOTES: Forward Tomas Tatar was a healthy scratch for the Golden Knights. The Slovak scorer had played in all 22 games since Vegas acquired him from Detroit, but has just two points in the last 10. … Kopitar’s 21st career playoff goal moved him past Marcel Dionne for sixth in franchise playoff goals. The captain is third in team history with 45 assists. … Margot Robbie, David Beckham and injured Dodgers slugger Justin Turner attended the game.— All eyes will be on Calgary Flames morning skate Friday to see if Johnny Gaudreau appears.The Flames star winger was levelled by Boston defensemen Charlie McAvoy in the third period of Calgary’s 5-2 home ice win on Wednesday.The winger took part in the ensuing power play but then went to the dressing room and didn’t emerge for the rest of the game.Article continues below ...The Flames did not practice on Thursday and will host the Nashville Predators on Friday.Flames general manager Brad Treliving relayed a message to reporters in Calgary on Thursday that Gaudreau was “fine.”The concussion spotter watching Thursday night wasn’t so sure after watching McAvoy send the speedster flying after Gaudreau was stopped on a deke attempt.“(Flames trainer Kent Kobelka) comes down and says, ‘Johnny’s gotta go. The spotters have called for him.’ That’s all I know,” Flames head coach Bill Peters said after the game. “Hopefully it’s nothing. Hopefully, it’s minor. But we’ll see.”Gaudreau scored his 100th NHL goal in the game and is off to a fast start with six goals and three assists in six games.The Flames have started fast as well, bringing a 4-2 record into Friday.Nashville is off to a slightly better start at 5-1. Their only defeat was at the hands of Calgary, a 3-0 final in Tennessee on Oct. 9.Nashville hasn’t played since Tuesday when they downed the Minnesota Wild at home 4-2. They flew to Alberta on Thursday afternoon.The Predators will face Calgary and immediately head to the airport for the brief flight north to Edmonton, where they will face Connor McDavid and the Oilers on Saturday.No problem, says Predators forward Ryan Hartman.“That’s part of the job Womens Kyle Palmieri Jersey ,” he told nhl.com. “There’s plenty of other jobs that people do in life where they’re not getting much sleep. It’s just part of it.”With the back-to-back it’s likely the Predators will put Pekka Rinne in goal in Calgary and go with his backup Juuse Saros in Edmonton. That’s what they did on 11 occasions last season.Nashville has nine back-to-backs on their schedule in 2018-19.“Just because we have the backup in doesn’t mean we can’t win,” defensemen Yannick Webber told nhl.com. “Juuse gives us a chance to win every game he plays. We’ve seen it already this year, too, and we have a lot of confidence in him. It’s great to have that insurance back there.”If Gaudreau is not in the lineup for Calgary on Friday, Calgary will hope for another strong outing from second-line winger, Michael Frolik, to fill the void. Frolik returned from being a healthy scratch on Wednesday and scored twice against Boston.“I didn’t have the start I was looking for, but it’s a long season,” he told reporters. “I just try to work hard in practice, get better every day and hopefully it’s going to turn around.“Tonight was a good start. Hopefully I can keep going.”The Predators are led in the early going by Filip Forsberg’s four goals and two assists through six games. Ryan Johansen has one goal and five helpers.
hat trick came at a good time for the struggling Rangers.Vesey scored three times www.bruinsshoponline.com , Mats Zuccarello had two goals and New York beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Monday night.”It’s something you definitely want to accomplish,” Vesey said. ”I was just saying I remember it took me all four years in college to get one. It’s nice to have one.”Everyone dreams when they are a kid of scoring the big goal or scoring a hat trick. I think it’s something I will always remember, so it’s a great feeling.”Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for the Rangers, who ended a three-game losing streak and earned their first home win since Feb. 9. Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad each had three assists.Backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 41 saves for his second win of the season.Georgiev made a key pad save on Sebastian Aho late in the third period to preserve the lead.”I knew they were coming hard,” Georgiev said. ”It’s just instinct how I stretched that pad.”Teuvo Teravainen, Lee Stempniak and Victor Rask scored for the Hurricanes. Scott Darling, who has struggled in his first season with Carolina, made 17 stops.Tied at 3 in the third Boston Bruins T-Shirts Womens , Vesey took a loose puck at the left faceoff circle and wristed a high shot past Darling at 12:15.”That’s where I was going,” Vesey said. ”I had a shot from a similar angle in the first period and I kind of misfired and put it lower than I wanted. I was definitely trying to go high blocker and just fortunately it went in.”Zuccarello added an empty-netter at 17:23 for his 14th of the season and the 100th of his career, and Vesey capped his hat trick with an empty-netter in the final minute for his 15th goal this season.The Rangers extended their home winning streak against Carolina to 15 games, dating to Jan. 5, 2011. The streak is the longest for the Rangers against one opponent in franchise history. The Rangers also have won 24 of their past 28 games overall against the Hurricanes.The Hurricanes have struggled with three wins in their past 12 games as they fade from the Eastern Conference playoff race.”We are in a hole right now,” Stempniak said. ”We still think we are going to make the playoffs and we believe we can, but it gets harder with each loss. We have to put this one behind us, get ready tomorrow for a very good Boston team Boston Bruins Hoodies Womens , and start getting wins and collecting points.”It was Carolina’s second game since Hall of Famer Ron Francis was moved from general manager to a new role as the team’s president of hockey operations. New owner Tom Dundon plans to hire a new GM who will report directly to him.With the Hurricanes on the power play, Rask tied it for the third time when he skated to a loose puck at the top of the zone and beat Georgiev for his 13th at 8:23 of the third period.Tied at 2 in the second period, the Rangers took the lead with a quick power-play goal. Just 6 seconds after Noah Hanifin was sent off for slashing, Buchnevich had his shot from just inside the blue line deflected in by Namestnikov at 11:51.It was Namestnikov’s 22nd goal of the season and his second as a Ranger since coming over in the deal that sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline.Buchnevich also had a nice play earlier in the period. He won a faceoff deep in the Hurricanes’ zone and drove to the net before sending a pass to Vesey, who scored on a wrist shot at 1:52.”He (Buchnevich) didn’t tell me anything,” Vesey said. ”So once I saw him go forward, their D’s stick kind of stopped the puck a little bit and it was a quick 2-on-1. I just tried to get open and he made a great play.”The Hurricanes rallied again. Stempniak jumped on a rebound and beat Georgiev for his second goal of the season at 7:48.The Rangers opened the scoring about halfway through the first period. Neal Pionk’s shot from the right point missed the net and took a friendly bounce off the end boards to Zuccarello, who beat Darling stick-side at 9:06.Zuccarello extended his goal-scoring streak to three games.The Hurricanes answered 5 1/2 minutes later. Aho entered the Rangers zone and sent a quick pass to Teravainen Boston Bruins Hats Womens , who immediately sent a return pass to Aho. Aho shot it on net and Teravainen sent the rebound past Georgiev for his 20th of the season.NOTES: The Hurricanes re-assigned F Valentin Zykov to the American Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers. The 22-year-old Zykov, who leads the AHL with 30 goals, did not appear in any games since his recall on Sunday. … Zuccarello has a point in 15 of his past 19 games against Carolina. … Rangers D Tony DeAngelo left because of an ankle injury. Coach Alain Vigneault said DeAngelo will get an MRI on Tuesday.UP NEXTHurricanes: Host Boston on Tuesday night.Rangers: Host two-time defending champion Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.— RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The hottest team in the NHL is now in playoff position.Petr Mrazek stopped 33 shots in his third shutout of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes moved into a wild-card playoff spot with a 3-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.Justin Williams and Brock McGinn scored less than four minutes apart in the first period and Mrazek did the rest, turning aside shot after shot. Micheal Ferland added a power-play goal in the third period.The Hurricanes improved to 16-5-1 in their last 22 games, the most wins and points in the NHL in that span. With Pittsburgh’s loss to Calgary earlier Saturday, Carolina moved into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.“I think everybody’s got their eye on that,” McGinn said. “We want to be in the playoffs. Every period and every game is so crucial for us right now and I think we’re doing a good job of showing that.”The Hurricanes are in a playoff spot for the first time this season. They own the NHL’s longest playoff drought at nine seasons.“We don’t talk about it Custom Boston Bruins Jerseys , but everyone knows where we’re at,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said.Anton Khudobin made 24 saves for the Dallas. The Stars were shut out for the second straight game, after losing 6-0 to Tampa Bay on Thursday.Carolina started fast and never looked back. After generating a breakaway and a slew of odd-man rushes in the opening minutes, Sebastian Aho fed Williams on a two-on-one to open the scoring 3:48 in.Just 3:22 later, McGinn made it 2-0 when he got behind two defenders and scored on a backhand shot off a pass from Justin Faulk from the blue line.“It’s difficult for us to come from behind. It’s been proven all year,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “Anytime we fall behind it’s not a good situation for us. It was an opportunity for our big line to step up and unfortunately they got scored against twice in the first period.”Dallas progressively took control of the possession and began peppering the Hurricanes net, but Mrazek made highlight-reel save after highlight-reel save, turning away the Stars’ scoring chances. After one particularly impressive sequence in which he spread out on the ice to rob Andrew Cogliano of an open net off a rebound www.sabresshoponline.com , Mrazek banged his chest and pumped his fist as play went on.“I was very fired up at the end of the first period after that save,” Mrazek said. “You try and feel it every night but sometimes you have bad bounces early. I felt like this was my game from the start.”After another stellar save in the second period on Jason Dickinson’s tip-in in front of the net, the crowd began chanting Mrazek’s name.Dallas outshot Carolina 33-27, but Mrazek rendered the differential moot.“He was amazing,” McGinn said. “He kept us in there that whole game. He made some unbelievable saves. We really feed off that and it gives our team a lot of energy.”NOTES: Williams, Aho and Nino Neiderreiter extended their point streaks to four games for Carolina. … Ferland played his 300th career game. … Stars F Blake Comeau (upper body injury) was scratched for the second straight game. He is day-to-day. … Dallas had been shut out just three times all season, before the back-to-back shutouts.UP NEXTStars: Host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.Hurricanes: Host the New York Rangers on Tuesday.