Forums » News and Announcements

• xzq717 xzq717

  

  • 635 posts
   

  November 2, 2018 7:08 AM EET

  PITTSBURGH -- The Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh Penguins have been stellar at home this season and unbeatable in shootouts for two years. The New York Rangers brushed all that aside and played well enough to head into the Olympic break on a winning note. Brad Richards and Mats Zuccarello scored in a shootout, and the Rangers beat Pittsburgh 4-3 on Friday night to hand the Penguins a rare loss in the tiebreaker. "We deserved this win with the way that we played the whole game," said New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped two of three shots he faced in the shootout. "I dont know if it was desperation, but we understood how important this game was. We have a long break here and you definitely want to end it the right way." Benoit Pouliot scored twice in regulation for the Rangers, who bounced back from a home loss to Edmonton the night before and won for the fifth time in six games. The Penguins had won all four of their previous shootouts this season and 14 of the past 15 overall. Their most recent loss was two years ago to the day against Montreal. "Its not something that happens very often with our group -- our shooters and (Marc-Andre Fleury) in net," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "But Henrik is almost as good, and was tonight." Zuccarello, the second New York shooter in the tiebreaker, tucked a backhand under the pads of Fleury -- who had not allowed a shootout goal all season. Evgeni Malkin beat Lundqvist to extend the game before Richards flipped a shot past Fleury to end it. Lundqvist made 26 saves, running his winning streak to five games. "We played a real solid game," Richards said. "We played hard. Theyre going to get goals sometimes, that stuff happens, but we gave ourselves a chance to win." James Neal tied it for Pittsburgh with 2:56 left in regulation. It was Neals 20th goal of the season and third in three games. Olli Maatta and Malkin also scored for the Penguins, who lead second-place New York by 16 points in the Metropolitan Division. The final game day before the Olympic break for both teams began on a somewhat sombre note when the Penguins announced that Kris Letang will be out at least six weeks because of a stroke. Letang, who has been put on blood thinners, also was found to have a small hole in his heart. "No one expects to hear something like that," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who like the rest of his teammates was informed Friday morning about Letangs condition. "Its not something you typically hear about a guy who takes as good care as he does of himself. It was a surprise, but from what we heard, hes well taken care of and has got it under control." Without their top defenceman for the fifth straight game, Pittsburgh allowed 41 shots on goal and had a rare weak penalty-killing effort. The Penguins lost for only the second time in their last 18 home games, ending a five-game home winning streak against the Rangers that dated to 2012. "Not a good game for us," Malkin said. "We need to play better; we were lucky to take one point. The last 10 minutes we played, I think, better than the Rangers. But we need to play 60 minutes, and for 60 minutes we werent that great." Pouliot gave New York a third-period lead when he capped his first multigoal game in almost a year with 10:38 left. Pouliot wristed a rebound of Dan Girardis shot up under the crossbar from close range past Fleury for the Rangers second power-play goal of the game -- the first two goals Pittsburghs NHL-best penalty kill allowed at home in a span of 10 games (30 chances). Girardi also scored on the power play, in the opening minute of the second period. It took the Rangers 64 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. Zuccarello extended his point streak to six games when he earned an assist after Pouliot shoved a puck in that Fleury had pinned between his skate and the right post. Maatta answered 11 minutes later with the first of two goals on the night for Pittsburghs NHL-leading power play, slamming home a rebound of Crosbys shot into an open net for the rookies sixth of the season. Malkin added a power-play goal in the second period, a one-timed slap shot from outside the right circle off a feed from Neal. The goal, Malkins 18th of the season, extended his point streak to five games. That tied it 2-all at 8:29 of the second after Girardi had scored during the periods opening minute. "We definitely played better than we did (Thursday)," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "I thought we played with more energy and more focus and more purpose to our game. And we had to -- were playing against such a strong opponent that we had to bring our A game to the table. And I thought 5-on-5 we played a real solid game." The Rangers improved to 4-2 in shootouts this season. Pittsburgh had won 22 of 25 shootouts dating to Feb. 26, 2011. Fleury stopped Pouliot on the Rangers first attempt, extending the goalies streak to 12 unsuccessful shootout tries by opponents this season. NOTES: The Penguins fell to 14-1-1 this season when scoring a power-play goal at home. ... Pittsburgh has scored a power-play goal in three consecutive games for the first time since doing so in six straight from Nov. 27 to Dec. 7. ... The Rangers previous win in Pittsburgh was on Jan. 6, 2012. Sebastian Aho Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Rod Brind Amour Jersey . Paul, MN (SportsNetwork. http://www.hurricanesauthority.com/authentic-haydn-fleury-hurricanes-jersey/. Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Brock McGinn Jersey . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. Carolina Hurricanes Gear . Watch all the action unfold live on TSN and TSN Mobile TV at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. You can also watch the game live with the debut of Wednesday Night Hockey on TSN.ca and chat throughout the game with TSN.TORONTO – Third periods have been a glass half-full, glass half-empty debate for the Toronto Maple Leafs recently. They let a third period lead slip for the fourth time in the past five games against the Flyers on Saturday evening – twice in fact on this night – only to rally for a second straight overtime win. “We dont want to make a habit of blowing third period leads,” said Joffrey Lupul, who scored the overtime winner, “but things are going to happen, other teams are going to make plays. We stuck with it. There was a good feeling on our bench going into overtime. It seemed like everyone had their composure and was calm and we got the result we needed.” Rather than focus their attention on fumbled leads – Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn did the damage for Philadelphia in the final frame – the Leafs opted for the glass half-full approach, looking at how they responded to such deflation, first rallying in overtime to beat the Rangers on Wednesday night before doing the same against the Flyers in a 4-3 victory on this night. “Thats really what we focus on,” said Nazem Kadri, who scored his 17th of the year before initiating the rush that led to Lupuls overtime winner. “We showed character to stay in games even though its a little bit deflating at times giving up a couple [one]-goal leads in the third period, especially late, to force overtime. But we stayed positive and came out with the right outcome.” “We were able to regroup and thats a positive for us because a lot of times when the game gets away from you your team goes and continues to spiral,” added head coach Randy Carlyle. “Well, we didnt spiral in my mind. Maybe if I re-watch it again Ill have a different opinion, but it didnt seem like we were under siege in the third.” The tight-rope is perilous to walk on and in fumbling leads to the Islanders and Canadiens shortly after the Olympic break, the Leafs ended up losing in overtime twice, two points left on the table in the playoff race.And so for whatever credit they deserve for rallying under such circumstances, the trend of slipping third period leads is of legitimate concern, especially considering how frequently its happened. Whether due to inexperience, poor decision-making, poor defence, a poor power-play or the feisty push-back of their competition, the Leafs have been unable to lock down leads with the game on the line. Its a trend that dates back to their infamous collapse in Game 7 against Boston. “A little bit of sometimes can be inexperience by us, but its also the other team being desperate,” said Lupul. “Phillys a team in a desperate situation and they were making a lot of good plays.” Timonen erased the first lead when he dipped in from the point untouched, Coburn vanquishing the second such deficit on a blast through traffic from the point. “They go both ways sometimes and tonight we got it,” said Jake Gardiner, who scored in the first frame, “but I dont think we want to keep that path going.” Waged in a heated playoff race, the danger in losing such leads are points left on the table and points otherwise given to competitors. And yet, in spite of the recent tightrope act the Leafs have managed to keep picking up points. Now third in the Atlantic division with 76 on the year, theyve taken points in 16 of the past 19 games (13-3-3). Five Points 1. Secondary Scoring Torontos top line of Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk entered the evening with 49 per cent of the teams goals in the 2014 calendar, but went rarely silent against the Flyers. Secondary contributions were found though from the likes of Kadri, Lupul, Gardiner and Mason Raymond, all four lines creating opportunities to score opposite Steve Mason, especially in an energetic first frame. “I think thats whats going to have to be a key to our success as the season goes on because as good as our first line has been it would be asking a lot for them to sustain the pace that theyve had these past 10, 15 games,” said Lupul. &lddquo;Were going to have to step up.dddddddddddd” 2. Bodies Opportunity Tim Leiweke, current President and CEO of MLSE, made a beeline for Troy Bodie in the Leafs dressing room after their narrow win against the Flyers. He was there to congratulate his son-in-law for another effective night at the office, one that saw him chip in with two assists in nearly 16 minutes of ice (just shy of a season-high). “Hes a big, hard-working, honest hockey player,” Carlyle said afterward of Bodie. The 29-year-old has played in every game since being recalled from the Marlies in mid-January, an energetic presence in whatever opportunity hes been dealt. That was filling the skates of the injured David Clarkson on this night, Bodie occupying the right side on a line with Peter Holland and Mason Raymond. “Hes been a noticeable player for us for a while now,” Lupul said. “Hes always getting a couple chances during the game, he finishes his checks and drives the net hard. For him to be a difference-maker tonight its a nice reward for him, but hes been playing that way since the last time he got called up.” Bodie was the driving force on goals from Gardiner and Raymond. 3. Power-Play Still Searching Still nestled in amongst the top-10 in the NHL this season – now seventh-best – the Leaf power-play remained empty for the eighth consecutive game Saturday, 0-3 against the Flyers and now 0-18 in that eight-game span. 4. Bozak on the Draw Though hes surged in point production this season – and especially in the past three months – Tyler Bozak has not, until very recently, been his usual productive self in the faceoff circle. The low-point may have come in Colorado on Jan. 21. Bozak was drubbed by Paul Stastny and the Avalanche that night, losing 20 of 29 draws. Since that point, however, hes simply sizzled, winning 55 per cent of his faceoffs during an 11-game stretch. “Hes back to the Bozie that we know in the faceoff circle,” said Carlyle. Hovering right under 53 per cent in the past two seasons, the 27-year-old has inched up to 49 per cent this year with the recent hot streak, right on the outskirts of the NHLs top 30. As hot as hes been lately though, Bozak actually struggled on the draw against the Flyers. He lost 13 of 23 faceoffs – mostly to Claude Giroux – and dropped a critical draw late in regulation, beaten by Brayden Schenn on the sequence that led to Coburns game-tying goal. 5. 7-D Carlyle trotted out seven defenders for the sixth time in the past seven games, keeping Paul Ranger in the lineup as the rover on the back-end. “We think that it does two things,” said Carlyle. “It gives our offensive players a little bit more ice-time. We try to spread Phil around a little bit more, try to get some more minutes for Clarkson and Lupul … And then it takes a little bit more load off of some our defencemen. If you get into a special teams game where youve got lots of power-play and penalty killing it chews some of the minutes there also.” Stats-Pack 0-18 – Toronto power-play in the past eight games. 21 – Games missed this season by David Clarkson due to suspensions and injuries. Clarkson suffered a muscle pull (left leg) at practice Friday and did not play against the Flyers. 16 – Number of times in the past 19 games that the Leafs have registered at least a point. 1 – Multipoint nights this season for Troy Bodie, who had two assists against the Flyers. 8-4-0 – Leafs record when outshooting an opponent this season. They mustered 36 to 31 for the Flyers. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 20.7% (7th) PK: 2-2Season: 77.9% (28th) Quote of the Night “We were able to regroup and thats a positive for us because a lot of times when the game gets away from you your team goes and continues to spiral. Well, we didnt spiral in my mind.” -Randy Carlyle, on recovering from a blown third period lead. Up Next The Leafs hit the road for a five-game trip, beginning Monday night when Randy Carlyle returns to Anaheim for the first time since he was fired by the Ducks. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '