PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Flyers are riding high on confidence
Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys , and it’s showing in their results.Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist, Brian Elliott made 33 saves and the surging Flyers continued their dominance over Chicago in Philadelphia with a 4-0 victory over the slumping Blackhawks on Saturday.Claude Giroux tallied a goal and two assists and Nolan Patrick added an empty-netter for the Flyers, who have won five of six overall and 15 in a row at home in the regular season against the Blackhawks. Chicago last won a regular-season game in Philadelphia on Nov. 9, 1996.“Confidence helps,” Couturier said. “Right now everything is going well. It’s huge when you have confidence to make plays. We’re making it tougher to play against.”The Blackhawks have lost six straight games and two in a row under coach Jeremy Colliton. The 33-year-old Colliton replaced Joel Quenneville, the NHL’s second-winningest regular-season coach who was fired on Tuesday after 10 seasons at the helm.“We’re doing some good things,” Colliton said. “I just would like to see that sustained a little more.”Elliott was solid all game and made some key saves in the third period, including stopping Patrick Kane from close range on a Blackhawks power play, while recording his 38th career shutout. He also denied Dominik Kahun and Nick Schmaltz on shots from the slot that came right after the other early in the third.It was the second straight strong performance for Elliott, who denied all 16 shots he faced in relief of Calvin Pickard in Thursday’s 5-4 overtime win over Arizona.“He was our most important player,” coach Dave Hakstol said.“We’re playing hard, feeling good, feeling confident
www.bluejacketsshoponline.com ,” Hakstol added. “We’re battling hard and playing hard, and it’s resulting in points.”Giroux staked the Flyers to a 1-0 lead with 5:04 left in the first period when he took advantage of a Chicago turnover. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith’s clearing attempt from the end boards went right to Giroux, who faked a forehand shot before beating Corey Crawford with a backhander from the slot.The lead was two goals with 11:06 left in the second when Couturier used his backhand to score on a breakaway just as time expired on a Chicago power play. Giroux passed ahead to Couturier, who had one step on Blackhawks winger Chris Kunitz.And Couturier made it 3-0 with 15:43 left in the third when his centering pass went off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Brandon Manning and over the goal line.The Blackhawks have been outscored 30-12 during their losing streak.“We’re making little mistakes here and there,” Chicago center Jonathan Toews said. “We need to be better after we give up goals.”Said Crawford, “It seems like there are always tough stretches during the season. We just have to dig our way out of it.”Notes: Giroux has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in his last six games. … Chicago LW Brandon Saad (right arm) and C Marcus Kruger (left leg) did not play. . Giroux passed Rick MacLeish to move into fourth place in club history in points. … Philadelphia improved to 44-16-11 all-time at home against the Blackhawks. … The Flyers next play the third game of their season-high five-game homestand on Tuesday against Florida.UP NEXTChicago: At Carolina on Monday.Philadelphia: Host Florida on Tuesday. DENVER (AP) Nathan MacKinnon was given a day off from practice, which created a little stir on social media.Turns out, nothing to fear. The Colorado Avalanche just wanted to give their top scorer and Hart Trophy candidate a little rest Monday before embarking on the postseason.Not many gave this team much of a chance to make the playoffs at the beginning of the year. Understandably so considering they were coming off a 48-point season. But here the Avalanche are, about to face the top-seeded Predators in the first round beginning Thursday in Nashville.Colorado is rested, rejuvenated and carries a surge of momentum after needing to win its final game to secure its first postseason spot since 2013-14.”We expect a lot from our group and know we can surprise a lot of people,” said captain Gabriel Landeskog, whose team finished the regular season with 95 points and matched the franchise record for wins at home with 28. ”This is when the fun begins.”The type of turnaround the team has made doesn’t happen that often in the NHL world. The last time it occurred over an 82-game season was when Pittsburgh also improved by 47 points from 2005-06 (58) to `06-07 (105).”We didn’t expect this in October
Columbus Blue Jackets T-Shirts Womens , but as the season progressed our confidence grew and grew,” MacKinnon said recently after finishing with 39 goals and 58 assists to wind up fifth in scoring. ”For the last month we expected to make the playoffs. For it to actually happen is very satisfying.”The turning point for coach Jared Bednar was in early December, when his squad wrapped up a 1-4 homestand. A similar thing happened a year earlier and it sent the team into an unrecoverable downward spiral.This time, it was different. The Avs found some traction and at the end of the month began a streak of 10 straight wins.”The way (the players) handled that and responded there … starts making you a believer,” Bednar said. ”At that point, it became pretty clear we weren’t the same group and we’d push to the end of this thing.”Still, they needed a 5-2 win over St. Louis in game No. 82, a winner-take-all affair, to secure their spot. For Bednar, it was one of his team’s best performances of the season.”I want our guys to have fun, embrace it and enjoy it,” Bednar said. ”But I want us to dig in and be highly competitive.”Colorado will be without two key players for this series – defenseman Erik Johnson and goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who are both sidelined by knee injuries. Not only that
Columbus Blue Jackets Hoodies Womens , but the team has struggled this season against the Predators, going 0-3-1 and being outscored by a 17-8 margin.”It’s not going to be an easy series. But if you want to get farther, you have to beat the best team and we start with the best team,” goaltender Jonathan Bernier said.Avalanche players Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque and Samuel Girard all stepped up at a recent meeting and chatted about their ties with Nashville. They offered a little insight into the team they’re about to face.”They all had some good things to say about their personnel,” Bednar said. ”We have a lot of input from those guys.”The Avalanche relish in the fact that just a year ago Nashville was the second wild-card team in the Western Conference and advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final. They wouldn’t mind following that sort of path.”It’s possible. It’s the playoffs. Anything can happen,” Landeskog said. ”It’s just a matter of taking it one day at a time, enjoying the journey and making sure you bring your best game at the best time.”Bednar was asked if he thought there might be concerns over his team being content to merely be in the playoffs.”They’re a hungry group. They want more,” Bednar said. ”I don’t mind being the underdog. It’s a good spot for our team. We’ve been feeling that way all year long, that we were an underdog to get into the playoffs. We’re here.”—
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Flyers are riding high on confidence Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys , and it’s showing in their results.Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist, Brian Elliott made 33 saves and the surging Flyers continued their dominance over Chicago in Philadelphia with a 4-0 victory over the slumping Blackhawks on Saturday.Claude Giroux tallied a goal and two assists and Nolan Patrick added an empty-netter for the Flyers, who have won five of six overall and 15 in a row at home in the regular season against the Blackhawks. Chicago last won a regular-season game in Philadelphia on Nov. 9, 1996.“Confidence helps,” Couturier said. “Right now everything is going well. It’s huge when you have confidence to make plays. We’re making it tougher to play against.”The Blackhawks have lost six straight games and two in a row under coach Jeremy Colliton. The 33-year-old Colliton replaced Joel Quenneville, the NHL’s second-winningest regular-season coach who was fired on Tuesday after 10 seasons at the helm.“We’re doing some good things,” Colliton said. “I just would like to see that sustained a little more.”Elliott was solid all game and made some key saves in the third period, including stopping Patrick Kane from close range on a Blackhawks power play, while recording his 38th career shutout. He also denied Dominik Kahun and Nick Schmaltz on shots from the slot that came right after the other early in the third.It was the second straight strong performance for Elliott, who denied all 16 shots he faced in relief of Calvin Pickard in Thursday’s 5-4 overtime win over Arizona.“He was our most important player,” coach Dave Hakstol said.“We’re playing hard, feeling good, feeling confident www.bluejacketsshoponline.com ,” Hakstol added. “We’re battling hard and playing hard, and it’s resulting in points.”Giroux staked the Flyers to a 1-0 lead with 5:04 left in the first period when he took advantage of a Chicago turnover. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith’s clearing attempt from the end boards went right to Giroux, who faked a forehand shot before beating Corey Crawford with a backhander from the slot.The lead was two goals with 11:06 left in the second when Couturier used his backhand to score on a breakaway just as time expired on a Chicago power play. Giroux passed ahead to Couturier, who had one step on Blackhawks winger Chris Kunitz.And Couturier made it 3-0 with 15:43 left in the third when his centering pass went off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Brandon Manning and over the goal line.The Blackhawks have been outscored 30-12 during their losing streak.“We’re making little mistakes here and there,” Chicago center Jonathan Toews said. “We need to be better after we give up goals.”Said Crawford, “It seems like there are always tough stretches during the season. We just have to dig our way out of it.”Notes: Giroux has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in his last six games. … Chicago LW Brandon Saad (right arm) and C Marcus Kruger (left leg) did not play. . Giroux passed Rick MacLeish to move into fourth place in club history in points. … Philadelphia improved to 44-16-11 all-time at home against the Blackhawks. … The Flyers next play the third game of their season-high five-game homestand on Tuesday against Florida.UP NEXTChicago: At Carolina on Monday.Philadelphia: Host Florida on Tuesday. DENVER (AP) Nathan MacKinnon was given a day off from practice, which created a little stir on social media.Turns out, nothing to fear. The Colorado Avalanche just wanted to give their top scorer and Hart Trophy candidate a little rest Monday before embarking on the postseason.Not many gave this team much of a chance to make the playoffs at the beginning of the year. Understandably so considering they were coming off a 48-point season. But here the Avalanche are, about to face the top-seeded Predators in the first round beginning Thursday in Nashville.Colorado is rested, rejuvenated and carries a surge of momentum after needing to win its final game to secure its first postseason spot since 2013-14.”We expect a lot from our group and know we can surprise a lot of people,” said captain Gabriel Landeskog, whose team finished the regular season with 95 points and matched the franchise record for wins at home with 28. ”This is when the fun begins.”The type of turnaround the team has made doesn’t happen that often in the NHL world. The last time it occurred over an 82-game season was when Pittsburgh also improved by 47 points from 2005-06 (58) to `06-07 (105).”We didn’t expect this in October Columbus Blue Jackets T-Shirts Womens , but as the season progressed our confidence grew and grew,” MacKinnon said recently after finishing with 39 goals and 58 assists to wind up fifth in scoring. ”For the last month we expected to make the playoffs. For it to actually happen is very satisfying.”The turning point for coach Jared Bednar was in early December, when his squad wrapped up a 1-4 homestand. A similar thing happened a year earlier and it sent the team into an unrecoverable downward spiral.This time, it was different. The Avs found some traction and at the end of the month began a streak of 10 straight wins.”The way (the players) handled that and responded there … starts making you a believer,” Bednar said. ”At that point, it became pretty clear we weren’t the same group and we’d push to the end of this thing.”Still, they needed a 5-2 win over St. Louis in game No. 82, a winner-take-all affair, to secure their spot. For Bednar, it was one of his team’s best performances of the season.”I want our guys to have fun, embrace it and enjoy it,” Bednar said. ”But I want us to dig in and be highly competitive.”Colorado will be without two key players for this series – defenseman Erik Johnson and goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who are both sidelined by knee injuries. Not only that Columbus Blue Jackets Hoodies Womens , but the team has struggled this season against the Predators, going 0-3-1 and being outscored by a 17-8 margin.”It’s not going to be an easy series. But if you want to get farther, you have to beat the best team and we start with the best team,” goaltender Jonathan Bernier said.Avalanche players Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque and Samuel Girard all stepped up at a recent meeting and chatted about their ties with Nashville. They offered a little insight into the team they’re about to face.”They all had some good things to say about their personnel,” Bednar said. ”We have a lot of input from those guys.”The Avalanche relish in the fact that just a year ago Nashville was the second wild-card team in the Western Conference and advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final. They wouldn’t mind following that sort of path.”It’s possible. It’s the playoffs. Anything can happen,” Landeskog said. ”It’s just a matter of taking it one day at a time, enjoying the journey and making sure you bring your best game at the best time.”Bednar was asked if he thought there might be concerns over his team being content to merely be in the playoffs.”They’re a hungry group. They want more,” Bednar said. ”I don’t mind being the underdog. It’s a good spot for our team. We’ve been feeling that way all year long, that we were an underdog to get into the playoffs. We’re here.”—