Anti-Spam Discussion Forums

[linchao]

TAMPA [url=http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-ryan-hewitt-jersey]Ryan Hewitt Jersey[/url] , Fla. — The Washington Capitals are in their first conference final in 20 years and the Tampa Bay Lightning are in for the third time in four years.

Will experience be an edge over the motivation of waiting so long to get to this point in the postseason?

“We know what’s coming,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of the heightened attention and greater distractions that come with a deep playoff run. “It’s a whole different feel, because we’ve been there. That’s a good thing.”

Tampa Bay has dispatched New Jersey and Boston in five games each, and Washington has had a more difficult path to this point, rallying from an 0-2 deficit to beat Columbus, then again needing six games to eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

“If you’re going to have success against really good teams, Pitt, Tampa, anybody going forward, you’ve got to be hard, you’ve got to be detailed, you’ve got to be compact, you’ve got to make good decisions, you’ve got to have an extremely high work ethic and high commitment [url=http://www.coltscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-kemoko-turay-jersey]Kemoko Turay Jersey[/url] ,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.

Tampa Bay led the NHL in scoring in the regular season and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin led the league in goals with 49, adding another eight in the postseason. If anything, the Lightning beat the Bruins without dominant play from their top scorers, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos.

Where does the advantage stand in goaltending? Washington’s Braden Holtby is a former Vezina winner, but he ranked 37th in the NHL in save percentage during the regular season and played a combined 65 games without a shutout. He has played nearly a goal a game better in the playoffs, giving up 2.99 per game during the regular season but just 2.04 in the postseason.

Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy has been sharp, allowing 2.24 goals per game in the playoffs, and tied for the NHL lead in shutouts with eight.

Tampa Bay had a slight edge in the regular season, going 2-1 against Washington, rallying for a 4-3 overtime win in the first week of the season, falling 3-1 in November and winning 4-2 in February. The two were nearly identical on special teams in those games, with Tampa Bay going 3 of 10 on power plays and Washington was 3 of 9.

The Capitals have been unusually strong on the road in the past month, going 5-1 in Columbus and Pittsburgh while just 3-3 on their home ice.

The Lightning pulled away from the Bruins by winning both games in Boston and has both the advantage of home ice and added rest going into this series with Washington.

While Tampa Bay made headlines in the regular season with their high-scoring offense, they separated themselves from Boston with physical play [url=http://www.bearscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-mark-sanchez-jersey]Mark Sanchez Jersey[/url] , something that carried over from the opening series with New Jersey.

“We’re not really looked at as that physical team, but we know we have it in us,” Cooper said. “Everyone was on board. Our game plan was to make it hard on them. That’s it. It’s been working for us.”

Jesus Aguilar hit like the All-Star he is, while the rest of the Milwaukee Brewers hit like also-rans.

Aguilar was added to the NL All-Star team Wednesday night and then validated the selection with three hits and three RBIs, but his teammates went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position and Milwaukee lost 5-4 to the Miami Marlins in 12 innings.

”That’s going to happen,” Aguilar said. ”We’ve got to keep going. We’re playing really good. We’ve got to turn the page.”

Starlin Castro singled home the winning run with one out in the 12th.

Aguilar doubled home a run in the first, singled in the fourth and hit a tying, two-run double in the eighth against Drew Steckenrider. He also learned he won the online vote for the final NL roster spot and his first All-Star berth.

”A lot of people believe in my name,” the Venezuelan said. ”It’s really good. The campaign was unbelievable – the people in Wisconsin and around the world really supported me. It’s a great thing.”

Aguilar, who will also compete as the top seed in the Home Run Derby next week in Washington, came into the game leading the NL in homers, slugging and OPS. He has 67 RBIs and is batting .307.

Miami’s Garrett Cooper led off the 12th with a single against Jorge Lopez (0-1) and went to second on a groundout. Castro then grounded a single to left field and Christian Yelich’s throw home was off line, allowing Cooper to score standing up.

”Yelich is a really good player, but his one downfall is he doesn’t throw great [url=http://www.cowboyscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-joe-looney-jersey]Joe Looney Jersey[/url] ,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. ”You’ve got to challenge there and make him throw you out.”

The Marlins took two of three in the series from the NL Central leaders, winning twice in extra innings.

”We’re knocking on the doorstep and making it really hard to take us down,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. ”But they outlasted us tonight.”

The Marlins, who have the NL’s worst record, hit a new attendance low. The crowd of 5,265 was the smallest in the seven-season history of Marlins Park, and a few hundred fans remained at the finish.

The 4 1/2-hour marathon wasn’t what the Brewers needed as they near the end of a stretch in which they play 20 days in a row, including a doubleheader Saturday at Pittsburgh. Counsell said he ran out of pitchers, which is why reliever Lopez batted in the 12th with two on and two out.

”We managed to get to the 12th inning in that scenario, which was quite an accomplishment,” Counsell said. ”We just didn’t ever get that run across.”

With the score 4-all, Miami reliever Kyle Barraclough walked the bases loaded in the ninth, but Yelich struck out on a pitch in the dirt to end the threat.

Miami starter Dan Straily allowed one earned run in six innings, matched his season high with seven strikeouts and got his first RBI of the season with a bases-loaded walk. Elieser Hernandez (1-5) pitched two scoreless innings for his first career win.

Milwaukee rookie Freddy Peralta lasted only 3 2/3 innings in his shortest outing this year and allowed three runs [url=http://www.bearscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-leonard-floyd-jersey]Leonard Floyd Jersey[/url] , including Justin Bour’s 15th homer.

”I’ve got to be better,” Peralta said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers 3B Travis Shaw left the game when he tweaked his ankle, but said the injury wasn’t serious.

SUPER SUB

Marlins backup catcher Bryan Holaday reached base three times, singled home a run and threw out two runners trying to steal. He started his third game in a row while All-Star J.T. Realmuto is on paternity leave.

UP NEXT

Brewers: LHP Wade Miley (1-0, 1.42 ERA), who has been sidelined with a strained right oblique, is expected to be activated to start Thursday at Pittsburgh. It will be his first outing since May 8 and only his third this year.

Marlins: After a day off, the Marlins begin a three-game series at home against the Phillies, with LHP Wei-Yin Chen (2-6, 6.14) scheduled to start Friday.

—

[url=http://www.officialusafootballs.com/baltimore-ravens/hayden-hurst-jersey]Womens Hayden Hurst Jersey[/url] ,