Anti-Spam Discussion Forums

[elaine95]

ARLINGTON [url=http://www.officialavalanche.com/authentic-adidas-matt-nieto-jersey]Youth Matt Nieto Jersey[/url] , Va. (AP) Like tourists flocking to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, the Pittsburgh Penguins making a trip to Washington in the playoffs has become a rite of spring.The Penguins and Capitals will face off in the second round for the third consecutive year with the core groups changed only slightly from past battles. Back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh still has playoff MVPs Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and Washington still has stars Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom trying to make the Eastern Conference final for the first time.”We faced each other for a lot of games, and we should know each other right now inside out,” Backstrom said. ”That’s just how it is. It’s usually tight series and one-goal games. We’re excited about this one.”It’s hard not to get the ”Groundhog Day” feeling about these teams meeting for the fourth time in the past 10 years. The Penguins won the previous three series despite not having home-ice advantage, twice winning Game 7 in Washington on the way to capturing the Stanley Cup.But this year is different in many ways, most notably on the Pittsburgh injury front. Malkin and winger Carl Hagelin will miss Game 1 on Thursday night in Washington. Coach Mike Sullivan said Malkin will travel, making him a possibility to play in Game 2 this weekend after missing the end of the Philadelphia series with an apparent lower-body injury.”I think guys have to step up in different roles maybe,” Crosby said. ”I don’t think anybody has to put too much pressure on themselves. Collectively we can find ways and those are guys who aren’t easy to replace, but that’s what we’re faced with.”A year after the last series between these two division rivals, gone from the Penguins are forwards Nick Bonino, Chris Kunitz and Matt Cullen, defensemen Trevor Daley, Ian Cole and Ron Hainsey and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Gone from the Capitals are forwards Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson and Daniel Winnik and defensemen Nate Schmidt, Karl Alzner and Kevin Shattenkirk.”They have different personnel, we have different personnel [url=http://www.officialavalanche.com/authentic-adidas-mikko-rantanen-jersey]Mikko Rantanen Jersey[/url] ,” said Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who’s back after missing the 2017 playoffs because of neck surgery. ”The series is going to play out differently. The game is going to be won differently. You don’t know how it is going to go.”Pittsburgh, trying for a rare championship threepeat, has won nine of 10 all-time series against Washington, many of which predate current players and coaches. But Capitals coach Barry Trotz said it’s ”fitting” his team must again go through its nemesis to advance.Asked why this year the outcome will be different, Ovechkin said: ”I don’t know. One day, it have to happen. If we want to get success, we have to beat Pittsburgh and move forward.”SID VS. OVICrosby has won 44 of the 70 previous games against Ovechkin in the NHL regular season and playoffs, world junior championships, world championships, World Cup and Olympics. There may not be another dueling hat tricks game like the one in the 2009 playoffs, but Crosby and Ovechkin are red hot going into their latest showdown. Crosby is tied at 13 points with linemate Jake Guentzel for the scoring lead in the playoffs, and Ovechkin’s five power-play goals helped Washington beat Columbus in six.”This year I think he’s playing his best, but it’s good to see,” Backstrom said of Ovechkin. ”Hopefully everyone can raise our level here in the second round.”POWER PLAYERSThe Penguins relied heavily on their top-ranked power play unit to land a 12th straight playoff berth – the longest active streak in the NHL – but their title bid will rely heavily on a penalty kill that’s been uneven at best. Pittsburgh was a middling 17th during the regular season (80 percent) but killed 90.5 percent of Philadelphia’s power plays in the opening round. Washington scored just once with the man advantage in four regular season meetings with the Penguins, who kept Ovechkin in check.”You have to reduce his time,” Letang said. ”You don’t want him to have all kinds of time to really use that puck.”MURRAY’S METTLEPenguins goaltender Matt Murray won the Cup twice as a ”rookie” by NHL standards after backstopping the Penguins to titles in 2016 and 2017. He missed all of Pittsburgh’s playoff series against Washington [url=http://www.officialavalanche.com/authentic-adidas-nathan-mackinnon-jersey]Nathan MacKinnon Jersey[/url] , however, while recovering from a lower-body injury. The 23-year-old has been up and down against Washington in his brief career and is coming off a Philadelphia series in which he flip-flopped between great (two shutouts) and not-so great (allowing four-or-more goals twice). Still, Murray has never lost a playoff series he’s played in, and even after giving up four quick goals in the first 21 minutes of Game 6 against Philadelphia, he limited the Flyers to just one the rest of the way to give his teammates time to rally.HOLTBY DIALED INCapitals goaltender Braden Holtby allowed six goals on 35 shots through the first two games of the Penguins series last year before getting his game back together. He has only allowed 10 on 137 shots in four-plus games since replacing Philipp Grubauer this time around and looks like a goalie who can match Murray save for save.—AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed.— WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — The Winnipeg Jets are seeing the benefits of Mark Scheifele’s hard work.Scheifele, the Jets’ top-line center, scored twice and added an assist as Winnipeg defeated the New York Rangers 4-3 Tuesday night.Scheifele has a team-leading 30 goals in 57 games, two goals away from his career high reached in 79 games in 2016-17. He has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in his past 17 games.“He’s not stopping,” said Jets forward Andrew Copp, who scored the game-winner. “He’s obviously having a fantastic year. He puts in the work on the ice, off the ice.“He’s as dialed in as it gets. It ain’t stopping now, so buckle up.”Defenseman Joe Morrow recorded his first goal of the season and added an assist for Winnipeg.Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves for the Jets, who opened a three-game homestand. Winnipeg has at least a point in its past nine home games (8-0-1).Mika Zibanejad scored twice and Pavel Buchnevich had a goal for the Rangers. Mats Zuccarello added two assists and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots for the Rangers, who started a four-game road trip.“I always say it’s nice to see the bounces go in, but we didn’t win today so it doesn’t really matter [url=http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-alexander-wennberg-jersey]Authentic Alexander Wennberg Jersey[/url] ,” Zibanejad said of notching his 24th and 25th goals of the season.Scheifele and linemate Blake Wheeler are tied for the team lead in points at 68.“Playing with two unbelievable players so I’m pretty lucky,” Scheifele said. “On any given night we try to do everything for each other. That one guy gets rewarded.“If it’s a guy driving the net or taking a hit or blocking a shot or having a good stick, that’s what we do for each other all over the ice. I was lucky tonight to get two.”The game was tied 2-2 heading into the third period before Zibanejad’s second goal of the game at 57 seconds.Winnipeg responded with goals from Morrow and Copp 1:58 apart to take a 4-3 lead.Lundqvist was disappointed the Rangers’ comeback effort didn’t pay off.“I feel like, even myself, I battle in this game to try to make the right things and get rewarded, but the result is the same,” Lundqvist said. “And it’s very disappointing for us as a group, but even for me personally.”The Jets had built a 2-0 lead in the first period on two goals by Scheifele.The Rangers delivered their own pair of goals in the second period, striking early with Zibanejad’s first goal at 38 seconds when the puck went off a post and in.Buchnevich tied it 2-2 with 17 seconds remaining on a New York power play, redirecting a shot by Ryan Strome at 19:19.The Jets took another penalty with 18 seconds remaining in the period and the Rangers capitalized early in the third.Zibanejad scored 57 seconds into the third after he shot the puck and it bounced off two Winnipeg defenders and into the net for the 3-2 lead.“I think it’s a good sign we battled back,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said. “We turned the switch on which isn’t easy to do when you play that poorly in the first to come out the way we did in the second and third.”NOTES: Zibanejad has 21 points (13 goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games. Zuccarello has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in his past 12 games.UP NEXTRangers: At Buffalo on Friday.Jets: Host Colorado on Thursday.
_________________
elaine95