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win to keep his job.

(2014-10-21 23:48:35) 下一個
PITTSBURGH, Pa. jerseys from china . - The New York Rangers have momentum, a unified locker room and Henrik Lundqvist. The Pittsburgh Penguins have two of the worlds best players and a coach who could be needing a win to keep his job. No pressure or anything, just a Game 7 that could alter the long-term future of one of the NHLs most stable franchises and boost the immediate prospects of an emotionally charged group rallying around one of the games most respected veterans. Looking overmatched and overwhelmed while falling behind 3-1 to the Penguins four games into the Eastern Conference semifinals, its the Rangers who head to Game 7 on Tuesday night looking like the team ready to move on. Martin St. Louis, just days removed from the death of his mother, scored the first of New Yorks three goals in Game 6 to provide the jolt that carried the Rangers all the way back from the brink. The way St. Louis figures it, he is simply repaying the guys in a dressing room hes still learning after arriving in New York after a trade with Tampa Bay in February. "I think when something like that happens to one person to see the support you get from everybody else, it really makes it real," he said. "Theres not phoniness about the family feeling you want to create." Its a feeling that ebbs and flows in Pittsburgh. Dominant and disruptive to start the series, the Penguins have spent the last six periods giving New York every reason to believe it can rally from a 3-1 deficit for the first time in franchise history. Centre Sidney Crosby has just one goal in 12 games. The power play — which tied with Washington for the leagues best in the regular season — has converted just one of its past 19 chances. And now coach Dan Bylsma finds himself 60 minutes away from either taking the Penguins back to the conference finals for the third time in six years or possibly looking for work. Not that Bylsma is ready to talk about the big picture yet. The task at hand is worrisome enough. "These are the ones you dream about playing," Bylsma said. "This is one were going to remember." The memories havent been kind to the Penguins in deciding games on home ice. Pittsburgh is just 2-6 at home in Game 7s in franchise history, including losses to Montreal in 2010 and Tampa Bay three years ago. The Penguins played the entire series against the Lightning without Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, who sat out with injuries. Both have been healthy this time around, skating alongside each other in the hopes theyll provide offence. Only Malkin, who has six goals in 13 games, has delivered. Though Crosby ended a 13-game playoff goal drought in Game 3, he spent as much time in Game 6 jawing with the Rangers and getting water squirted on him by Lundqvist as he did trying to become the magnetic force that can sometimes change the course of a game with his will. Crosby insists he is healthy even while averaging just .75 points per game during the post-season, well below his career playoff average of 1.28. The leagues leading scorer received a pep talk from Penguins co-owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux in the aftermath of Game 6. Having a quick chat is nothing new for Crosby and his mentor. "He definitely has a pretty good understanding of dealing with the pressure," Crosby said. So does Lundqvist. The goaltender thrives when the pressure is its highest. He was New Yorks best player early in the series, the main reason 3-2, 2-0 and 3-0 losses didnt look worse. When it looked as if the Rangers were out of it after falling behind 3-1, he responded by stopping 67 of the next 69 shots he faced and is 9-2 with a 1.35 goals-against average with the Rangers facing elimination. The three-time All-Star is 4-1 in Game 7s. "He takes his game up to another level," New York coach Alain Vigneault said. "But this Game 7 against this team, its going to have to be a team level. Its going to have to be everybody taking their game to another level." The same can be said in the Penguins dressing room, which could have a very different look. If the team built to become a dynasty after winning it all in 2009 falls short of the Stanley Cup finals for the fifth straight season. The Penguins won that title in Game 7 on the road against Detroit, the defending champions. To take the next step back they have to find that magic at home. "We worked hard all year to get home ice in the playoffs," Crosby said. "To get to this point weve got to look at this like an opportunity and make the most of it." wholesale jerseys . Erik Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators felt good after their 3-1 defeat of the Washington Capitals on Monday, their first back-to-back victory in 51 days and their first three-game winning streak at the Canadian Tire Centre this season. cheap jerseys from china . A year ago, as newly appointed general manager Masai Ujiri bided his time and sat out of a lacklustre 2013 draft, this scenario seemed highly improbable. The Raptors, like every other team in the association, had at least one eye on this years rookie crop, one of the most highly touted and eagerly anticipated ever to enter the league. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Carlos Pena is back in the major leagues with the team that drafted him in the first round quite a while ago. Pena rejoined the Rangers on Tuesday, a week after signing a minor league deal and going to Triple-A Round Rock, and 13 years after making his major league debut with Texas. He was the 10th overall pick in 1998. "God is good, man. Here I am, where it all started for me and its truly very special," Pena said the home series opener against Detroit on Tuesday night, when he was batting sixth and playing first base. "Just to think back where it all started. ... This is crazy. I was looking at a picture I had of my first at-bat ever and it was with a Rangers uniform. My wife sent it to me this morning." The Rangers designated first baseman/outfielder Brad Snyder for assignment when they purchased the 36-year-old Penas contract from Round Rock. Since losing Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland to season-ending injuries, Snyder was splitting time at first base with Donnie Murphy. Neither Snyder nor Murphy had played first base in the major leagues before this season. "We just brought in a first baseman to play first base, and he has a presence," manager Ron Washington said. "He may be a little older, but he has presence. Throw something in the wwrong spot, and he will hurt you. cheap nfl jerseys. He knows how to play around that bag. He knows what to do, he knows where to be. Its second nature to him." In seven games at Round Rock, Pena hit .333 (8 for 24) with one home run. The only person to go longer between games for the Rangers was Sammy Sosa, who made his major league debut for Texas in 1989 and then played his final season there in 2007. Fielder had a cervical fusion of the C5 and C6 disks in his neck last month. Moreland had ligament reconstructive surgery and bone realignment in his left ankle Monday, and the team said he went home to Mississippi. Fielder and Moreland are expected to be ready for spring training next season. After playing 22 games for the Rangers, Pena was traded to Oakland that winter. He has also played for Detroit, Boston, Tampa Bay, the Chicago Cubs, Houston and Kansas City. He was an All-Star in 2009 with Tampa Bay, when he had an AL-high 39 homers. Pena went to spring training with the Los Angeles Angels, but was released March 23 after hitting .139 in 20 spring games. "I was training. I was staying ready. I had faith that something was going to happen," he said. "At the same time, I didnt want to force it. I wanted to make sure it was right and it was the right spot, the right situation."cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
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