PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins acknowledge theyve been getting by more on talent than discipline recently even as theyve soared to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
cheap nfl jerseys china . The perpetually rebuilding Florida Panthers have no such luxury. On Monday night, the Panthers hard work made up the difference. Drew Shore scored twice for the first multi-goal game of his career and the Panthers ended Pittsburghs club-record 13-game home winning streak with a 5-1 victory. "It was a big game," Shore said. "We kind of treated it like a playoff game. We only had a couple more games until the (Olympic) break so we wanted to make a strong push." Jonathan Huberdeau, Dmitry Kulikov and Shawn Matthias also scored for the Panthers, who won in Pittsburgh for the first time in five years. Scott Clemmensen stopped 35 shots in his first start in three weeks as Florida ended a two-game losing streak. "I asked them for 60 minutes and 200 feet," Florida coach Peter Horachek said. Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma received neither. Matt Niskanen scored the only goal for the Penguins as Pittsburgh lost at home for the first time since Nov. 13. Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves but fell for only the fourth time in his past 37 starts at Consol Energy Center. "We were just awful," Niskanen said. "Bad execution. Bad work ethic. We just werent hungry enough to win the loose puck battle and they just beat the (stuffing) out of us." Pittsburgh defenceman Paul Martin played 20 minutes in his return from a broken leg, clearing the way for him to play for Team USA in the Olympics. Forwards James Neal, Chuck Kobasew and Jayson Megna also returned from injuries as the Penguins -- already with a comfortable 13-point cushion in the Metropolitan Division -- continue to get healthy with the Olympic break looming. While it may take a game or two for the Penguins to adjust to the familiar faces, they dont necessarily view it as an excuse. "Were assimilating players back into our lineup ... but thats not a new challenge for this group," Bylsma said. "Its not a new challenge for our team." Neither is winning in Pittsburgh for the Panthers. But Florida beat the Penguins for the second time in three meetings behind Clemmensen, a resurgent penalty kill that has gone a franchise-record 10 games without allowing a goal and some unlikely offensive contributions. "I dont think we got lucky tonight," Clemmensen said. "I think we just willed it a little bit. It doesnt always go your way obviously. You stick with it and nights like tonight happen." Shore entered with just four goals in 54 career games and has spent most of this season in the American Hockey League. Still, he scored twice in less than 20 minutes to stake Florida to an early lead that was more than enough to end Pittsburghs two-month run of perfection. The Penguins entered the night having trailed barely 10 per cent of the time at home since their streak began. A significant chunk came in last weeks 4-3 comeback victory over Washington, when they rallied from a goal down three times to escape. It was the kind of game thats popped up frequently since Christmas, where Pittsburghs high-powered offence was able to overcome some uncharacteristic lapses at the other end of the rink. The miscues finally caught up with them. A rare breakdown by the leagues top power-play unit gave Shore the chance to stake Florida to an early lead. Clemmensen stopped Evgeni Malkins shot, then passed to Shore to spark a two-on-one that ended with Shore flicking a wrist shot over Fleurys shoulder 15:46 into the first period. The Panthers had three opportunities in the second to double their lead only to let three straight power plays go to waste before Shore struck again. Huberdeau stripped a Penguin behind the Pittsburgh net, slid the puck to Jesse Winchester, who found a streaking Shore down the slot. The wrist shot caromed off Fleurys shoulder and into the net to make it 2-0 at 13:34 of the second. Kulikov pushed the Florida lead to 3-0 by taking a long bounce off the end boards then beating Fleury just 1:17 into the third. Niskanens seventh goal of the season 5:11 into the period briefly gave the Penguins some energy, but it faded when Huberdeau and Matthias scored 12 seconds apart to send the Panthers to the upset. NOTES: Pittsburgh went 0 for 3 on the power play. ... The Panthers have killed 31 straight penalties. ... Florida is 10-0-1 when leading after two periods. ... Pittsburgh hosts Montreal on Wednesday. ... The Panthers play at Buffalo on Tuesday.
cheap jerseys from china . Speaking to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on Friday, Brodeur said "Ive come to the conclusion that Im definitely going to be available July 1.
cheap nfl jerseys . - The way Mark Teixeira looks at it, getting booed on the road is a badge of honour.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kevin McHale has been around the NBA long enough to know that not every win can be pretty. And Houstons 82-70 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night was proof. McHales Rockets overcame 22 turnovers and won despite shooting just 39 per cent from the field to snap a four-game losing streak. Rookie Chandler Parsons scored 20 points and Kevin Martin 17 for the Rockets, while Jordan Hill came up big off the bench with 12 points and 12 rebounds. "Sometimes in the NBA youve just got to win ugly," McHale said. "Believe me that was ugly for both teams out there, but it was prettier for us and I was happy for our guys. They kept fighting. Weve been preaching that youve got to win some ugly games." The Rockets (3-6) broke open a tight game in the third quarter and the poor-shooting Bobcats could never make a serious run at the lead. The closest they got was within five with 2:30 remaining, but Parsons made a three-pointer from the right wing and a jumper from deep in the left corner to put the Rockets back up by double digits. The Rockets held the Bobcats to 35 per cent shooting from the field and outrebounded them 57-44. "I thought we were tired and couldnt really do anything, couldnt execute, couldnt run, couldnt defend," Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. "Its just one of those nights. Even layups. We had shots right at the hoop but we couldnt convert. I cant fault them, I mean, they played as well as they could play. We just didnt have it. They were sitting here waiting for us to come in (from New York). We played a tough game Monday night (at the Knicks), and then to come back tonight and have to play, thats rough. Its rough." Parsons came into the game averaging just 5.3 points this season but got hot early, scoring six of his teams first eight points. He shot 9 of 16 from the field and added seven rebounds to give the Rockets a much-needed spark. "At the end of the day youre playing basketball and in a game like that its just exciting for our team to be able to shoot that poorly from the field and be able to pull out a win on the road in the NBA," Parsons said. "Thats the kind of effort we have to give on the defensive end every night to win games like this.
cheap jerseys china. " The Rockets began the season 2-2, but had lost four in a row while struggling on offence. Kyle Lowry had 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Rockets, while Samuel Dalembert added 10 rebounds. Jordans double-double was big for the Rockets, particularly in the third quarter. "Jordan saved our bacon there for a while," McHale said. "He played really well. Were still trying to find out rotations and try to find out what were going to be doing. Were still working on all those things and trying to find out who is going to play and when theyre going to play and whose theyre going to play with." The Bobcats (2-8) couldnt muster much offence with the exception of centre Byron Mullens, who turned in another solid game off the bench scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. It was the sixth time in eight games Mullens has finished in double digits in scoring and marked his second double-double of the season since being acquired in a pre-season trade with Oklahoma City. The Bobcats were playing without starting forwards Corey Maggette, who is out two to four weeks with a strained left hamstring, and Tyrus Thomas, who needed a break to rest his fatigued legs after seeing significant playing time in the teams previous three games. Their other top scorers didnt pick up the slack. Boris Diaw, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds the night before against the Knicks, was held to four points on 2-of-13 shooting. D.J. Augustin came into the game averaging 18.6 points, 7.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds in his previous five games, was held to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Notes: Mullens had made 19 straight free throws to start the season before missing one in the third quarter. He said the foul shot wasnt supposed to be his, but the referee sent him to the line. "It didnt feel right," Mullens said. ... Diaw has gone seven games and 185 minutes without going to the free throw line. ... The Rockets had allowed opponents to shoot 54 per cent from the field on the road this season before Tuesday night.
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