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s team, which fell

(2015-04-19 23:14:06) 下一個
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins spent the first 25 minutes against the Toronto Maple Leafs showcasing all of their flaws, from defensive breakdowns to spotty goaltending to questionable decision-making. Walt Weiss Athletics Jersey . Then they spent the next 40 providing a reminder why they remain one of the most potent teams in the NHL. Evgeni Malkin picked up his first two-goal game in more than 18 months and added the game-winner in the shootout and Pittsburgh rallied by the stunned Maple Leafs 6-5 on Wednesday night. "That game was all over the place," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. So was Bylsmas team, which fell behind 4-1 and 5-3 -- looking comical at times in the process -- before getting its act together in the third period. Malkin and James Neal both scored in the third to tie it up, with Malkin and Sidney Crosby beating Torontos Jonathan Bernier in the shootout as Pittsburgh narrowly avoided its third three-game losing streak of the season. "Give everyone credit for sticking with it, because that first 25 minutes is as ugly as it gets," Crosby said. Chris Conner and Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh while Crosby added two assists to lift his point total to a league-leading 33. Rookie Jeff Zatkoff stopped 11 of 13 shots after replacing ineffective starter Marc-Andre Fleury less than a minute into the second period. "Jeff came in and made the stops he needed to make and played heads up," Bylsma said. Having the third period off helped too. Toronto didnt record a single shot over the final 25 minutes of play and went 0 for 2 in the shootout. James van Riemsdyk scored twice and added an assist for the Maple Leafs. Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri also scored for Toronto, but the Maple Leafs lost their way after taking a big lead. "I thought we did some good things for parts of the game, but obviously against a team like that you give them an inch and theyre going to take it all," van Riemsdyk said. While the Maple Leafs fizzled, there were no problems for the Penguins, who peppered Bernier with a season-high 48 shots. The goaltender made 43 stops, but went just 1 for 3 in the shootout. The Penguins have won 12 straight games against goaltenders making their first career starts against Pittsburgh. Its a streak that appeared in jeopardy when Bozak put the Maple Leafs ahead 5-3 with 5 seconds left in the second period by tapping a lazy rebound by Zatkoff. Instead, it proved to be the last sign of offence from Toronto. Pittsburghs decimated defence, which lost star Paul Martin for 4 to 6 weeks earlier in the day with a fractured leg, clamped down and let Malkin, Crosby company go to work. "We received the whole third period," Toronto coach Randy Carlyle said. "We didnt skate, we didnt forecheck, we didnt establish much." Neals sixth goal in his past five games pulled Pittsburgh within 5-4 at 3:46 of the third and Malkin tied it less than four minutes later when he stood in front of the crease and nudged a scrambling Bernier into the net then tucked the puck under the sprawled goaltender. "Slow start but we need to play whole 60 minutes," Malkin said. "Not a great game for us but two points, its fine." Toronto managed to extend the game through overtime, but was no match against Zatkoff in the shootout. Zatkoff stuffed Bozak and David Clarkson in the first two rounds, and after Crosby easily beat Bernier to give the Penguins the advantage, Malkin wrapped up the comeback by firing a wrist shot over the exhausted goaltenders right arm. Pittsburgh dominated for stretches early, but the Maple Leafs kept effectively counter punching. Van Riemsdyk and Kadri helped the Maple Leafs take an early 2-1 lead and things only got worse for Fleury early in the second. He failed to clear the puck behind the net, instead feeding it directly to van Riemsdyk, who pushed it across the goal to make it 3-1 just 13 seconds into the period. That was all for Fleury, stopped just eight of the 11 shots he faced. Zatkoff didnt exactly settle in quietly. Another Pittsburgh turnover allowed Bozak to set up a wide-open Kessel for a one-time that pushed Torontos lead to 4-1 just 29 seconds after Fleury skated to the bench. Pittsburgh drew within a goal as Malkin and Letang scored on consecutive power plays, but the hard work seemed to evaporate in the final moments of the second as Zatkoff failed to control a rebound on a van Riemsdyk slap shot and the puck just sat in the crease for Bozak to tap in with just 5 seconds remaining in one of the weirder 20 minutes of the season for both teams. It set the stage for what Bylsma called the best 25 minutes hes seen from his team in quite some time. NOTES: The Penguins went 3 for 5 on the power play. ... Malkins last multiple-goal game came on March 22, 2012, against Nashville. ... Toronto played without F Joffrey Lupul, who strained his groin in the second period of Mondays loss to the Blue Jackets. ... A crowd of 18,660 showed up the night before Thanksgiving to provide the Penguins with their 300th straight sellout. Lenny Dykstra Mets Jersey .Y. -- Marcos Ambrose should be on pins and needles but says hes not. Wei-Yin Chen Orioles Jersey . Howard had 19 points and nine rebounds in his first game since signing a four-year, $88 million deal with the Rockets in the off-season. Howard was 6 of 11 from the field and 7 of 11 from the free-throw line in 27 minutes.The Toronto Maple Leafs have picked a bad time to go on a four-game losing streak, but the struggling club hopes to end its slide Sunday evening in New Jersey. Toronto has dropped four straight in regulation and has five losses in its last six games. The rough patch has the Maple Leafs barely hanging on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 80 points. The Leafs are one point in front of Detroit for the first wild card spot. The Red Wings currently occupy the second wild card, but are tied in the standings with Washington. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets are lurking just two points behind Toronto. The Red Wings and Blue Jackets have games on Sunday, while Washington is off. The Devils, meanwhile, are six points behind Detroit for the last playoff spot in the East. New Jersey also hasnt helped its postseason cause lately with four losses in five games. Torontos most recent setback came in Saturdays home test against the rival Montreal Canadiens. Tomas Plekanec scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Habs held on for the 4-3 win at Air Canada Centre. The Leafs are 0-4 with Reimer in net since starting goalie Jonathan Bernier went down with a groin injury on March 13 in Los Angeles. Bernier is nearing a return from his injury but he didnt make the trip to New Jersey on Sunday, meaning Reimer could get another start. Some good news for the Maple Leafs? Center Dave Bolland played his first game Saturday since suffering a severed tendon in his ankle on Nov. 2. "I felt great," said Bolland. "I felt good with everything that was going on out there." Bolland had one shot in nine minutes and Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri scored Torontos goals. Reimer stopped 32 shots in the loss. "We win and lose as a team," said Carlyle. "The work ethic of our group has been strong. Our execution is the area we need to get better at." Toronto hopes to continue its recent dominance of the Devils on Sunday. The Maple Leafs have won the last six encounterss in this series overall and have claimed three straight and four of five in New Jersey. Nolan Ryan Mets Jersey. Both meetings between the clubs this season have ended in shootouts. James van Riemsdyk, a native of New Jersey, provided the decisive shootout goal for Toronto on both occasions. Sundays game will mark Toronto forward David Clarksons first game back in New Jersey. Clarkson, who played in 426 games for the Devils, had a 30-goal season for Jersey in 2011-12 but left the Garden State over the summer to sign a seven-year, $36.75 million contract with Toronto. It has been a trying first season with the Leafs for Clarkson. The 29-year-old has missed significant time due to suspensions and injuries and only has four goals and six assists in 49 games this season. Clarkson has so far failed to register a point in two games against the Devils in 2013-14. "I would be lying if I said (this game) was something that you dont think about," Clarkson told NorthJersey.com. "I dont know how the fans will act, but I am looking forward to going back." The Devils were blanked in Saturdays home battle against the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist recorded his 50th career shutout, a new franchise record, to help New York record the 2-0 win at Prudential Center. The loss dropped New Jersey nine points behind the Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Martin Brodeur was solid in defeat, stopping 25-of-26 shots for the Devils, who only have 11 games left to make a playoff push. "Weve got to regroup because we have a game tomorrow and it starts right there," said New Jersey forward Stephen Gionta. "Were going to have to claw our way back because were not going to give up until the end." New Jersey fell to 1-2-0 on a crucial five-game homestand after Saturdays setback and the club is 17-10-7 as the host this season. Cory Schneider will get the call in net for New Jersey on Sunday. He is 0-2 with a 1.40 goals against average in two career games against Toronto.cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
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