Devils, Rangers meet one last time with little at stake
This spring marks the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest non-Stanley Cup Finals(stanley cup rings) playoff series in history -- the New York Rangers'(custom New York Rangers championship rings) epic seven-game Eastern Conference finals win over the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers, on their way to their first championship since 1940 that season, trailed three games to two before winning Game 6 when Mark Messier backed up his victory guarantee with a natural third-period hat trick and winning Game 7 on Stephane Matteau's goal in the second overtime. The tri-state rivals will not commemorate the anniversary with a similarly high-stakes meeting this spring. Instead, the Rangers and Devils will each be looking to take solace in playing out the string in inspired fashion Monday night, when they complete their season series as New Jersey hosts New York in Newark.
The Rangers will be completing a back-to-back set after earning a 3-0 win over the host Philadelphia Flyers(Philadelphia Flyers championship rings for sale) on Sunday afternoon. The Devils last played Saturday night, when they fell to the visiting St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime. With the win, the seventh-place Rangers (31-34-13, 75 points) locked up a last-place finish in the Metropolitan Division for the Devils (29-40-10, 68 points) -- the most points New Jersey can finish with is 74, one fewer than New York's current total. The victory also created the first winning streak in more than two months for the Rangers, who hadn't won consecutive games since heading into the All-Star break with three straight victories from Jan. 15-19.
The Rangers have scored seven unanswered goals since falling behind the Blues 2-0 in the first period Friday. Such a surge has provided a bit of relief and redemption to New York, which absorbed five three-goal defeats in a seven-game stretch prior to Friday night. "Just seems like we've been putting ourselves in bad positions the last couple weeks -- we've been losing leads or getting behind the 8-ball early, so it's nice to kind of get out in front," Rangers center Ryan Strome told reporters after scoring a goal Sunday. "To get a win, I think any time a young team comes in a tough building like this...it's a good building block. We've got to finish these games off strong here and get ready for next year."
The Devils(championship rings for sale) took solace of their own in extending the Blues, who clinched a playoff berth despite losing Friday night, almost as far into overtime as humanly possible before defenseman Vince Dunn scored the game-winning goal with 2.8 seconds remaining. The loss marked the second straight time the Devils went into overtime or beyond with a team in the Western Conference playoff picture. New Jersey damaged the Arizona Coyotes' wild card hopes with a 2-1 shootout win on March 23.
"I thought we had great resilience," Devils center Kevin Rooney said following Saturday's loss. "It shows the character in this locker room. We are not going to give up. We are going to fight through the rest of the season and give it all for each other and for the fan base and organization."
Pekka Rinne’s difficulties against the Penguins(Pittsburgh Penguins championship rings), particularly in Pittsburgh, have been well documented. So, it felt good for the Nashville Predators’ star goaltender to put those questions to rest — at least for one night.n Rinne stopped 42 shots to lead the Predators to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
“It hasn’t been an easy building for me, personally,” Rinne said, “and for us as a team, either.” It was the second game in eight days between the teams and a rematch of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, won by Pittsburgh in six games. Rinne won for the first time in Pittsburgh and defeated the Penguins for just the second time in 10 career regular-season starts. In six previous career starts in Pittsburgh, including the playoffs, Rinne was 0-6-0 with a 5.14 goals-against average and a .822 save percentage. He allowed three goals or more in every other appearance in Pittsburgh. “Those kinds of things, you kind of recognize them and it’s in the back of your head, but at the same time, it’s always a great challenge and I love to come here and play,” Rinne said.
Viktor Arvidsson’s 32nd goal of the season — a power-play goal — set a career high and also was the 100th of his NHL(nhl championship rings) career. Craig Smith and P.K. Subban also scored for the Predators, who moved into a first-place tie in the Central Division. Nashville, which clinched its fifth straight playoff berth Monday, has won five of seven after losing four of its previous six. Rinne was 63 seconds from his fifth shutout of the season when Nick Bjugstad scored for Pittsburgh.
Matt Murray made 23 saves for the Penguins, whose three-game(cheap championship rings) winning streak ended. Pittsburgh, which had a chance to tie the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division, came in having won 10 of 15 games and earned points in 14 of 16. “I thought we had some really good chances in the first period,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “You can’t always control whether it goes in the net. Their goalie was good, you have to give him credit, but I thought our team battled hard.”
Rinne allowed 12 goals and made just 34 saves during three 2017 Stanley Cup Final games in Pittsburgh. He was strong on Friday, stopping 22 first-period shots. Rinne has eight wins and one shutout in his last 13 starts total.
The Leafs(Toronto Maple Leafs championship rings) 7-6 win against Philly two weeks ago was certainly a far-from-perfect, barn burner of a game, but it was nevertheless a much-needed win for Toronto after two awful performances against Tampa Bay and Chicago in the days leading up to it. The night after, against Ottawa, things went south again and the Philly game ended up being their only win of the week. Winners of just three of their last eight, the Leafs have conceded six (vs. PHI) and five goals (vs. FLA) in two of those wins and they would like to start winning and putting together cleaner 60-minute performances here as the regular season winds down.
Brian Elliot was the starter last time around, as Carter Hart had returned the night before in a loss to Washington. Tonight, with both teams rested, Hart — who has now started virtually every game outside of back-to-backs for the last couple of months — will be in between the pipes for the Flyers(custom Philadelphia Flyers championship rings). He’s now played 27 games on the season and is sporting a sparkling .927 save percentage and a more average ‘goals saved above expected’ mark of -1.2.
In the Leafs(nhl championship rings for sale) net, the decision to start Frederik Andersen is raising some eyebrows as the Leafs are now in a spot where home-ice is out of reach and they’re not at any risk of dropping out of third in the division — the same position as last year. Alternating starts with Garret Sparks the rest of the way makes sense from a rest perspective, although ultimately, these decisions come down to the goalie and the goalie coach as far as how Andersen is feeling about his game and where his energy level is at, mentally and physically. The Leafs want Andersen at his best performance-wise come Game 1 vs. Boston and he’s currently working through a six-game stretch where he’s posted a .841 save percentage, so there is that balance of getting Andersen to emerge from the funk while ensuring he’s fresh for the postseason(championship sports rings).
The Philadelphia Flyers)(custom Philadelphia Flyers championship rings) faced the Washington Capitals in the second half of back-to-back games with Metropolitan Division teams. Needing every win possible to keep their ever so slim playoff hopes alive, the Philadelphia Flyers hit the road to take on the Washington Capitals in their final meeting of the 2018-19 campaign.
Brian Elliott got the call from Interim Head Coach Scott Gordon and opposed Braden Holtby in-net. Holtby had a 2.94 Goals-Against Average with a .907 save percentage coming into the matchup. The Flyers had to bring more effort and energy than they did in their last contest if they wanted any opportunity at a victory over Washington(stanley cup championship rings). The Capitals got out to a quick lead early, taking a one goal lead over the Flyers on a goal from Tom Wilson. Wilson put an honestly nice re-direct on a shot from the point, giving Elliott hardly any chance to make the save. Philadelphia went on to take two penalties in the first period alone but, thanks in large part to Elliott, were able to kill both off and keep the score at 1-0.
You couldn't deny the Flyers brought the energy I was looking for throughout the second period, outshooting the Capitals by a whopping 16-6 margin. While Washington did get another goal in the stanza on a shot from Travis Boyd, Jakub Voracek helped the Flyers avoid being shutout by their in-division rival as he scored on one of the three power-play opportunities they received in the period to make it a 2-1 game after 40 minutes of work.
Philadelphia(cheap championship rings) got their fourth power play of the day to start the third and did everything but score with Holtby standing tall to keep the Capital lead at one. That failed man advantage would come back and haunt the Flyers in the form of Jakub Vrana's 22nd goal of the year to eventually give the Capitals a 3-1 win.
This was a classic example of the Flyers running into a hot goaltender. Holtby was completely on his game for most of, if not, the whole contest. Sure, Philadelphia could've tightened things up defensively, but surrendering three goals against this type of an offense surely gave them the chance to win, they just couldn't solve Holtby more than once.
As Nino Niederreiter looks to continue helping the Carolina Hurricanes'(Carolina hurricanes championship rings) push toward ending their nine-year playoff drought, he can also potentially deliver a hit to his former team's postseason plans. On Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C., the Minnesota Wild face Niederreiter for the first time since they traded him to the Hurricanes in this matchup of playoff hopefuls. A long-time contributor and fan-favorite for the Wild, Niederreiter was losing ice time in his sixth season with the club when it dealt him to Carolina on Jan. 17 for Victor Rask. Though the move was tough for the veteran Swiss forward at the time, he's been reborn while becoming a key piece to the Hurricanes' cause. Owner of the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, Carolina is 18-7-2 since acquiring Niederreiter, who has 12 goals and 12 assists in 27 games there. Those 24 points are one more than he totaled in 46 with Minnesota this season.
Niederreiter registered a point in his third straight contest with a goal in the Hurricanes' irritating 6-3 home loss to Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay(nhl championship rings) on Thursday. Carolina led 3-2 after two periods, but for only the second time in 2018-19, lost in regulation when leading into the third. "It's not our style," forward Jordan Staal, who had a goal with an assist, told the Hurricanes' official website. "All in all, that third period was not what we wanted to see out of the group. "We'll have to learn from it, put it aside and move forward."
Carolina has not lost consecutive games in regulation since Jan. 15 and 18, but welcomes a desperate Minnesota club to town. The Wild are 12-11-6 since dealing Niederreiter, while Rask has one goal with an assist in 16 games for them. The Wild enter play Saturday owners of the West's final wild-card position following a 2-1 victory at Washington on Friday. Luke Kunin's tiebreaker with 7:35 left in regulation led to a much-needed win for Minnesota, which entered that game amid a 1-4-1 stretch. It also improved to 6-1-1 on the road over the last month.
"We've got to do it again (at Carolina)," coach Bruce Boudreau(custom championship rings) said. "I think the belief is there that they can win on the road." Ryan Donato assisted on both goals, giving him 11 and 15 points in 15 games since coming over from Boston. Devan Dubnyk, who made 21 saves at Washington, equaled a career high by stopping 52 shots during a 5-4 overtime home loss to Carolina on Oct. 13. Boudreau hinted he could again start Dubnyk, who has a 1.68 goals-against average in his last three outings. Sebastian Aho's goal 2:57 into overtime gave Carolina that win at Minnesota. Aho, with a team- and career-high 79 points, had two goals with two assists in that contest.
Aho went knee-to-knee with Niederreiter on Thursday, and though the former left the game, he returned to the ice. However, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Aho would be further monitored. Carolina's Curtis McElhinney, who had 26 saves Thursday in falling to 1-2-1 with a 4.75 goals-against average in his last four starts, needed just 19 at Minnesota in October. Petr Mrazek, meanwhile, has an 0.98 goals-against average while winning three straight home starts.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With Columbus slipping into a sudden offensive malaise in the second period, Sergei Bobrovsky kept the Blue Jackets in the game and in the race for a playoff spot. The goalie played one his best games of the season, shutting down an unrelenting Carolina(cheap Carolina hurricanes championship rings) offensive attack in the second and allowing the Blue Jackets to hang on for a 3-0 win Friday night. Bobrovsky stopped 22 shots in the second period on the way to a season-high 46 saves and his sixth shutout of the season. It also was the most saves in a shutout in franchise history.
“I felt good,” said Bobrovsky, a former Vezina Trophy winner who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. “I saw lots of pucks. A lot of the shots were from outside, and (it) allows me to get into my game, to control the game. I was able to control the rebounds and control the game.”Adam McQuaid and David Savard scored for the Blue Jackets(stanley cup rings0 in the first period, and Josh Anderson added a late short-handed, empty-net goal for the Blue Jackets, who pulled even with the Hurricanes for the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are four points behind third-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division.
Petr Mrazek, who had won his last six starts, didn’t have a whole lot to do after the first period, especially in the second when Carolina kept the puck mostly in its offensive zone and Columbus mustered just two shots on goal. He finished with 17 saves. McQuaid got his third goal of the year — his first since being acquired from the New York Rangers at the trade deadline — at 3:08 of the first period. His snap shot from the point sailed over Mrazek with Pierre-Luc Dubois providing the screen. Another defenseman gave Columbus a two-goal lead a few minutes later when Savard got his first goal in 18 games, a shot from the top of the left circle off the faceoff.
Carolina pounded away with high-danger chances in the second period but couldn’t beat Bobrovsky, who got some help from the posts on at least two shots.“Once they gained momentum, we lost ourselves and Bob stood in there for us,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “Huge to get out of there without a goal scored against us, mainly because of Bob.”The third period wasn’t much better for the Blue Jackets offensively, but Anderson chipped in an empty-netter with 2:39 left. That came during a Carolina power-play and Mrazek out of the net to create a 6-on-4 situation.
“We’ve had our goalie steal some games(custom championship rings) for us, and their guy did it for them tonight,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. Columbus has won two straight and four of the last six. Carolina, 7-2-2 in its last 10, had a two-game win streak snapped.
NOTES: Carolina F Micheal Ferland returned after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury. ... The teams finished their four-game season 2-2. ... Carolina will play seven games of its last 12 against Metropolitan Division teams. ... Columbus has killed 74 of the last 80 opposing power plays and has four short-handed goals in that stretch. ... KISS bassist Gene Simmons had a prime seat on the glass next to the Columbus bench. The band plays at the Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
Given that New Jersey Devils(New Jersey Devils championship rings) played last night, they were generally terrible, and were left in the middle of seven game losses, I could not see any reason for Eulerz not to win this hockey match. Adding to the fact that the Oilers played some of their best hockey for the season right now, I had entered today's game with the expectation of two more big points in the bank and a further step closer to the second place on the Wild Card, and anything less than that would be unacceptable. What I'm saying to you is that I felt confident we'd be victorious with this ending. So when the first period ended and both teams traded with a pair of goals, I did not feel very encouraging, but I was not necessarily worried. The boys get a lot of chances in the net and if it was not for Cory Schneider, Oilers could put more than two on board.
As the game moved to the second period, the Olyrs had to find a way to stop the bleeding that started when Travis Zajac managed to score later with the remaining seconds within the initial frame. Unfortunately, this is the opposite of what happened. Instead of hitting the ice as a lunatic, the boys took their feet off the gas, pushed around, did not get the savings needed to conceal mistakes, and found themselves with a pair of goals for another 20 minutes to play. What has ever been lead now does not exist anymore. Thirdly, the Oilers had no choice but to cheat for a crime to try to get back into the game, but despite their best intentions they could not stop the Devils from saying that it was quite difficult to win at NHL(nhl championship rings) when you need to convert touchdown to make it happen.
From the folds outside, Oilers(custom Edmonton Oilers championship rings) were casual and superior to a team who had to win every night of the week and it was extremely frustrating to look at, given the importance of this hockey game.
Kenny Agostino, Damon Severson and Kevin Rooney each had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-3, Wednesday night to snap a season-high seven-game losing streak. Travis Zajac, John Quenneville and Blake Coleman also scored for the Devils, and Cory Schneider stopped 36 shots. Sam Gagner, Alex Chiasson and Matt Benning had goals for the Oilers, who have lost two of their last three games. Mikko Koskinen gave up four goals on 18 shots before he was replaced midway through the third. Anthony Stolarz came on and finished with 15 saves on 17 shots.
Zajac showed some deft hands in front as he tied the score 2-2 with 19 seconds left in the first period. The Devils then scored the first three goals of the second to take control of the game(championship rings for sale). Severson scored on a power play to give New Jersey the lead for good at 6:23, and Quenneville made it a two-goal advantage on a screened shot with 7:11 remaining in the period. That chased Koskinen.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jarron Cumberland scored 27 points, matching his career high with six 3-pointers, and Cincinnati(University/College Rings championship rings) swept its season series with Wichita State, beating the Shockers 72-62 on Sunday.
The Bearcats (21-4, 10-2 American Athletic) took control with a late first-half run led by Cumberland, who scored 14 in the opening half. He hit the big baskets as Cincinnati stayed ahead the rest of the way. Wichita State (12-12, 5-7) had its winning streak snapped at a season-high four games. Dexter Dennis led the Shockers with 14 points.
Cumberland had 14 points in the first half, which ended with the Bearcats ahead 34-24. Cumberland's 3-pointer started a 21-7 run that closed the half. Neither team shot well — Cincinnati made 30 percent from the field, Wichita State 21 percent. The Bearcats pushed the lead to 14 points early in the second half. When Wichita State got the lead down to 46-40, Cumberland had a pair of free throws and three assists during a 12-3 run that blunted the comeback. The Bearcats led by as many as 19 points down the stretch.
Wichita State: The Shockers(championship rings for sale) came into the game on their best winning streak of the season, but were done in by another round of bad shooting. They're second-to-last in the AAC in field-goal percentage. Wichita State shot 26.8 percent from the field, the lowest by a Cincinnati opponent this season. Cincinnati: The Bearcats were coming off a loss at Houston that knocked them out of the Top 25. The win over Wichita State will keep the Bearcats in the conversation for one of the final spots in the rankings.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Toronto Maple Leafs Monday, November 19, 2018 - 7:00 EST Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario TV: Fox Sports Ohio - Radio: 97.1 WBNS FM Opponent’s Blog: Pension Plan Puppets
Columbus Blue Jackets, 12-6-2, 26 points, 1st Metro, 3rd East @ Toronto Maple Leafs, 14-6-0, 28 points, 2nd Atlantic, 2nd East
The Columbus Blue Jackets enter the Air Canada Centre to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs championship rings riding a hot streak, going 5-0-2 in their last seven games. The Blue Jackets lead the Metropolitan Division and are finding ways to get results, both by scoring goals to pick up goaltenders as well as the return of in-form Sergei Bobrovsky (4-0-0, four goals allowed in his last four games).
They will match up against the high-flying Toronto Maple Leafs championship rings for sale, second in the Eastern Conference and riding their own hot streak as they recently swept their California road trip. The Maple Leafs have struggled at home (just 5-5-0 at the Air Canada Centre) while they have gone an astounding 9-1-0 on the road.
Player to Watch John Tavares
The prized free agent signing of last summer has impressed in his return to nhl championship rings, registering 12-11-23 in his first 20 games in a Maple Leafs uniform. Tavares has carried the first line center load for the Leafs, averaging 19:12 TOI per night and scoring three game winning goals already this season. Tavares has six points in his last five games including a 1-2-3 effort against the Los Angeles Kings.
Shutting down Tavares will be a key tonight if the Blue Jackets want to have a chance against the Leafs.
Jackets Notes Nick Foligno joined the team in Toronto after missing the Carolina Hurricanes game for a personal matter. He is expected to play tonight ... Sergei Bobrovsky has posted four straight games with a SV% of greater than .960 ... Since his return from a broken foot, Cam Atkinson has registered 30-23-53 in 52 regular season games played.
The Other Bench Auston Matthews will miss the game tonight with an injury, and William Nylander is still holding out ... Nylander has until December 1 to report to the Maple Leafs before he is ineligible to play this season ... The Maple Leafs are a bottom half CF% team, yet top five in goals against, limiting teams chances against their net.
01.04.2019 13:54
