Neues » 9-2 loss to Nashville

(SportsNetwork. Frank Ntilikina Jersey .com) - Fresh off earning his second Olympic gold medal, Sidney Crosby will get back to work for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday when they host the Montreal Canadiens at CONSOL Energy Center.Crosby famously delivered the overtime game-winner for Team Canada in the 2010 gold medal game against the United States, but unlike four years ago in Vancouver the Canadians didnt need a dramatic finish to repeat as Olympic champions.Canada won all six of its games at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and earned shutout victories in the last two outings, beating the U.S. 1-0 in the semifinals before downing Sweden 3-0 in the battle for gold. Crosby, who captained Canada in Sochi, posted a goal and two assists en route to another Olympic title.Crosbys fellow Penguins star Evgeni Malkin and Team Russia did not fare nearly as well at the 2014 Olympics, as the host country was eliminated by Finland in the quarterfinals.Sochi didnt end in glory for Pens head coach Dan Bylsma either. He had Team USA off to a 3-0 start in the tournament before the loss to Canada in the semifinals and a subsequent defeat at the hands of Finland kept the Americans off the podium.You have to put (the Olympics) behind you, Bylsma recently told the Pens official website. The task at hand is coming back here and playing for the Penguins. Thats the best way to put it behind you.Pittsburgh returns from the break with a healthy 16-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division, but the club still has injury concerns to deal with. Defenseman Kris Letang is still out due to a stroke suffered prior to the Olympics. Fellow blueliner Paul Martin is out for at least a month after injuring his hand while representing the U.S. in Sochi.The Pens were 4-1-1 in their final six outings before the Olympics. The clubs next game will be played outdoors when Pittsburgh visits the Chicago Blackhawks for Saturdays game at Soldier Field, home of the NFLs Chicago Bears.Montreal will try to bounce back from a loss in its first game after the Olympics. The Canadiens were handed a 2-1 overtime loss by visiting Detroit on Wednesday to have a three-game winning streak halted.The Habs did not have No. 1 goaltender Carey Price for their first game back after he suffered a lower-body injury at practice on Wednesday morning. Price, who also will miss tonights game, anchored Team Canada in its gold medal run in Sochi, posting a 5-0 record, a 0.59 goals against average and .972 save percentage.Peter Budaj started on Wednesday and he stopped 28 shots before allowing Detroits Gustav Nyquist to score with just 27.3 seconds remaining in OT.The Canadiens still managed to notch a point thanks to Brian Giontas game- tying tally with just 28.7 seconds left in regulation.In the third we started to pressure their D a little more and it paid off in the end, Gionta said. In the first two periods, they were able to come through out of their zone quite easily.Budaj could get another start tonight for the Habs. Montreal also recalled Dustin Tokarski from its AHL affiliate in Hamilton on Wednesday to take Prices place on the roster.The Canadiens and Penguins have split a pair of games so far this season, but Pittsburgh has won four of five and seven of its last nine meetings with Montreal.The Habs, who are playing five of their next six games on the road, have dropped five straight in the Steel City. John Starks Jersey . -- Brady Heslip scored a season-high 20 points to help Baylor beat No. Mark Jackson Jersey . The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. http://www.nbaknicksauthority.com/ . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized.RALEIGH, N.C. – The Maple Leafs were probably due for this. Despite reeling off wins in 10 of their previous 12 games, there was growing concern around the club that the tide was trending in a troublesome direction, one that would eventually catch up to them at some point. That thinking proved right for at least a night in North Carolina. The Leafs were dealt a minor wake-up call Thursday night in Raleigh, their season-long six-game win streak halted by a struggling Hurricanes squad that had tumbled to the very bottom of the league with six consecutive losses previously. It was just the second defeat in regulation for Toronto since Nov. 18 (10-2-1). When you start to get away from the little details of your game these are the things that creep up on you, said Peter Holland following the 4-1 defeat. The trouble started early. Listless from the point of puck-drop, the Leafs surrendered a pair of goals in a span of less than two minutes in the first frame, including one shorthanded. They also yielded 16 shots and lost more than 70 per cent of the faceoffs. Randy Carlyle felt his club was simply outworked in the early-going. Right from the get-go we were in trouble, said Stephane Robidas afterward. We didnt start the game on time. They took advantage of it. With some reconfigured line combinations, a bit more fight and a few less turnovers, the Leafs pushed back some in the middle period and cut the gap in half on the second goal of the year from Dion Phaneuf. But then with an all-too-perfect opportunity to even the score on a third period power-play, Cody Franson took a penalty. Franson cross-checked Nathan Gerbe, a player precisely one foot shorter than him. Andrej Sekera predictably scored for the home side on the ensuing power-play, the final nail in any comeback attempt. When we commit the undisciplined acts that we committed tonight it comes back and bites you, Carlyle said, referring repeatedly to that penalty specifically afterward. It just takes you right out of the hockey game. Carlyles concern has been brewing for the past couple weeks, even as the wins kept piling up. After a 6-2 win over the Ducks on Tuesday he observed that his teams play had slipped, referring to an increase in mistakes before the game in Carolina. While scoring in bunches, the Leafs have surrendered a worrisome number of shots and have been leaning more and more on their tandem in goal to mind that gap. It was a formula that ended up in failure last season and one they remain weary of repeating. You cant rely on your goalie to win games every night, said Robidas. Its not the right recipe to win. Jonathan Bernier faced 36 shots on this night and was ultimately outdueled by Cam Ward, who stopped all but one of the 26 that came his way. Carolina had scored just a single goal in each of their previous six losses, but had four on this night, including that shorthanded marker in the first. Justin Faulk finished that two-on-one rush with Morgan Rielly caught deep and flat-footed in the Hurricanes zone, the second of two first period goals for the home side. The first came when Chris Terry outmaneuvered Jake Gardiner for a rebound in front. If not quite the warning shot of that 9-2 loss to Nashville last month or the one-sided defeat in Buffalo a few nights before that, the loss was indeed a reminder of where the road will turn if the current formula is maintained. And its not a happy place. I dont think we need to fix the big picture here, Holland said, I think its just a couple little things we need to adjust again and then hopefully well end up back on the right side of the score-sheet. An opportunity to respond comes Saturday when the Flyers visit the ACC. Five Points 1. Lesson Learned? The Leafs have increasingly resembled the group from last year of late and that has concern seeping in. The club went on a equally scorching 11-2-1 run prior to the Olympic break last February before spiraling out of a playoff position thereafter. The underlying numbers appear similar. Comparing Seasons 2014-15 2013-14 Record 10-2-1 11-2-1 Goals Per Game 3.85 3.64 Shots Against Per Game 34.2 35.7 Possession* 44.3% 43.1% *Entering Thursdays play Hopefully last years was a learning experience for us, that you cant take anything for granted, said Carlyle. Courtney Lee Jersey. Things change dramatically and when the wave starts to go with you you want to ride it as long as you possibly can and when the wave goes against you youve got to find a formidable wall and build that and say enoughs enough. Among the bigger differences from last years Leafs to this years version is vastly improved depth, a much sturdier penalty kill and a step forward from the likes of Nazem Kadri and Peter Holland. I dont like to look back on the past because we cant change what happened and it was a negative, Carlyle said. What wed like to do is build on the positive of getting the points, but yet [recognize the need for improvement]. 2. Possession Showing slight improvement early in the season the Leafs have dipped again in the possession game, 27th overall coming into Thursdays play. Thats led to extended shifts in the defensive zone, a whole bunch of shots for Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer, and an obvious area for improvement for the teams head coach. We feel the majority of teams that are having success in the league are spending extended shifts in the oppositions zone and we havent done that on a consistent basis here in the last three or four games, Carlyle said. There was an old coach from Sudbury by the name of Al Arbour who said that the least amount of time you spend in your zone usually defers to you having success in the outcome of the hockey game. During the previous 12 games, of which they won 10, the Leafs had an even-strength possession of 44 per cent, third-worst in the league in that stretch. They managed a 42 per cent clip against Carolina. 3. Possession II Torontos best line previously at sustaining offensive zone pressure had been that of Nazem Kadri, Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik – all three hovering near 50 per cent on the year. Why? They keep it simple, Carlyle said. If theres not an opportunity to advance the puck on a three-on-two or two-on-one or odd-man rush they put the puck in and they skate off it. With todays rules you cant hold up in the neutral ice anymore so there should not be any reason to not get the puck in deep if the situation presents itself. Thats the issue, [its] more about reading when to do it and when not to do it. 4. Pushing for 1,000 Holland hit the 100-game mark as an NHL player on Thursday night. Hes more than 900 games behind the teams oldest player, the 37-year-old Robidas. Robidas is the type of player and personality the Leafs want their young players (like Holland) to watch carefully and emulate, studying just how a seventh-round pick from Quebec managed to stick around all these years. It didnt happen overnight. Robidas remembers eating McDonalds four or five times a week when he played junior hockey in Shawinigan, but when he turned pro with the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate in Fredericton he approached the clubs strength coach looking to make a change. Hey I want to get to the next level, Robidas recalled saying. Can you help me? And with that help he changed his nutrition, sleeping patterns, workout regimen and general routine for preparing to play. And come next season, if he remains healthy, Robidas will be in line to cross the 1,000-game threshold. If I didnt change I dont think Id be sitting here, he said. 5. Faceoffs If theres one point for improvement that Carlyle would like to see from the 24-year-old Holland its in the faceoff circle. Holland, who lost nine of 15 draws on Thursday, is amongst the worst regulars in the league at 44.6 per cent. As a team the Leafs sit 15th overall at 49.7 per cent. Stats-Pack 100 – Career games for Peter Holland. 18:58 – Ice-time for Roman Polak in his return to the Toronto lineup. 32 – Faceoff winning percentage for the Leafs on Thursday. 52-38 – Possession advantage for the Hurricanes. 5-3-3 – Leafs road record this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3 Season: 20.5 per cent PK: 2-3 Season: 83.5 per cent Quote of the Night Its not a 9-2 loss to Nashville, thats for sure. -Peter Holland, on whether Thursdays defeat classified as a minor wake-up call. Up Next The Leafs host the Flyers on Saturday night. 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