Off Topic » but his team has survived without Steven

WINNIPEG -- Rookie Winnipeg Jets goaltender Michael Hutchinson couldnt stop grinning after his first NHL win Thursday night. That will happen when its a 2-1 shootout victory against the NHL-leading Boston Bruins, a team that cast him aside. Hutchinson, who made 32 saves in only his second NHL game, was drafted by the Bruins in the third round (77th overall) in the 2008 entry draft and was signed by the Jets prior to this season. "You really want that first win against them, kind of show them what they gave up on," said the 24-year-old. Bryan Little scored in the shootout in what was Winnipegs (36-35-10) last home game of the season. They finish the schedule Friday in Calgary. Little beat Bruins netminder Chad Johnson with a low shot between his pads, the only scorer in three rounds. Olli Jokinen missed for Winnipeg, while Reilly Smith, Ryan Spooner and Brad Marchand missed for the Bruins. Marchand did score Bostons only goal of the game in the first period. Jets forward Evander Kane took a pass from leading scorer Blake Wheeler and tied the game 1-1 with a wrist shot that beat Johnson over his glove with 1:57 left in the third period. Just a couple of minutes earlier, Kane had hit the post after fans started chanting "Go Jets Go" to try to propel their team to a victory. Jokinen was called for holding with 40 seconds left in overtime, but Hutchinson made a snapping glove save on a blast from David Krejci with seven seconds left to send it to a shootout. "He was outstanding," Wheeler said of Hutchinson, whose first NHL game was a 1-0 loss on Monday against Minnesota. "He really kept us in the game. They had some point-blank opportunities to add to their lead and he kind of put us away and he gave us an opportunity to tie the game." Johnson made 36 saves and Marchand scored his 24th goal of the season at 10:12 of the first period for the Bruins (53-18-9). While Boston has clinched top spot in the Eastern Conference and have 115 points, three ahead of the idle Anaheim Ducks, they have just one win in their last five games (1-1-3). Head coach Claude Julien was none too happy with the latest effort. "We looked like a disinterested team tonight," Julien said. "(The Jets) were determined to have a good, strong finish here and they did. They were the better team tonight from start to finish. "I thought our goaltender was the reason we were able to come out of here with at least a point." The fans gave the Jets a standing ovation after the game, and the players skated to centre ice and raised their sticks toward the sold-out crowd of 15,004 at MTS Centre. It was the third straight season the local fans bid farewell to the Jets without watching a playoff game, and the seventh season in a row the former Atlanta franchise has missed the post-season. "They show up every night and cheer us on hard and were very appreciative of that," Wheeler said. "The results arent where we want them to be so the only thing we can do is try to work on that and improve in the future." Wheeler recorded his 41st assist of the season and 64th point, which bumped up the career-high points hes set this season. The Bruins host Buffalo on Saturday and finish the season Sunday on the road in New Jersey. Marchand agreed with his coach that the team wasnt fine-tuning itself for the playoffs. "It felt more like an exhibition game out there," Marchand said. "The only thing that would have impressed was 1-0 till the last minute. We can play much better hockey than that." Marchand opened the scoring when he used Smiths dumped-in shot off the back boards to beat Hutchinson with a backhand shot. Jarome Iginla almost added to the lead with a breakaway, but Hutchinson came out and stopped the wrist shot with just under four minutes to go in the period. Winnipeg had a 35-31 edge in shots of goal after regulation. "He read those seams perfectly," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said of Hutchinson, who will be returned to the St. Johns IceCaps for their AHL playoffs. "His push was perfect, square on that shot, and he knew where that was going. The players played as hard as they could to give him a chance to be great and win and thats what happened. He was great, we win." Notes: Boston rested centre Patrice Bergeron and defenceman Zdeno Chara. a Winnipeg was without captain Andrew Ladd (elbow) and defenceman Dustin Byfuglin (upper-body), who wont play the final game. Eric Gordon Jersey . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. James Harden Rockets Jersey . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. https://www.rocketsrookiesshop.com/Tyler...Edition-Jersey/. His team rose to the occasion Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Sweden in the bronze-medal game. "The sting from yesterday is not something we hid from or pretend didnt happen," Dineen said. Steve Francis Jersey . The 29-year-old German, the 2011 overall World Cup champion, says she has decided "to end my career now. Danuel House Rockets Jersey .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams.With the trade deadline passed and the stretch run to the NHL season beginning, its time for Scott Cullens latest update to the NHL Awards races. On one hand, there are familiar names throughout, with previous Hart, Norris, Selke and Jack Adams winners named as best through three quarters of this season. However, as we get more games in the file, the leading candidates begin to separate from the rest of the class. Its not to say that others cant mount a strong finish to alter the outcomes, but as the season gets closer to the end, there isnt as much wiggle room. Anyway, here are my picks for awards through first three quarters of this season: HART TROPHY Winner: Sidney Crosby, C, PittsburghRunners-up: Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim; Alex Ovechkin, RW, WashingtonComment: Its no surprise that a healthy Crosby is in position to win the award as the leagues Most Valuable Player, because hes 14 points up in the scoring race and playing at the level to which weve become accustomed, when hes in the lineup. This year, he hasnt missed a game, and that is the biggest reason that Crosby at the forefront of the MVP discussion. Getzlaf is scoring at a career-best rate of 1.17 points per game, leading the team that sits on top of the standings. While his possession numbers are solid, Getzlafs line has been particularly fortunate in terms of shooting percentage, which leads to a dominant goal differential (57 for, 25 against) when Getzlaf is on the ice during 5-on-5 play. Its not the kind of thing that can be sustained long-term (as in year-over-year) but, this year, it puts him in contention for the Hart. I recognize there may not be a lot of observers that would consider Ovechkin among the most valuable in the league this year, yet I do despite his deficiencies. Hhes so far ahead of the rest of the league as a goal-scorer, that I cant ignore that contribution. Right now, Ovechkin is on pace for a 57-goal season. Second-place Phil Kessel is on pace for a 42-goal season. The last player to win the goal-scoring race by 15 goals or more was Brett Hull, in 1991-1992, when Hull scored 70 and Kevin Stevens scored 54. (Incidentally, in 1990-1991, Hull scored 86 goals, 35 more than a trio of players -- Theo Fleury, Cam Neely and Steve Yzerman -- tied for second.) Its just not that often that the leagues top goal-scorer is that far ahead of the field and, this year, Ovechkin is. Additionally, while he does plenty of damage on the power play, Ovechkin also leads the league with 26 even-strength goals, so its not all one-timers from the faceoff dot with the man advantage. Looking beyond those three, Kessel, Joe Pavelski and Jonathan Toews are among others who could warrant consideration. NORRIS TROPHYWinner: Duncan Keith, ChicagoRunners-up: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa; Victor Hedman, Tampa BayComment: This season hasnt been all that different from Duncan Keiths 2010 Norris Trophy-winning campaign. Hes played his typically-strong two-way game, though he is down more than three minutes per game compared to his peak playing time, and has added more offence this season, scoring at the second-best rate of his carerr (0.79 points per game). There are some that decry the play of the Senators Erik Karlsson, because hes not a hard-hitting block of granite on the blueline and thats their vision of a defenceman, but Karlsson is a game-changer. Hes a rare defenceman that can drive his teams offence and his negative plus-minus is more a function of relatively bad luck on percentages (both shooting and save) when hes on the ice. After Keith and Karlsson, there are a number of worthy candidates, with my preferred choice being Victor Hedman, who has been great, while adding an offensive component that is far ahead of his previously established levels. Im not sure that Team Sweden is on board with this vote, but thats their prerogative. Some familiar names -- Shea Weber, P.K. Subban and Alex Pietrangelo -- are also viable candidates, close enough that a really strong finish could alter the outcome. VEZINA TROPHYWinner: Ben Bishop, Tampa BayRunners-up: Tuukka Rask, Boston; Semyon Varlamov, ColoradoComment: As a 27-year-old who had played 45 career games coming into this season, Bishop has been a major surprise, a rock for a LLightning team that has maintained its playoff position despite missing Steven Stamkos for a couple of months.dddddddddddd. Rask has pretty much always been a top puck-stopper, with a .929 save percentage over the past three seasons, and hes played a career-high 46 games this year, handling a number one workload over a full season for, really, the first time in his career. It hasnt been a smooth and steady road to the top for Varlamov, who has rebounded from a career-low .903 save percentage last season to post a career-best .925 save percentage this season. That might be a matter of arbitrary end-points, with Varlamovs real performance level somewhere between those two extremes but, for this season, his numbers warrant award consideration. If not Varlamov, Carey Price and Jonathan Bernier have both had strong seasons, strong enough that an impressive finish could push them into the discussion. CALDER TROPHYWinner: Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Runners-up: Tyler Johnson, C, Tampa Bay; Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Comment: Having set the record for the longest point streak by an 18-year-old rookie, MacKinnon is already looking like the kind of game-breaking skilled forward that teams hope to get with the No. 1 pick in the draft. Nothing like having a great pedigree and living up to it. MacKinnons closest challenger may be Johnson, an undrafted, 5-foot-9, 23-year-old who has simply scored wherever hes played and when Stamkos got hurt, Johnson took on more responsibility and continued to play at a high level. Its not easy for a teenage defenceman to step into the NHL and consistently play with poise, but dont tell that to Maatta, who has been a revelation for the Penguins. Injuries on the Pittsburgh blueline have forced the Penguins to use Maatta more than might have been initially anticipated, but hes risen to the challenge. Bruins power play quarterback Torey Krug and Johnsons left winger, Ondrej Palat, are other contenders. SELKE AWARDWinner: Patrice Bergeron, BostonRunners-up: David Backes, St. Louis; Jonathan Toews, ChicagoComment: This isnt an easy award to hand out, though there are some consistent performers that tend to be in consideration year after year. Heres a list of centres that face a decent level of competition yet still have strong possession stats. In addition to Bergeron, Backes and Toews, who have been at the top of my lists for past couple seasons at least, Anze Kopitar, Gabriel Landeskog and Alexander Steen are first-rate two-way performers that warrant attention. JACK ADAMS AWARDWinner: Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Runners-up: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis; Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay. Comment: It can be difficult to gauge exactly what a coachs role is in a teams performance, so there is some guess work involved here. One of the factors I try to take out of the equation, or at least minimize in importance, is goaltending, because great goaltending can mask all manner of shortcomings. Anyway, Im not sure that Bruce Boudreau has done anything revolutionary with the Ducks that allows them to score on such a high percentage of their shots, but getting strong contributions from so many throughout the lineup has to be considered in some way a reflection of Boudreaus approach. Oh, yeah, the Ducks are also first place in the standings, so he has that working for him too. The St. Louis Blues play such a relentless, grinding game that Im inclined to credit a coach that can keep his team playing that style so effectively. Enter, Ken Hitchcock. Admittedly, Jon Cooper has the benefit of outstanding goaltending, thanks to Ben Bishop, but his team has survived without Steven Stamkos and has done so with a lineup full of young, inexperienced players playing significant roles. For that, Cooper gets my nomination. There are many other qualified candidates. Patrick Roys Avalanche are exceeding expectations, Mike Yeo and Mike Babcock have managed to get through significant injuries and Claude Julien keeps the Bruins rolling with a steady spproach; all of these coaches deserve credit for their work behind the bench this season. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '