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Geregistreerd op: 09 Nov 2016 Berichten: 150
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Geplaatst: 09-11-2016 08:29:50 Onderwerp: will mark the end of the playing career |
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The Rangers earn an overtime win and Patrick Kane comes alive in the third period to give Chicago a victory in Game One. Scott Cullen has notes on Brassard, Pouliot, Crosby, Kane, Bickell, Hossa and more. RANGERS TAKE OT WIN Derick Brassard scored at 3:06 of overtime to give the New York Rangers a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game One. The Rangers third line made the most of their opportunities for the night, as Benoit Pouliot scored the Rangers first goal as well as assisting on the game-winner. Brassard and Pouliot also had the Rangers best possession stats for the game, on the ice for 60% of the shot attempts at 5-on-5. The most notable story for the Penguins is that Sidney Crosby was held off the scoresheet, but also was on for all three Rangers goals. Its been a rough start to the postseason for Crosby. Even though he has six assists in seven games and his puck possession numbers are strong, Crosby is minus-5 and still seeking his first goal of the postseason. Hes still getting chances -- his 3.14 shots on goal per game is barely below his regular-season average of 3.24 per game -- but until he gets that first goal, hes going to be under more scrutiny than usual. Penguins wingers Jussi Jokinen and James Neal were on the ice for more than 70% of 5-on-5 shot attempts and Neal scored Pittsburghs second goal, but the ice was tilted favourably in their direction -- they started more than 75% of their shifts in the offensive zone. Rangers D Dan Girardi chipped in a couple of assists. Only once in 81 games during the regular season did Girardi record two assists in a game. The bad news for the Penguins is that they won the puck possession battle, which doesnt fit the profile of these teams entering the postseason, but that still wasnt enough to get away with the win. Getting beat by the Rangers third line is all the more troubling because the Penguins depth and goaltending are areas in which they would expect to have a deficit when compared to the Rangers and thats exactly how Game One played out. KANE PUTS ON A SHOW Blackhawks wingers Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell each scored a pair of goals and Chicago knocked off the Minnesota Wild, 5-2, in Game One. Kane broke a 2-2 tie with 11:38 remaining in the third period, on a highlight-reel goal, then added another with 3:13 remaining to settle the matter before Bickell added an empty-netter. Kane now has five goals and eight points in seven games this postseason, while Bickell has four goals and five points in seven games. Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa had three points (1 G, 2 A), giving him more points already in this series than he managed in six first-round games against St. Louis. No matter, no one in this years playoffs has more than Hossas 118 career playoff points. LW Patrick Sharp, who had one point in Round One, added two assists in Game One against Minnesota, while D Brent Seabrook contributed two more assists, giving him eight points (2 G, 6 A) in four games. To their credit, the Wild didnt wilt after falling behind 2-0. They outshot the Blackhawks 17-3 in the second period, then scored twice in the first seven minutes of the third to even things up; not for long it turned out. Wild D Jonas Brodin had the best possession numbers for Minnesota at 5-on-5, 73.7% of shot attempts, but it was a rough night for him, as he had six minutes in penalties and was in the box for Chicagos first two goals. D Clayton Stoner also had an eventful game for the Wild, getting credited with a goal (knocked in by Johnny Oduyas skate) and delivering a game-high six hits, including one that knocked Blackhawks RW Andrew Shaw out of the game in the first period. This game showed just how difficult the task at hand is for the Wild. They fought hard to come back, outshot the Blackhawks 32-21 (48-37 in 5-on-5 shot attempts), but they couldnt contain the Blackhawks power play or prevent Kane from getting loose. On top of that, the Wild were fortunate enough to have a Blackhawks goal disallowed in the first period, so there is some work to be done if they are going to make a series out of this. On the plus side, the Wild did show that they can take the play to the Blackhawks at times, so they will have to continue doing so because its difficult to expect Ilya Bryzgalov to get the better of Corey Crawford in the goaltending matchup. 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. Jacquizz Rodgers Jersey . Nothing pretty. But this is 1/4 World Cup. Usually plays out this way. Sherrick McManis Bears Jersey . Ferrer, the two-time defending champion in Buenos Aires, is aiming to win his 21st ATP tournament. Ferrer will next face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the fourth seed, who defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (7), 6-3 in another quarterfinal match. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-eddie-goldman-bears-jersey/ .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders. Robbie Gould Bears Jersey . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. Alshon Jeffery Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts.Two days ago our Farhan Lalji reported that one of the greatest receivers in CFL history, Geroy Simon was calling it a career. Since Farhans tweet, there have been all kinds of speculation as to why Simon would hang them up now, when as recently as a month and a half ago he indicated that he felt like he could play at least one more year. The rumour getting the most traction is that he wasnt offered enough money by Saskatchewan GM Brendan Taman to make another year worth his while. However, sources very close to the situation said on Sunday night that this decision had nothing to do with money. The recent talks between the Rider GM and Simon went fine and did not factor into his decision. Information which makes sense because in all my discussions with the CFLs yardage leader throughout the years he has never made decisions based on money, and there is no reason to think he would start now. Simon was trending on Twitter shortly after it was known that he was retiring, including tweets from many fans wondering why he wouldnt sign a one day contract with the Lions and hold the press conference in BC, since he played there the majority of his career there and racked up 14,756 of his 16,352 career yards as a Lion. Retiring with the team youve played for the bulk of your career with has become ordinary practice for most athletes in all sports. However, since entering the league with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Simon has been anything but ordinary, and has followed his own path. Last year he played for the Roughriders, and his best game of the season was the most important game of the season, when he had two touchdown catches in the Grey Cup against Hamilton, so he will retire a Rider.As for whether or not he could end up on another roster and play one more year in a different city, a source said as of Sunday night Simon had not heard from any other team in the league.dddddddddddd While it seems shocking that teams wouldnt at least contact him to gauge his interest in playing somewhere else, we shouldnt read into the lack of interest too much. First, Simon hasnt made it official, and until papers are filed to the league he is still a Roughrider. Also dont be surprised to hear that No. 81 may be hanging up his jersey, but isnt going to leave football, and that information may have already leaked to the other teams in the league. He still has gas in the tank and could help a young team like Ottawa for instance, and I consider myself one of many who think he could play at least one more year. However, it sounds like hes decided its time to make the transition into the next phase of his life, and once you have retired in your mind you are not going back, so it will be interesting to see what his new role in the game will be. As initially reported, the official press conference will be held sometime this week in Regina, and will mark the end of the playing career of the most productive receiver in CFL history. But as good as Simon was as a player he is even a better person, and will be successful in anything he does in the future. As I mentioned, it sounds like he will stay in football for now, but I know from previous conversations with him that he would be interested in exploring TV and I for one would welcome him with open arms to our team at TSN, if that opportunity ever presented itself. He also has other interests and business partners away from the game, and you can bet there will be lots of open doors in the corporate world for Simon if he chooses to go that route. I mean, who wouldnt want to hire Superman. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' ' |
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