Smalltalk » power play and blast from the point, Po

SOCHI, Russia – Hours before his team would battle for an opportunity to play for gold here in Sochi, Canadian head coach Mike Babcock had an opportunity to meet with two members of the womens squad – Hayley Wickenheiser and Shannon Szabados – that rallied for gold of their own in historic fashion just a night earlier. "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. The line between victory and failure was painfully thin at Bolshoy Ice Dome in a Friday evening clash of the tournaments two deepest teams, but ultimately Carey Price on the prowl, another Jamie Benn marker and a stiff Canadian defensive effort prevailed in a tight 1-0 win. "If we were to think about that result and visualize it at the start of the day, wed say, mission accomplished," Price remarked afterward. Their scoring struggles may have continued in victory – just four goals of offence in the past nine periods of regulation – but what Canada continued to do exceptionally well is defend, holding a potent U.S. team completely off the board. The Americans entered the night as the tournaments most fearsome offensive attack, scoring 20 goals in their first four games including five alone from Phil Kessel. But they were stifled by the Canadians, who have allowed, incredibly, just three goals and only two at even-strength. "Thats been something from Day 1 that weve really believed in and trust that thats a big part of having success here," said Sidney Crosby. "You see the games from every team at this point are pretty tight. Thats a common theme. And theres not much separating each team." Though the pace was absolutely frantic, the Canadians generally managed the feared American speed. Much of that effort came from simply controlling possession, forcing the likes of Kessel and Patrick Kane to defend a lot more than theyd like. "We forced them to play in the defensive zone a lot," said Crosby. "Theyve got a lot of guys who are skilled and create a lot of speed, but I think we did a good job of keeping them in there for at least 20 seconds in shifts. Hopefully that played a part in taking away their energy offensively." Toews and linemates, Jeff Carter and Patrick Marleau, drew the assignment of the slowing the Kessel line – which also featured Joe Pavelski, who had the most goals in the NHL since Jan. 1 and James van Riemsdyk – and did so in part by back-checking with fevered passion, a commitment that was shared by the rest of the Canadian forward contingent. Kessel had a rush or two of consequence early, but was held to four shots and none in the final frame. "It was just work ethic," said Toews. "It was good sticks, I think we had active sticks … we didnt stop moving our feet, and we were committed to doing the job right. Our penalty kill was great tonight, too. Those are the things, whether youre winning a Stanley Cup or an Olympic gold medal, those are the things you need to do." Zach Parise led the U.S. with eight shots and had one of the better opportunities to score in the second, redirecting a Patrick Kane pass attempt on Price, one of 31 shots turned aside by the 26-year-old in his first Olympic shutout. Price was facing the biggest and most scrutinized test of his career and he aced it, outdueling the always impressive Jonathan Quick. A stoic and unwavering personality, Price, a native of Anahim Lake, B.C., was cool in his fourth start of these Games and made the difficult look effortless. Maybe his most impressive stop of the evening saw John Carlson robbed by the glove in a scoreless opening frame. "I thought he was great," said Babcock. "The game was close. Its 1-0, its tight, and all those shots coming he had to make big saves, just like Quick did. Its not like there wasnt chances tonight. There was chances both ways, its just that the goalies are so good in todays world it makes it hard to get pucks by them." "Im just soaking in this moment right now," said Price, who owns a .963 save percentage thus far. Benn proved the only player on either team to score. The 24-year-old scored his second goal (and second game-winner) by redirecting a Jay Bouwmeester point shot past Quick, who was often awesome himself in turning aside 36 shots, including all 16 in a busy first frame. Only four Canadian forwards have scored with a game to go and if there is a concern heading into Sundays final with Sweden, its just that. Like the quarterfinal game against Latvia, there were numerous chances against the Americans on this night with only one resulting in a goal. Patrice Bergeron had an early backhand opportunity eschewed by Quicks blocker. Carter was stopped by the pads moments later. Two good chances for Patrick Sharp, who offered energy on an effective fourth line with Matt Duchene and Rick Nash, also failed to materialize into anything other than a shot or two on goal. "Weve had unbelievable opportunities and still havent finished," Babcock. "Were going to finish. We just hope we dont run out of time." A journey that started six months ago at an orientation camp in Calgary will conclude Sunday against the injury-riddled, overlooked and still dangerous Swedes, who topped Finland in the other semifinal. In line with Babcocks desired mantra at these Olympics, the Canadians have gotten better every day and know that will have to continue if theyre to repeat with gold for the first time in more than 60 years and also join the undeterred womens squad, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to capture their fourth consecutive gold on Thursday night. "Each and every level of the Stanley Cup playoffs, youve got to keep getting better and its the same here," said Babcock, who will face four of his Red Wing players in the gold medal match. "What I do know about the Swedes and I know lots of them actually, theyre good players and they play with no ego and itll be about the team. Theyve been really good here. Theyre going to be a hard test. We understand that." Jack Lambert Jersey .TV Series: Duck Dynasty. Maurkice Pouncey Jersey . In the second game of their day/night doubleheader at Minneapolis, three Blue Jays pitchers, Steve Delabar, Sergio Santos and J. http://www.officialpittsburghsteelersfoo...n-jersey-womens. -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. LeVeon Bell Jersey . -- The NFL cancelled its Hall of Fame game between St. Joe Greene Jersey . -- ETwaun Moore had 14 points in 30 minutes, and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 87-86 on Sunday night.The Pittsburgh Penguins have made the playoffs for eight years running, but losing in Game Seven of the second round this year caused them to clean house, firing GM Ray Shero and head coach Dan Bylsma. Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Penguins team that has a new general manager, Jim Rutherford, and is still looking for a coach, but will surely expect to ice Cup contender next season. Its a little difficult to forecast what next years Penguins club will look like, not knowing yet who will be coaching, but its safe to expect some significant turnover on the roster. Pittsburghs third and fourth lines were obliterated for much of last season and many of those players are unrestricted free agents, so thats a starting point for change. Then, pending free agent D Matt Niskanen is coming off a career year that should price him out of the Penguins cap, as will Brooks Orpik, so there will be openings on the blueline for young defencemen to step in and play. In goal, maybe the new regime sticks with Marc-Andre Fleury for the final year of his contract, or maybe they will be more aggressive and go for sweeping changes. If the Penguins are inclined to move Fleury or James Neal or Kris Letang, that would be a big-splash move. Given their lack of depth on defence, moving Letang would be risky, but if Rutherford is inclined to shake things up, maybe the Penguins will look different than they did in 2013-2014, and maybe thats not an altogether bad idea. The TSN.ca Rating is an efficiency rating based on per-game statistics including goals and assists -- weighted for strength (ie. power play, even, shorthanded) -- Corsi, adjusted for zone starts, quality of competition and quality of teammates, hits, blocked shots, penalty differential and faceoffs. Generally, a replacement-level player is around a 60, a top six forward and top four defenceman will be around 70, stars will be over 80 and MVP candidates could go over 90. Sidney Crosby finished at the top of the 2013-2014 regular season ratings at 87.12. Salary cap information all comes from the indispensable www.capgeek.com. CF% = Corsi percentage (ie. percentage of 5-on-5 shot attempts), via www.extraskater.com. GM/COACHJim Rutherford/Vacant Returning Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Sidney Crosby 85.72 80 36 68 104 53.0% $8.7M Evgeni Malkin 81.83 60 23 49 72 53.0% $9.5M James Neal 80.16 59 27 34 61 55.4% $5.0M Chris Kunitz 77.05 78 35 33 68 52.2% $3.85M Pascal Dupuis 69.79 39 7 13 20 53.6% $3.75M Beau Bennett 62.54 21 3 4 7 57.8% $900K Craig Adams 57.78 82 5 6 11 40.8% $700K Free Agent Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Jussi Jokinen 72.52 81 21 36 57 54.8% UFA $3.0M Brandon Sutter 66.02 81 13 13 26 42.9% RFA $2.067M Lee Stempniak 65.58 73 12 22 34 47.5% UFA $2.5M Marcel Goc 64.31 74 11 14 25 50.8% UFA $1.7M Brian Gibbons 64.22 41 5 12 17 51.0% UFA $550K Joe Vitale 59.42 55 1 13 14 44.3% UFA $550K Tanner Glass 58.72 67 4 9 13 39.3% UFA $1.1M Taylor Pyatt 55.91 56 4 1 5 42.4% UFA $1.55M Healthy for the first time in four seasons, Sidney Crosby won his second scoring title and hes the runaway leader among active players in points per game (1.40). Sounds great, right? Well, it was up until the playoffs, when Crosby had a positively mortal showing, with one goal and nine points in 13 games. His possession numbers in the playoffs were still outstanding, but when the Penguins leave the playoffs earlier than expected, no one wants possession stats, they want goals. So, Crosbys rep takes a hit for that playoff slump, but hes still the best in the game so long as he stays healthy. Injuries have started to pose a problem for Evgeni Malkin over the past couple seasons, as hes missed 39 games in two years since he led the league in scoring 2011-2012. While Crosby has been the leagues top even-strength point producer over the past couple seasons, Malkin ranks 19th, which is good, but not befitting his skill level, which is right at the top of the league. Over the same time frame, hes more effective with the man advantage, ranking fifth in points/60 during 5-on-4 play. So long as the Penguins have those two, they have a chance to contend for the Cup but, as weve seen over the past five seasons, it cant be just those two. The supporting cast matters. Since the start of the 2011-2012 season, James Neal ranks fifth in goals (88) and tied for 17th in points (178) with strong possession stats, yet hes another player coming off a disappointing playoff performance (2 G, 2 A in 13 GP) and has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate if the Penguins are looking for a major shake-up. Neal is on a very reasonable contract, for the next four seasons, but maybe thats what makes him even more appealing and could yield the highest rate of return. Dealing a 26-year-old scoring power forward isnt an easy decision, but is an option available to new GM Rutherford. A 34-year-old coming off a career-best season, Chris Kunitz set career-best marks in goals (35), points (68) and played a career-high 19:09 per game. However, he faded down the stretch, with 13 points in 24 games from the start of February through the end of the regular season and he consistently gets leveled with criticism that his production is tied to his place on Crosbys wing. No matter with whom Kunitz has played, his possession numbers have always been excellent, so he warrants a top-six role, but as he hits his mid-thirties, its also reasonable to expect decline. Pascal Dupuis missed more than half of the 2013-2014 season after tearing his ACL, and while hes been a solid player alongside Crosby, theres a feeling that the Penguins could do better with a more skilled player in that spot. If Dupuis is back up to speed next season, he should have an opportunity to reclaim his old gig, but it wouldnt come as a shock if the 35-year-old, with one season of more than 50 points on his resumé, was placed into more of a checking/two-way role. A couple injuries, most notably wrist surgery, limited Beau Bennett to just 21 games in his second pro season and while his point production hasnt yet broken through, he had impressive possession numbers and saw regular time in a top-six role once he returned to the lineup. Going into next season, Bennett may have first crack at a spot on one of the Penguins scoring lines. Craig Adams has missed two games in the past five seasons and the durable checker doensnt cheat on the effort he gives night-in and night-out. He also scores remarkably little for as much as he plays -- the 12:28 per game he logged last season representing his highest average time on ice since 2003-2004. Thats probably too much ice time for a 37-year-old who has been getting obliterated in possession terms for a while now, but Adams is an inexpensive depth forward with two Stanley Cups to his credit. Similarly durable, Brandon Sutter has missed one game in the past four seasons and while he gets fed defensive zone starts as the Penguins No. 3 center, Sutter has been getting thumped possession-wise with the Penguins. Maybe thats a function of subpar linemates, and that could be improved with offseason additions, but Sutter could use a better season in 2014-2015 to establish his credentials as a two-way checking centre. The priority for the Penguins this offseason should be to upgrade their third and fourth lines. While that might be considered tweaking, adding three or four legitimate forwards to the roster is more than cosmetic change. How the Penguins fill out their forward vacancies will be hugely important, but its not going to be easy. Even with young, inexpensive defencemen on the roster, the Penguins have marquee players like Crosby, Malkin and Neal that take up a good chunk of the cap room and when the Penguins need to add as many bodies as they do, it would really help to find a bargain or two. Some options that could be of interest include: Nikolai Kulemin, Blake Comeau, Brian Boyle, Steve Ott, Steve Downie, Derek MacKenzie, Manny Malhotra, Jay McClement and Peter Regin; the Pegnuins also may want to re-sign Brian Gibbons, who showed enough in half a season to warrant a full-time role. Returning Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Kris Letang 74.43 37 11 11 22 48.8% $7.25M Paul Martin 73.40 39 3 12 15 49.2% $5.0M Olli Maatta 66.91 78 9 20 29 50.5% $894K Robert Bortuzzo 61.14 54 0 10 10 45.4% $600K Rob Scuderi 555.dddddddddddd52 53 0 4 4 43.9% $3.375M Free Agent Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Matt Niskanen 74.53 81 10 36 46 53.4% UFA $2.3M Brooks Orpik 63.71 72 2 11 13 46.2% UFA $3.75M Deryk Engelland 62.01 56 6 6 12 43.8% UFA $567K There are some complicated situations on this Penguins roster and none may be more challenging than Kris Letang, an elite puck-moving defenceman who has played more than 24 minutes per game for four straight seasons and was third in Norris Trophy voting in 2012-2013. However, Letang had quite a 2013-2014 season, marked by suffering a stroke which, combined with other injuries, contributed to his missing 45 games. When he did play, Letang finished with a career-high 11 goals, yet his relative possession stats were the worst of his career and he also had the lowest on-ice shooting percentage of his career, which is most likely a run of bad luck. With all that in the file, along with Letangs pricey contract extension kicking in, its possible that hes part of a major shake-up, though the stroke might make it difficult for another team to pull the trigger, no matter how well Letang has played when healthy. A broken leg and broken hand cost Paul Martin more than half of last season, and while Martin has handled a heavy workload for the Penguins -- nearly 25 minutes per game over the past couple seasons -- hes also seen his puck possession numbers dip, which could be function of others in the Pittsburgh lineup, but it doesnt reflect well on Martin. Hes 33 and heading into the final year of his contract, so an extension is possible, or maybe the new regime will be fine to let Martin play it out. Olli Maatta had a wonderful rookie season, earning a bigger role with his steady play. The 19-year-old was poised and not afraid to join the play -- his 29 points ranking fifth among teen defencemen since 2000 -- so while he arrived without too much fanfare last season, expectations will justifiably be higher for Maatta next year. It wont be easy, however, since hes not likely to be ready for the start of the year as he recovers from off-season shoulder surgery. A physical presence when hes in the lineup, Robert Bortuzzo saw action in a career-high 54 games last season and hes on the edge of a spot in the lineup. He doesnt move the puck well enough to climb the depth chart, but as a six or seven, hes probably a reasonable fit. Times get tough for defensive defencemen as they age, what with the wear and tear of constant battles and blocked shots, and so it goes with 35-year-old Rob Scuderi, a two-time Cup winner who was stuck in his own end a lot last season. The good news for the Penguins is that they have defence in the pipeline. Simon Despres, Brian Dumoulin, Derrick Pouliot (when healthy) are all prospects that should be able to help, very soon. Returning Goaltenders Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Cap Hit Marc-Andre Fleury 68.29 64 39 18 5 2.37 .915 $5.0M Jeff Zatkoff 63.85 20 12 6 2 2.61 .912 $600K Free Agent Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Tomas Vokoun UFA $2.0M Over the past four seasons, Marc-Andre Fleury has a .916 save percentage in the regular season, which puts him 14th among goaltenders with at least 150 games played, and thats entirely fine. He was even okay in this years playoffs,der surgery, but even if that means hes not an option for the first hallf of next season, theres a chance that Pouliot could contribute after that. A new regime may be just what the doctor ordered for Simon Despres, the 30th pick in the 2009 Draft, who has played well in his NHL opportunities, putting up 16 points in 85 career games, but also hasnt been able to lock up a regular spot. With free agents likely on the move and Pouliot recovering from surgery, Despres should have a very good chance to stick with Pittsburgh next season. Acquired from Carolina in the Jordan Staal trade, Brian Dumoulin had a strong season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and got into six games with Pittsburgh. He has good size, which he could use more, but can move the puck and handle big minutes in the AHL. Could be time for a longer look at the next level. Drafted in the second round last summer, Tristan Jarry backstopped Edmonton to the Memorial Cup, handling a heavy workload (84 games between regular season and playoffs). Hes a 19-year-old goaltender, so its going to take some time before hes ready to challenge for a spot. Picked in the second round in 2011, Scott Harrington had a solid first pro campaign and projects to be a shutdown defender when he reaches Pittsburgh. That day may not be too far down the road. Taken in the third round in 2012, Matt Murray had an excellent season with Saulte Ste. Marie of the OHL, an indication that perhaps hes starting to reach his potential. The 6-foot-5 tender needs to fill out and will have time in the AHL to further develop his game. Of course, having Jarry in the organization too ought to ensure that Murray isnt complacent as he climbs the ladder. Signed as a free agent out of Nebraska-Omaha, Jayson Megna split last season between the AHL and NHL, putting up nine pints (5 G, 4 A) in 36 games with Pittsburgh. He could have a chance to compete for a depth role next season. A sixth-round pick in 2011, Josh Archibald had 79 points in 76 games over his last two collegiate seasons and joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at seasons end. Hes small, but will get the chance to show that he can use his speed to create scoring opportunities as a pro. Two-way centre Oskar Sundqvist was a third-round pick in 2012 and played in the Swedish Hockey League for league champs Skelleftea last season. See how he adjusts to North America and go from there. There are a few blueliners ahead of Philip Samuelsson on the Penguins organizational depth chart, but the 2009 second-rounder has made steady progress, getting into five games with Pittsburgh last season. A smallish playmaker, Jake Guentzel was a third-round pick last summer and then had a strong freshman season at Nebraska-Omaha (same school as Megna and Archibald). With a few years to fill out and get stronger, hell have a chance to be a solid pro. It wasnt the easiest first pro season for Anton Zlobin, a sixth-round pick in 2012, who spent some time in the ECHL (scoring 11 points in 10 games), but he had 10 points in his last 17 regular season games, then 10 points in 15 playoff games. If he continues on that path next season, his production will get him noticed. Penguins advanced stats and player usage chart from Extra Skater DRAFT22nd - Josh HoSang, Ivan Barbashev, Jakub Vrana FREE AGENCYAccording to www.capgeek.com, the Penguins have approximately $55.1M committed to the 2014-2015 salary cap for 14 players. Check out my possible Penguins lineup for next season on Cap Geek here. Needs: An overhaul of their bottom six forwards, one top four defenceman, two more defencemen.What I said the Penguins needed last year: (apparently skipped this part for Penguins last year)They added: Olli Maatta, Robert Bortuzzo. TRADE MARKETJames Neal, Kris Letang, Rob Scuderi, Marc-Andre Fleury. 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. Cheap Barcelona Jerseys Cheap Real Madrid Jerseys Authentic Cheap Bayern Munich Jerseys Cheap Dortmund Jerseys Cheap USA Jerseys Cheap USWNT Jerseys France Soccer Jerseys Soccer Mexico Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Cheap Belgium Soccer Jerseys Brazil Jerseys From China Germany Jerseys From China Authentic Soccer Mexico Jerseys Cheap Portugal Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Spain Jerseys Cheap France Football Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Authentic Cheap Mexico Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Colombia Jerseys Cheap Belgium Football Jerseys Wholesale Argentina Jerseys Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys China cheap uswnt jersey authentic Authentic AC Milan Jerseys Discount Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. 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