| 802 Beiträge - Forenjunkie
|
|
|
(SportsNetwork.com) - While returning to the playoffs for the first time in five years was a big step forward last season for the Minnesota Wild, a loss in the conference finals wasnt good enough for the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings and Wild both look to take a step forward on Thursday night as they open their 2013-14 campaign in Minnesota. You can watch the game on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 8pm et/5pm pt. Los Angeles entered the lockout-shortened campaign off its first ever Stanley Cup championship and stretched its string of postseason appearances to four straight after a second-place finish in the Pacific Division. That did put the Kings on the road to begin the playoffs and they knocked off the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks in six and seven games, respectively, before falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals. The Kings bowed out with a double-overtime loss in Game 5. "Quite honest, our regular season last year was a better season than the team that won the Stanley Cup. So it means our young guys are getting better. Our nucleus is getting better," Kings head coach Darryl Sutter told Lakingsinsider.com. Not surprisingly, Los Angeles returns a bulk of its roster from last season. It is led up front by leading scorer from a season ago Anze Kopitar (42) as well as leading goal-scorer Jeff Carter, who had 26 goals in 48 games. Justin Williams, Mike Richards and captain Dustin Brown are also key forwards who return, though Brown was slowed in the preseason by a hamstring injury suffered on the first day of training camp. He is expected to play tonight, but could see a reduced role until he gets into game shape. The Kings have a solid defensive grouping led by Drew Doughty and Slava Voynov and are expected to have Willie Mitchell available after he missed all of last season due to a knee injury. However, blueliners Jake Muzzin (sprained knee) and Robyn Regehr (elbow surgery) are questionable. Former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Quick is a big strength to the Kings defense and went 18-13-4 with a 2.45 goals against average and .902 save percentage. He posted a 1.86 GAA, .934 save percentage and three shutouts in last seasons playoffs. Quick should get the start tonight for the Kings, who play six of their first eight on the road. That includes Thursdays tough test at the Xcel Energy Center, where the Wild have never lost a home opener. They have won 11 straight since a tie in their first ever home opener in the building on Oct. 11, 2000. The Wild showed a lot of improvement a season ago after breaking the bank to sign forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter to massive deals, earning the eighth seed in the postseason for their first playoff berth since 2008. Minnesota did lose in five games to Chicago in the opening round, held to a pair of goals or less in all four losses. The Wild had just four players reach double-digit figures in goals last year, led by Parises 18. Minnesota was tied for 22nd with 2.46 goals per game, negating a solid defense that finished in a tie for 15th with 2.60 goals allowed per game. The club shook things up by trading the physical Cal Clutterbuck and a draft pick to the New York Islanders for 21-year-old Swiss Nino Niederreiter, the fifth overall pick of the 2010 draft. "I think the biggest thing for us is we want to get better offensively," said Wild head coach Mike Yeo. "Thats been well documented. Weve talked about it an awful lot, but our bread and butter still has to be that we have to be a great defensive team. That challenge for us is to build on that offensive part without taking away from the defensive part." The Wild also added a pair of veterans, signing forward Matt Cooke and defenseman Keith Ballard. Minnesota plays four of its first five at home and returns Niklas Backstrom in net for his eighth season. The 35-year-old was 24-15-3 with a 2.48 GAA and .909 save percentage in 42 games a season ago, but was unable to play versus Chicago in the postseason after suffering an injury during warmups prior to Game 1. The Wild won two of three over the Kings a season ago, with both victories coming in Minnesota. Barry Sanders Lions Jersey . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Barry Sanders Jersey http://www.thenfllionslockroom.com/Youth-Haloti-Ngata-Elite- Jersey/ . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Golden Tate III Lions Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. AShawn Robinson Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed.INDIANAPOLIS -- Lance Stephenson savors each opportunity he gets to beat up on his hometown teams -- especially when the Pacers are winning. On Thursday night, Indianas flamboyant guard had a big night on national television. Stephenson had a career-high 28 points, four rebounds and four assists and led the Pacers to their second-most lopsided win of the season, 117-89 over the Knicks. "If hes flashy, hes being flashy making basketball coach," coach Frank Vogel said. "One of our assistants said, Boy, I wish I had Lances energy every day. His competitive spirit is as high as anyone weve coached." Stephenson has been playing this way all season. He leads the NBA with three triple-doubles, the most of any Pacers player since Detlef Schrempf in 1992-93. With any luck, hed have a couple of more, too. And after a nasty crossover or spectacular move to the basket, he might show off some of that New York flair by wiggling his hips. But the Nets and Knicks seem to bring out the best in the Brooklyn native. This time, on a night that may serve as an audition for the All-Star selectors, he showed the whole basketball world what he could do. Stephenson went 10 of 17 from the field, 5 of 5 from the free-throw line, 3 of 7 on 3-pointers and had no turnovers in 28 minutes. His previous scoring high (26) came Dec. 23 in a 103-86 win at Brooklyn, and before this season, Stephenson had scored 22 points just two times -- once against Chicago in April 2012; the other, of course, came at Madison Square Garden last spring. Even a former Indiana University basketball star like Mike Woodson, who was drilled in defence under Bob Knight, came away impressed. "Youve really got to tip your hat to him," the Knicks coach said. "We had no answers for him." That has been a league-wide problem for Pacers foes, and not just against Stephenson. Indiana won its third straight to maintain its grip on the NBAs best record, extend its Eastern Conference lead over Miami to four games and continue its claim to the leagues best home record, 20-1. The Pacers arent slowing down, either. They beat Washington by 27 on Friday, Sacramento by 24 on Tuesday and handed what was one of the leagues hottest teams its most embarrassing road loss of the season. For the most part, Indiana has relied on its staunch defence. Stephenson and Paul George havve suddenly given Indiana a devastating offensive punch, too.dddddddddddd. George added 25 points and seven rebounds on a night six players scored in double figures. The Pacers produced season highs for total points and points in a half (63) for the second straight game, and they even heeded the advice of team president Larry Bird, by cutting down their turnovers to a season-low five. "We have set a goal, and we want to be the No. 1 seed (in the East)," Stephenson said. "Every night I try to bring something to the table." The Knicks just couldnt keep up. Carmelo Anthony finished with 28 points, nine in the first six minutes and 18 in the first quarter when it was still a game. Tyson Chandler had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith each had 12. Smith played nearly 28 minutes after being benched in two of the Knicks previous four games. "Theyre a good team, but I dont think theyre 30 points better than our team," Woodson said after the rematch of last springs conference semifinals, which Indiana also won. "We were awful." Things started well for New York as Anthony pushed them to a 16-8 lead. But the Pacers rallied with an 11-2 run to take a 28-26 lead. Anthony bailed out the Knicks with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make it 31-30 after one. Indiana seized control with an 11-1 spurt midway through the second quarter and pulled away late in the first half with a 16-7 run. That made it 63-48 at halftime. George opened the second half by scoring 10 points in a 15-8 spurt, which made it 78-56, and Stephenson closed it out as the Knicks couldnt get closer than 16 the rest of the way. "We understand how good we are when we run," George said. "I think thats the best way to put and the biggest way to look at it." NOTES: Kenyon Martin left in the second quarter and Amare Stoudemire followed him to the locker room in the third quarter. Both had sprained left ankles and did not return. ... Former Pacers All-Star Metta World Peace was inactive in New Yorks only regular-season game in Indianapolis. ... Fans chanted "Reg-gie, Reg-gie" when former Pacers star turned TV analyst Reggie Miller was shown on the overhead screen during the fourth quarter. ... Indiana has won four straight home games against the Knicks. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
|
