January 15, 2019 9:02 PM EST
It’s pretty straightforward for the New York Islanders (5-4-1). They can extend their winning streak to three games
Womens Bradley Chubb Jersey , their point streak to four games and stay above .500 with a win Tuesday against Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena.Things are more complex for the Penguins (6-1-2). Under normal circumstances, they would simply be returning home triumphant after going 4-0 on a road trip through Canada that they claim helped them bond and set a tone for perhaps the rest of the season.But these aren’t normal circumstance. The Penguins will be juggling their emotions playing at home for the first time since a shooting Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill area of the city left 11 people dead.Article continues below ...“I think we’ve got to hold that stuff to our heart, but we’ve got to just keep playing hockey,” Penguins winger Bryan Rust said Monday after practice. “Despite that horrible tragedy, it’s going to bring the community closer together and, hopefully, we can help out with that a little bit. I think (a sporting event) can serve as a little bit of a distraction, kind of as a way for people to get their minds off something, have something good to cheer for, something to look forward to. But it’s really hard with a situation like this.”The Penguins learned of the shooting before their game Saturday at Vancouver, a 5-0 win during which coach Mike Sullivan said they played “with heavy hearts.”It might be magnified playing at home. The Penguins canceled a Halloween promotion and instead will be taking up a collection for victims’ families.“I think just keep that in the back of your mind, try to play for the city as we always do, but especially in times like this,” said Pittsburgh team captain Sidney Crosby. “It’s a terrible thing that happened, and we’re thinking about everyone involved. Hopefully, we can do all we can to support and help right now.”Crosby was named the NHL’s first star of the week that ended Sunday. He had five goals, seven points over the final three games of the road trip.In their four games
Authentic Phillip Lindsay Jersey , the Penguins outscored their opponents 23-6 with two shutouts, and they spent a weekend at a resort town in the Canadian Rockies.“That trip’s going to help us throughout the whole season,” goaltender Matt Murray said. “That was a big bonding experience for us.”Pittsburgh likely will be without center Derrick Brassard (lower body) for a second straight game, and could be without top defenseman Kris Letang, who left Monday’s practice early because of what Sullivan described as a nagging lower-body injury.The Islanders, who were off Monday following a 2-1 win Sunday against speedy Carolina, will be facing another team that relies on quickness in the Penguins.“I think it starts at the top. I think our staff does a good job of preparing us for these situations,” New York winger Josh Bailey told Newsday. “I think, as you get results, you start believing a little more.”First-year Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who coached Washington to the Stanley Cup last spring, has preached playing a responsible game because New York is not filled with stars as the Capitals and Penguins are.“We want to make sure we’re on the right side of the puck,” Trotz said. “In the past, guys would get on the wrong side of the puck but we just can’t. This team is not built like maybe some of the other teams or my previous team. We have some good players, but we don’t have as many of those game-breakers, so we’ve got to play a really a good team game.” BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Former defenseman Mike Weber is all too familiar with the Sabres‘ lean years while spending a majority of his eight NHL seasons in Buffalo.There were high-priced free agents who failed to pan out and one draft-pick bust after another. Weber made the playoffs just twice
http://www.denverbroncosteamonline.com/phillip-lindsay-jersey , with Buffalo eliminated in the first round both times.And then there was the so-called ”tank season” in 2014-15, when Sabres fans openly rooted for the team to finish last for the right to draft either now-Oilers captain, Connor McDavid, or Buffalo’s eventual pick, Jack Eichel.As it happens, Weber also enjoyed a glimpse into what could well be the Sabres’ more promising future following an eight-week stint with Frolunda, Sweden, last fall. Weber had an opportunity to play alongside defenseman Rasmus Dahlin , the highly touted 18-year-old projected to be selected by Buffalo with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft on Friday night.Perhaps, Weber said, things might finally be looking up in Buffalo.”I really, truly believe you guys are going to be getting a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent,” said Weber, now an assistant coach with Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League.”This first overall pick puts a stamp on it, put whatever happened in the past in the past,” he added. ”Hopefully, it’s something you guys can look back on at the suffering and rebuilding and tanking and all of this stuff where you can sit there and kind of laugh about it.”Though ”suffering” might be overly dramatic Womens Phillip Lindsay Jersey , it resonates in Buffalo because that’s the word former general manager Darcy Regier repeated numerous times during an end-of-season news conference in April 2013 where he braced fans for a top-to-bottom roster overhaul.Five years, two GMs, four coaches and three last-place finishes later, the Sabres remain stagnant while in the midst of a franchise-worst seven-year playoff drought.The team has not topped 35 wins in each of the past five years. And forward Ryan O’Reilly closed last season by suggesting a losing culture has crept into the locker room.Dahlin has the potential of injecting hope in Buffalo with his exceptional skating and play-making abilities. Weber compares Dahlin’s speed to that of Senators captain Erik Karlsson, and shiftiness to former Red Wings star forward Pavel Datsyuk.”I still bleed blue and gold,” Weber said, referring to Sabres colors. ”And the possibility of him being a cornerstone going forward and helping the organization and the city win a championship is pretty special.”Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, who maintains a home in suburban Buffalo, can sense the buzz Dahlin has generated.”Buffalo needs a boost, and the fans have been waiting a long time for it,” Bowman said. ”People I know that have had tickets for a long time are excited.”The Sabres have been in freefall since losing Game 7 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals to eventual champion Carolina. Some of Buffalo’s bleakest moments:BLACK SUNDAYThat’s what Sabres fans refer to July 1, 2007, when Buffalo lost co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere in free agency. Days later, rather than losing yet another star, the Sabres matched the Oilers’ qualifying offer to Thomas Vanek by re-signing the forward to a seven-year, $50 million contract. Buffalo has not won a playoff series since.MONEY FOR NOTHINGIn 2011, the Sabres made splashes by acquiring defenseman Robyn Regehr in a trade with Calgary Cheap Kerryon Johnson Jersey , and signing defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a 10-year, $40 million contract and forward Ville Leino to a six-year, $27 million deal. Regehr played just 105 games in Buffalo before being traded to Los Angeles. Leino and Ehrhoff played three seasons before the Sabres bought out their contacts.TRADE WINDSFormer GM Tim Murray’s most significant trade in his rebuilding plan came on Feb. 11, 2015. He dealt defenseman Tyler Myers, forwards Drew Stafford, Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux and a first-round pick to Winnipeg to acquire forward Evander Kane, defenseman Zach Bogosian and prospect goalie Jason Kasdorf. Kane is now in San Jose. Kasdorf played just one game in Buffalo. Bogosian has combined to miss 108 games due to an assortment of injuries over the past three seasons.POOR DRAFTSOf the 15 players selected by Buffalo in the 2010 and `11 drafts, only four made the NHL and combined to play 144 career games for Buffalo. Of the 23 players Buffalo drafted from 2005-’07, only nine played in the NHL and none topped 400 games.BAD BREAKSAside from losing the NHL draft lottery after finishing last in both 2014 and `15, the Sabres lost out to Toronto in the Mike Babcock coaching sweepstakes in May 2015. The Sabres thought they were closing in on a deal before Babcock announced he was going to take an extra day to reconsider. Babcock signed with Toronto and the Sabres hired Dan Bylsma, who was fired after two seasons.FRANCHISE LOWSIn finishing last in 2013-14, Buffalo scored 150 goals, the fewest in the NHL’s post-expansion era. The following season, the Sabres scored 153 goals and were shut out a franchise-worst 14 times. This past year, the Sabres won 11 home games, matching their fewest in any season.—AP Hockey Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.—
