At the NHLs Christmas break, days before the calendar turns to 2015 and two weeks from the mid-way mark of the NHL season, it is

Posted in IYH Forums by jokergreen0220 at 07:23, Mar 07 2017

At the NHLs Christmas break, days before the calendar turns to 2015 and two weeks from the mid-way mark of the NHL season, it is time to feel good about what weve seen so far, or feel bad if we must. Ben Scrivens Oilers Jersey . What follows are choices--the obvious and the not so obvious-- for feel good and feed bad teams and players. First, the Eastern Conference, and tomorrow, the Western Conference. Thumbs up to the feel-good team in the Eastern Conference--the Toronto Maple Leafs. No, I mean it--this isnt some attention-getting, tongue-in-cheek submission--its a good thing if the Leafs are in a playoff spot. Its certainly good for the NHL, which would take a Toronto-Pittsburgh series in the first round, or, better still, a Toronto-Montreal matchup, and be downright giddy. Its a good thing for Leaf lovers and haters alike--you can cheer for them or hope they get knocked off in the first round after blowing a three-goal lead in game seven. (Oh, wait, Boston isnt in a playoff spot right now. More on the Bruins momentarily). The obvious choice for feel-good team? The New York Islanders. Its a nice story if they leave Nassau Coliseum on a positive note--better to remember the glory days than the other kind. Thumbs up to the feel-good player(s) in the East--Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat--well call them the super sophs of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Without any fanfare, Palat led the Bolts in scoring last season; Johnson was one goal shy of the team lead and Kucherov was needing only more ice time to be better noticed. To be sure, the rookies wouldnt have been as prominent if Steven Stamkos had played a full season, but look at them now, with Stamkos healthy and back among the NHLs top ten scorers--Johnson ranks 8th in the league, Kucherov is in the top 20 and Palat hit the Christmas break with a three-point game in a win over Pittsburgh. The obvious choice for feel-good player(s)? Rick Nash of the New York Rangers. Twenty-six goals last season--23 already this season. Enough said. Thumbs down to the feel-bad team in the East--the Columbus Blue Jackets. They were supposed to pick up where they left off last season, which was a game-six defeat at the hands of the Penguins in a first-round playoff series that could have gone the other way. Columbus fans had reason to hope for the teams first-ever appearance beyond the first playoff round in 2015, and the All-Star Game guaranteed a league-wide spotlight. Well, the story in Columbus has been one of injuries. You feel bad for any team so dramatically affected, but especially for a team that was so optimistic after so much failure since joining the league in 2000. Recovery is possible, but even after a hot streak that saw the Jackets win seven straight games, they are nine points out of a playoff spot. The obvious choice for feel-bad team? Those Boston Bruins. First in the East last season, a point out of the playoffs right now. There is no reason to panic, but theres every reason for disappointment so far. Thumbs down to the feel-bad player(s) in the East--two Bruins, and you can pick the one you think is most obvious--Tuukka Rask or David Krejci. Rask was among the leaders in any statistical category that applied to goaltenders last season, and he is currently nowhere to be found on those lists. Krejci should be Bostons leading scorer, but he cant be if hes not playing, and he has been out of the lineup more than half the time. He has responded to criticism by saying he should stay off the Internet. Or get healthy and play better, the latter being hard without the former. Custom Oilers Jersey . Neither side would publicly confirm or deny any discussions were taking place, until the near unexpected happened. On Saturday night sources confirmed to TSN, the league and players agreed to terms on a new, tentative CBA, pending ratification by the unions players. A league source confirmed the CFLs board of governors must also ratify any potential agreement. Teddy Purcell Oilers Jersey . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. http://www.hockeyoilersshop.com/justin-schultz-jersey/ . Klose has a bruised pelvic bone and abdominal muscle problems but team doctors are trying to get him fit in time for the match. Bender has a hamstring injury. Germany is already without half-dozen players, due to injury or bad form. TORONTO -- R.A. Dickey won his third consecutive decision on Tuesday but he is still frustrated with his inability to get through the seventh inning. "I get a good 18 hours to beat myself up and then its time to turn the page and enjoy that we won the game," Dickey said after he failed to retire any of his four batters in a three-run seventh inning by the Cleveland Indians. "I do have an expectation of myself thats better than what Im producing." With Juan Francisco and Adam Lind each driving in two runs and left fielder Melky Cabrera throwing out a runner at the plate to end the eighth inning, the Blue Jays defeated the Indians 5-4. Dickey (4-3) allowed five hits, two walks, one hit batsman and four runs-- two earned-- in six-plus innings. "The good news is I feel like Im pounding the zone and pitching to contact and I had a great knuckleball," Dickey said. "But I am not making it easy on myself or my team in those later innings. "Quite frankly, I feel a little bit embarrassed that I havent been able to get through seventh innings with some of the stuff that Ive hadaI had some really good change-ups tonight and had a swing and miss knuckleball and was pounding the zone and on a different night I might have been able to go seven or eight." He has pitched seven innings once this season, a loss to the Houston Astros on April 10. Cleveland right-hander Justin Masterson (2-2) allowed six hits-- including Franciscos homer that snapped a 1-1 tie in the fifth-- three walks and five runs in 5 1/3 innings. "First time through the order he went through them really well," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He got a couple of balls up that they stayed on pretty well. We just couldnt get one big hit." The victory in the opener of the three-game series against the Indians (18-21) gave the Blue Jays (20-20) their second win in a row after dropping three straight to the Los Angeles Angels. The Indians appeared to be set to take Masterson off the hook for the loss and take the win away from Dickey with two out in the top of the eighth inning. But Cabrera cut down the potential tying run with his throw home. Clevelands Carlos Santana, who led off the inning with a single against left-hander Brett Cecil and took second on a passed ball, was out at the plate after Yan Gomes lined a single to left. "That was just heroic, thats what that was," Dickey said. "It saved the game." "It was possibly the game right there," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. Customized Oilers Jerseys. . "They come back and tie it you never know whats going to happen." Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his first save of the season in his second appearance after coming off the disabled list where he was placed Mar. 29 with a back problem. "Hes reliable," Gibbons said. "Its good to have him back." Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the third on a single to right by Nick Swisher. Jose Bautista made a tumbling attempt at a catch on the sinking drive that scored Mike Aviles, who singled with two out and took second on a walk to Michael Bourn. The Blue Jays tied the game in the fourth on a triple to left-centre by Jose Reyes and a sacrifice fly to the warning track in centre by Cabrera. Francisco hit a 1-0 sinker to right centre for his sixth homer of the season with one out in the fifth to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. Francisco started at third base to get his left-handed bat into the lineup against Masterson and Brett Lawrie started at second base. The Blue Jays added three runs in the sixth, two on a slicing double by Lind to left centre that scored Cabrera, who led off with a walk, and Bautista, who had an infield single. Francisco doubled down the right-field line to score Lind. Masterson was pulled for left-hander Josh Outman after Lawrie walked. The Indians answered with three runs in the seventh after Dickey faced four batters without an out. "It seemed like the wheels were falling off but overall in the game he was tremendous," Toronto catcher Josh Thole said. Asdrubal Cabrera singled, David Murphy reached first on Lawries error on his sharp groundball, Gomes walked and Lonnie Chisenhall was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Left-hander Aaron Loup allowed a one-out single by Bourn and a sacrifice fly by Swisher to cut the lead to one. NOTES: The Blue Jays recalled outfielder Kevin Pillar from triple-A Buffalo where he was batting .305 with one home run and 19 RBI. Pillar started in centre field Tuesday while Colby Rasmus rested his mild right hamstring strain, but it seems unlikely he will need to go on the disabled list. a Infielder Jonathan Diaz, who played on Monday to give regular shortstop Reyes a rest, was returned on option to Buffalo. a Blue Jays right-hander Dustin McGowan (2-1, 4.63 earned-run average) will start Wednesday against right-hander Corey Kluber (3-3, 3.48 ERA). Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '