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Napsal: stř 29. srp 2018 4:46:41The worst season in nearly three decades is just a recent memory DJ Moore Jersey Elite , and so is the five-year drought.
The New Jersey Devils are back in the playoffs, and again in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. It’s like old times.
The Devils completed a remarkable comeback season by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Thursday night to clinch their first postseason berth since making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012.
It capped an offseason and regular season that saw general manager Ray Shero reshape half his 25-man roster through free agency, the draft and trades and have John Hynes make all the right moves to keep his team in a playoff position every day of the season.
Not bad for a club that won 28 games and finished last in the Eastern Conference in 2016-17.
”This is the best, the best,” said veteran defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2016. ”My first stint in Pittsburgh and Anaheim and then again in Pittsburgh, I never appreciated what baseball players did. I thought it was stupid when they would come in and have champagne when they made the playoffs. I get it now. Making the playoffs is hard.”
The Devils can point to so many players in bouncing back from their worst season since 1988-89. Taylor Hall (39 goals, 54 assists) had a career year that teammates feel merits the Hart Trophy as the league MVP. Top draft pick Nico Hischier overcame a slow start to have 19 goals and 51 points. Free agent Will Butcher set a team record for rookie defensemen with 44 points.
The unsung hero was goaltender Keith Kinkaid, who stepped for an injured Cory Schneider and carried the team over the final 10 weeks, going 10-1-1 in the last 12 games and helping the New York-metropolitan area avoid being shut out of the postseason for the first time since the Devils took up residence in New Jersey in 1982. The Rangers and Islanders will miss the postseason.
”It’s fun, but playoffs are a new breed,” said Kinkaid Brian O'Neill Vikings Jersey , who re-signed with the team in the offseason despite being an unrestricted free agent.
There are only two players left from the Devils’ 2011-12 team: defenseman and captain Andy Greene, and Travis Zajac, who centers the line Hynes’ uses against the opponent’s top line.
While there have been lean years, Zajac said the Devils rediscovered themselves this season. They practiced and played hard, and made sure opponents knew they were in for a battle every game.
The results have been a 44-28-9 record that includes a 25-8-9 mark in one-goal games. It was a record that reminded many of the old Devils, a franchise that made the playoffs 20 of 22 times and won three Cups between 1989-90 and 2011-12.
This group, however, skates faster and is relentless.
Last year, the Devils were disappointing underachievers. Their biggest sin was failing to compete every night. And they paid the price, especially down the stretch when they went 3-17-4.
Hynes and Shero changed that. It started with the roster makeover that included the signing of veteran Brian Boyle, and an attitude readjustment.
”It’s a different skill set and youth,” said Shero Quenton Nelson Jersey Colts , who also strengthened the team during the season by acquiring defenseman Sami Vatanen and forwards Michael Grabner and Patrick Maroon in trades. ”But they had to fight, they clawed and scraped to get what they’ve got and they’ve earned it.”
With a game to play, the Devils won’t learn their first-round opponent until Saturday at the earliest. They are the top wild-card team in the Eastern Conference, and they will at least stay there if they win at Washington on Saturday night. They also could go up or down depending on what Columbus, Philadelphia, Florida and Pittsburgh do.
It really doesn’t matter. The Devils are just looking forward to the postseason.
”You go into this year thinking it’s going to be a bigger challenge,” said Boyle, who provided inspiration by overcoming cancer early in the season. ”Plenty of people were writing us off. It makes it pretty sweet to clinch. I have just tried to tell everyone: `It’s going to be so much fun. You have never played hockey this fun in your life until you play playoff hockey.”’
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More NHL hockey: A fist pump and a late fastball on the cusp of 100 mph was all the indication needed to know just how good German Marquez felt Saturday.
He pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and Ian Desmond homered as the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1.
Marquez (6-8) retired his first 15 batters before Enrique Hernandez connected for a home run off the left-field foul pole leading off the sixth. After a Chase Utley single, Marquez dispatched the Dodgers on three fly balls to end the inning and pumped his right fist to emphasize the moment.
”Isn’t that great? I loved that” Rockies manager Bud Black said of the fist pump. ”He uses (his energy) with his fastball. I want him to use it with his fastball but not overthrow. There is a time you can stand on a pitch and lean on it and I think he does that.”
He appeared to do just that with his fastball in the eighth inning. Facing Hernandez two innings after the home run, Marquez struck out the Dodgers’ utility man on a 99.9 mph fastball.
”No doubt I let it rip on that one,” Marquez said through an interpreter. ”But I worked hard in my preparation in between starts and my goal is to maintain my stamina deep into games. I think today I was able to accomplish that.”
Marquez struck out nine and walked none after entering with a 5.53 ERA, third-worst among qualified National League starters.
The Rockies closed out June with three consecutive victories and two consecutive over the Dodgers after getting swept by Los Angeles in a three-game series at Coors Field to begin the month. Colorado finished June with an 11-16 record.
Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda (5-5) gave up three runs Authentic Jonathan Toews Jersey , two earned, on five hits over seven innings and lost for the first time in four June starts. He had a short stint on the disabled list during the month due to a right hip strain. He struck out nine for the second consecutive start.
”It was a good outing,” Maeda said through an interpreter. ”My desire is to be able to pitch deeper into the game and being able to pitch seven innings and is a good thing. But unfortunately, we didn’t get the win and that was something we wanted.”
The Rockies took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when DJ LeMahieu scored from third base on a passed ball by catcher Yasmani Grandal. Nolan Arenado struck out, but advanced to first with LeMahieu scoring when the ball got through Grandal.
Desmond went deep in the fifth for a 2-0 lead. It was his 17th home run of the season and career-best 13th on the road.
Trevor Story doubled for the Rockies in the seventh and scored on Chris Iannetta’s single to make it 3-1.
After a strong start to the month, the Dodgers finished June with a 17-9 record, losing four of their last five games.
CLOSER FOR THE DAY
Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino pitched the ninth Saturday for his second save. Closer Wade Davis, who earned the save after Tyler Anderson’s eight-inning outing Friday, was given the night off.
”He pitched great and he deserved to win,” Ottavino said of Marquez. ”That’s two games straight that we got eight innings out of our starters so we appreciate that down in the bullpen. I think everybody does on the team so I think that was just an awesome job by (Marquez).”
Davis is expected to return to the closer role Sunday.
DODGERS DRIVE 55
Hernandez’s home run gave the Dodgers 55 in the month of June, to increase their franchise record for a month. The previous record of 53 was set in June of last season.
His home run was his 14th of the season and third this week. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson each finished with 10 home runs in June. Pederson has 11 on the season.
”I worked really hard in the off season to get stronger and get in better shape,” said Hernandez Colts Darius Leonard Jersey , whose previous best was 11 home runs last season. ”Last year I hit a lot of doubles and this year those doubles are turning into homers. Hopefully we can keep swinging the bats in July the way we are in June.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: OF David Dahl (broken right foot) is out of a walking boot and will join the team Monday in Colorado to continue his rehab.
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (right rib microfracture), who made one appearance this week after returning from the DL, will likely need two starts at Class A Rancho Cucamonga before he returns to the Dodgers, according to manager Dave Roberts. … RHP Pedro Baez (right biceps tendinitis) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session, but no timetable for his return has been revealed.
UP NEXT
Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis (5-1, 5.07 ERA) will be back on the road where he excels, as his five road victories were tied for third in the National League at the start of play Saturday. Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling (6-2, 1.98) has a loss and a no-decision in his past two starts following a six-start win streak.
.
The New Jersey Devils are back in the playoffs, and again in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. It’s like old times.
The Devils completed a remarkable comeback season by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Thursday night to clinch their first postseason berth since making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012.
It capped an offseason and regular season that saw general manager Ray Shero reshape half his 25-man roster through free agency, the draft and trades and have John Hynes make all the right moves to keep his team in a playoff position every day of the season.
Not bad for a club that won 28 games and finished last in the Eastern Conference in 2016-17.
”This is the best, the best,” said veteran defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2016. ”My first stint in Pittsburgh and Anaheim and then again in Pittsburgh, I never appreciated what baseball players did. I thought it was stupid when they would come in and have champagne when they made the playoffs. I get it now. Making the playoffs is hard.”
The Devils can point to so many players in bouncing back from their worst season since 1988-89. Taylor Hall (39 goals, 54 assists) had a career year that teammates feel merits the Hart Trophy as the league MVP. Top draft pick Nico Hischier overcame a slow start to have 19 goals and 51 points. Free agent Will Butcher set a team record for rookie defensemen with 44 points.
The unsung hero was goaltender Keith Kinkaid, who stepped for an injured Cory Schneider and carried the team over the final 10 weeks, going 10-1-1 in the last 12 games and helping the New York-metropolitan area avoid being shut out of the postseason for the first time since the Devils took up residence in New Jersey in 1982. The Rangers and Islanders will miss the postseason.
”It’s fun, but playoffs are a new breed,” said Kinkaid Brian O'Neill Vikings Jersey , who re-signed with the team in the offseason despite being an unrestricted free agent.
There are only two players left from the Devils’ 2011-12 team: defenseman and captain Andy Greene, and Travis Zajac, who centers the line Hynes’ uses against the opponent’s top line.
While there have been lean years, Zajac said the Devils rediscovered themselves this season. They practiced and played hard, and made sure opponents knew they were in for a battle every game.
The results have been a 44-28-9 record that includes a 25-8-9 mark in one-goal games. It was a record that reminded many of the old Devils, a franchise that made the playoffs 20 of 22 times and won three Cups between 1989-90 and 2011-12.
This group, however, skates faster and is relentless.
Last year, the Devils were disappointing underachievers. Their biggest sin was failing to compete every night. And they paid the price, especially down the stretch when they went 3-17-4.
Hynes and Shero changed that. It started with the roster makeover that included the signing of veteran Brian Boyle, and an attitude readjustment.
”It’s a different skill set and youth,” said Shero Quenton Nelson Jersey Colts , who also strengthened the team during the season by acquiring defenseman Sami Vatanen and forwards Michael Grabner and Patrick Maroon in trades. ”But they had to fight, they clawed and scraped to get what they’ve got and they’ve earned it.”
With a game to play, the Devils won’t learn their first-round opponent until Saturday at the earliest. They are the top wild-card team in the Eastern Conference, and they will at least stay there if they win at Washington on Saturday night. They also could go up or down depending on what Columbus, Philadelphia, Florida and Pittsburgh do.
It really doesn’t matter. The Devils are just looking forward to the postseason.
”You go into this year thinking it’s going to be a bigger challenge,” said Boyle, who provided inspiration by overcoming cancer early in the season. ”Plenty of people were writing us off. It makes it pretty sweet to clinch. I have just tried to tell everyone: `It’s going to be so much fun. You have never played hockey this fun in your life until you play playoff hockey.”’
—
More NHL hockey: A fist pump and a late fastball on the cusp of 100 mph was all the indication needed to know just how good German Marquez felt Saturday.
He pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and Ian Desmond homered as the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1.
Marquez (6-8) retired his first 15 batters before Enrique Hernandez connected for a home run off the left-field foul pole leading off the sixth. After a Chase Utley single, Marquez dispatched the Dodgers on three fly balls to end the inning and pumped his right fist to emphasize the moment.
”Isn’t that great? I loved that” Rockies manager Bud Black said of the fist pump. ”He uses (his energy) with his fastball. I want him to use it with his fastball but not overthrow. There is a time you can stand on a pitch and lean on it and I think he does that.”
He appeared to do just that with his fastball in the eighth inning. Facing Hernandez two innings after the home run, Marquez struck out the Dodgers’ utility man on a 99.9 mph fastball.
”No doubt I let it rip on that one,” Marquez said through an interpreter. ”But I worked hard in my preparation in between starts and my goal is to maintain my stamina deep into games. I think today I was able to accomplish that.”
Marquez struck out nine and walked none after entering with a 5.53 ERA, third-worst among qualified National League starters.
The Rockies closed out June with three consecutive victories and two consecutive over the Dodgers after getting swept by Los Angeles in a three-game series at Coors Field to begin the month. Colorado finished June with an 11-16 record.
Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda (5-5) gave up three runs Authentic Jonathan Toews Jersey , two earned, on five hits over seven innings and lost for the first time in four June starts. He had a short stint on the disabled list during the month due to a right hip strain. He struck out nine for the second consecutive start.
”It was a good outing,” Maeda said through an interpreter. ”My desire is to be able to pitch deeper into the game and being able to pitch seven innings and is a good thing. But unfortunately, we didn’t get the win and that was something we wanted.”
The Rockies took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when DJ LeMahieu scored from third base on a passed ball by catcher Yasmani Grandal. Nolan Arenado struck out, but advanced to first with LeMahieu scoring when the ball got through Grandal.
Desmond went deep in the fifth for a 2-0 lead. It was his 17th home run of the season and career-best 13th on the road.
Trevor Story doubled for the Rockies in the seventh and scored on Chris Iannetta’s single to make it 3-1.
After a strong start to the month, the Dodgers finished June with a 17-9 record, losing four of their last five games.
CLOSER FOR THE DAY
Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino pitched the ninth Saturday for his second save. Closer Wade Davis, who earned the save after Tyler Anderson’s eight-inning outing Friday, was given the night off.
”He pitched great and he deserved to win,” Ottavino said of Marquez. ”That’s two games straight that we got eight innings out of our starters so we appreciate that down in the bullpen. I think everybody does on the team so I think that was just an awesome job by (Marquez).”
Davis is expected to return to the closer role Sunday.
DODGERS DRIVE 55
Hernandez’s home run gave the Dodgers 55 in the month of June, to increase their franchise record for a month. The previous record of 53 was set in June of last season.
His home run was his 14th of the season and third this week. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson each finished with 10 home runs in June. Pederson has 11 on the season.
”I worked really hard in the off season to get stronger and get in better shape,” said Hernandez Colts Darius Leonard Jersey , whose previous best was 11 home runs last season. ”Last year I hit a lot of doubles and this year those doubles are turning into homers. Hopefully we can keep swinging the bats in July the way we are in June.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: OF David Dahl (broken right foot) is out of a walking boot and will join the team Monday in Colorado to continue his rehab.
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (right rib microfracture), who made one appearance this week after returning from the DL, will likely need two starts at Class A Rancho Cucamonga before he returns to the Dodgers, according to manager Dave Roberts. … RHP Pedro Baez (right biceps tendinitis) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session, but no timetable for his return has been revealed.
UP NEXT
Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis (5-1, 5.07 ERA) will be back on the road where he excels, as his five road victories were tied for third in the National League at the start of play Saturday. Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling (6-2, 1.98) has a loss and a no-decision in his past two starts following a six-start win streak.
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