ith under eight minutes rema
Scott Cullen checks in with notes on the Habs sweep, the Bruins defensive dominance, Rangers vets leading the way and the Sharks putting the Kings in a hole. HABS ADVANCE Max Pacioretty tucked in the winning goal, on a last minute power play, giving the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, ending the series in a four-game sweep. While he didnt register a point, Game Four was yet another big game for Canadiens LW Rene Bourque, who led the Canadiens with seven shots on goal and a plus-14 Corsi (68.4%), during a game in which the possession battle was virtually even (60-59 in shot attempts, favouring Montreal, at 5-on-5). Even so, it was also a dominant game for Lighting D Victor Hedman, who was on for 72.5% (29 for, 11 against) of the shot attempts at 5-on-5, while the Lightning were just under 38% (30 for, 49 against) when Hedman was off the ice. Lightning rookie LW Ondrej Palat had a goal and an assist in the Game Four loss, giving him three points (in three games) in the series, tying Hedman for second on the Lightning. Steven Stamkos was their top scorer in Round One, with four points in four games. RW Ryan Callahan, who played more than 20 minutes per game, was held off the scoresheet in the series, registering five shots on goal. After Hedman, who was plus-15 in shot attempts for the series, RW J.T. Brown (+13), D Andrej Sustr (+10) and C Cedric Paquette (+8) were the next-best possession players for the Lightning. On the other hand, D Matt Carle (-23), C Tyler Johnson (-23) and D Radko Gudas (-16) -- who missed Game Four with an injury -- were on the low end of the possession scale for Tampa Bay. Surprisingly, the Canadiens won the possession game -- a facet of the game at which the Lightning were better throughout the season. Canadiens D Josh Gorges was a net plus-22 Corsi through four games, best on the team, ahead of Thomas Vanek (+19), Brendan Gallagher (+19) and P.K. Subban (+17). Montreals leading scorers in the series were C Lars Eller (2 G, 3 A), RW Brendan Gallagher (3 G, 2 A) and P.K. Subban (5 A). To get a series sweep, and production outside their potent No. 1 line, has to be encouraging for the Canadiens. Coming into the series, it looked like a tough spot for the Lightning, turning to backup G Anders Lindback with Ben Bishop hurt late in the regular season, and while Lindback was hardly the only reason the Lightning lost, he wasnt nearly as strong as Carey Price, who finished with a pedestrian .904 save percentage; though that was better than Lindbacks .881 mark, which isnt good enough to win. The result might have happened a little easier than expected, but this series matched the forecast. BRUINS GAIN ADVANTAGE Tuukka Rask stopped 23 shots and Patrice Bergeron had an empty-net goal and an assist to give the Boston Bruins a 3-0 win in Game Three at Detroit, giving the Bruins a 2-1 series lead over the Red Wings. The Bruins controlled play early, outshooting the Red Wings 11-4 in the first period, taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron. Even with the Red Wings trying to mount a rally in the final two periods, the Bruins still ended up with a slight edge in puck possession. Even with that being the case, the best individual Corsi for the game belonged to Red Wings RW Gustav Nyquist, who was one for 18 shots for, seven against (+11, 72.0%). Without Nyquist on the ice, the Red Wings had 36.1% (17 for, 30 against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. With one goal total in the past two games, the Red Wings are finding it difficult to get on track against the Bruins and Nyquist, who leads the team with 10 shots on goal, still has yet to record a point. Detroit might be holding its own in the possession game for this series, but theyre not going to get very far if they dont find a way to finish against Rask and the Bruins. RANGERS OVER FLYERS Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash and Dan Girardi each recorded two points as the New York Rangers downed the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in Game Three, taking a 2-1 series lead. The Flyers may well have deserved a better fate in this game, outshooting the Rangers 32-23 and getting 80 total shot attempts to the Rangers 49; that indicates a rather decisive territorial edge. Every Flyer had a positive Corsi, led by RW Wayne Simmonds, who was on for 76.2% (16 for, 5 against) of the shot attempts at 5-on-5. The mirror image, for the Rangers, was RW Mats Zuccarello, who was on the ice for 20.8% (5 for, 19 against) of 5-on-5 shot attempts. Put into the lineup against his former team, Rangers LW Dan Carcillo scored the Blueshirts fourth goal to ice the game; a nice contribution from a player that had one goal in his final 20 regular season games. Overall, though, the Flyers are having a hard time generating shots on goal. D Luke Schenn led the way with five shots on goal in Game Three and hes now tied with call-up RW Jason Akeson for the team lead, with eight. At the very least, Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Scott Hartnell should all be getting more pucks on net. But, in Game Three, the bigger issue was in goal, where Ray Emery surrendered four goals on 20 shots and while he wasnt terrible, Emery was yanked in favour of Steve Mason with under eight minutes remaining. That could be an indication that Mason will be ready to start Game Four. Flyers captain Claude Giroux is confident that Philadelphia will take Game Four, and go back to New York with the series even, but Giroux is going to be front and centre in that effort. If Philly wants to even up the series, they need their top guns firing. KINGS ON THE BRINK A series that was supposed to be a first-round classic is in danger of going to a sweep after the San Jose Sharks 4-3 overtime win in Game Three against the Los Angeles Kings. Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist and Brent Burns scored the games first goal and contributed seven shots on goal in the winning effort. The nature of Burns first goal of the game and Marleaus last goals of the game shows just how important it is to get shots at the net. Burns flubbed a one-timer and the puck floated, virtually in slow-motion, past Quick. Marleaus goal was a weak backhand that deflected off Kings D Slava Voynov and past Quick. Add in a rebound goal for Tomas Hertl, for the game-tying third goal, and a deflection by Sharks RW Matt Nieto past a fallen Quick, who had been knocked over by D Robyn Regehr, and the quality of San Joses goals wasnt nearly as high as it had been in Game Two, when clean shots were beating Quick at every turn. After complaining about his Game Two ice time, Kings D Drew Doughty had a couple of assists and played a game-high 28:31, even though he missed some time while dealing with a shoulder injury. As if a 3-0 series lead isnt daunting enough to overcome for the Kings, but trying to do it with their No. 1 defenceman playing through injury is a virtually impossible task. The possession game for each team was won by Kings C Mike Richards (22 shot attempts for, 11 against) and Sharks LW Tomas Hertl (20 for, 13 against). At the wrong end of the scale, Sharks D Brad Start was on for 26.5% (nine for, 25 against) of the 5-on-5 shots against, though that meant the Sharks captured 53.7% of the shot attempts when Stuart was off the ice. For fans of high level hockey, its disappointing to see the Kings down 3-0, because a goal by Los Angeles in overtime (where they outshot San Jose 5-1) would have improved the odds of a long series. As it is now, theres little reason to imagine that the Kings can overcome this deficit against a Sharks team that is playing as well as any in the postseason. 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. Authentic Matt Grzelcyk Jersey .com) - A top-10 showdown is on tap in at the McKale Center on Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the eighth-ranked Utah Utes in a key Pac-12 matchup. Authentic Tuukka Rask Jersey . The biggest shock of this seasons competition was on when Watford took a 2-0 lead after 30 minutes at Etihad Stadium, only for a remarkable Aguero-led comeback by City in the final half-hour. The Argentina striker produced clinical finishes in the 60th and 79th minutes to level the score before Aleksandar Kolarov put City in front in the 87th. http://www.cheapbruinsjerseysauthentic.com/. Modin, 36, tallied seven goals and three assists in 36 games with the Thrashers this season. The Sundsvall, Sweden, native has posted 232 goals and 230 assists in 894 career NHL games with Toronto, Tampa Bay, Columbus, Los Angeles and Atlanta and has appeared in 57 post-season contests, helping the Lightning capture the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship. Authentic David Backes Jersey .com) - After Tom Brady added to an already illustrious legacy, Malcolm Butler established his by leaving the Seattle Seahawks, well, deflated. Authentic Steven Kampfer Jersey . - Justin Turner is at his best with runners in scoring position, and he delivered again in a big spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers. BOSTON -- For a few seconds it looked like the inning was over. Then, a couple of minutes later, Jose Altuves grand slam broke the game open. Altuve hit his first slam after Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts made a mental gaffe on a play that would have ended an inning Sunday, carrying the Houston Astros to an 8-1 victory over the Red Sox. Leading 2-0, the Astros got a break when manager Bo Porter won a challenge and they scored four runs after Bogaerts mistake. The shortstop picked up Marwin Gonzalezs grounder, ran to second for what looked like a force and fired to first. The problem was he threw the ball about a step before he tagged the bag. After Joe Kelly walked the bases full, Altuve homered into the Green Monster seats. "That theres a big play," said Porter, who said he was first told by the umpires that the play wasnt reviewable. "You look at that stage of the game and what proceeded to happen after that, Altuve with the big grand slam, one could say that was the biggest play of the game." Red Sox manager John Farrell was ejected by first-base umpire Doug Eddings after Altuves slam when he came out to argue. "My initial explanation on the field was that it was a neighbourhood play," Farrell said. "My interpretation is that neighbourhood play should not be determined by a feed throw or not, a neighbourhood play is not a reviewable play." Crew chief Jim Joyce, speaking to a pool reporter from the AP, said because he had never seen the play before that the crew decided to ask the replay centre for help. "Actually, we have not have had that play per say where the shortstop or the second baseman go right to the bag on their own," he said. "So, just to make everything clear, I explained to Bo that I was going to ask New York, the replay centre, if it was in fact reviewable because a neighbourhood play is not. New York came back to me and said, Yes, that play is reviewable and I came back to them and said, OK, Houston is challenging that play and that was the outcome." Altuve, who leads the majors in hits, weent 4 for 5, raising his hit total to 173 and majors best average to .dddddddddddd339 as the Astros completed a split of the four-game series. Dexter Fowler and Jon Singleton added solo homers for Houston, which earned its 52nd win to surpass last years total. Daniel Nava had an RBI double for Boston. Collin McHugh (6-9) gave up one run on seven hits in six innings for Houston. Kelly (0-1) was tagged for seven runs on seven hits, walking six over four innings in his Fenway Park debut with the Red Sox. He was acquired at the non-waiver trade deadline along with first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig for right-hander John Lackey. Fowlers homer in the third made it 7-0. WHAT A DAY Altuve became the first Astros player to collect four hits and a slam in the same game since Jeff Bagwell did it on April 9, 2004 at Milwaukee. He also matched his career high with the hits for the seventh time, last came on June 27 against Detroit. HOMER HAPPY The Astros entered the day second in the majors with 50 homers since July 1. They have 16 games this season with three or more homers and have gone 14-2. TRAINERS ROOM Astros 1B Jesus Guzman, on the DL since August 2 with back spasms and on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, is eligible to come off. Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia was out sick and it was his 31st birthday. He had three homers in seven previous games on his birthday. UP NEXT The Astros are off Monday before opening a three-game series at Yankee Stadium Tuesday when LHP Brett Oberholtzer (4-8, 3.87 ERA) is scheduled to face New Yorks lefty Chris Capuano (1-3, 4.13). RHP Brandon Workman (1-6, 4.45 ERA) is slated to go for Boston Monday, facing C. J. Wilson (9-8, 4.71 ERA) when the Red Sox open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. CELEBRITY SIGHTING Actor Matthew McConaughey watched the game from the second row down the left-field line just past the Astros dugout. He appeared to go fairly unnoticed until he left in the top of the ninth and many fans took pictures and shook hands as he was walking out. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '