We just need to play better

[jinshuiqian0713]

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers turned the worst start in team history into a playoff berth. They forced Game 7 after a 3-2 series deficit. The Flyers simply ran out of comebacks. Just as it has in every season since winning it all in 1975, Philadelphia heads home without a Stanley Cup. The New York Rangers eliminated the Flyers with a 2-1 win in Game 7 in the first round on Wednesday, extending their championship drought to 38 seasons, the sixth-longest streak in the NHL. There was one sliver of consolation Thursday when team captain Claude Giroux was selected as a Hart Trophy finalist, the leagues MVP award. Giroux matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race (86 points), helping the Flyers rally from a 3-9-0 start. Hes the fifth Flyer to be a finalist, joining Bobby Clarke, Eric Lindros (who both won), and goalies Pelle Lindbergh and Bernie Parent. Individual award nominations are nice, and this one was sweet for Giroux after Team Canada bypassed him for the Olympics. But they simply dont compare to the thrill of hoisting the Stanley Cup. "We do have to be proud of what we did," Giroux said. "Last place and being able to come back and get everybody back on the same page. We had a lot of fun doing it. But right now, it stings a lot we cant be in the second round." Giroux had his chance in 2010 when the Flyers reached Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. But since that tantalizing run, theyve shown few signs of establishing themselves as a perennial contender. As they rallied from the bottom of the East all the way to the playoffs, the Flyers found two key cogs to their future are already in place: Coach Craig Berube and goalie Steve Mason. General manager Paul Holmgren made the right call when he fired Peter Laviolette after an 0-3 start and promoted the coach known as "Chief." After a small adjustment period, he had the Flyers playing as one of the top teams in the conference, leading to a 42-30-10 (94 points) finish. "We were stuck in a hole for a while and they battled out of it," Berube said. "They stuck together and went to a Game 7." Mason, the NHLs rookie of the year in 2008-09, pushed aside the doubts that lingered from Columbus that he could become a No. 1 goalie and blossomed into their goalie of the future. His mix of sensational saves and easygoing personality helped the Flyers start to erase the memories of Ilya Bryzgalov from their consciousness. "This teams a lot of fun to play with and Im looking forward to growing them in the future," Mason said. Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek form a nice offensive nucleus. Veteran defenceman Kimmo Timonen may decide to retire, though of the rest of the D was a sore point for the Flyers, especially in the post-season when Mason faced tough shot after tough shot with little break. The Flyers might not have made the playoffs without Mason. They might have beat the Rangers with even a solid defensive effort. "At no given time were we feeling we were out of the series, or out of it this season, for that matter," Mason said. This year, the Flyers celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Broad Street Bullies team that left a lasting mark on the league, but has done nothing to get them closer to holding that third championship parade down Philadelphia. The Flyers havent advanced past the second round since the surprising Stanley Cup finals run in 2010. But a year after missing the playoffs, the Flyers at least stabilized themselves and proved that an addition or two on the blue line can push them deeper into the post-season. "Game 7. Lose 2-1. Cant get closer than that," Giroux said. "For a young team, I think its great. Its only going to make us stronger." Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .The league also seems to have a fairly active Twitter account Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! that features the description “We provide a positive alternative to the hockey community and a venue for adult female hockey athletes to continue in their sport. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. - Chelseas 1-0 win at the Etihad, spoiling Manchester Citys perfect home record continues to be the talking point of the week. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. ST. LOUIS -- Antti Niemi thinks the San Jose Sharks have finally found the key to beating the St. Louis Blues. Its all about familiarity. "It took a while, but now we know how they play and thats whats made us better against them," Niemi said. "Were feeling comfortable when we face them." Niemi made 20 saves and Joe Pavelski scored the first of three straight San Jose goals to lead the Sharks to a 4-2 victory Tuesday night. San Jose completed a season sweep of the Blues, winning all three games by a combined 16-7. "Its really good to get the three wins against a tough team," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "A lot of different variables went into the three nights. Fortunately for us, we got the (six) points." St. Louis, which got goals from Kevin Shattenkirk and Jay Bouwmeester, had won six of seven against San Jose entering this season. But the Sharks have turned it around, winning 6-3 and 6-2 in the first two meetings. Matt Irwin, Brent Burns and Marty Havlat added goals for the Sharks, who led 3-0 after 22 minutes. Niemi improved to 18-6-6. He held off the Blues when they had a 6-on-4 skating advantage in the closing 2 minutes. "This was big for us," Niemi said. "We got in front, then reset our game and got the win." The Blues were playing their third game in four nights. San Jose had been in St. Louis since Sunday after losing in Nashville on Saturday. "Theyre a really good team and they could have been a little tired," Sharks centre Joe Thornton said. "We started fast and we played good enough to win." The Sharks jumped to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Pavelski and Irwin in a span of 2:56. Both came from close range on rebounds of missed shots that caromed off the end boards. Pavelski scored hiss 13th after a miss by Havlat, and Irwin jumped on a misfire from Justin Braun for his first of the season.dddddddddddd St. Louis goalie Jaroslav Halak gave up three goals on the first 12 shots and fell to 16-6-2. Halak has allowed 14 goals in his last five starts, 10 in the first period. "Tonight, it starts with me," he said. "I need to do a better job. We just need to play better, thats the bottom line." The Blues climbed to 3-2 on Bouwmeesters goal with 24.2 seconds left in the second period, but Havlat pounced on a rebound with 11:41 left in the game to make it 4-2. "The fourth one was tough. It was kind of like a dagger," Shattenkirk said. "Because we felt like we were moving in the right direction." San Jose snapped a season-high, four-game road losing streak with a solid effort. "A win is a win and were going to take that," McLellan said. "I havent seen anybody play a perfect game this year. We let the momentum get away on us. But in the third period, I thought we went out there and re-established it." NOTES: San Jose has outscored its opponents 44-15 in the first period this season. .... Blues coach Ken Hitchcock celebrated his 62nd birthday. ... St. Louis C David Backes missed his first game since Jan. 25, 2010, a string of 274 successive regular-season appearances. He sustained an upper-body injury in a collision with Ottawa C Colin Greening on Monday. Backes, who has 16 goals and 14 assists in 32 games, is expected to be out at least a week. ... The Blues were also without LWs Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Sobotka, who missed the game with upper-body injuries. Backes, Schwartz and Sobotka have combined for 29 goals and 38 assists. ... The Sharks are 0 for 16 on the power play over their last seven road games. ' ' '