| 2070 Beiträge - Forenlegende
|
|
|
MONTREAL - Head coach Michel Therrien believes it might be time for his club to have a break. After a tough 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre, Therrien came to the defence of a Montreal team that couldnt generate much offence during the game. "Weve played a lot of hockey in less than three weeks," said Therrien. "This team is drained. Theyre empty." The Canadiens have played 11 games in the last 19 days, including a 1-0 overtime victory against the Islanders in New York on Saturday night. The team touched down at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal in the wee hours Sunday, delayed by a snowstorm, and even scratched their morning practice. Therrien didnt blame the loss on a lack of effort or passion, but simply on fatigue. "The lemon is squeezed of all its juice," said Therrien. "When physically, youre tired, the execution is not quite there, and you make bad decisions. They go hand in hand. "Im not blaming (the players). I see what were asking of them. Very demanding. Theyre athletes, theyre human beings. They gave what they could in the circumstances. I know what they could give, and they gave it." The Canadiens started slowly, recording their first shot on net seven minutes into the first period, and were sluggish for most of the game. After two periods, the Panthers led 2-0 and were outshooting the home side 20-12. Montreal came into the third with a burst of energy. With the Habs pressing on the power play, its first of three in the final 20 minutes, Alex Galchenyuk reduced the deficit at 2:28 after banging home captain Brian Giontas rebound from inside the goaltenders crease. But with Floridas Mike Weaver and Scottie Upshall in the penalty box later in the period, the Canadiens couldnt gain control of the game despite playing 35 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey. Galchenyuk had a golden chance in front of the net to tie the game, but fanned on the bouncing puck. "We had an opportunity to win the game, and we wanted to win the game," said P.K. Subban, who registered the only shot on the Habs back-to-back power plays. "We have to capitalize on our opportunities." Panthers goaltender Scott Clemmensen made 17 saves, six of which came in the third period, to earn his second victory of the year. He got the nod in net in place of Tim Thomas, whos sidelined with a groin injury. "Our penalty killing came up big for us," said Clemmensen, looking back on the 5-on-3. "Our guys were diving in front, getting sticks up there, deflecting passes, being in a good position. It was great. Thats how we win games." Peter Budaj got the start in net for the Canadiens, his first of the season at home. He stopped 23-of-25 shots. The Panthers outshot the Canadiens 14-8 in the first period, but neither team came close to breaking the deadlock. Jesse Winchester got the Panthers on the board at 4:44 of the second, beating Budaj to his right with a one-timer off the post and in. Tomas Kopecky started the play, drawing both Montreal defencemen behind the net before feeding the puck to a wide open Winchester, who made no mistake from close range for his fifth goal of the year. Nick Bjugstad doubled the Panthers lead at 7:11, finishing off Floridas 3-on-2 rush by firing a wrist shot under Budajs glove. Florida (12-17-5) extended its win streak to three games. The Canadiens (20-12-3), meanwhile, have now lost three of their last four games, and have only scored three times in those outings. Notes: The game was Montreals third in four nights. … The Panthers have now won five of their last six games. … Montreal sits second in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the Boston Bruins. … The Panthers and Canadiens face off three more times this season. Their next encounter is on Dec. 29 in Sunrise, Florida. http://www.airforce1sale.nl/nike-air-huarache-nm-h...9-600.h tml . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. http://www.airforce1sale.nl/air-force-1-te-koop.html . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. http://www.airforce1sale.nl/air-force-one-high-sup...6-100.h tml . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.airforce1sale.nl/air-huarache-bestellen...-roze.h tml . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. http://www.airforce1sale.nl/air-force-1-lunar/nike...zwart.h tml . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2).TORONTO – It was nearing the end of a Monday practice and Randy Carlyle was flashing a menacing grin. All those under the age of 24, he said, were due an extra round of skating from sideboard to sideboard. Amid the Leafs longest losing streak of the season and a dismal November, which included two regulation wins in 13 games (4-6-3,) Carlyle is doing his best to remain calm. "Stress varies in coaching," said Carlyle, ahead of a Tuesday tilt with the scorching San Jose Sharks, who have won eight of their past 10 games. "Id say its always high, but [not getting] to the boiling point, its real difficult at times." "Our job is to be the calming influence," he continued, "and our job is to show leadership. Leaders, you cant be going off on your players on a continual basis because they become numb. I think that the screaming and hollering, weve done enough of that at times. Now is the time to accentuate the positives that they bring, correct and instruct and coach the negatives out of our group." Not much went right for his team in the second month of the season, one that ended with four straight losses, nine defeats in 13 games and a seven-game road losing skid. Their defensive troubles remained constant, their offence struggled to produce at even-strength, and one-half of their previously dominant special teams took a hit, their penalty kill dipping to 24th overall. Even the goaltending, superb under considerable strain for the opening six weeks, finally buckled somewhat under a heavy load in recent days. Though their record said otherwise (10-4-0,) October offered many of the same concerning traits to Carlyle and his coaching staff (save for goaltending and special teams.) But, because the wins kept coming, urgency amongst his players remained relatively low. "When youre winning youre winning," said Phil Kessel, who cooled in November with just six points in 14 games. "Its a result-based business. You want to win, so youre always positive when youre winning games. Obviously [the] last month has been a little tougher. We didnt win as many games as wed like and we didnt play as well as wed like. But its a long season. Theres ups and downs. Well get out of that and stay positive." With much of their October luck disappearing in recent weeks – their save percentage and shooting percentage both trending downward – Carlyles message, which urged the need for improvement throughout, is now carrying more weight with it. His early concerns have finally bubbled into real trouble, the Leafs now fifth in the Atlantic Division. "The one thing about what happens is when you continue to have success and youre doing it that way its not as drastic," said Carlyle. "But weve been hit right with a hammer right now so we know where were at and we know what we need to do to correct ourselves. All weve asked of our players is we want 10 per cent more from every individual in there and, in some cases, I believe theres 20 per cent more for peoplee to give.dddddddddddd" "When a coach tells you that, obviously, you look yourself in the mirror, you think over your practice habits, your game habits, your routine and you just make sure that theres nothing slipping in that you need to change," said James Reimer, who has allowed nine goals in his past two starts. "Once you realize that, you put your nose to the grindstone and work your butt off." The Leafs have yet to consistently brand themselves in the fashion that Carlyle would like, that of an aggressive blue-collar hockey club. Of late, hes been troubled by the quality of opportunities for the opposition in the "critical areas" of the ice, the increasing amount of odd-man rushes against and ongoing problems with discipline, the Leafs guilty of the third-most minor penalties this season. "Thus our penalty killing has been taxed," said Carlyle. That penalty kill, ranked second overall last season, allowed 15 goals in November and was successful to the tune of just 70 per cent. Troubles in that regard only accentuated the hefty strain on the two goaltenders, Reimer and Jonathan Bernier victim to the most shots against nightly this season (36 per game.) Improbably saving the day early and often, the tandem has predictably cooled in recent weeks. Reimer and Bernier have combined for an .894 save percentage in the past six games. "Were giving up a lot of chances," said Kessel. “"You cant give as many chances as weve been giving up." While their power-play has remained effective, still ranked as the 5th best this season, the Leafs productivity at even-strength has fallen on hard times. They scored just 18 such goals in 13 November games, managing two goals (overall) or fewer in nine of 13 games. Hoping to spark some change in that respect, Carlyle decided hed enough, for the moment, with the combination of Nazem Kadri and David Clarkson. Clarkson was replaced by Nik Kulemin on a line that also features Mason Raymond. "Were not creating enough," said Carlyle. "Were not creating enough chances and were not creating enough from an offensive standpoint. For me and for us we waited to do an analysis over the three games and we just felt there wasnt enough there." Depth offensively continues to be an issue. Of the 72 goals the Leafs have scored this season, 59 or 82 per cent have come for a group of just seven players, one of them being the injured Dave Bolland. Led by Dion Phaneuf, the defence has just three goals all season. "Were always looking and reviewing the things that you do wrong and there are some things that need addressing – were not going to hide from the fact of that – but we believe that the corrections are very easily adaptable," Carlyle said after a practice which included work on defensive zone coverage, breakouts, and special teams. "Now, does it happen overnight?" he finished with a laugh. "I hope so." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
|
