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| dropped the third-place Rays a season-high | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 5 2016, 03:14 AM (2 Views) | |
| vive123654 | Mar 5 2016, 03:14 AM Post #1 |
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Part of the Crowd
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PITTSBURGH -- When Daniel Alfredsson pulled off the stunner of the NHL off-season by leaving the Ottawa Senators as a free agent, the rationale he gave was simple: He thought the Detroit Red Wings offered him a better chance to win the Stanley Cup. Nike Roshe One Online . At the time, skeptics looked at the Senators and questioned if that was true. They had just overcome injuries to Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson to reach the second round of the playoffs, and even Alfredsson saw a bright future ahead. Playing into his 40s, Alfredsson just didnt "have the time to wait for that." As a disappointing season unfolded in Ottawa, it became clear the longtime Senators captain was right, and on Wednesday night the Red Wings validated his decision to sign in Detroit by making the playoffs and giving him another opportunity to chase the Cup. "Thats what you play for: to get into the playoffs," Alfredsson said after the Red Wings clinched with a shootout loss in Pittsburgh. "I played a long time in this league, I played a lot of playoff games but I havent won the Stanley Cup, and thats what you dream about. Thats the only reason Im still playing." The easy move, as Alfredsson acknowledged July 5, wouldve been to re-sign with the Senators and play out a career that would then include his No. 11 being raised to the rafters and maybe a statue being built outside Canadian Tire Centre. Leaving immediately clouded his legacy. In the wake of Alfredssons departure, the Senators couldnt seem to get out of a fog early and were never able to catch up. They missed the playoffs for the third time in six years, but even from afar the former face of that franchise didnt get any satisfaction in watching the Sens struggle. "I was hoping that they would do well, theres no question," Alfredsson said Tuesday in Buffalo. "Other than that, my focus is solely on this team and on the present and finishing out this season strong." Led by Alfredsson and fellow Swede Gustav Nyquist, the Red Wings made a strong push to qualify for the playoffs on the night they played their 80th game of the season. And they did so despite missing stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg for almost half the season due to injuries, while Alfredsson, himself, missed 13 games. Thanks to major contributions from young players like Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, Detroit overcame those and many more injuries to make a 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. The Red Wings also leaned heavily veteran defenceman Niklas Kronwall, Alfredsson and coach Mike Babcock to steady the ship. "I think theres a few factors: goaltendings been consistent for us, I think Kronwall has pulled a really heavy load throughout the year on and off the ice for this team," Alfredsson said. "And (the) coaching staff, as well, adjusting to the team we have and giving us a chance and a game plan to win every night. Theyve been pushing us hard. Its been hard-fought to get here, but it feels great." A season full of injuries putting a coach in line for a Jack Adams Award -- sound familiar? Ottawas Paul MacLean won it last year, and Babcock will be a serious candidate given how many Red Wings regulars missed time this season. Of course someone has to score to make that happen. Alfredssons 49 points on 18 goals and 31 assists have him tied with Kronwall for the team lead with two games left. Alfredsson was all smiles in the visiting locker room Wednesday night after helping Detroit pick up the one point it needed to make it. And while clinching a playoff spot was a proud accomplishment, he didnt deny doubts crept in when the Red Wings learned Datsyuk and Zetterberg would be out for a while. "We knew it was going to be tough," Alfredsson said. "We had a similar situation in Ottawa last year where we lost Spezza, Karlsson, (Milan) Michalek and Anderson for longer periods of time. "If you get something going and you get a good feeling within a locker-room, you can accomplish a lot of things, and I think thats what weve done. Were a good group, we have fun and we know how to work for each other. Its kind of contagious when you see everybody going. Everybody kind of drags along and knows that they have to pull their share, as well." Taking a step back from the situations, Alfredsson didnt see much more of a correlation between the triumphs of the 2013 Senators and the 2013-14 Red Wings. In his estimation, this year was worse. "I think in Ottawa it was more right away we knew a few guys were out for longer periods of time," he said. "It wasnt as much guys coming back, guys coming out. Weve been shuffling lines for most of the year but still found ways to get everybody contributing." Alfredsson was one of 34 skaters to dress for the Red Wings this season, second only to the Penguins (37) among playoff teams. Beyond Nyquist and Tatar, Detroit likely wouldnt have extended its NHL-best playoff streak were it not for minor-league call-ups Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening and Tomas Jurco. The kids -- a couple of whom werent even alive the last time the Red Wings missed the playoffs -- are all right in Alfredssons eyes. But he also believes Babcock and his staff deserve some credit. "They gave them that chance and didnt make it a big deal," Alfredsson said. "Its just, You can do this. I think that gave them confidence. They definitely made the most of it. I think Coach gave them a chance, and they repaid him with solid play." Anything less than solid play wouldve meant an early summer for the Red Wings and a quicker start to the retirement questions for Alfredsson. Instead, the 41-year-old winger gets to compete in the playoffs for the 15th time in his NHL career. This time is extra special because of how difficult it was. "I think we worked extremely hard to get to this point, and it feels great," Alfredsson said. "This group has overcome a lot of adversity and that makes it even more fun." Nike Roshe One Dyn Fw .Y. -- Bills general manager Doug Whaley is done playing franchise tag with safety Jairus Byrd. Nike Roshe One NZ . Ware, a world championship bronze medallist this past summer on three-metre, posted victories on 10m tower with 325.90 points on Saturday, and on the three-metre with 345. http://www.cheapnikeroshenz.org/nike-roshe-one-nz.html . -- Jonathan Martins early weeks with his new San Francisco 49ers teammates have been spent recovering from mononucleosis and regaining strength zapped by the viral infection. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Russell Martins patience paid off for the Yankees. The New York catcher from Chelsea, Que., drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. Rookie left-hander Alex Torres (0-1) yielded the winning run in his major league debut after New York loaded the bases on Curtis Grandersons single, an intentional walk to Nick Swisher and another walk to Andruw Jones. Martin worked Torres to a full count, fouled off a pitch and then took ball four to push Granderson across the plate. "Russell had a chance to see what he was doing," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You give the kid a lot of credit. He had some guts. Threw changeups. We got fortunate that we got a run by walks. For his first outing, thats a tough situation. Russell has shown patience his whole career. Its his M.O. Its not an easy thing to do." Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Brett Gardner and Eduardo Nunez also drove in runs for the second-place Yankees, who rallied from a 4-1 deficit to remain 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East standings. "Its a big win, especially when you comeback late like that," Martin said. "It seemed like they had our number the whole night and we were just able to rally late. Everybody played their part. Getting walks. Getting knocks here and there. So definitely a big team win." All-star David Robertson (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out two to get the victory. Mariano Rivera worked a one-two-three ninth to earn his 24th save in 28 opportunities. The Rays wasted a nice pitching performance by rookie Alex Cobb, who allowed two runs and three hits after being called up from the minors to make his sixth major league start. The 23-year-old right-hander limited the Yankees to Canos RBI grounder in the first and Teixeiras run-scoring single in the fifth before turning over a 4-2 lead to a depleted bullpen. Sunday nights 1-0, 16-inning loss to Boston left Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon with limited options after Cobb departed. The Yankees tied it 4-all with two runs charged to reliever Cesar Ramos in the eighth, but wasted a chance to take the lead when Derek Jeter struck out with the potential go-ahead run at third base. Maddon didnt second-guess himself on the decision to turn to the inexperienced Torres in the ninth. "This guy has a great future with us," Maddon said. "He can pitch here. Hes going to pitch here once he knows where that fastball is going. I love the way he went about it. I love his look, but you saw whats been holding him back to this point." After going a combined 3 for 50 in the extra-innings loss to the Red Sox, the Rays sccored three times and matched their hit total from the five-hour 44-minute marathon in the first inning alone against Yankees starter A. Nike Roshe One. J. Burnett. Evan Longoria drove in the first two with a double and Burnetts throwing error permitted the third run to score. Casey Kotchmans bases-loaded infield single made it 4-1 in the second. Both Cobb and catcher Robinson Chirinos, who made his major league debut and doubled in his first at-bat, were recalled from Triple-A Durham earlier in the day. Cobb gave up a run in the first without allowing the Yankees to get the ball out of the infield. Granderson stole second after reaching on a one-out, bunt single, took third on second baseman Sean Rodriguezs fielding error and scored when Cano grounded into a force play. The Rays starter issued two-out walks to Gardner in the second and Jorge Posada in the fourth, but New York didnt manage another hit until Teixeiras RBI single trimmed New Yorks deficit to 4-2. Moments later, a lightning strike caused a bank of lights along the first base line to lose power and play was stopped for 18 minutes. Burnett allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander walked six, but the Rays didnt take full advantage and stranded 10 baserunners through the first six innings. The Yankees wasted some good opportunities of their own, stranding runners in scoring position in the fifth and seventh. Cobb prevented further damage after Teixeiras RBI single when he got Cano to ground out to end the fifth, and Ramos preserved a two-run lead when he struck out Teixeira with runners at first and second to shut down the other threat. Jeter went 1 for 5, moving ahead of Hall of Famer Al Kaline into 26th on the career hit list with No. 3,008 on a seventh-inning single off Joel Peralta. The loss dropped the third-place Rays a season-high eight games behind Boston in the division. They trail the Yankees by 6 1/2 games in the AL wild-card race. "Its not a very optimal position," Maddon said. "But believe me, Im not losing any kind of hope on this one." NOTES: To make room on the roster for Cobb, Chirinos and Torres, the Rays designated RHP Adam Russell for assignment and placed C Jose Lobaton (left knee sprain) and RHP Juan Cruz (right groin strain) on the 15-day disabled list. ... New York INF Ramiro Pena had an appendectomy on Monday and was placed on the DL. INF Brandon Laird was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... Yankees RHP Rafael Soriano (right elbow inflammation) and INF Eric Chavez (broken left foot) are scheduled to start minor league rehab assignments Tuesday night with Class-A Tampa. ... New York RHP Mark Prior has had his rehab program for a groin strain curtailed by back soreness. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap soccer jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' ' |
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