Bewerbung » for the team lead with two goals apiece and 17 skaters

TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Pau Gasol, the improving Raptors, Eric Gordon, Rajon Rondo, and tough times for the Bulls in Chicago. 1. PAU GASOL (Lakers): There are rumours out of L.A. that the Lakers are open to moving the big man. He and Coach Mike DAntoni dont see eye to eye about his role and how he needs to be utilized in the offence. Hes a wonderfully talented player yet when I was in L.A. eight days ago for the Raptors game I was surprised to see how little explosion and pop he had in his game. He played with little passion/force and for a guy thats getting paid big money thats inexcusable. Yes, you dont like your role but dont pout about it. Play through adversity. 2. RAPTORS ARE BETTER: Watching Toronto the past two games vs. Philly and at Chicago, this is a better team. More traditional playing inside/out, much better ball distribution, role definition and balance in the offence. In addition, the second unit has a little more pop in it with Patterson, Vasquez and Salmons along with Tyler Hansbrough. It will be interesting to see with this development to see the approach of GM Masai Ujiri to the trade prospects as they pertain to Kyle Lowry and Im sure folks will be calling about Amir Johnson who has a very reasonable contract and produces consistently. Both guys would be valuable pieces for contending teams. Do you sell, hold or buy? Fascinating stuff. 3. ERIC GORDON (Pelicans): His team has had a nice season at 11-11 so far. More importantly, hes played in all 22 games. Hes had injury issues over the years and many questions about his durability and love for the sport as well. Hes been very effective at 16 ppg and shooting a reasonable 44 per cent field goal percentage and 39 per cent three-point percentage so far. Coach Monty Williams has done a nice job bringing this young team along and showing patience. Having Ryan Anderson back in the mix with his brilliant shooting and toughness helps. How they ride out the Anthony Davis injury will be huge yet the presence of Gordon consistently has been a pleasant compliment to this growing team. 4. RAJON RONDO (Celtics): Cleared for contact yet probably a few weeks to a month away from playing. Theyre in first place in the Atlantic Division. Im sure GM Danny Ainge is just thrilled with that. What do you do? Hell be a huge trade piece for them when hes ready to go or do you play him when hes ready? Hes a terrific competitor and player and instantly makes a team much better. The minute hes healthy and ready to go the offers for him will come pouring in and Im sure Ainge hears daily from fellow GMs kicking the tires about his availability. Keep an eye on this one. 5. NATE ROBINSON & MARCO BELINELLI (Nuggets, Spurs): Was in Chicago on Saturday for the Raptors game and I feel awful for Derrick Rose and the Bulls fans. The building was silent and dead - the fans are in mourning about the direction of their team. The more I watched their team I kept saying to myself that theyve got so little offensive creativity and explosiveness that theyre going to labour to score and win consistently. They miss Robinson and Belinelli big-time. Both can score and create their own shot and opportunities for others. With all due respect to DJ Augustin, its going to take him some time to get comfortable and to find his confidence. Not sure what the direction GM Gar Forman wants to take this thing yet but based upon what Ive seen of this unit of late theyre so offensively challenged they are in trouble. You can defend until youre blue in the face - you still gotta put the rock in the basket. Shows how fragile this business is. Two years ago they were the up and coming team in the East, and now theyre barely staying afloat. China Shoes Online . -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players. Jordan From China . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze. https://www.chinashoes.us/ .com) - Jeff Teague had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 90-85 on Saturday night. China Shoes .C. -- The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday theyve signed free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a two-year contract, helping rebuild a depleted wide receiving corps. China Shoes Wholesale . Miralem Pjanic dribbled through the defence to score an extraordinary goal in the 43rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico and Gervinho added another from a rebound in the 65th for Romas ninth straight victory — ending Milans five-match winning streak.In order for the New York Rangers to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three years, the club is going to have to do something its never done before: beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs. The Rangers hope to strike first in this fifth postseason meeting between the franchises, as they visit Pittsburgh for Fridays Game 1 battle at CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins are 4-0 all-time in postseason series against the Blueshirts and boast a 16-4 record over those four playoff encounters. The only time New York was able to post more than one win in a series against the Pens was in the 1992 Division Finals, when Pittsburgh downed the Rangers in six games en route to its second straight Stanley Cup title. The most recent playoff encounter was in the 2008 conference semifinals when Pittsburgh ousted the Rangers in five games. New York, which made the conference finals in 2012, is in the second round for the third straight season after beating Philadelphia in seven games in the opening round. Home-ice advantage came in handy for the Blueshirts, as they claimed a 2-1 win at Madison Square Garden in the final test against the Flyers, improving to 6-0 all-time in Game 7s on home ice. In this round, however, the Rangers will have to prove they can win on the road against the Metropolitan Division champion Penguins. "Were battle-tested and ready for the next series," said Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. "Philly was a real tough opponent, and you have to give them credit, it was a great series, but we know if you look on paper Pittsburgh is probably one of the best teams in the league. They were (13) points ahead of us in the regular season, so were going to have our hands full." The Pens and Rangers split four meetings during the 2013-14 campaign, with both teams recording 2-1-1 records. New York had lost five straight in Pittsburgh before ending that road slide with a 4-3 shootout win on Feb. 7. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday in the Steel City, while New York gets to host the third meeting on Monday. Fatigue could be an issue for the Rangers at the start of this series, as New York will have played five games in a span of seven days through Game 3 of this set. The Pens, on the other hand, had three full days of rest heading into Game 1. Pittsburgh is in the second round after beating Columbus in six games during the conference quarterfinals. The Pens are after a second straight trip to the East finals after getting swept by Boston in the penultimate playoff round last spring. A big topic of conversation in the middle of the first round was Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkins lack of goal-scoring. But, after Malkin turned in a hat trick to help Pittsburgh clinch the series in Game 6, that likely puts an end to the discussion for now. Malkin ended with seven points on three goals and four assists. Crosby failed to score a goal in six games, but with six assists to his credit its difficult to say he was unproductive. Still, Crosby, the odds-on favorite to win this seasons Hart TTrophy, hasnt recorded a goal in his last 11 playoff games and if he goes long without scoring one in this series it could become an issue once again.dddddddddddd Crosby and Chris Kunitz led Pittsburgh with six points apiece during the season series with New York, with the captain notching a goal and five assists and Kunitz delivering three goals and three helpers. Malkin only played in two of the four meetings and had a goal and an assist. When things go wrong for Pittsburgh, nobody gets criticized more than No. 1 goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Last spring, Fleury was replaced by Tomas Vokoun as the clubs starting goaltender after Game 4 of the opening round against the New York Islanders and did not start another game in the playoffs. Fleury struggled at times during the conference quarterfinals against Columbus, but not enough for head coach Dan Bylsma to make the switch to current backup Jeff Zatkoff. For the most part, Fleury was solid against the Blue Jackets in Round 1. He ended the series with a .908 save percentage and 2.81 goals against average. The 29-year-old is 49-36 with a .903 save percentage and .273 GAA throughout his playoff career. The biggest advantage New York has over the Penguins could be in net, where Rangers backstop Henrik Lundqvist is as steady as they come. The 32-year-old Swede posted a .919 save percentage and 2.11 GAA in the seven games against Philadelphia Lundqvist is a big reason the Rangers are so difficult to beat in a long series. With its win over Philly, the Blueshirts became the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 in the first round in three consecutive postseasons. In five career Game 7s, Lundqvist is 4-1 with a 1.00 GAA, a .963 save percentage and has allowed two goals or fewer in all five games. The Rangers threw a balanced scoring attack at Philadelphia, with eight players tied for the team lead with two goals apiece and 17 skaters in all registered at least one point. Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, both members of Tampa Bays 2004 Stanley Cup-winning team, led the way with six points on two goals and four assists, while fellow forwards Carl Hagelin, Benoit Pouliot and Mats Zuccarello each had two goals and two assists. Even physical forward Daniel Carcillo joined the fun, as the ex-Flyer scored two goals against his former team, including the first marker in Wednesdays 2-1 Game 7 victory. If there is one guy who needs to get going for New York its the clubs top offensive weapon Rick Nash. The big, talented winger led the team with 26 goals during the regular season, but he failed to score against the Flyers while notching four assists. Over 23 career playoff games, Nash only has managed two goals while recording 10 assists. Zuccarello posted two goals and four assists to lead the Rangers in scoring against the Pens during the season series. Both Fleury and Lundqvist started all four games in net. Pittsburghs No. 1 netminder had a 3.12 GAA in the season series, while Lundqvist was slightly better with a 2.88 GAA. ' ' '