Gästebuch » edge it needs to compete with the Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Darryl Sutter doesnt remember his first win as an NHL coach. Philadelphia 76ers Store . And now that hes gotten his 500th in the regular season, he didnt make anything special out of this one, either. Marian Gaborik got the deciding goal in the shootout and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 Thursday night to make Sutter the 18th coach to reach that milestone. "Its a lot," Sutter acknowledged. "Ive been around a long time. Ive gotten a lot in shootouts, though." Sutter, who guided the Kings to their first Stanley Cup title in 2011-12 after Terry Murray was fired less than 2 1/2 months into that season, tied Montreal legend Hector "Toe" Blake on the career list and is fifth among active coaches behind Joel Quenneville, Ken Hitchcock, Lindy Ruff and Barry Trotz. "When Darryl came in two years ago, he did exactly what he needed to do and pressed the right buttons to get the team going -- because at that time we were taking one step forward and two steps back," goalie Jonathan quick said. Quick tied Rogie Vachon for the most career victories by a Kings goaltender and stopped Alex Ovechkin, who leads the league with 46 goals, on the Capitals second shot in the tiebreaker. Quick, who has spent his entire seven-year career with the Kings, is 171-115, with 11 overtime losses and 20 additional defeats that ended in shootouts. Vachon was 171-148 with 66 ties during his six-plus seasons with Los Angeles after he was traded by Montreal, and made all three of his All-Star game appearances during his time with the Kings. "It means a lot, and its special because wins are a team effort -- 20 guys each night contributing to every win," Quick said. "The biggest thing is Ive had the luxury of shootouts and Rogie didnt. If you took away those shootout wins, Id still be behind Rogie, so I guess Im fortunate they implemented that a few years back." Ovechkin is 2 for 15 this season in the tiebreaker and 25 for 83 in his career. "He has a couple of good moves and he was trying to go five-hole there," Quick said. "Maybe it hasnt gone his way this year, but hes had success in the past. So hes always somebody youre preparing for." Quick finished with 21 saves, losing his shutout bid with 7:36 remaining when Joel Ward extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-best four games with his 22nd of the season. The Capitals got a power play in overtime after Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr was sent off for hooking Marcus Johansson at the 53-second mark. But Quick robbed Troy Brouwer on a point-blank shot from the low slot during the ensuing 4-on-3 advantage. Another of Quicks best saves came at 8:10 of the second period, when he stoned ex-teammate Dustin Penner with the heel of his glove at the last instant from the edge of the crease after leaving a bad rebound on Dmitry Orlovs slap shot from the left point. "Their goalie played great, and maybe stole it for them. But they also played a hard-nose physical game, and Im proud of our guys and the way they stood up to it," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "The second half of the game I thought we kind of took it to them. We had a lot of good chances, and I would say we carried the pace a little bit." The Kings, coming off their third consecutive one-goal loss following an eight-game winning streak, opened the scoring at 14:09 of the first period. Gaborik beat defenceman John Carlson to the puck after a long dump-in by Justin Williams and fed it in front to Anze Kopitar, who slid his 22nd goal between Jaroslav Halaks pads. Halak made 27 saves for Washington, after stopping 43 shots Tuesday in a 3-2 win at Anaheim. The eight-year veteran is 4-2-1 with a 2.13 goals-against average in seven starts since the Capitals acquired him in a trade with Buffalo on March 5 -- just five days after the Sabres picked him up in a trade with St. Louis. Captain Dustin Brown returned to the Kings lineup after missing two games because of a lower-body injury. NOTES: Vachon finished his 16-year career with 355 wins, which was fifth all-time when he retired after the 1981-82 season. He has since dropped to 17th place. ... Williams played in his 200th consecutive game, becoming the 13th different player in franchise history to reach that figure -- including Kopitar, who holds the club record with 330. ... The Kings are 14-0 when scoring more than three goals. Custom Philadelphia 76ers Jerseys . The CFL unveiled its 2014 schedule Wednesday and the Redblacks will play their first-ever regular-season game in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers on July 3. Philadelphia 76ers Shirts . Belfort was originally schedule to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 173 on May 24, but a Nevada State Athletic Commission ban on testosterone replacement therapy forced the former light heavyweight champ to withdraw. https://www.cheap76ers.com/ . As the schedule flipped from November to December, they would go on to drop five straight, falling six games below the .500 mark before a franchise-altering trade turned them into an unrecognizable team.(SportsNetwork.com) - The San Jose Sharks certainly are taking an interesting approach in the wake of becoming just the fourth National Hockey League franchise to waste a three-games-to-none playoff series lead. Theyre not panicking or fully investing in a rebuild, but they sure are going (with apologies to Monty Python) for something completely different. Carrying the burden of almost a decade of postseason disappointments -- capped by this ignoble bit of history -- the clubs head coach (Todd MacLellan) and general manager (Doug Wilson) remained in place, while only a few select veterans were shown the door. In another move that bucks tradition, the Sharks completely revamped their on- ice leadership structure not by selecting new players to wear the precious singular letters on their uniforms, but by stripping the captaincy from Joe Thornton, removing the alternate tag from Patrick Marleau and leaving the other A vacant after Dan Boyle signed as a free agent with the Rangers. Were starting this year with a clean slate, said McLellan to TSN of Canada back in August. Coming into training camp, everyone is starting with no equity -- from rookies through all of the veterans. Even though 15,000 strong at the clubs recent fan fest indicates a level of forgiveness, certain parts of the schedule were not publicized in advance. That meant a sit-down with Wilson and scouting director Tim Burke wasnt as well-attended as it should have been given the near certainty that paying customers should be lining up 10 deep to question the braintrust. But if the fans are so willing to return year after year despite unfulfilled expectations, what impetus does Wilson or anyone else have to enact real change? FORWARDS - Its Joe Pavelskis time to shine. The 30-year-old Wisconsin native led the Sharks with career-bests in goals (41) and points (79), and heading into his ninth NHL season, the rest of the club should be following his lead. No matter how Thornton (11G, 65A) handles the new leadership competition, he should be doing his best to promote Pavelski as the new vanguard. Tomas Hertl, the man who sent Martin Biron into retirement but whose rookie season (15G, 25 pts. in 37 games) was hampered by injury and inconsistency, needs to elevate his game to the level of hype that his between-the-legs goal created. He should be Marleaus project for the year. Lets not forget about Logan Coutures growth into a legitimate star. If he can replicate the play which netted him back-to-back 30-goal seasons in 2010-12 while healthy, hell be looked upon as a scoring panacea during inevitable struggles. Martin Havlat and Burns 22 goals disappear, but the combined forces of former Flyers yo-yo Tye McGinn, Boston University product Matt Nieto (10G, 14A) and Tommy Wingels (16G, 38 pts.) should make up the difference. Nikolay Goldobin, their 18-year-old first-round pick who impressed in camp, waits in the wings to either snag a spot on the roster out of the gate or get more seasoning with Sarnia of the OHL. Should things get rough in the stacked Pacific Division, McLellan can call upon Tyler Kennedy, Andrew Desjardins, Mike Brown, James Sheppard and Adam Burish for glass-rattling backup to give the skilled lines plenty of space. In spite of that well-rounded cadre, the Sharks made one of the most significant moves in the offseason, bringing in the multi-talented 6-foot-8 John Scott to provide that extra boost of toughness the club lacks up front. Philadelphia 76ers Gear. The twin Lady Byng threats of Scott and Raffi Torres -- whenever he returns from the latest setback from knee surgery -- will give the club a clean edge it needs to compete with the Kings, Ducks, and Blackhawks. DEFENSE - With Boyle (12G, 36 pts.) having gotten the hint and escaping to New York as a free agent, the Sharks defense has taken on a grittier, less slick character. Each of the expected top six are taller than six foot and excepting Jason Demers, weigh at least 205 pounds with Brent Burns -- moved back where he belongs from a stint on the forward lines -- clocking in at a healthy 230. The blueline amassed just 305 penalty minutes and ranked fifth overall in goals against (193) and goals-per-game allowed (2.35), but McLellan appears to be bidding on the same results with more of a price paid by the opposition. Therefore, it cant be long until Taylor Doherty, after four years in Worcester and a veritable behemoth at 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, gets his shot to entangle enemy forwards. Mirco Mueller, at only 19 years old, stands 6- foot-3 and weighs 205 and is the franchises most capable defensive prospect. Scott Hannan, who claims the most NHL action of the group, will have no issue throwing his weight around, while Marc-Edouard Vlasic who was a plus-31, has the puck-handling skills to be Boyles replacement offensively. GOALTENDING - Performance in the crease has never been tabbed as a legitimate reason San Jose has continually come up short in the spring. If anything, Antti Niemi -- maligned despite his role in the Blackhawks 2010 Cup victory -- has played better year after year than his heady rookie campaign suggested. Theres no reason to suspect Niemi, now heading into his seventh NHL campaign and fifth as the San Jose starter, wont put up numbers similar to his 39 wins, 2.39 GAA and four shutouts over 64 games. Hes never failed to win less than 30 in any full season since arriving in the Bay Area. Barring injury or incompetence, 27-year-old Alex Stalock (12-5-2, 1.87 GAA, 2 ShO) will get the nod for the second straight season to be Niemis backup. Should either Niemi or Stalock falter, theres two-year college starter Troy Grosenick -- who helped Union College reach the Frozen Four in 2012 -- waiting in the wings. Grosenick, 25, finished 18-14-0 with a 2.62 GAA in 35 appearances for Worcester of the American Hockey League in his first professional season. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - Internally, the Sharks may believe this year is the one where all debts are forgiven. But after wave upon wave of disappointments trail in their wake, in order to fully embrace the present and ensure a better future, deeper cuts should have been made both on and off the ice. Theres enough talent and stability in San Jose to ensure a run at a division title and be competitive in the West. However, players like Pavelski, Couture, and Vlasic have to be capable of succeeding with increased responsibility and leadership to make it all work. And unless Wilson, McLellan, Thornton, et al. have undergone the kind of soul searching which leads to effective change in their acts, it will be one more April and May of shattered playoff dreams. ' ' '