The road back to the Stanley Cup Final took two very different turns for the Penguins and Predators at the start of the second round.
Back-to-back defending champion Pittsburgh roared back from a two-goal
Lars Eller Jersey , third-period deficit to beat the Washington Capitals, while the Winnipeg Jets chased Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne in a convincing 4-1 victory in Game 1. As each team prepares for Game 2, two key pieces could be ready to help.
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin practiced Saturday and is on the verge of returning to the lineup after missing the past two games with an apparent leg injury. Coach Mike Sullivan called Malkin a game-time decision, though signs are pointing to the Russian star playing Sunday at Washington (3 p.m. EDT, NBC).
”If I’m playing, I’m ready to play,” Malkin said. ”If you play, you need to show you can, you show you’re 100 percent. It’s not like the regular season. You can’t play slow the first period and be better in third. If I play, if I’m ready, I’m ready first shift.”
Predators winger Auston Watson skated just seven first-period shifts Friday night before leaving with an undisclosed injury. His teammates outshot the Jets 48-19 and still lost, though a healthy Watson for Game 2 back in Music City (7 p.m., NBCSN) could make a difference as the defending Western Conference champions try to even the series between the NHL’s top two teams.
”Getting this squared up before we go to Winnipeg is definitely important,” said Watson
http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/blake-martinez-jersey , who felt great and called it a good practice. ”We’ll do our best to take care of business.”
The Penguins and Predators each took care of business in six games in the first round. Malkin had three goals and two assists in five games before being injured against Philadelphia, and the line of Colton Sissons, former Pittsburgh center Nick Bonino and Watson combined for 19 points in beating Colorado.
It’s impossible to overstate Malkin’s value to the Penguins. Top-line winger Jake Guentzel called Malkin’s potential return a ”game-changer,” restoring one of their most dangerous options on the power play and at even strength after a season in which the 31-year-old forward put up 98 points.
Malkin skated on the fourth line between rookie Zack Aston-Reese and Tom Kuhnhackl at practice and on the first power-play unit. If he plays, it wouldn’t be in a limited role.
”Putting Geno on the fourth line? Probably not,” Sullivan said. ”We’ll try to put him in a position where he can play to his strengths, be successful as an individual and help our team win.”
Just as the Penguins drew on two long playoff runs to come back against the Capitals, the Predators need only look up at their Western Conference champions banner in the rafters as they try to rebound.
”We just have to keep having that bounce-back mentality we’ve had since I’ve been here for two and a half years,” center Ryan Johansen said. ”We’re looking forward to tomorrow night’s game because we know we’re going to get a great response from everybody in here.”
A FOR DISCIPLINE
Referees combined to call three penalties each in Game 1 of Penguins-Capitals and Jets-Predators. Nashville was the most-penalized team in the league during the regular season but hasn’t taken one its past two games.
”We’re trying to get better in a lot of different areas,” coach Peter Laviolette said. ”And you hope that through the course of fixing some things, continuing to do things right that you like, fixing some things, staying out of the penalty box, whatever it may be that at the end of the night you’ll be able to move forward from that. There are some things that I guess are going in the right direction.”
The strength of the Washington and Pittsburgh power plays has those teams watching themselves and trying to avoid time in the sin bin.
”I think both teams go into the series trying to be disciplined for that reason
Jason Spriggs Jersey ,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. ”You don’t want to give the power plays an opportunity to have an impact in the game.
HELLEBUYCK SHINES
Connor Hellebuyck, a Vezina Trophy finalist as the NHL’s top goaltender, starred for the Jets in making 47 saves in Game 1. In a breakout year for the 24-year-old, it was the kind of game that showed Winnipeg it has someone ready to take on the best in the West.
”There’s great difficulty in a lot of the saves and finding the puck in those scrums, but he’s built for that,” coach Paul Maurice said. ”He’s a big man that moves well and tracks well in traffic – especially close traffic. So he’s capable of that kind of game in that kind of environment.”
—
AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.
—
— Suddenly, football is fun again for Eric Ebron.
He’s smiling and shouting, celebrating scores and making big plays look routine at training camp. Inside the Colts‘ tight end meeting room, teammates hear him asking questions and offering suggestions, virtually certain Ebron will play a prominent role in Indianapolis’ new offense.
It’s everything Ebron wanted — a second chance to showcase his skills and finally live up to the hype surrounding him when he entered the NFL.
My deal is to just take it to the next level,” Ebron said shortly after signing with the Colts in free agency. “At this place, I have a new start
http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-adam-pelech-jersey , I have a new finish. I have a new rep and that alone means a lot.”
Ebron thought he could have achieved more in Detroit.
So did the Lions, who drafted the North Carolina product with the No. 10 overall pick in 2014.
They believed the Ebron’s 6-foot-4, 253-pound frame and 4.6-second time in the 40-yard dash made him a nightmarish matchup for opponents and figured Ebron could stretch the field down the middle and open up the outside for Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate.
Instead, Ebron’s reputation was damaged by injuries and a perceived propensity for dropping passes.
He struggled with a pulled hamstring as a rookie, missed two games the next season with a strained knee and three games in 2016 with a bruised knee and sprained ankle. Last year, he missed most of training camp with a pulled hamstring but finally managed to play in all 16 games for the first time in his career.
Ebron’s stats weren’t bad once he got started: 47 receptions for 537 yards and five TDs in 2015, 61 catches for 711 yards with one TD in 2016 and 53 catches for 574 yards and four TDs in 2017. They just weren’t the mind-blowing numbers everyone anticipated when he was a hot-shot prospect.
So the Lions decided to let a frustrated Ebron test free agency rather than exercise their fifth-year option.
Turns out, a change of scenery could be the perfect remedy to jump start Ebron’s career.
Colts tight ends coach Tom Manning convinced Ebron he’d start with a clean slate and a coaching staff that values tight end mismatches. It was an offer too good to pass up.
“Tom had so many little stats and tapes put together and it is about treating him (Ebron) the right way,” offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said. “He is a phenomenal talent so we would be foolish not to want him on our team. But it definitely helps having guys that know how to recruit.”
The Colts insist Ebron could still become the player the scouts projected.
He’s only 25 years old and provides Luck with another critical option alongside Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton and Pro Bowl tight end Jack Doyle.
And, of course, Ebron took note of just how creative coach Frank Reich was last season as offensive coordinator for Super Bowl champion Philadelphia.
He’s not lobbying yet to throw a pass to Luck, like tight end Trey Burton did in the Super Bowl — though nobody would put it past the fun-loving, energetic newcomer.
But he should fit in nicely with a deep positon group that starts with Doyle and includes veteran Erik Swoope and possibly promising youngster Ross Travis, at least until running back Robert Turbin returns from his four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
“We really complement each other extremely well
Ziggy Hood Jersey , to be honest, more than I even expected as we came in here,” Doyle said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun working with him. It’s going to be an advantage for us both.”
Ebron believes this offense will help him, too, which is why the season-opener, Sept. 9 against Cincinnati, can’t come soon enough.
“I just bring a little bit more versatility to the offense and I do a couple things a little bit different (than Doyle),” Ebron said. “Me and Jack are here to work side by side and I think that’s going to be something to really watch and something that’s exciting that I’m excited for. I’m sure the coaches are, too.”
Notes: Doyle (personal reasons) was one of a handful of players who missed Tuesday’s practice. Left tackle Anthony Castonzo and Denzelle Good, who is battling to start at right tackle, both sat out for a second straight day with hamstring injuries. … Also out were rookie defensive end Tyquan Lewis (foot), cornerback Chris Milton (hip), center Deshawn Bond (concussion protocol). Right guard Matt Slauson was given an extra day of rest.
Cheap Dallas Cowboys Jerseys 