Deine erste Kategorie » sion to make, holding the 20th pick in next

Dustin Byfuglien, Michael Frolik and captain Andrew Ladd each won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, and their tenures with that club may be part of the reason the Winnipeg Jets seem so comfortable playing at United Center. The Jets seek their third victory in Chicago this season and fourth straight overall as they face the rested Blackhawks on Friday night. You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg starting at 6pm ct/7pm pt. Winnipeg is chasing the franchises first playoff berth since 2007 when it was based in Atlanta, which would be a drastic improvement from its last-place finish in 13-14. The Jets (23-14-8) trail the Blackhawks (28-13-4) and St. Louis - which are tied for second - by four points in the Central Division and have gone 3-0-1 since dropping four of their previous five. They beat Dallas 2-1 on Thursday with goals from Frolik and Evander Kane, who has scored in three straight. Its definitely nice to get some offense going, said Kane, who has just one assist in his last six against Chicago. (Friday) is a big game. That has to be our focus. Weve had some success in that building and hopefully we can continue that. Frolik, who won the 2013 Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks, scored 20 seconds into the game in Winnipegs 1-0 victory Nov. 2 in Chicago. Byfuglien and Ladd, members of the 2010 championship squad, combined for three assists in a 5-1 road win Dec. 23. Ladd has two goals and four assists on a four-game point streak against Chicago, which has been outscored 9-2 in the last three meetings - all at United Center. They keep coming at you, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. They get you disrupted, and I think thats what we saw here both times. I think we got outworked both times we played them, and you cant expect to beat them when youre just out there playing. The Blackhawks have had plenty of time to prepare for this meeting after opening a four-game homestand by beating Minnesota 4-1 on Sunday. Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell had a goal and an assist apiece for Chicago, which has split its last six. You get two days away to get re-energized, then we had two good practices and I think theyre ready to play, Quenneville said. Were playing a team thats had some success against us twice already (at United Center). We cant let them come in here and beat us all three times. Winnipeg native Jonathan Toews has five assists over his last three, but the Blackhawks are still waiting for top prospect Teuvo Teravainen to record his first NHL point. This will be the 20-year-olds fifth contest since being recalled from the AHL, and hell start on the third line with fellow winger Patrick Sharp and center Andrew Shaw. I think Teuvo has played his best when (he and Sharp) were together, Quenneville said. Hopefully they can generate some offense. Teuvo looked like he got to (another) level and had the puck a lot more. Corey Crawford will be in net after making 36 saves against the Wild. Hes started each of the last three losses to Winnipeg while posting a 2.69 goals-against average. Michael Hutchinson recorded his only career shutout with 33 saves in the first meeting with Chicago. He could get the nod again after Ondrej Pavelec made a season-high 46 saves Thursday. Game Notes: WPG is 2-0-0 vs CHI this season, both wins in CHI, 1GA WPG has won 3 straight in CHI, 2GA Chicago: 5-4-0 past 9 games, 28GA, 20/25 on PK Toews (5A) 3 game PT streak Winnipeg: 3-0-1 past 4 games, 18GF, 3/14 on PP Perreault (6G, 3A) 5 game PT streak Cheap Swingman Clippers Jerseys . First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday. Danilo Gallinari Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. http://www.cheapclippersjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-wesley-johnson-jersey . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Jerome Robinson Jersey . Picard had a goal and two assists to help Canada improve to 2-0 at the tournament. Seven different players scored for the two-time defending champions. "Today all four lines played excellent," said head coach Laura Schuler. Avery Bradley Jersey . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone.TORONTO - As rumours surrounding the future of Kyle Lowry - this summers biggest free-agent prize at his position - begin to swirl, the most reasonable question that comes to mind is, what took so long? The Raptors breakout point guard has been the subject of recent speculation, originating at ESPN, connecting him to the four-time defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. The parties are said to have "mutual interest". Often, where theres smoke theres fire, but thats not always the case in the NBA, especially not at this time of the year. Smoke, in this case, comes with the territory. Fresh off a career season, leading the Raptors to an unexpected division title, Lowry is poised to become a coveted commodity in unrestricted free agency when he officially hits the open market on July 1. If the Heat are the first team to come knocking, they assuredly wont be the last. Why wouldnt Miami be interested in Lowrys services? The Heat are less than a week removed from a disheartening trip to the NBA Finals, where they looked vastly inferior to the San Antonio Spurs in a five-game elimination. Their current point guard, Mario Chalmers - also a soon-to-be free agent - was notably ineffective en route to losing his starting job late in the series. And Lowry? Why wouldnt he want to play in South Beach? Under the right circumstances, accompanied by a suitable contract, you would be hard-pressed to find someone unwilling to play in one of the leagues most desirable destinations with LeBron James, the best basketball player on the planet. Therein lies the caveat, and its a big one; money. The Heat, under their current construction, can only offer so much of it. Firstly, in order for Miami to put together a passable offer to Lowry or any other prominent free agent, James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would need to opt out of their contracts - owing them each more than $20 million over the next two season - to renegotiate smaller deals. Udonis Haslem would likely have to do the same. Lowry, underpaid for most of his eight-year career, has been one of the leagues bargain players, earning just over $6 million last season. At best, Miami - or any other capped out team - may be able to offer something in that neighbourhood. From a Raptors perspective, nothing has changed since Masai Ujiri addressed the point guards future six weeks ago, making Lowry the teams top offseason priority. "Its very important for us, in terms of continuity," said the Raptors general manager that afternoon, asked abbout the likelihood of re-signing Lowry.dddddddddddd "For me, negotiating is easy if we want Kyle to be here and Kyle wants to be here." "I think well be fair with Kyle and well figure it out and I think its important. So well go through that process but were optimistic stuff will happen." They remain confident to this day and much of that stems from the fact that they can offer Lowry more than any other team, while also providing him the platform to lead a winning team with a cast that hes comfortable with. The 28-year-old is staring down his first super-sized NBA contract and in a league where so much can change in three-to-four years, there are no guarantees that another one will follow. Certainly, if hes willing to sacrifice in exchange for a better chance at competing for a championship hell have that opportunity but for a player entering his prime, one with a young family to support, it would be surprising to see him leave that much money on the table. With the Raptors he could double the size of his most recent contract, a four-year $23 million deal signed back in 2010. As you might expect, Lowry and his representatives will test the market, see whats out there and leverage the interest hes sure to get from other teams. As he wisely pointed out during a midseason wave of rumours following the trade of his best friend Rudy Gay, its a business. The Raptors will also have a big decision to make, holding the 20th pick in next weeks draft, five days before teams are able to sit down and meet with their free agent point guard. Would they select a lead guard as insurance? "I think the biggest thing is to not make draft decisions based on that, on your current roster and your current situations," Dan Tolzman, the Raptors director of scouting, said last week. "You keep it in the back of your head and youll take it into account when youre drafting players but if the most talented guy or the highest guy on your list happens to be a position that your loaded up with you can work stuff out later." "So I dont think you really approach the draft like, okay we need a point guard because we dont know what the situation is. But at the same time if the best player on the board is a point guard, well figure it out." And so it begins. For four months, primarily in the next two, the game shifts from the court to the boardroom, podium and social media sphere. The sound of sneakers squeaking and whistles whistling are replaced by rumours, bravado and conjecture. Buckle up. ' ' '