round of last seasons Stanley Cup playoffs

Thumbs up to the Los Angeles Kings, for making us believe in something we cant see. Who could see the Kings winning the first round of last seasons Stanley Cup playoffs after losing the first three games against San Jose? All that happened in three subsequent rounds became more believable because, by then, it was assumed that the Kings were capable of winning against any difficult odds. They brought that reputation into this season, and so a third Stanley Cup in four years is going to seem possible til its not. After five losses in six games, the Kings needed some of their inner strength against St. Louis on Thursday, and it went missing as they fell behind 3-0. But three goals werent enough for the Blues just as three games werent enough for the Sharks. The Kings rallied to win Thursdays game 6-4 (insert here a line about Martin Brodeurs shaky goaltending…if you wish) and the Kings said what you knew theyd say--We are a team that can do this because weve done this. They did it last season as a third-place finisher in their division. The current standings say theyre nothing more than a wild-card team. They dont look like the best team in the league, but if they say they feel they are and can prove it when it counts, they win all arguments to the contrary with evidence that trumps doubt. -- Thumbs down to the Washington Capitals for denying Swedens entry in the World Junior Hockey Championship the services of forward Andre Burakovsky and for then sending Burakovsky to their Hershey AHL affiliate. When an NHL team keeps a player out of the World Junior Championship because it doesnt want to be without him in its own lineup, it is fully understood and accepted. But all NHL teams should feel an obligation to make available any teenagers in their systems who will not be in their lineups over the holiday period. Sure, the Capitals can say they might need to recall Burakovsky, or they want him to get personalized coaching help in Hershey, but the junior tournament is important for hockey, and those who are good enough to play in it should be playing for their countries if theyre not playing regularly for their NHL teams. One wonders what Washington would have done with an American player under similar circumstances. And lets add a thumbs down to the Halifax Mooseheads for trading Team Canada goalie Zach Fucale a week before his first world junior game. He knew it was coming. So what? It shouldnt have come until he got home. Vincent Trocheck Jersey .com) - Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of 16th-ranked Sooners 48-14 loss to No. Custom Florida Panthers Jerseys .com) - The San Francisco Giants delivered plenty of big hits to tie the World Series. http://www.hockeypanthersofficialonline.com/ . Thats the feeling that eight Canadian Football League teams are experiencing right now in advance of the expansion draft to stock the Ottawa Redblacks. Aleksander Barkov Jersey . When a game is in the balance, however, they still have the personnel and the experience to end up with the two points. Evgenii Dadonov Jersey . Interestingly, the culprits were not rookies, but well paid, experienced pros. The first gaffe came in the 24th minute of arguably the biggest early season MLS game in history between Seattle and Toronto. Sounder newcomer Marco Pappa, (with over 100 MLS games, and 39 Guatemalan Caps to his name) attempted a back pass to one of his central defenders.DENVER -- A two-week losing streak that included a tumultuous player-coach run-in during a game is over and the Denver Nuggets can finally exhale. Ty Lawson scored 18 points, including a key 3-pointer with less than a minute to play, and the Nuggets snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 111-108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. "Its a wonderful feeling," said Kenneth Faried, one of six Nuggets to score in double figures. "We got the monkey off our back. We cant put it back on." Lawson also had 12 assists for the Nuggets, who played without Andre Miller. His two-game suspension stemming from a verbal clash with coach Brian Shaw during Wednesdays loss to the Philadelphia 76ers was rescinded by the club earlier Friday. But Miller, who lit into Shaw over his lack of playing time in the waning minutes of Wednesdays game in full view of fans and teammates, will remain away from the team until Monday under a newly issued personal leave. With frustration and uncertainty running rampant, Shaw held individual meetings with his players, and then had a group session with the team Thursday. "It was great," guard Randy Foye said. "Coach called us in and just explained how much confidence he had in us, what he expected from us. He reassured us that hes with us 120 per cent. He told us that he needs us to be with him 120 per cent, and to believe in the game plan. Coach was awesome, explaining the things that he needed from us, and I think guys took that and ran with it." Shaw said dealing with the fallout from the losing streak as well as the verbal clash with Miller was just part of the job. "Everything thats gone on in the last 48 hours is part of what you sign up for," Shaw said. "Theres ups and downs. ... But just allowing everybody to voice how they felt about the way things were going, assess themselves, assess us as a coaching staff, I think that just liberated everyone." Faried and Timofey Mozgov added 16 points apiece for Denver and Nate Robinson had 15 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Zach Randolph had 25 points to lead Memphis and Mike Conley added 23. Mike Miller narrowly missed a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.dddddddddddd "We didnt guard well," Grizzlies coach David Joerger said. "They got the loose balls. They got the offensive rebounds and we didnt convert on fast breaks. We gave up too many easy baskets." Trailing by 10 at the break, the Grizzlies got back in the game by opening the third quarter with a 13-4 run. Tony Allens layup little more than three minutes later put the Grizzlies in front 65-64, their first lead since the opening moments of the game. The Nuggets came back, with help from a three-point play by Evan Fournier and a 3-pointer by Robinson to take a 77-75 lead into the fourth quarter. The Nuggets extended their lead to 87-77 with 9:32 remaining, getting 3-pointers from Randy Foye and Robinson around a breakaway dunk by Faired. The Grizzlies made another push, getting seven consecutive points capped by Conleys 3-pointer to pull to 98-96 with 4:05 left. Robinson answered with a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a bit of breathing room, but Tayshaun Prince drained a 3-pointer with a minute left, getting the Grizzlies within 107-104. Lawson rebuilt the Nuggets lead to six points with a clutch 3-pointer with 53.1 seconds left. Memphis scored the next four points, and with 4.1 seconds left fouled Robinson, who made one of two free throws with the Grizzlies rebounding and getting the ball with just over 3 seconds remaining. Millers attempt for a tying 3-pointer hit the back of the rim and bounced out. "They played desperate. They needed a win and they played like it," Conley said. "They worked hard for it and they outworked us at the end." NOTES: Lawson has had eight points-assists double doubles this season. ... Mozgov has come off the bench to score in double figures 13 times this season. ... Memphis outscored the Nuggets 27-19 in the third quarter, getting 12 of its points from the free throw line. ... The Grizzlies attempted 38 free throws in all, making 29. Only Houston (44 on Nov. 16) shot more free throws against the Nuggets. ... Randolph reached 25 points and 13 rebounds in a game for the third time this season. ' ' '