Comics » Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock acknowledged

NEW YORK (AP) — After a lackluster first two periods http://www.redwingsshoponline.com/authentic-dylan-larkin-jersey , the New York Rangers came out with more intensity in the third and got a needed win.Kevin Hayes scored on a short-handed breakaway with 40 seconds remaining and the Rangers rallied with three goals in the third period to beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 Tuesday night.“Hopefully this win can kind of springboard us into some Ws,” said Hayes, who extended his point streak to five games. “We’re trying to get better every day and I thought tonight was pretty flat the whole game from both teams, and then it was an exciting third.”Vladislav Namestnikov had a goal and two assists, and Filip Chytil added an empty-netter for New York. Alexandar Georgiev, called up on Sunday after a stint in the minors, stopped 14 shots to help the Rangers win for the second time in eight games (2-3-3).“We haven’t felt great about ourselves for a while,” New York coach David Quinn said. “Tonight was a feel-good moment for us. …. To be able to overcome the first two periods and play with the purpose and the pace that we did and a little bit of an edge to our game, it’s a testament to our guys.”Trailing 1-0 after two periods, the Rangers came out aggressive in the third period and outshot the Ducks 14-1 over the final 20 minutes. After falling short on several chances in the first half of the period, the Rangers broke through near the midpoint.Brett Howden brought the puck along the boards on the left side, skated toward the corner and sent a centering pass to Namestnikov, who cut between two Anaheim players and beat Johnson from the left side for his fourth at 9:52.With Chytil in the penalty box for interference on Johnson — a call Quinn disagreed with — Hayes skated up the left side in the final minute of regulation, cut in and fired a shot that the goalie got a piece of, but the puck got through and across the goal line for his ninth. It gave Hayes four goals and 10 points in the last five games.“I thought it was justice that we got a short-handed goal and I’ll leave it at that Frans Nielsen Jersey Kids ,” Quinn said.Chytil then came out of the box and scored into an empty net with 19 seconds remaining to seal the win and help the Rangers avoid their fifth overtime game in the last six.Pontus Aberg scored on a deflection for the Ducks, who had won nine of their previous 10 games. Chad Johnson, claimed off waivers from St. Louis on Dec. 11, finished with 21 saves in his Anaheim debut.“We stopped playing in the third, and they came with a push,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “We get kind of a break to get a power play and they score the goal. We set something up and didn’t execute it and next thing we know the puck’s in our net.”The Rangers finished 0 for 3 on the power play, and the Ducks were 0 for 5.Georgiev was sharp after his two-week stint with Hartford of the AHL to get more playing time.“I felt pretty good,” he said. “It’s a bit easier to play when you’re in that rhythm. I got five games there in the two weeks, so it was easier to come back and be sharp.”Neither team could muster many chances through the first two periods, with Anaheim holding a 14-10 edge on shots on goal.Anaheim got on the scoreboard with 5:51 left in the middle period as Aberg’s centering pass from behind goal line went off Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad’s skate and past Georgiev for his 11th of the season.The Ducks had a chance to double the lead as Getzlaf passed the puck off his skate to Ondrej Kase cutting to the net, but Georgiev made a nice glove save to his left with just under four minutes remaining in the middle period.Keifer Sherwood hit a goalpost for the Ducks 3:13 into the game, and Nieves did the same a little more than seven minutes in.NOTES: Johnson was 2-6-0 with 3.54 GAA in 10 games for the Blues this season. … Getzlaf had an assist on Aberg’s goal, giving him six assists and seven points in the last five games. … Anaheim snapped a six-game road winning streak, falling one short of matching the franchise record set Nov 28 to Dec. 13, 2006. … The Rangers won for the eighth time in the teams’ last 10 meetings Gordie Howe Jersey , including 3-2 in a shootout at Anaheim on Nov. 1. … Georgiev was making his first appearance for the Rangers since finishing with 36 saves in a 5-2 loss at Montreal on Dec. 1.UP NEXTDucks: At Boston on Thursday night in the fourth of a five-game eastern trip.Rangers: At Toronto on Saturday night. TORONTO (AP) Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock acknowledged his team didn’t play very well Thursday night, and his players know things could become much more difficult if they have to deal with another injury absence for Auston Matthews.Tyler Bozak scored the shootout winner in the first round and Toronto squeezed out a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders after Matthews left the game. He tipped in Jake Gardiner’s shot to tie it 3-all with 3:29 remaining in the third period, but exited with 1:06 to go in regulation favoring his right shoulder after being sandwiched by Adam Pelech and Cal Clutterbuck.Matthews did not return. The 20-year-old Toronto star missed six games in December with a concussion as the Maple Leafs went 2-4 without him. He sat out four games in November with an undisclosed upper-body injury.”Clearly he’s a big part of our team and going down the stretch we’re going to need him, so hopefully it’s not too bad,” teammate Nazem Kadri said.Babcock didn’t give much of an update and said the club would know more about Matthews’ status on Friday at practice.Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly had the other Maple Leafs goals, and Frederik Andersen made 32 saves. Toronto (38-20-5) has won eight straight at home for the first time since the 2006-07 season.”Obviously, we weren’t very good,” Babcock said. ”Anybody who watches us regularly knows that we weren’t that good. Saw it coming yesterday in practice, talked about it then and our preparation wasn’t good enough.”Bozak beat Jaroslav Halak high blocker side for his third game-deciding shootout goal of the season. Bozak is tied for the NHL lead in shootout winners.”He is unbelievable at it. I mean, he always talks and jokes about it, how good he was back in the day, and he still hasn’t lost that touch,” Marner said. ”He’s been great for us in that category, but I mean, I think we’ve got to stop going that route. Thankfully we have him or else we might be in trouble.”Ryan Pulock Authentic Gustav Nyquist Jersey , Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders (29-26-7), and Halak turned aside 28 shots. New York, tied with Columbus for the second Eastern Conference wild card, dropped to 4-6-2 since the All-Star break and 13-15-3 on the road this season.With his three points, Barzal has a team-leading 65 and a 14-point lead over Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL’s rookie scoring race.Barzal has eight games with three or more points this season, one shy of Bryan Trottier’s franchise rookie record.”It’s unfortunate we couldn’t score (in overtime). It’s unfortunate to lose that extra point,” Barzal said.”We weren’t shy to push the pace early. (Clutterbuck) and (Casey Cizikas) finishing checks early kind of set the tone for the rest of us. I thought we played a pretty good game.”Pulock opened the scoring at 8:39 of the first period, one-timing Thomas Hickey’s feed past Andersen, who appeared out of position on the play after Eberle bumped into him. Barzal picked up the secondary assist.The Islanders’ rookie then doubled New York’s lead, backhanding the rebound of Anthony Beauvillier’s shot past Andersen for his 13th goal at 11:48.Marner got the Maple Leafs on the board at 17:39. After picking up a feed from Kadri, he showed patience while waiting for Halak to make the first move and then beat the goaltender between the pads for his 15th of the season. The goal gave Marner 10 in his last 16 games.Moments after the Islanders hit the post twice, Rielly tied it at 2 after taking Connor Brown’s pass and beating Halak high on the glove side for his sixth of the season at 1:28 of the third.New York responded 99 seconds later as Eberle’s centering pass redirected off Nikita Zaitsev’s skate and past Andersen. Barzal got the primary assist on Eberle’s 21st of the season.NOTES: Kadri’s first-period assist was the 300th point of his NHL career. He became the 35th player in Maple Leafs history to reach 300 points with the club.UP NEXTIslanders: At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.Maple Leafs: Conclude their three-game homestand against Boston on Saturday.—