2016-11-04

The Senators and Blackhawks are moving to Round Two after blowout wins while the Penguins take the series lead over the Islanders. Scott Cullen has stats and notes from Thursdays NHL action. SENS SEND CANADIENS INTO SUMMEREven though they were at home, the Montreal Canadiens were fighting an uphill battle in Game Five. With strong goaltending and timely scoring, the Ottawa Senators took a 6-1 decision, winning the series four games to one. Coming into the playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens were facing a tough task if the Ottawa Senators continued to get the kind of goaltending that they had received all season. As it turned out, Craig Anderson was every bit as good as his league-leading performance in the regular season. After stopping 33 of 34 shots in the Game Five clincher, Anderson had a .950 save percentage in the series. As usual, the Senators got contributions throughout their lineup in Game Five. Cory Conacher potted two goals and linemates Matt Kassian and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each had two assists. Erik Condra led the way with a goal and two assists. For the series, the offensively-challenged Sens seemed to do just fine. Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson led the way with six points in five games while Pageau, Kyle Turris and Marc Methot each had a point per game. Down three games to one, the Canadiens were left to mount a series comeback, starting in Game Five, with Peter Budaj in goal after Carey Price suffered a leg injury late in Game Four. It was the first career playoff start for the 30-year-old and he struggled, stopping just 23 of 29 shots. On a night when the Canadiens had a bunch of early chances, but couldnt solve Anderson, they most definitely couldnt afford a subpar goaltending performance in their own net, so the lopsided result came with a sense of inevitability when it appeared that Budaj wasnt going to be matching Anderson, his former teammate in Colorado. Defenceman P.K. Subban was Montreals most dangerous player in the series and he and Tomas Plekanec tied for the team lead with four points in the series. Playing with a separated shoulder, LW Max Pacioretty was held off the scoresheet, David Desharnais and Andrei Markov managed one point apiece. Rookie RW Brendan Gallagher was a team-worst minus-7, yet also led the Habs with 22 shots on goal in five games. Its not as though Montreal didnt have their chances, they outshot the Senators by an average margin of 5.2 shots per game, but couldnt come close to matching the Senators goaltending. Its been a strong suit for Ottawa all year and it made the series more lopsided than the territorial play between the teams would suggest. PENGUINS PULL AHEAD OF ISLANDERSReturning home with the series tied at two, the Pittsburgh Penguins turned to Tomas Vokoun in net, replacing Marc-Andre Fleury, and Vokoun responded with a 31-save shutout in Pittsburghs 4-0 win. Vokoun wasnt the only insert into the Pittsburgh lineup. RW Tyler Kennedy played his first game of the playoffs and scored the first goal of the game. Sidney Crosby and and Kris Letang led the Penguins attack with a goal and an assist each; Crosbys goal a highlight effort, splitting the Islanders defence before finding the back of the net with a snapshot. Islanders C John Tavares had a team-high six shots, but was also 5-for-18 (27.8%) on faceoffs. Penguins C Joe Vitale was 9-for-10 on draws. Even though Game Five was a healthy margin of victory for the Penguins, the Islanders still have a chance to extend the series. For all the skill that the Penguins have, the Islanders have been carrying their share of the play. The challenge facing them now, however, is that they need to try to get justly rewarded when they carry the play. It happened when Marc-Andre Fleury was tending the Penguins net; it hasnt yet happened with Vokoun between the pipes. BLACKHAWKS BOUNCE WILDThe Chicago Blackhawks made short work of the Minnesota Wild, coasting to a 5-1 win in Game Five and taking the series four games to one. Marian Hossa led the Blackhawks with two goals and an assist. Marcus Kruger brought the complementary offence with a goal and an assist, while Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith each had a pair of assists. Wild LW Zach Parise was held without a shot for the first time since November 6, 2009; he spent the night matched up against the defence tandem of Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson, along with the Blackhawks top line of Toews, Hossa and rookie Brandon Saad. Those five Blackhawks were dominant possession-wise, leaving few opportunities for Minnesotas top line of Parise, Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle. While Toews two assists in Game Five were his first points of the series, Chicagos other big guns produced. Patrick Sharp had five goals and an assist in five games, Hossa had six points, Keith had five and Patrick Kane had five points in the five-game series. Scoring was much more difficult for the Wild. Veteran C Matt Cullen had three assists in five games to lead the Wild in scoring. Parise had one assist (and was minus-7), Mikko Koivu had no points (and was minus-6), an injured Jason Pominville only played two games; its asking a lot for the Minnesota supporting cast to pick up the slack when the top guys arent producing at all. Ryan Suter played 31:37 per game, but didnt record a point and was minus-5. He spent much of the series trying to cover both of Chicagos scoring lines, a tall order. If the Wild were going to have any shot at upsetting the Blackhawks, they needed Chicagos goaltending to get shaky, but it didnt happen. Corey Crawford allowed seven goals on 139 shots in five games, leaving him with a 1.40 goals against average and .950 save percentage. Tough to beat a team that gets that kind of goaltending. Josh Harding had a difficult job, filling in for an injured Niklas Backstrom right from the start of the series, but he played well. His .911 save percentage was respectable, but the Wild were always going to need more than respectable performances if they were going to overachieve. In the end, the result of the Chicago-Minnesota series was as expected. A Stanley Cup favourite taking care of business against a team that barely squeaked into the postseason. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Swingman Miles Plumlee Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Swingman Khris Middleton Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.nbabucksjerseysonline.com/Authentic-Ray-Allen-Bucks-Jersey/ . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Khris Middleton Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo Bucks Jersey . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium.MONTREAL -- Anthony Calvillo isnt sure where hell be when the Montreal Alouettes open training camp in June. He just knows that for the first time since 98 he wont be on the field in his teal-coloured No. 13 practice jersey throwing balls to S.J. Green, Jamel Richardson and the other receivers. The 41-year-old who rewrote the CFL record book for quarterbacks announced his retirement Tuesday following an illustrious 20-year career. Its an end Calvillo knew was coming when he missed the final 10 games of the regular season with a concussion. "My mind was pretty much made up at the end of the season that I wanted to retire," said Calvillo. "I went on holidays to think about it but I was 99 per cent sure. "In my mind Ive moved on. The process of being hurt helped me go through the transition. So when June comes around, I dont know where Ill be." Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, who got a crash course on Canadian football after signing with Montreal in August, is pegged as the new starter. Thats a position Calvillo held since 2000 after signing with the Alouettes as Tracy Hams understudy two years earlier. Calvillo leaves as pro footballs most prolific passer (79,816 yards) and the CFLs all-time leader in completions (5,892), attempts (9,437) and TD strikes (455). A spot in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame surely awaits. The five-time CFL all-star also holds records for completions in one game (44), most 300-yard contests (125) and 4,000-yard seasons (11). Calvillo also holds most Grey Cup game records, including passing yards (2,470). Calvillo led Montreal to eight Grey Cup appearances, winning in 2002, 2009 and 2010. Owner Robert Wetenhall called Calvillo a "good and decent man" who was "arguably one of the great players in the history of professional football." In a statement, CFL commissioner Mark Cohon called Calvillo "more than one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. He is one of the most remarkable people to ever grace our league." The Los Angeles native who has made Montreal his home wont be going far. Calvillo has a spot waiting for him on the Alouettes coaching staff, but he plans to take the summer off before looking at coaching in 2015. For now, he is working on two online courses to get the final credits he needs to complete the degree he started at Utah State University before he turned pro. He will also do a 180-hour internship in the Alouettes scouting department and front office for credit. He wants to finish his BA in general studies by April and bring his wife and two young daughters to Logan, Utah, for the graduation ceremony. Leaving due to injury was not how Calvillo expected to end his career but he found he wasnt enjoying the game or playing up to his own standards in his final season. Calvillo didnt play after suffering the second major concussion of his career on what looked like a routine hit by Saskatchewans Ricky Foley in a 24-21 loss on Aug. 17 in Regina. "The thing that stood out to me is that my tolerance to take a hit had gone down and the hit that caused it wasnt a hard hit," said Calvillo, now symptom-free. " That concerned me. "At the end of the day, I just didnt want to put my head at risk any more." Now, the Alouettes will see what life is like without the player who has long been the face of their franchise. "This organization has always put the right people in pllace, so I feel confident," Calvillo said.dddddddddddd "To see what Troy Smith did in half a season, not knowing anything about this league, was very impressive." Jim Popp, who has been general manager since the team returned to Montreal in 1996, said the Alouettes got a taste of what life without Calvillo will be like during his injury. "Our locker room had to learn to function without Anthony," he said. "There was a real growing process for our veterans and our new players that were looking up to Anthony. "This is real, and weve got to take a step forward and depend on other people." Popp stepped in as head coach when Dan Hawkins was fired only five games into his first CFL season and is expected to remain in his dual role. But the team put out a release last week saying its still looking at head coaching candidates. Popp said Calvillo will likely begin as a quarterbacks or receivers coach in 2015. But Popp sees Calvillo being an offensive co-ordinator and head coach in the future. Calvillo was very emotional as he addressed the media and a large group of past and present Alouettes at his farewell news conference. Popp sobbed even more as he went over what the steady, six-foot-one quarterback meant to the organization. Calvillo was just 21 when he made his CFL debut with the Las Vegas Posse in 1994. He went to Hamilton the next season after the Posse folded but following three struggling campaigns with the Tiger-Cats, Calvillo joined the Alouettes in 1998. He was considering an offer from the Saskatchewan Roughriders but opted to sign with Montreal for the chance to learn from Ham. "The reason I did not sign with Saskatchewan is that I knew if I had another bad year that my career was over and I couldnt risk that," he said. "I wanted to take a step back and learn from an experienced quarterback." Injuries that forced Hams retirement put Calvillo into the starting lineup earlier than expected and he excelled from the outset. The winning seasons piled up, but it wasnt always easy. In 2007, he took the final five games of the season off to tend to his wife Alexia, who was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma only a week after giving birth to their second daughter. Then in 2010, a cancerous lesion was found in Calvillos neck. Thankfully, the scare passed with successful surgery to remove his thyroid gland. Calvillo also endured criticism for not playing well in championship games. The Alouettes win in 2002 under coach Don Matthews was largely due to the clubs defence but the repeat championships in 2009-10 under Marc Trestman offered redemption. "I never gave up on myself," said Calvillo. "It was tough when you have spectacular regular seasons and then things dont work out for you in the playoffs, especially in championship games. "But I never doubted myself or quit. I refocused and got ready for the next year." Video messages from Trestman and Calvillos long time go-to receiver, Ben Cahoon, were played during the announcement. Guard Scott Flory said the Alouettes will have to learn to move on without Calvillo. "I got drafted in 1998 -- Cahoon went first and I was the next pick and we all showed up together," said the all-star guard. "When you have an opportunity to play with these amazing players, its just surreal. "You really appreciate what hes done. The legend will just grow." Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '

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