2016-04-08

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The numbers didnt look too promising for Jeff Zatkoff in his first two NHL games. Mens Adidas Running Climachill Ride Boost GFX Shoes Core Black/Ftwr White/Core Black . He made up for them by putting up a zero in his third. Deryk Engelland, Chris Kunitz and Jussi Jokinen scored and Zatkoff made 19 saves in his first NHL win to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins past Columbus 3-0 Saturday night for their fourth victory in a row and second over the Blue Jackets in just over 24 hours. "Ive been waiting for a month now," Zatkoff said of his 0-2 record with a 5.06 goals-against average and a .818 save percentage. "It feels like a little weights off my shoulders. Its nice to be able to contribute to the team in the win column." The 26-year-old rookie made several big stops but wasnt very busy as the Blue Jackets squeezed off a season-low in shots. Zatkoff is backing up Marc-Andre Fleury while Tomas Vokoun recovers from preseason surgery. "Jeffs best numbers havent been obviously in the National Hockey League," coach Dan Bylsma said. "Hes been a solid guy. His numbers (in the minors) are outstanding. Tonight I thought there wasnt a ton of work at times in the game for him. But he looked comfortable and really solid." Engelland scored on a rapid-fire one-timer to stake Zatkoff to a lead in the second period before Kunitz picked up his eighth when a shot went in off a Blue Jackets stick in the third. Jokinen added an empty-netter. All anyone could talk about was Zatkoffs shutout and the way the defence played in front of him. "You could see the way the guys were blocking shots and stuff, really taking it upon themselves to play good defence for him," Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. "And he made the saves that he had to. Were really happy for him." A crowd of 18,634, including thousands of Penguins fans, cheered wildly when it was announced during the first period that Columbus will host the 2015 NHL All-Star weekend. Perhaps Zatkoffs best save came when he blocked Dalton Prouts hard shot from close range at 8:32 of the third period that would have cut the margin to a goal. It did not appear that Zatkoff knew he was sitting on the puck in the crease. Kunitz made it 2-0 just 47 seconds into the third period on a fluky goal. Before taking a hard check from defenceman Jack Johnson at the right end of the goal line, Kunitz swept the puck toward the goal -- where there were no teammates. But it ricocheted off the stick of trailing Columbus winger Blake Comeau and found the net. Curtis McElhinney, getting his second start for the Blue Jackets, looked to the rafters in exasperation. The game marked the second night in a row that the teams had met. In Pittsburgh on Friday night, the Penguins manhandled the Blue Jackets 4-2 as Fleury was staked to a 4-0 lead and made it stand up with 37 saves. Columbus Sergei Bobrovsky, the Vezina Trophy winner as the NHLs top goalie last year, was pulled in favour of McElhinney after giving up three goals on 13 shots. After a scoreless first period Saturday night, the Penguins scored at the 6:46 mark of the second. Joe Vitale won a puck battle against two Blue Jackets along the wall, then skated to the right corner and saucered a centring pass to Engelland, who unloaded a one-timer from the lower right circle. McElhinney, who stopped 23 other shots, had no chance of stopping it. "Joe just put it right in the wheelhouse," Engelland said of his second goal of the season. "I wasnt picking a corner or anything, but it found its way in." The loss, which touched off a four-game homestand, was the third in a row for Columbus after winning three straight. "(The Penguins) were skating and seemed to have more desperation and urgency in their game," Columbus coach Todd Richards said, comparing the second meeting with the one a night earlier. Even as the game progressed, Zatkoff said he tried not to even think about the possibility of a shutout for his first win. "I tried to block that out and go with the process," he said. "It sounds kind of cheesy but I was worrying about every shot and trying not to look at the scoreboard." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Blue Jackets director of hockey operations John Davidson appeared on the arena monitors over centre ice during a first-period break to announce that the 2015 All-Star Game weekend was coming to Columbus. The 2013 event was supposed to be held at Nationwide Arena, but that was cancelled by the lockout. NOTES: The Penguins play home-and-home games on back-to-back nights three times this season; this was the only such pairing all season for the Blue Jackets. ... Pittsburgh had not played in Columbus since a 7-2 victory on Dec. 4, 2010, victory. ... The Blue Jackets had several points streaks end: James Wisniewski (5), Nick Foligno (3) and Ryan Johansen (3). ... Crosby, leading the NHL in points with 22 coming in, assisted on Jokinens empty-netter to give him at least a point in 13 of the Penguins 15 games. They are 11-2 when he scores, 0-2 when he doesnt. Adidas Nmd For Sale . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Adidas Stan Smith Pharrell Williams Shoes Mens/Womens Core Black/Core Black/Ftw . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. http://www.superstaraushoes.com/blue-yellow-adidas-springblade-5-shoes-mens.html . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015.CALGARY -- Canadas cross-country ski team is poised to make Olympic history next month. While Canadian women have stood on the Olympic podium in the sport, a Canadian man never has. Led by Alex Harvey of St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., and Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., that drought could end on the Psekhako Ridge in Sochi, Russia. The hard goal of Canadas cross-country team is to claim at least two medals in Sochi. Its the men who have the best chance at winning them this time. "I really feel if this team doesnt get two medals Ill feel a bit of disappointment or maybe we did something wrong," Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth said. "That doesnt mean were incapable of four or five medals. "This is an amazing team. We could do better than two medals. We could blow other teams out of the water if everything comes together." The 11 skiers wholl represent Canada in Sochi were introduced Tuesday at an elementary school with six being present for the announcement. Harvey, Kershaw, Ivan Babikov of Canmore, Alta., Daria Gaiazova of Banff, Alta., and Perianne Jones of Almonte, Ont., were in Europe and en route to a World Cup event in Poland. Chandra Crawford and Jesse Cockney of Canmore, Torontos Lenny Valjas, Graeme Killick of Fort McMurray, Alta., Heidi Widmer of Banff and Emily Nishikawa of Whitehorse will join their teammates in Italy next week for pre-Games training. Cockney, Killick, Widmer and Nishikawa claimed their Olympic berths at last weeks trials in Canmore. They, along with Valjas, will make their Olympic debuts while the rest of the team has previous Games experience. Harvey won two races and finished in the medals four times in this seasons Tour de Ski, which is a gruelling series of 10 races spread over 16 days and three countries. Harvey and Kershaw finished first and second, respectively, in the series opening race. "I feel like our team is in a really good place," Wadsworth said. "We started out slowly this year. The results werent good early and weve built and built. I feel like were in a place where were building still in confidence. We havent peaked out in any way shape or form. "I feel like the whole team is starting to rise and its how we wanted to time it." Wadsworth is married to Canadas Beckie Scott, whose bronze at the 2002 Winter Games was eventually upgraded to gold when two Russians ahead of her were disqualified for doping. Scott was the first North American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. Scott and Sara Renner combined for team sprint silver in 2006 before Scott retired. Canadas cross-country skiers were shut out of the medals at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., although the men posted seven top-10 finishes. Harvey and Kershaw were fourth in the team sprint and Babikov fifth in the 30-kilometre event. Kershaw was fifth and an aggonizing half a second from the podium in the 50-kilometre event. Adidas Nmd Black. Harvey and Kershaw won world championship gold in 2011 in the team sprint. The mens sprints are fertile ground for Canada, but Babikov is also a contender in distance events. Those three and Valjas also give the Canadian squad a strong mens relay team. Medal prospects are thinner on the womens side, although Gaiazova and Jones won World Cup bronze in a team sprint in Sochi last year. Crawford, the 2006 Olympic womens sprint champion, is a wildcard. The womens sprint Feb. 11 will be a skate-ski race again as it was in 2006. The womens sprint in 2010 was a classic race and not Crawfords forte. The 30-year-old is more in her element in skating races than in classic, the striding technique requiring more finesse and less power. But Crawford has struggled first with injuries and then burnout since 2006, to the point where she cut her 2012-13 European racing season short and returned to Canmore. She trained on her own last summer instead of joining the national team at training camps. The 30-year-old isnt shouldering the same weight of expectation she did prior to 2010. "Its so different than Vancouver. Its not our Games. We have to . . . there was more of a have-to feeling," Crawford said. "Just the amount of interest was hard to process as well. "This feels like a real gift and I really appreciate the opportunity." Cockney is the first athlete of Inuit descent on the Olympic cross-country team since sisters Sharon and Shirley Firth raced in their fourth Winter Games in 1984. Cockneys father, Angus, is Inuit. Cockney was born in Yellowknife and learned to ski there before his family moved to Canmore. "Its great to have a strong connection to distinct people," the 26-year-old said. "You kind of feel a little bit more unique and for sure a different experience growing up. "My dad was a cross-country skier at a high level when he was younger and he got my sister and I involved when we were quite young. We had ski trails behind our house when we lived in Yellowknife all the way to the nordic centre. "A lot of dark, cold days in Yellowknife, cross-country skiing in the middle of winter, but that hardened us up and made us stronger." Killick beat decorated Paralympian Brian McKeever out for a spot on the Olympic squad by winning the 30-kilometre event and finishing second to McKeever in the 15k at trials. McKeever was eighth in the 30k. McKeever, from Canmore, is a legally blind skier and winner of 10 Paralympic medals who qualified for Canadas 2010 Olympic team. He was poised to become the first Paralympian to compete in a Winter Olympics, but the teams coaches decided to enter four other skiers in the 50k and not McKeever. The 2014 Olympic cross-country ski competition opens Feb. 8 with the womens 15k race. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '

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