NEWARK
Youth Jamie McGinn Jersey , N.J. (AP) While Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier have been getting much of the credit for New Jersey’s surprising playoff push,
goaltender Keith Kinkaid has been the one carrying the Devils back to the
postseason the past two weeks.Kinkaid made 35 saves and the Devils took another
major step toward making the playoffs for the first time since 2012 with a 2-1
victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.Hischier and Kyle
Palmieri scored for New Jersey, which has elevated its playoff chances with wins
in five of seven games – including outstanding efforts in beating the two-time
defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Eastern
Conference-leading Lightning on consecutive nights.”Keith has been a difference
maker,” Devils coach John Hynes said of Kinkaid, who had 75 saves the past two
nights. ”He has really come in and played well. He has made key saves at key
times. He obviously won quite a few games and been a real important factor for
us in remaining competitive in the playoff race. We would like to see him
continue that at that level, as well.”Kinkaid is 11-3 in his last 14 decisions
since taking over the No. 1 goaltender’s job after Cory Schneider was hurt in
late-January and keeping it after Schneider returned.Coupled with Florida’s
come-from-behind win over Arizona, the Devils are three points ahead of the
Panthers in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference
with seven games left in the regular season. Florida has two games in hand.”I
felt good last year with ups and downs, but once you get on a roll, confidence
can take you a long way and I feel as comfortable as ever,” Kinkaid said.The
Devils had to work for this one. They took a 2-0 lead into the third period and
saw the margin halved when Ondrej Palat scored on a power play early.Kinkaid
saved the lead – and the win – with a diving save on a close-in attempt by Ryan
McDonagh with just over two minutes to play and the net wide open. McDonagh said
his shot hit the goalpost and Kinkaid then covered it.”I hadn’t been getting
those bounces, but nice to get a few,” Kinkaid said.Andrei Vasilevskiy had 29
saves as the Lightning lost for only the third time in 16 games (12-3-1).”We
didn’t have that urgency to play with a team that was flying tonight,” Tampa Bay
forward Chris Kunitz said.Hischier, who set up Hall’s overtime winner in
Pittsburgh on Friday night
Womens Jared McCann Jersey , gave the Devils the lead, tapping the rebound of a shot by fellow rookie Will Butcher into an open net at 17:51 of the first
period.Palmieri doubled the lead at 10:59 of the second period, beating
Vasilevskiy with a snap shot from between the circles for his 21st goal.”We
didn’t give them much the whole night,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. ”They
capitalized on a rebound that squirted out and a goal-scorer making a
goal-scoring move. We did a lot of things, but couldn’t find the back of the net
tonight.”Kinkaid stopped 24 shots in the first two periods, and benefited in the
second when Nikita Kucherov, the league’s leading scorer, missed the net on a
breakaway.The Lightning were furious with linesman Steve Miller late in the
second period when J.T. Miller was hit with a delay of game penalty for a
faceoff violation with Tampa Bay about to go on a power play. Miller kicked
three players out of the faceoff circle, starting with Steven Stamkos of the
Lightning, Travis Zajac of the Devils and then Miller, who refused to comment on
the penalty.NOTES: The Devils signed G Cam Johnson to a one-year, entry-level
contract, which will start next season. He is a college free agent who completed
his senior season at the University of North Dakota. … D Ben Lovejoy was out of
the Devils’ lineup for the first time since Dec. 30 and replaced by Mirco
Mueller, who was playing for first time since Feb. 22. Mueller had an assist on
Hischier’s goal.UP NEXTLightning: Return home to face Arizona on Monday.Devils:
Host Carolina on Tuesday in second of four-game homestand.— EL
SEGUNDO
Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey , Calif. (AP) Defenseman Drew Doughty has agreed to an eight-year, $88 million contract extension through the 2026-27 season to
stay with the Los Angeles Kings.Los Angeles announced the whopping deal Friday
for its two-time Stanley Cup-winning cornerstone.After cracking the Kings’
roster as an 18-year-old, Doughty has been among the NHL’s top defensemen
throughout a 10-year career spent entirely with the Kings.He won the Norris
Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2016. As an aggressive, skilled
two-way blueliner, he has been a finalist for the award in three other seasons –
including 2017-18, when he scored a career-high 60 points while playing in all
82 games for the fourth consecutive season.Doughty played a major role in the
Kings’ Stanley Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2014, and he also has two Olympic gold
medals from playing for Canada.”Drew Doughty is one of the best defensemen in
the world, and we are obviously excited to have reached this point in the
process in which he has committed to the Kings long-term,” Kings general manager
Rob Blake said.He still has one year left on an eight-year, $56 million contract
signed in September 2011. Doughty can’t formally sign the new deal until July 1,
when he will be one year away from free agency.By the time his new deal ends,
Doughty will be 37 years old. Neither the Kings nor Doughty seriously expected
the defenseman to leave his adopted home in free agency next year. He grew up a
Kings fan in southern Ontario, and he was thrilled when Los Angeles chose him
with the second overall pick in 2008.Doughty is second among Kings defensemen in
career goals (102), assists (320) and points (422)
http://www.floridapanthersteamshops.com/authentic-keith-yandle-jersey , trailing only Blake in every category. He also has appeared in 84 playoff games,
scoring 51 points.The 28-year-old Doughty’s new contract has the NHL’s highest
average annual value among defensemen, although it could be surpassed by the
next contract for Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson, whose current contract expires in
2019.Los Angeles’ core of elite veterans is all signed to long-term contracts
through at least the next three seasons. Those players include captain Anze
Kopitar, goalie Jonathan Quick, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Alec Martinez, Dion
Phaneuf and newcomer Ilya Kovalchuk, who signed with the Kings earlier this
week.—
