Mired in mediocrity
Womens Bryan Rust Jersey , the Flyers stunned the hockey world and fired general manager Ron Hextall Monday.The coaching staff remains the same.For now,
anyway.Article continues below ...“We thank Ron for his many significant
contributions, but it has become clear that we no longer share the same
philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team,” club president
Paul Holmgren said in a statement. “In light of these differences, we feel it’s
in the organization’s best interest to make a change, effective
immediately.”Holmgren said he will hold a news conference Tuesday, before the
Flyers (10-11-2 and hanging around near the bottom of the Eastern Conference
standings) host the Ottawa Senators — the visitors on the second half of a
back-to-back that began with a 4-2 loss to the Rangers in New York.Hextall was
in his fifth season running the Flyers — and the team failed to win a playoff
series under his watch.Ironically, Hextall, a former star goaltender with the
team, was never able to settle the team’s goaltending situation. This year,
injuries have led to Philly using five goalies in the first 23 games.In
addition, James van Riemsdyk, the club’s big free agent signee, missed 16 games
when injured in the second game of the season.“You have to feel responsible;
we’re the ones playing the games,” Jake Voracek said of the firing. “It’s
obviously something you don’t want to see
Josh Jooris Jersey Womens , but it’s a business.”The Flyers, coming out of a 5-0-1 run, are 1-4-1 in their last six games and have been blanked in their
last two — by a 10-0 count.Added van Riemsdyk: “This is an organization that has
very high standards for itself, and when we’re kind of underachieving on the
ice, stuff like this can happen.”Voracek scored two goals and dished out three
assists and Scott Laughton scored twice in the Flyers’ 7-4 win in Ottawa Oct. 10
— that victory coming a night after an embarrassing 8-2 loss to the San Jose
Sharks in Philly’s home opener.The Senators tightened things up in their own end
Monday but still dropped their fourth straight, the third on the current
four-game road trip. They are 9-12-3 on the season, just 2-8-1 on the road.Mark
Stone scored both goals for the Senators, who allowed 54 shots on goal at Dallas
Friday night but cut that down to 33 Monday. Stone has seven goals in the last
10 games.“If you watch us the last three games it was about as bad as it could
get,” Stone said. “We made steps in the right direction tonight. You can’t just
re-right the ship in one day. Tonight was a step in the right direction.”Said
Zack Smith: “I thought we made strides. I thought we were better. “We’ve got a
few mistakes we need to clean up but we’re seeing where we need to be and what
we need to do to get where we’re going.”Craig Anderson played his sixth straight
game Monday. Lifetime against the Flyers, he is 12-7-3 with a 2.89 goals-against
average and .916 save percentage. Mike McKenna, the backup as Mike Condon makes
his way back from an injury suffered Nov. 9, has appeared in only four games,
starting one.The Senators won on their only visit to Wells Fargo last
season.While Colin White returned after missing the previous game, Ottawa
defenseman Mark Borowiecki missed his second straight game with an upper body
injury and isn’t likely to play Tuesday. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Don’t tell Jason
Pominville and the Buffalo Sabres they have nothing to play for.For a team all
but mathematically out of playoff contention
Melker Karlsson Jersey , the Sabres continued making a dent in in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a 5-3 win against their cross-border and
Atlantic Division rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.”It’s an easy game to get
prepared for,” said Pominville, one of four Sabres to score a goal and assist.
”You know it’s going to be a great atmosphere in our building with the fans they
get.”The Sabres silenced the large contingent of ”Go, Leafs, Go!”-chanting fans
by building a 2-0 lead within the first four minutes. And after the Maple Leafs
tied the game, Buffalo responded by scoring three times and sealed the victory
on Johan Larsson’s goal midway through the third period.Ryan O’Reilly, Sam
Reinhart and Zemgus Girgensons also scored for Buffalo, while Chad Johnson
stopped 38 shots in extending the Maple Leafs’ skid to 0-2-2.Though the Sabres
remain at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, they improved to 7-5-2
in their last 14 games. It’s a three-week stretch during which Buffalo has
defeated each of the division’s three top teams, including Boston
twice.Pominville also showed he hasn’t lost his touch against
Toronto.Re-acquired by the Sabres in a trade last summer after a
four-plus-season stint in Minnesota, Pominville now has 19 goals and 50 points
in 51 career games with Buffalo against Toronto.”Wow,” the former Sabres captain
said. ”I should play them more often.”Leo Komarov had two goals and Mitch Marner
also scored for Toronto.Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots in allowing five
goals for the second consecutive outing after being yanked midway through a 5-2
loss to Washington in an outdoor game played at the U.S. Naval Academy on
Saturday.The only consolation for Andersen this time was he couldn’t be faulted
on Buffalo’s first four goals, all of which were set up by fortunate bounces.The
Sabres led 2-0 after Reinhart and Pominville deflected in shots from the right
point by Rasmus Ristolainen. Girgensons put Buffalo up 3-2 when Reinhart’s shot
from a bad angle banked in off his skate.The Sabres received yet another break
in going up 4-2 when Toronto defenseman Ron Hainsey’s clearing attempt struck
referee Kendrick Nicholson’s skate. The puck caromed directly to O’Reilly, who
scored from the right circle.”That was pretty crazy. I think it seemed like
everything just hit something and found a way into the net,” Andersen said. ”In
the big picture
Tyler Ennis Jersey Womens , they earned their bounces.”Leafs coach Mike Babcock couldn’t fault Andersen, though he took issue with the NHL for allowing
Larsson’s goal to stand up following a video review for goaltender
interference.After stopping Pominville’s one-timer from the left circle,
Andersen was knocked off balance from behind by Larsson, who was skating through
the crease. Larsson then corralled the rebound and swept it under
Andersen.Babcock challenged the call by saying Larsson first collided with
Andersen while the two were in the crease.”What they told me is he was
interfered with outside the paint, which is not true and that, tonight, was
goalie interference no matter what way you look at it,” Babcock said.Toronto has
matched its longest skid of the season, which comes after the Leafs enjoyed a
13-2 run.”The bottom line is you’ve got to get it turned around. We can’t
continue to lose hockey games,” Babcock said.NOTES: The Sabres continued their
home dominance over Toronto, improving to 19-3-1 in their past 23 meetings at
Buffalo. … One of the more amusing moments came when television cameras captured
an exchange between Ristolainen and Toronto’s Nazem Kadri, after the two were
sent to the penalty box for fighting in the second period. Ristolainen held up
four fingers in telling Kadri the teams play four more times. Kadri responded by
correcting Ristolainen, saying it’s only three more times because Monday’s game
didn’t count. … Maple Leafs LW Matt Martin had an assist while playing for the
first time since a 4-2 loss to Colorado on Jan. 22. Martin had been a healthy
scratch for 18 consecutive games.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Get four-day break before
hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.Sabres: Host the Calgary Flames on
Wednesday.—
