Detroit is on a winning streak and someone besides Connor McDavid is making news for Edmonton as the Red Wings and Pistons meet Saturday
at Little Caesars Arena.The rebuilding Red Wings have won three in a row after
starting the season 1-7-2.“I think we’re just starting to play. We’re getting
some bounces and we’re holding on to the puck a lot longer in the offensive
zone
Baker Mayfield Jersey Elite ,” Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said after Thursday’s 4-3 home victory over the New Jersey Devils. Article continues
below ...“All in all, we’re spending more time in the offensive zone. I think
when you have control over the puck there and guys are holding on to it leads to
confidence. I think that’s been a big plus here of late.”Center Dylan Larkin, 22
and in his fourth season, has been Detroit’s best player this season with six
goals and eight assists for 14 points in 13 games and been even better in the
past three with two goals and five assists.“He’s been tremendous for us this
year,” Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard said of Larkin. “He’s one of our best
players night in and night out. He’s been flying, creating a lot of havoc in the
offensive zone and been really responsible in the defensive zone. He has made so
many great strides.”Larkin has been going up against opponents top centers and
top lines and is expected to play head-to-head against McDavid (nine goals and
19 points in 12 games) on Saturday night.“We challenged him with playing against
the othe” teamop lines in the last little bit and he loves that challenge. It
just seems to bring out the best in him,” said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill.“I
thought that a year ago, I thought that at the World Championships (Blashill
coached Larkin on the U.S. team in May). And he’s certainly done that over the
last number of games. He’s played against some great lines and he will again on
Saturday.”The Oilers (7-4-1) got 40 saves from backup goalie Mikko Koskinen in a
4-0 home win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.“Honestly, I only
care if we win or lose, so it feels good because we won,” Koskinen said. “That’s
all that matters. We need points.”He is 2-0-0 this season with a 1.51
goals-against average and .955 save percentage.“Great for him, he’s been a good
teammate the last month or month and a half
http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/baker-mayfield-jersey ,” Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said of Koskinen. “Guys want to play for him.”The
Oilers sent 19-year-old defenseman Evan Bouchard, their first-round pick (10th
overall) in June’s NHL Draft, to his junior team, London of the Ontario Hockey
League. Bouchard had a goal in seven games.Edmonton also recalled defenseman
Kevin Gravel from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League. Gravel, 26, had an
assist in five games with Bakersfield and had no points in two games in an
earlier stint with the Oilers this season.Defenseman Danny DeKeyser is expected
to return for Detroit Saturday night after missing eight games. The Red Wings
will be without defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (unknown), center Frans Nielsen
(unknown) and forwards Andreas Athanasiou (leg) and Thomas Vanek (lower body).
WASHINGTON (AP) James Neal had the puck on his stick and was staring at an open
net. In a can’t-miss situation, that’s exactly what he did.Poised to give the
Vegas Golden Knights the opening goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, the
veteran leader of this upstart expansion team hit the right post . Ping! The
puck skipped behind Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby and slithered harmlessly
toward the back boards.”You want those chances. Nine times out of 10 you
probably put that in the back of the net,” Neal said. ”I had the composure to
wait. And then you shoot it and you’re like, `Oh!”’The Golden Knights, a team in
desperate need of a boost of confidence
Authentic Baker Mayfield Jersey , collectively shrugged as a golden opportunity slipped away.”It definitely would have changed the outcome of the
game and would have given us momentum,” said right wing Alex Tuch, who knows a
thing or two about being coming up empty on a close-in shot.Not surprisingly,
the Golden Knights sputtered the rest of the way Monday night in a 6-2 defeat
that put them on the brink of elimination. Washington is up 3-1 and can win its
first Stanley Cup on Thursday night in Las Vegas.”Go home, win one game and the
pressure is on them,” Neal said, hopefully.Although the Capitals have blown many
a playoff series in the past, only one team, the 1942 Detroit Red Wings, has
lost the Stanley Cup Final after holding a 3-1 lead.”Not where we want to be,
that’s for sure,” Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. ”But we have a good
bunch of guys with a lot of character in the room. Nobody’s quitting.”Barring a
comeback of historic proportions – an unlikely occurrence after being outscored
12-5 over the past three games – the Golden Knights will always remember this
series for ”The Stick” and ”The Post.””The Stick” was wielded by Holtby
Greg Joseph Jersey Elite , who used it late in Game 2 to snuff a seemingly sure goal by Tuch in a 3-2 Washington victory. ”The Post” is a symbol of the
frustration Vegas has experienced in this series after winning 12 of 15 in
roaring to the Western Conference title.Who knows if things would have been
different on Monday night if Neal put the puck in the net?This much is certain:
The reeling Golden Knights were looking for something, anything, to build on
when they entered Game 4, and a 1-0 lead would have been splendid. Presented
with a power play in a scoreless first period, Vegas worked the puck around
smartly in the Washington zone. Then, Erik Haula whisked a cross-ice pass to
Neal on the left side of the net, and Holtby was slow to react.”We obviously got
some breaks at the start of the game,” the goaltender said. ”Honestly, I thought
it was in. Somehow, it didn’t go in.”Said Neal: ”It’s not like anyone made a
save. I shot it off the post on the far side. It’s done with. It’s not the first
time it’s happened. Probably won’t be the last. But at this stage, at that
moment, it changes the game.”The Capitals rattled off three straight goals
before the period ended to take full control.Game over. On to the next one for
the Golden Knights
http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/greg-joseph-jersey , who face elimination for the first time during the playoffs.”You can’t feel
sorry for yourself. You’ve got to win a game at home,” Neal said. ”That’s what
we’ll focus on. I like the way we played. You’ve got to take the
positives.”Coach Gerard Gallant insisted: ”Tonight’s game was a step forward.
Obviously, though, we have no more room for error.”The Golden Knights could use
a little luck. Tuch and Brayden McNabb both lined shots off the post after Neal,
who scored with just under 16 minutes left to make it 4-1.But the outcome by
then was all but decided.The Golden Knights have struggled to generate offense
against the tenacious Washington defense, and Fleury has not been as sharp as he
was in Vegas’ three previous series. He gave up six goals on 23 shots as Vegas
dropped its third straight game.”Obviously, when you’re a goalie, you don’t want
to get scored on,” Fleury said. ”There was a lot of that tonight. It’s never a
good feeling.”—More Stanley Cup coverage:
https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals
