12-28-2019, 06:00 AM
Martin St. Louis will be in the lineup tonight when the New York Rangers face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference second round series. St. Louis mother France passed away suddenly on Thursday. Head coach Alain Vigneault said St. Louis traveled to his familys home in Montreal the night before but has since returned and will play. Pittsburgh has pushed the Rangers to the brink of elimination as the Penguins hold a 3-1 advantage after dropping the first game of the series in overtime. Since losing Game 1 in the Steel City, the Pens have rattled off three straight wins, outscoring New York by a combined 9-2 margin along the way. After getting shut out by Marc-Andre Fleury in Games 2 and 3, New York was able to score twice in Wednesdays meeting in Manhattan but it wasnt enough to even the series. Instead, the Penguins earned a 4-2 decision to grab a commanding lead in the best-of-seven set and give them a chance to end the series tonight on home ice. New York has won seven of its last nine games when facing elimination, including two of four on the road. Pittsburgh, however, is 9-2 all-time in series when holding a 3-1 lead. The last time the Penguins blew a 3-1 lead was in the 2011 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Tampa Bay when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were injured and missed the series. New York halted a scoring drought at 145 minutes, 30 seconds on Carl Hagelins goal early in the second period of Game 4, but the club continued to struggle on the power play. The Rangers went 0-for-2 with the man advantage on Wednesday and have now failed on 36 straight power-play chances. The last power-play goal for the Rangers came in Game 2 of their first-round victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. "We havent earned it enough, we havent executed enough," Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said of his teams overall effort in this series. "We have looks, cant finish, and havent made it hard on the goalie and are not capitalizing on the chances we are given. We have to play better on all areas of the ice (Friday)." The clubs power-play situation plumbed new depths in Game 4, with New York not only failing to score on the man advantage once again but the Rangers also allowed a shorthanded goal to Brandon Sutter late in the second period. Sutters tally made it 2-1 with 1:33 remaining in the period and Pittsburgh would hold a lead the rest of the way. Malkin contributed a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, while Chris Kunitz and Jussi Jokinen also lit the lamp to help the Pens grab a commanding series lead. Crosby added two assists in the game and Pittsburghs captain has nine points in the playoffs. Malkin leads the team with 12 points (5g, 7a). Fleury, who in Games 3 and 4 became the first Penguins goalie to record back- to-back playoff shutouts, only needed to make 13 saves for Wednesdays victory. The 15 shots allowed by Pittsburgh in Game 4 were the fewest surrendered in a playoff game in franchise history. "Its a nice cushion you know, but nothings done," said Fleury. "Its fun for now, its a nice win. But get back at it Friday." Pittsburgh did lose Brooks Orpik once again after the defenseman returned from a five-game absence due to an undisclosed injury. Orpik was hurt Wednesday after colliding with Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello late in the first period and did not return. If Orpik is unable to go in Game 5, Robert Bortuzzo expects to take his place in the lineup. Bortuzzo had an assist and was a plus-2 while filling in for Orpik in five games during this postseason. Zuccarello scored in the third period for New York and Henrik Lundqvist gave up all four goals on 27 shots. New York head coach Alain Vigneault blamed the Game 4 loss largely on his teams carelessness with the puck. "We didnt pick a good night to manage the puck the way we did tonight," said Vigneault. "I dont want to take any credit against Pittsburgh, they forced the play and they played a real solid game without the puck that obviously forced us into a lot of those turnovers." The Rangers had speedy forward Chris Kreider in the lineup for the first time since late March in Game 4, and the 23-year-old experienced some ups and downs. Kreider, who returned after recovering from surgery to his left hand, had one shot on net and was a minus-one after logging 15:24 of ice time. "I felt good one shift, rusty the next, good for a shift, rusty the next," Kreider said. "Im excited to play the next one because we have another opportunity. Whenever a team goes deep into this thing they always face some adversity, and thats what weve got right here. This is an opportunity to see what we are made of. Its gut-check time." If New York is able to win Fridays game in the Steel City, it will host Game 6 on Sunday. New York is aiming for its first playoff series win against Pittsburgh, which has won all four previous postseason meetings. The Pens boast a 19-5 all-time record against the Rangers in the playoffs and are 10-3 as the home team. Bob Sauve Jersey . Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. Johan Larsson Jersey .com) - The New York Jets have named Mike Maccagnan their new general manager. https://www.cheapsabres.com/883v-roger-c...abres.html . - Josh Sterk scored twice to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 7-1 rout of the Ottawa 67s in Mondays Ontario Hockey League action. Stitched Sabres Jerseys . The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes. Curtis Lazar Jersey . "Im not doing enough to help them," Durant told The Oklahoman on Monday of his 28-9 team. "Im shooting too much. Im shooting too many threes. Im not helping them out at all.As TSN prepares to launch its best-in-class curling coverage, the network on Tuesday confirmed it has added the 2014 LE GRUYèRE EUROPEAN CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS to its 2014-15 curling broadcast schedule. The latest addition complements TSNs slate of Canadian Curling Associations Seasons of Champions events, which kicks off next week with the 2014 HOME HARDWARE CANADA CUP live on TSN from December 3-7. The best mens and womens curlers from Europe will be front and centre on TSN from November 26-29 with live coverage of the 2014 LE GRUYèRE EUROPEAN CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS, which features mens and womens teams that compete in the World Curling Federations European Zone: Division A. The top eight mens and womens teams from the 2014 LE GRUYèRE EUROPEAN CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS will earn a spot in next years Ford World Mens Curling Championship in Halifax, N.S. and World Womens Curling Championship in Sapporo, Japan – with both events broadcast live on TSN. In the mens competition, Sven Michel leads host-team Switzerland as they look to defend their championship title. Michel will be up against a field that includes reigning world champion Thomas Ulsrud of Norway and Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games bronze medallist Niklas Edin and his team from Sweden. The mens side also features Division A teams from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Russia, and Scotland. On the womens sidde, Sweden is the defending champion and will be represented by a new team, led by skip Anna Hasselborg.dddddddddddd The field also boasts reigning world champion Binia Feltscher of Switzerland, Sochi 2014 bronze medallist Eve Muirhead of Scotland, and Russias Anna Sidorova, who made history at the 2014 World Womens Curling Championship in Saint John, N.B. by landing her countrys first ever medal (bronze) at either a world mens or world womens championship. The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany and Latvia round out the contingent of Division A teams on the womens side. Curling on TSN Each year as the official broadcaster of the Canadian Curling Association, TSN brings Canadians more than 300 hours of live action from Seasons of Champions curling, including exclusive coverage of the 2014 Home Hardware Canada Cup, Tim Hortons Brier and Scotties Tournament Of Hearts, Ford World Mens Curling Championship, World Womens Curling Championship, World Financial Group Continental Cup, M&M Canadian Juniors, and Olympic Games qualifying tournaments. Broadcast Schedule Wednesday, Nov. 26 1 p.m. ET on TSN5 – Mens Final Round Robin Session Thursday, Nov. 27 1 p.m. ET on TSN5 – Mens and Womens Playoffs Friday, Nov. 28 1 p.m. ET on TSN5 – Mens and Womens Semifinals Saturday, Nov. 29 6 a.m. ET on TSN5 – Womens Final 9 a.m. ET on TSN5 – Mens Final ' ' '