COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While the Blue Jackets remain wildly inconsistent, the Predators are rounding into form at the quarter mark of the season. Rookie goalie Marek Mazanec made 19 saves for his second shutout, and Matt Cullen and Nick Spaling each had a goal and an assist as streaking Nashville beat Columbus 4-0 on Wednesday night. Nashville coach Barry Trotz likes his teams recent level of commitment and attention to detail. "It was a pretty easy night for him," Trotz said, referring to Mazanec. "It was sort of a team win. You need to make a couple of saves when needed and he did." Mike Fisher and David Legwand also scored for Nashville, which has found its groove on the heels of a four-game losing streak. Mazanec, filling in while Pekka Rinne recovers from a hip injury, earned his fifth win -- all in the last six games. "He was very steady out there," Ryan Ellis said. "I think our team overall played very strongly." The Predators improved to 11-1-2 when scoring first and 9-0-1 when leading after the opening period. Columbus was back home after a 3-2 trip through Canada. The Blue Jackets had hoped to build on the momentum of a 6-0 victory Monday against Toronto, but instead they have alternated wins and losses for six games and still find themselves searching for the type of balanced, hard-nosed play from late last season that nearly propelled them into the playoffs. "Some of it is leadership, youth," coach Todd Richards said. "There are lots of things that add to it. Its tough to just point and say this is the reason for the inconsistency." The switch to the Eastern Conference this season didnt change Columbus fortunes against its former Central Divisional rival. Except for last season, the Predators have mostly dominated the series, and they again controlled the play in this one. "It looked like we lacked some energy, another step," Richards said. "Thats not an excuse. Youve got to find a way." Poor defence was a culprit for Columbus, while Nashville pressed the entire game. "I thought we started off really well," Trotz said. "We stayed to the game plan. We managed the puck, played smart, played fast early." Cullen made it 1-0 with his fifth goal at 9:58 of the first from the edge of the right circle, scoring on a slick pass from Ellis. "To fake the shot and hit me through the seam, not a lot of D-men will make that play," Cullen said. The Blue Jackets were outshot 14-4 in the period, with their best chance coming off Matt Calverts stick in tight. Mazanec turned it aside. On a power play that carried into the second period, Fisher beat two Blue Jackets players to a bouncing puck in the slot and smacked it past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth goal 54 seconds in. It was Nashvilles first shot of the period. Later in the period, the Predators won battles behind the net and one for a puck in the slot. This time it was Legwand scoring his fifth to make it 3-0. "We just didnt have the energy level," Columbus James Wisniewski said. "I think we worked. We just didnt have that little extra gear to win that little extra battle." The home crowd later booed the Blue Jackets on a lacklustre power play. Spaling scored his fourth goal from the hash marks on a nice feed from Cullen at 2:02 of the third. "Cullens got a great head for the game and creates a lot of offence," Spaling said. NOTES: Mazanec, who entered with a 1.61 goals-against average in the previous five games, has allowed two goals or fewer in the last six games. ... Columbus was shut out for the second time in its past five games. ... The Blue Jackets finished 0 for 2 with the man advantage. The Predators have not allowed a power-play goal in six games, killing off 16 straight chances dating to Nov. 15. ... Nashville hosts the Oilers on Thanksgiving. Edmonton then visits Columbus on Friday.  Zach Sudfeld Jersey Black Friday .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. DBrickashaw Ferguson Jersey Black Friday .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. http://www.footballjetsnflstore.com/nike-ladainian-tomlinson-navy-blue-jersey/ . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. James Carpenter Jersey Black Friday . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Chris Owusu Jersey Black Friday . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start.WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Sidney Crosby leaned down to unlace his skates in the locker room after a spirited practice at Armys Tate Rink, then glanced around and smiled at all the familiar faces. Home away from home for the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar. "Its nice to have everyone here," Crosby said. Their exhibition slate over and the new NHL season looming, the Penguins travelled to West Point for three days of training and team building over the weekend. It was their third trip here since 2007, and general manager Ray Shero was hopeful the experience would help a team that flopped badly against the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs -- just when it seemed destined to challenge for its fourth championship. "Were getting together with our group in a different place, but its not just a different place," Crosby said. "Its pretty special. Were all together in this. Were trying to benefit from all this." The team arrived Friday morning, met with members of the football team before the Black Knights flew to Dallas for a game, had lunch with the cadets, and listened to a brief talk from Army hockey coach Brian Riley before hitting the ice for the first time. Not much seems to have changed. After their stunning exit in four games in the Eastern Conference finals, the Penguins appear set to give it another go at the Stanley Cup. While other teams make themselves over year after year, Pittsburgh has maintained the status quo on its roster. The Penguins signed high-scoring Evgeni Malkin, defenceman Kris Letang, winger Pascal Dupuis, and coach Dan Bylsma to contract extensions, essentially keeping the core of the team intact. Also back is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, whos in the last two years of his contract and was a weak link in the playoffs. "Well see how its going to work," Shero said. "I think these guys are at the right age. That core group is about 26 years old. They should be going into their prime. Its not like we made long-term commitments to players that are 33, 34, 35 years old. These guys are special players, top players, and you try to keep them. "Weve been a good hockey team over the last seven years, and we want to try to win a Stanley Cup again like everybody else," said Shero, who also signed a familiar face from the past, defenceman Rob Scuderi. The players appreciate what management has done. "I think it helps," said Crosby, healthy again after being plagued by injuries that included a concussion suffered at the 2011 Winter Classic. "Theres no guarantees. It doesnt mean that the seasons not a process. Being familiar, having that trust in one another, knowing your role and whats expected, that goes a long way. Im glad that were able to have that." "Thats huge," Dupuis said. "You want to go to battle with guys that you trust. I wanted to come back. I didnt know how much they wanted me back. Seeing all these pieces of the puzzle falling back together, now its a matter of us playiing together and making it happen.dddddddddddd "You dont want to repeat history. You dont want to be a team that does it again and again. At the same time, you can learn from this stuff." That these star players faltered at the most inopportune of times is certainly not unprecedented in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just ask Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and their teammates on the 1971 Boston Bruins. The highest-scoring team in league history to that point was beaten in seven games by the aging Montreal Canadiens, who used a stunning performance by goalie Ken Dryden, a rookie with six NHL games under his belt, to spur an upset nobody in his right mind would have predicted. The Penguins played the Bruins three times in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and won all three by one goal. After beating the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators in the playoffs, Pittsburgh collapsed. The highest-scoring team in the league went bust as Crosby and Malkin didnt score a single point and Boston outscored Pittsburgh 12-2 in the sweep. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask provided the Dryden factor, stopping 134 of 136 shots by a team that averaged 4.27 goals in its first two playoff series, and Bostons defence took away the swaths of open ice that had allowed Crosby and Malkin to operate. It all happened in early June, yet still seems like only yesterday. "I dont think we were the only team expected to win," Crosby said. "I think it hurts even more because we were that close. Thats the sport. Nothings given to you. You have to be at your best at the right time and get some bounces, and we werent there. "You try to learn from everything," Crosby said. "Well definitely take some lessons. We did a good job the first two rounds, but the playoffs isnt only two rounds. Youve got to find a way to raise your level each series. Every time you get to the next round, its going to get tougher and tougher." Bylsma, who guided the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup, still has no explanation for what went wrong for the second straight year -- the Penguins also were ousted the previous year by the Philadelphia Flyers in a fight-filled first-round series. Hes glad to be back for another try, glad to have much of the same crew on the bench. "There may be a desire or a gut reaction or an outside need to say you need to blow it up and change this, change that," Bylsma said. "I dont think that breaking up this group of players -- theyre quality people -- is something anyone would want to do. Its a team thats won more games than almost every other team in the National Hockey League and more playoff games than any other team the last seven or eight years. Theres disappointment by not winning and going to the finals and winning the Stanley Cup, but the group I think is happy to be together to try to do it again." Added Scuderi: "Me personally, Id rather stick with guys that I know have been there and want to go there again, not blow something up for an unknown equation." cheap nfl jerseys authentic jerseys nfl wholesale wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
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