Cup playoffs.On the heels of the first back-to-back champions in two decades
Dalton Prout Jersey Womens , the NHL will get a new champion in the salary-cap era that began in 2005. Among the Lightning, Capitals, Jets and
Golden Knights, only Tampa Bay has won the Stanley Cup, making this the first
time the final four teams have combined for one title or fewer.Tampa Bay is in
the Eastern Conference final for the third time in four years, and Washington
has made the playoffs 10 out of the past 11 seasons. Yet after one of Chicago,
Boston, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh lifted the Cup every time since 2009, this
crop of new blood is refreshing.”They’re all good stories,” Capitals coach Barry
Trotz said. ”The same old story sometimes can get old. Once in a while a new
chapter is written
Elias Lindholm Jersey Womens , and it’ll be good. This year there will be a new chapter.”The next chapter begins with the Capitals visiting the Lightning
on Friday night, followed by the Golden Knights at Winnipeg on Saturday night.
It’s a full turnover from the final four teams last year: Pittsburgh, Ottawa,
Nashville and Anaheim.The Jets became the fourth and final team to reach the
third round when they beat the defending Western Conference-champion Predators
on the road in Game 7 on Thursday night. Winnipeg is the final hope for Canada’s
first Cup celebration since Montreal in 1993 and is in the conference final for
the first time in franchise history.”Having some diversity amongst the league is
great, and I think it just shows the competitive balance throughout the league,”
Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. ”Having good young players is a great place to
start and you see that the teams that have good young players have gotten good
fast. So I think it’s a good thing to have some fan bases have some extended
postseason success. It just creates a better vibe.”The Lightning are trying to
create the vibe Hockey Bay hasn’t seen since winning the Cup in 2004. They fell
short in a six-game loss to the Blackhawks in the 2015 final with this core, led
by Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.Even after missing the playoffs last year
when Stamkos was out long term with a knee injury, Tampa Bay has plenty of
recent playoff experience from recent runs and the additions of ex-Rangers
players Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and J.T. Miller.”We’ve been here in this
situation before,” Stamkos said. ”There’s no panic or nervousness. We’re
excited.”Vegas hasn’t been in any situation before
Alan Quine Jersey Womens , building off the best inaugural season in NHL history by beating Los Angeles and San Jose to reach the West final. Among the
four good stories remaining, none is as remarkable as the Golden Knights, who
pieced together players from around the league to get further than anyone
expected.”I haven’t been around a team like this,” general manager George McPhee
said. ”This feels like more of a team than any team I’ve ever been with at the
NHL level.”McPhee’s former team in Washington has the same feeling. The Capitals
aren’t as deep or talented as in years past, but they’re in the East final for
the first time since 1998, when McPhee was in his first season as their GM.”I’ve
had some teams that have been very, very talented and they weren’t necessarily
the best teams,” said Trotz, who is in the third round for the first time in 19
years as an NHL head coach. ”I think the belief in the group, or the chemistry
in the group
Petr Mrazek Jersey Womens , is the intangible and this group has a good chemistry about it.”What excites Jets coach Paul Maurice most about the fresh
teams in the conference finals is the hope it keeps alive in the remaining
cities. And each one can legitimately believe its team has a chance to win it
all.”That’s the great part about competition,” Maurice said. ”So that’s what’s
the most exciting thing is you don’t know, right? There’s not a five-time
Stanley Cup champion that’s just ran the first two series 4-0. It’s up for
grabs. It’s right there.”—AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville,
Tennessee, contributed.— SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Jonathan Quick got back on the
winning track – at the Florida Panthers’ expense.Quick made 35 saves, Anze
Kopitar scored his 22nd goal and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Panthers 3-1 on
Friday night for their third straight victory.Quick was 1-7 in his previous
eight starts and had given up five goals in each of his past two.”I thought he
was a calming force for us back there,” Kings coach John Stevens said. ”He just
looked like he was really solid and comfortable in the net, and I think he gave
us a lot of confidence by him playing that way.”For his part, Quick wasn’t
attaching any special significance to his performance.”Just another game. We
were able to win it
Jordan Schroeder Jersey Womens ,” Quick said. ”Got two points.”Jonny Brodzinski scored the go-ahead goal, and Nick Shore also connected for the
Kings. Derek Forbort had three assists.Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers, and
Harri Sateri made 23 saves. They had won four in a row.”We were right there and
made a couple mistakes,” Sateri said. ”They played a good game. They were hard
to play against. You have to give them credit, too.”With James Reimer now
healthy and Roberto Luongo starting to practice, the Panthers have some
decisions to make in goal.”Harri’s done a heck of a job for us but we’ve got
some goalies that are healthy, and we’ve got to get them back in action, too,”
Panther coach Bob Boughner said.Kopitar stretched the Kings’ lead to 3-1 just 25
seconds into the third. Kopitar took a pass from Alex Iafallo in the low slot
and redirected the puck past Sateri.Brodzinski put the Kings ahead 2-1 when he
backhanded a shot that bounced off the Panthers’ Denis Malgin and past Sateri
with 3:57 left in the second.With 4:26 left in the third, Kings center Trevor
Lewis was driven into the boards by Jared McCann. Lewis lay motionless on the
ice for a minute or so. He later skated off the ice and to the locker room with
the assistance of the trainer.”I think he’s going to be fine
Matt Calvert Jersey Womens , but not sure. Kind of a scary-looking play there, but hopefully he’s fine,” Stevens said.The Kings tied it at 1 on Shore’s
goal. Shore took a backhanded pass from Andy Andreoff in the left circle, worked
the puck into the slot, and fired a shot over Sateri’s glove at 3:09 of the
second period.Shore was a healthy scratch the past two games.”Anytime you’re out
of the lineup, you’re kind of just waiting to get back,” Shore said. ”All you
can do is be ready for a chance. It’s nice to go out there and get two points
tonight.”Ekblad’s power-play goal gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Ekblad grabbed a
rebound that came off the end boards at the left side of the crease and put the
puck over Quick’s shoulder with 8:28 left in the first period.Notes: Kings D
Alec Martinez returned after missing two games with a lower-body injury. … The
Kings played the first game of a seven-game trip. … The Panthers sent rookie
goalie Samuel Montembeault, to Springfield of the AHL on Thursday to make room
for the return of James Reimer. Luongo practiced Thursday for the first time
since he suffered a groin injury on Dec. 4 against the New York Islanders.UP
NEXTKings: At Tampa Bay on Saturday night.Panthers: At Edmonton on Monday
night.
