zhanjiao1212
Geregistreerd op: 04 Jan 2019
Berichten: 75
|
 Geplaatst: 05-01-2019 07:09:35 Onderwerp: ght when Yoenis Cespedes beat Cincinnatis Todd Frazier 9-1 i |
 |
|
|
| TORONTO – His two linemates chuckle every time they see his face plastered over the video screen at the Air Canada Centre. Cheapest Air Max Shoes Australia . Hes Phil Kessel, the teams leading scorer and soon-to-be highest paid player, shyly covering his face at the slightest bit of attention. “I guess he doesnt want people to see his face or something like that or hes just extremely exhausted,” Tyler Bozak said of Kessel with a laugh following the Leafs fourth consecutive victory. “Its one of the two. I think hes just too shy to put his face up there.” “Hes a private guy,” James van Riemsdyk added. “[But] its tough when you play in a market like this and youre the leading goal-scorer and one of the best players in the league to keep that fully private.” Kessel has rather quietly and in full avoidance of the spotlight led the Leafs recent charge back to respectability. He scored his team-leading 23rd goal in a win over the Canadiens, also making the critical first pass which preceded van Riemsdyks eventual game winner. The two-point effort gave the 26-year-old 10 points in a string of five games – four of them wins – also shooting him back into the Top 10 in league scoring, now with 48 points in 50 games. His elevated performance has lifted the Leafs from the stench of a four-game losing skid into their longest win streak of the season. “I think he pulls the group every single night,” said Bozak, who has 17 points himself in the past 14 games. “Hes our best player so when hes going I think it filters through the lineup and makes everyone go a little harder.” Toronto improved to 21-6-3 this season when Kessel records a point. His line has often proved the sole engine for the teams offensive production. During a three-game run from Jan. 10-12 for instance, the trio had a hand in all eight goals the Leafs would score. “I think he creates pretty much every night, its sometimes a matter of getting some bounces,” said van Riemsdyk, who deposited Bozaks feed beyond Carey Price in the 5-3 win. Maybe the most unique star (and personality) in the league, Kessel continues to show zero interest in the very bright spotlight his terrific play often demands. As has become the unusual, but consistent standard, the soon-to-be two-time U.S. Olympian refused to speak with media following Saturdays win and hasnt done so, in fact, since the Winter Classic. Often shirking the public responsibility that comes with being arguably the teams best player, Kessel is quite literally content to let his play do all the talking. “I always get a laugh out of it when they show him on the Jumbotron and hes got his head in between his legs,” said van Riemsdyk with a chuckle. Five Points 1. Rivalry Stoked It was back in late November at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Max Pacioretty scored the fourth unanswered goal for the Canadiens, holstering his stick in celebratory fashion en route to a 4-2 win over the Leafs. Then on Saturday evening at the ACC, P.K. Subban lingered by the Toronto bench after the Canadiens first goal and offered something, according to those present, in the way of smack talk. “If they want to play that game then well play it too,” said van Riemsdyk. And so it was after van Riemsdyk scored the go-ahead goal and eventual game-winner that the 24-year-old winger grabbed the Maple Leafs crest on his sweater in celebratory retaliation. “Im usually not one to engage in stuff like that, but I was a little bit fired up – just kind of happened,” he said. The Leafs, who now sit four points back of the Canadiens in the Atlantic division, snatched the third game of the season series with Montreal, the rivalry simmering to new levels in a spirited back-and-forth tilt between the two storied clubs. Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 30 shots in his first career win against the team he grew up rooting for, said the fever between the two teams had intensified, at least in part, because of the Canadiens goal celebrations – which also drew the ire of the Senators earlier this week. “Those are type of plays that [make] you start hating guys,” said Bernier with a grin. 2. Kadris Dazzling Night Teammates joked that Nazem Kadri may have been inspired by the presence of Lakers star Kobe Bryant at the ACC on Saturday. Struggling in recent weeks, Kadri had one of his more impactful games of the year against the Canadiens, dishing out two assists in victory. The 23-year-old had just five points in the previous 15 games. “Hes a typical young player,” said head coach Randy Carlyle afterward, noting the impact of Kadris physical play throughout the night. “These are learning curves that young players have to absorb and retain that will allow him a long career. “The good players find out early that its not easy every day and theres a certain program that you have to follow and theres certain things you can and cant do. And when things arent going your way on the ice you have to find another way to be effective.” Kadri, who also won 13 of 23 faceoffs, set up a pair of highlight-reel goals; the first saw him dangle the puck through the legs of Alexei Emelin on the run before distributing it to Cody Franson; the latter saw him fire a bullet cross-ice pass to an open Mason Raymond on the power-play. As for Bryant, who was in Toronto for Sundays game against the Raptors, Kadri grinned, “Maybe I can meet him somehow.” 3. Bolland Rehab Pt. 1 A tenuous rehab process has meant a lot of Apple TV for Dave Bolland. “Ive been crushing that a lot actually,” said a cheerful Bolland on Saturday morning. The 27-year-old continues to work his way back from a severed left ankle tendon, a “slow rehab” which has kept him out of the lineup for the past 35 games. Though he had no firm timetable for a return, Bolland has been back on skates in recent days for the first time since the injury and hopes to rejoin his teammates on the ice at some point soon. “Its not like any other rehab when you break an ankle and you can just say six weeks and youre back and its healed,” said Bolland. “You cut a tendon and its got to re-heal itself. Youve got to do the rehab, do the movements with the trainers at the gym. Its not fun. Its grueling.” Bolland, who had a special boot designed for his return to the ice, described his early days of skating as painful and full of lessons. “Youve got to learn how to work that tendon again and work with it,” he said. 4. Bolland Rehab Pt. 2 Bolland, who had six goals and 10 points and was arguably the teams best player before going down in Vancouver on Nov. 2, said the mental side of such a serious injury has proved challenging. “When youre watching and youre off the ice it does screw with your head a lot mentally,” he said, describing the difficulty of remaining patient through a time consuming recovery. The Mimico native was admittedly rattled when he read about long-time Dallas Star Mike Modanos six-month recovery from a similar injury. “You sort of hear some of those things and you have in the back of your head, like when youre going to come back or whats going to happen. You do get a little mentally broken down.” Neither the team nor Bolland himself could say when hed be in line to return. “You cant afford to take any type of risk with this type of injury,” Carlyle said. “We all know that its a tough one to come back from. Its a long, tedious process, specifically where it was in the tendon that was injured. Its pretty dramatic.” 5. Options with Gleason One added benefit, thus far, of the Tim Gleason acquisition is the options he offers the club on defence. Rather than exposing either 23-year-old Jake Gardiner or 19-year-old Morgan Rielly to the considerable competition of a role in the top-four – as was often the case earlier in the year – Carlyle has been able to plug the more experienced Gleason into a spot with Cody Franson. “Its allowed us a little bit more comfort with those two on who they have to play against consistently,” Carlyle said of Gardiner and Rielly, who both played under 18 minutes against the Canadiens. “Its not to say that they dont go out against some of the top lines, but if theyre in your top four they see a steady diet of that versus if theyre playing in the 5-6 slot.” Gleason played nearly nine minutes as the Leafs eventually protected a one-goal lead in the third period. Gardiner and Rielly meanwhile were limited to about five minutes apiece in the final frame. Stats-Pack 4 – Consecutive wins for the Leafs, their longest streak of the season. 5 – Consecutive games with a point for Phil Kessel, who has three goals and 10 points in that span. 3 – Goals in the past 22 games for Mason Raymond, who scored his 13th of the year against Montreal. 17 – Points in the past 14 games for Tyler Bozak. 1 – Career win for Jonathan Bernier against Montreal. A Quebec native, Bernier grew up a Canadiens fan. 13-23 – Nazem Kadri in the faceoff circle against the Canadiens. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2Season: 22.4% (5th) PK: 2-3Season: 77.3% (27th) Quote of the Night “I guess he doesnt want people to see his face or something like that or hes just extremely exhausted. Its one of the two. I think hes just too shy to put his face up there.” -Tyler Bozak, on Phil Kessels displeasure with the spotlight at the ACC. Up Next The Leafs hit the road for four games, landing first in Phoenix for a Monday night affair with the Coyotes. Nike Air Max Wholesale Australia . The Italian side scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half to defeat former stars from S. Wholesale Air Max Australia . The 49ers announced the deal Tuesday. San Francisco selected Lloyd in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. http://www.wholesaleaustraliaairmax.com/ . "If we could score a six in every game, obviously I would be pretty excited," Jones said. "Its a long week but a short week. Its a pretty short round robin from what were used to so you dont want to get behind the eight ball early.MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Matheny had quite the choice for the National Leagues All-Star starter. There was his own Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals ace with a 12-4 record and a 1.83 ERA. And there was the Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, 11-2 with a 1.78 ERA and fresh off a 41-inning scoreless streak that ended last week. He chose Wainwright, who will start Tuesday night at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners Felix Hernandez. "Its going to be great catching them," said Milwaukees Jonathan Lucroy, the NL starter behind the plate. "A lot more fun than facing them." When baseballs elite met at Citi Field last year, NL batters managed just three hits in a 3-0 loss. A year earlier in Kansas City, the AL had just six hits in an 8-0 defeat. Never before had consecutive All-Star games ended in shutouts. "Guys are throwing harder. Guys have more pitches," said Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley, making his sixth All-Star appearance and first since 2010. The big league batting average is at a 42-year low. Strikeouts are at an all-time high. Wainwright and Kershaw are on track to become the first pair of qualifying pitchers in one league with a sub-2.00 ERA since the Mets Dwight Gooden and the Cardinals John Tudor in 1985 -- the last time Minnesota hosted the All-Stars. "Aside from having the ability to win two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, I think this has to be one of the highlights of my baseball career to this point," Wainwright said. "One of the coolest things I can say I did is to start a big league All-Star game." Kershaw understood Mathenys decision. "If Im him, Im probably going to pick Adam, too. Its his guy and he had the best half," Kershaw said. Hernandez, the first Venezuela pitcher to start for the All-Stars, also has sterling credentials: an 11-2 record with a 2.12 ERA. He described his task pretty simply: "Just throw zeroes out there and get my team to win. Thats all I got to do," he said. Back in the great pitching era of the 1960s, the game was different. Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal expected to finish what they started. Now, flame-throwers come out of the bullpen in the middle of games. "Youre not getting three, four at-bats off of the starter unless youre in trouble and youre losing the game," said Baltimores Matt Wietters, elected as a starting catcher but sidelined following elbow surgery. Nike Air Max Cheap Australia. "I think for a while it was trying to get the starter out of the game so you can get to that fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guy. And now those fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guys are throwing upper 90s with a good breaking ball." In addition to pitchers, the spotlight will be on New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter. The shortstop, who turned 40 last month, is playing his final season and was selected for his 14th All-Star game. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera got an emotional sendoff last year, the All-Stars giving him a solo bow. When Rivera entered in the eighth inning all other players left him the field to himself. Cal Ripken Jr. was given a tribute at the start of the 2001 game at Seattles Safeco Field when Alex Rodriguez told Ripken just before the first pitch to switch positions and move from third base to shortstop, where the Baltimore star spent most of his career. The 40-year-old Ripken then homered in the third inning. And two years ago, Atlantas Chipper Jones was feted with a standing ovation at Kauffman Stadium when he pinch hit in the sixth inning and singled. What will Jeters All-Star finale be like? "I dont go into things with expectations," he said. "Im looking forward to playing the game. Ive pretty much stopped it right there." The game is being played in Minneapolis for the third time, following the NLs 6-5 win at Metropolitan Stadium in 1965 and a dull 6-1 NL victory indoors at the Metrodome in 1985. Oakland, a big league-best 59-36 at the break, has seven All-Stars for the first time since 1975. It got another win on Monday night when Yoenis Cespedes beat Cincinnatis Todd Frazier 9-1 in the final round to become the first repeat champion of the Home Run Derby since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 99. The Athletics have some incentive for an AL victory in the All-Star game; since 2003, the winners league gets to start the World Series at home, and 23 of the last 28 titles were won by teams scheduled to host four of a possible seven games. "I dont think you can ever underestimate the home-field advantage in a post-season," said AL manager John Farrell, who led Boston to a six-game win over St. Louis last year. "To have that final game potentially in your home ballpark, that goes a long way to affecting the outcome." China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' ' |
|
