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BUFFALO, N. Rob Gronkowski Super Bowl Jersey Camo .Y. -- Sidney Crosby still has Ryan Millers number after scoring a highlight-reel go-ahead goal in Pittsburghs 5-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Thats fine with Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, so long as that trend doesnt continue once the Winter Games open next week. "I was cheering the goal this time," said Bylsma, who will be switching hats in Sochi, where he will be coaching Miller on the U.S. team. "It did dawn on me as Sid was going in and he scores that goal." Crosby, Canadas captain, had a goal and assist in a pre-Olympic tuneup in which the Eastern Conference-leading Penguins (40-15-2) set a franchise record by reaching 40 wins in 57 games. That eclipsed the previous mark of 40 wins in 65 games in 1995-96. Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Brian Gibbons and minor-league call-up Harry Zolnierczyk also scored in a game the Penguins overcame a 1-0 deficit. Drew Stafford scored for the NHLs worst team, and Miller finished with 29 saves. Buffalo (15-33-8) dropped to 4-9-4 in its past 17 and winless in its last eight home games (0-5-3). Thats the Sabres worst home stretch since opening the season 0-8-1. For Crosby, he scored his first goal in six games and also ended a two-game point drought. That it happened against Buffalo and Miller shouldnt come as a surprise. Crosby has at least a point in all 14 trips to Buffalo (9 goals and 13 assists). And he has been particularly sharp at beating Miller, including the gold-medal winning overtime goal in Canadas 3-2 victory at the Vancouver Games four years ago. "He made some big saves tonight," Crosby said in defence of Miller. "Cant blame him. He held his team in it. And we scored some nice goals." The performance didnt sit well with Miller, but he doesnt think it will carry over to the Olympics. "Its game-by-game. Stuff happens out there and you reset," Miller said. Sabres coach Ted Nolan had his goalies back. "That had nothing to do with Ryan tonight," Nolan said. "It was the guys in front of him. Our team, we need everyone. We had a couple of guys no-show tonight." That was evident on Crosbys goal, which came on the power play 2:08 into the second period, and put the Penguins up 2-1. Immediately after Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Buffalos Brian Flynn in close, Crosby circled his own net and built up a head of steam by driving up the left wing. Accepting Matt Niskanens pass while crossing centre, Crosby didnt break stride in cutting between Flynn and Mike Weber. He then drove toward the net and snapped a shot just inside the top right corner. Neal joked that hes seen Crosby score goals like that so many times that he didnt even celebrate, but instead simply headed to the bench. Miller had no chance some 17 minutes later, when Malkin scored on the breakaway. Pouncing on Marcus Folignos turnover inside the Penguins blue line, Malkin streaked past flat-footed defender Jamie McBain. Driving in alone on Miller, he faked going right and went left to deposit the puck in the open side. Miller is one of the three U.S. goalies selected to play at Sochi, and the game against the Penguins was regarded his last chance to make a firsthand impression on Bylsma. Bylsma has yet to name his starter, and maintained that Millers performance on Wednesday would have no influence on his decision. Miller was coming off his worst outing of the season. He was benched after giving up five goals on 27 shots through two periods in a 7-1 loss at Colorado on Saturday. He allowed three goals on 28 shots through two periods before the floodgates opened in the third. Gibbons scored off a face off, and Neal on a transition break. "The first period we werent very sharp," Crosby said. "Yeah, we took a little bit of time to get going, but once we did, I felt like we did grab a lot of momentum there." NOTES: The Sabres played without D Tyler Myers, who hurt his right leg in a 3-2 loss to Edmonton on Monday. Coach Ted Nolan has not ruled out Myers from playing in their pre-Olympic break finale at Ottawa on Thursday. ... Zolnierczyk stepped into the lineup a day after being recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He replaced Taylor Pyatt (lower body), who was hurt in a 2-1 overtime win over Ottawa on Monday. ... The Penguins completed a three-game series sweep of the Sabres, and improved to 12-4 in their past 16 meetings. Tom Brady Super Bowl Jersey . Erik Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators felt good after their 3-1 defeat of the Washington Capitals on Monday, their first back-to-back victory in 51 days and their first three-game winning streak at the Canadian Tire Centre this season.LeGarrette Blount Super Bowl Jersey Authentic . He was willing to play on a one-year deal, he was willing to work out a fair price and his only significant requirement was finding another star quarterback who could get him the ball.BELFAST, Northern Ireland - Canadian Svein Tuft powered Orica Green-Edge to victory in the team time trial in Belfast in the opening stage of the Giro dItalia on Friday, taking the overall leaders pink jersey on his 37th birthday. Orica, which was the overwhelming stage favourite, clocked a time of 24 minutes, 42 seconds along the 21.7-kilometre course, which was lined by more than 140,000 fans. The Australian team benefited from starting second and avoiding most of the rain that fell later. "What an amazing day, I never in my life would have imagined something like this," said Tuft, a native of Langley, B.C. "Im so proud of my team and I just cant thank them enough for that. They gave me the gift, it was really a birthday present. This team is really selfless that way. I feel really fortunate to be given that gift on my birthday." Omega Pharma-QuickStep finished second, five seconds behind Orica, beating third-place BMC by just two seconds. Cadel Evans looked strong for BMC and is one of the favourites after last years third-place finish. With defending champion Vincenzo Nibali not competing, Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana is another of the race favourites and his Movistar team finished eighth, 55 seconds behind Orica. One of his rivals, Joaquim Rodriguez, had a poor start as his Katusha team struggled throughout and only finished 19th. Rodriguez is 1 minute, 33 seconds behind Tuft and 38 seconds behind Quintana. While it has become a tradition for the first Giro stage to be held outside Italy, this iss the first time that the Grande Partenza — or the Big Start — took place outside mainland Europe. Julian Edelman Super Bowl Jersey Blue. Despite the wind and rain, it was a festive atmosphere in the Northern Irish city, with large crowds lining the route and cheering the riders on. However, Irish rider Dan Martin crashed after just 15 minutes, leaving him with a suspected broken collarbone. Martin caused the crash when he caught his wheel on a drain cover and went down strongly on his right arm, bringing down several of his Garmin-Sharp teammates. The four cyclists who were able to continue had to wait for teammate Fabian Wegmann — who had been dropped early on — to catch up with them, as rules stipulate a team has to finish with at least five riders for its time to count. Garmin eventually finished last, 3:26 behind Orica. That means Ryder Hesjedals chances of repeating his 2012 Giro success are all but over. "Obviously there was a crash, and there was only four of us that stayed ahead," said Victoria native Hesjedal. "It was right before a corner and you hear something had happened, we were already through the corner, looked back and there was nobody there. "Obviously it was pretty scary because you dont know what the hell is going on. I dont know what happened, it was basically a nightmare." Belfast is also the start and finish point for Saturdays 218-kilometre leg, which takes in picturesque rock formation, the Giants Causeway along its coastal route. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
