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GREENBURGH, N. Martin Maldonado Jersey .Y. -- Henrik Lundqvist had his game-day face on at practice. He still smiled and answered all the questions thrown at him Monday about the Los Angeles Kings -- the New York Rangers long-awaited opponent in the Stanley Cup finals. "Exciting. Long flight," the star goalie said Monday before he and his teammates headed to California for New Yorks first appearance in the finals since winning the title in 1994. "East Coast-West Coast. Ill look forward to this matchup." If there wasnt already enough pressure on Lundqvist to lead his team to the championship, he is now part of the hype machine heading into Game 1 on Wednesday. Headlines are screaming: "King Henrik vs. the Kings." "Clever," he said with a slight laugh. The Rangers have been waiting since Thursday to find out if they would face the 2012 Stanley Cup-winning Kings or the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the finals. They took two days off before returning to practice on Sunday. Most of the players said they watched at least part of Los Angeles third road Game 7 win of this playoff year that night. So practice on Monday had a bit more focus for the Rangers as they knew exactly who was standing in their way next. "Any team you play at this time of year is a good hockey team, especially a team that has kind of been around the playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals a couple of times in the last few years," forward Derek Stepan said. "This is a very good hockey club, We have a tough challenge in front of us." The Kings returned to Los Angeles after their 5-4 come-from-behind overtime win at Chicago and took Monday off. They have played a record 21 playoff games before the finals -- one more than the Rangers, who eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in six games during the Eastern Conference finals. Before this year, no team that played seven games in each of the first two rounds had reached the finals. Now, both clubs have done it. The Kings taking it a step further with a trio of seven-game series. "When you knew you were playing L.A., the adrenaline started coming a little bit more," Lundqvist said. "Youve been thinking about this ever since you beat Montreal, but now knowing were going to L.A., it was easier to focus on whats coming. "You just try to now come back to the focus and mindset you had last week. Its been nice to get a little break here and get away from it a little bit because its been that intense." Both teams will be back to the grind on Tuesday for media day, leading up to the opener the following night. The Rangers and Kings split two games during the regular season -- with each team winning in the other clubs building -- but they havent seen each other since Los Angeles 1-0 victory at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17. New York opened with a five-game Western road trip as final renovations were being made at the Garden. Its only win during that stretch was a 3-1 victory at Los Angeles on Oct. 7 -- a 28-save performance by Lundqvist. "Great goaltending. Great defence. Great forwards. Great special teams," Kings coach Darryl Sutter provided as a quick scouting report on the Rangers. "Were up against it again." The Rangers know that many, if not most, in the hockey world arent giving them much of a chance to win the Cup. They neither mind nor embrace the role of underdog. They have heard it before, and have just gone about their business. "When you get into the NHL, you know how hard it is to win," forward Brad Richards said. "The underdog thing and the favourite thing really doesnt mean anything in the locker room. You have to go out and play." New York needed seven games to get past division rival Philadelphia in the first round. The Rangers werent expected to beat Pittsburgh from the start, and certainly not after they fell into a 3-1 series deficit. Montreal was coming off a stirring seven-game victory over defending Eastern Conference champion Boston, so odds makers favoured the Canadiens in their matchup against New York, too. But here the Rangers are as the last team standing. "To put it quite simply, were up against the team that won the Stanley Cup two years ago that just beat the defending Stanley Cup champions, that without a doubt is battle-tested," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We know exactly what we have to do. If we want to have a chance, were going to have to bring our best hockey of the year. Its as simple as that. "Weve had a couple of good practices, were going to have another good one tomorrow, and were going to be ready come Wednesday." He added one more thing as he left the media interview tent while wearing his sandals, to go prepare for a cross-country flight. "Bring your shorts," he said. Kyle Lohse Brewers Jersey . No way, absolutely no way. If you do, where do you go from there? If you want to progress as a team and as a club you have no chance if you sell players like that. Carlos Gomez Brewers Jersey . "It is my feeling the club is at a stage that is critical to our on-field expectations and this move was necessary," Hervey told a news gathering hours after he informed Reed he was gone after three years as head coach.HOUSTON -- Cain Velasquez stopped Junior Dos Santos in the fifth round Saturday night at UFC 166 to retain the heavyweight title. Dos Santos came out firing to start the final round, but Velasquez (13-1) worked him down to the mat only to have Dos Santos (16-3) get back up against the Octagon walls. The two traded lefts before Velasquez landed a left and took Dos Santos down head-first to the mat, causing referee Herb Dean to stop the bout at 3:09. "It was a pretty tough fight," Velasquez said. "It was very difficult. It was a tough night. I give him a lot of credit, he is a tough fighter. We were ready for everything. We trained hard in camp and prepared for everything. I tried to get him down this time. I was trying to throw crisper punches this time. I love the competition." The fight was third between the two. Dos Santos beat Velasquez in 1:04 in the first meeting in 2011, and Velasquez won the second by unanimous decision in 2012. "Im definitely satisfied," Velasquez said. "I just hope there are no more excuses on his part. Thats it. We dont look for the finish. We just put more pressure on and when it happens, it happens." In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier (13-0) unanimously outpointed Roy Nelson (20-9) in a heavyweight bout, with all three judges scoring it 30-27. Velaquez took Dos Santos down twice in a row midway through the third round with several rights and pounced on him on the ground, but Dos Santos was able to make it to his feet. In the post-fight press conference Dana White said he thought the fight should have been stopped in the third round. "Ive been around this sport and boxing for a long time and seen men who are too tough for their own good," White said. "I think Junior Dos Santos is one of them in the last Cain fight and this Cain fight. I think that fight should have been stopped. I dont think he should have taken more punishment." Velasquez remained on the attack, landing several rights with Dos Santos up against the wall, opening up cuts on Dos Santos left ear and mouth. Velasquez continued the attack to begin the fourth round, landing several combinations in the ffirst 40 seconds of the fourth round, and he continued the assault up against the Octagon wall. Jean Segura Authentic Jersey. Dos Santos was able to break free and land a left. However, Velasquez landed more combinations, including a left that opened up a cut above Dos Santos right eye that stopped the fight for a moment before it was determined he could continue. Following the restart, Velasquez continued to land combinations, with Dos Santos getting in a left once. "He beat me up. What can I say?" Dos Santos said in the ring after the fight. "Hes a great fighter. I just want to give a good fight to the fans." Dos Santos was not in the post-fight press conference. Velasquez landed several lefts to start the second round and a kick to the head as well, cutting Dos Santos on the bridge of his nose. Velasquez had Dos Santos locked up against the walls of the Octagon several times in the second round, but Dos Santos landed a right at the end of the second round. Velasquez took Dos Santos to the mat midway through the first round, but was unable to land any hard shots, and Dos Santos got to his feet. The two went after it from the start, with Velasquez landing a couple lefts, and Dos Santos hitting an uppercut to go along with two lefts. The crowd was firmly in Velasquezs corner throughout the fight, yelling "Si, se puede" numerous times for the Mexican. In the co-main event, Cormier took Nelson down in each of the three rounds, including less than a minute into the bout, but he could not keep Nelson down. Cormier controlled the bout, landing more strikes than Nelson, but Cormier was not able to land combinations. Gilbert Melendez (22-3) earned his first UFC win, defeating Diego Sanchez (26-6) by unanimous decision -- 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 -- in a lightweight bout. Melendez opened up a cut over Sanchezs left eye with a right hook with two minutes left in the first round. The referee stopped the fight midway through the second and third rounds when the cut reopened but in both instances, the fight was continued. Sanchez came back with an uppercut and a flurry in the third round as the sellout crowd chanted "Diego! Diego!" cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
