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ST. Bo Jackson Jersey . PAUL, Minn. -- A mid-game adjustment was key to the Minnesota Wild earning two points Tuesday night. Moved to the top line, Justin Fontaine scored late in the second period, Josh Harding stopped 16 shots for his first shutout of the season and the Wild beat the Nashville Predators 2-0. Jason Pominville added an empty-netter for the Wild, who have scored just seven goals in the past five games while posting a 2-2-1 record. "Its all about wins right now, and we havent been winning, so tonight was a step in the right direction," said Harding, who lowered his goals-against average to a league-best 0.96. Pekka Rinne made 27 saves for Nashville, which failed to get a point for the first time in six games. The Predators have allowed just five goals in regulation in last four games, going 2-1-1 in that stretch. Fontaine broke the scoreless tie at 18:53 of the second period when he charged down the slot and was able to put a rebound into the Predators net for his second goal of the season. "Thats one of those situations you have to manage," Rinne said. "You have to find a way to go to intermission 0-0." Fontaine didnt start the game paired with Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu, but with the Minnesota offence again failing to capitalize on its many chances, coach Mike Yeo replaced Nino Niederreiter as the top lines right wing. "It started in practice yesterday. Im kind of a big fan of left shot-right shot, and wed been talking about this and talked to Mikko about it yesterday, so it was something in the back of our minds," Yeo said. "For them to be able to attack through the neutral zone with some speed, it certainly helps if youve got a guy on the strong side." Beginning a stretch where it plays six of seven games at home, Minnesota dominated for much of the game, but continued to struggle in the offensive end. The Wild, who entered the game averaging 30.7 shots per game, sent 13 at Rinne in the first 13 minutes, but couldnt get anything past him. Rinne made two key stops on a penalty kill to thwart Marco Scandella and Dany Heatley and later stopped Koivu in front. "Weve been struggling to score goals, but if we keep throwing pucks to the net, theyre going to go in," Fontaine said. Rinne had to come up big because Nashville struggled to get shots at Harding. The Predators had just three first-period shots, six in the second and seven in the third. "Our best player was our goaltender. We had too many guys that didnt bring their A game," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought wed be a little more even. I didnt think we were much of a participant much of the game until the third period." Hardings best save came late in the second when he stopped Eric Nystrom, who had slipped behind two Wild defencemen during a rare Nashville rush. "I cant take credit for this one," Harding said. "If you watch the replays or watch the whole game over again, you cant say enough about what the D-men did and what the forwards did. That was as sound a game as far as breaking the puck out in front of the net, blocking shots, good sticks. This isnt me. This is for sure a team shutout." Minnesota played with just five defencemen much of the game after losing Jonas Brodin less than 5 minutes into the game when a dump-in by Gabriel Bourque hit Brodin in the face. Leaving blood on the ice, Brodin went straight to the Wild locker room. Yeo said Brodin was taken to the hospital for X-rays. The Wild nearly lost another blue-liner when Scandella was hit in the leg by a slap shot from Shea Weber late in the period. Scandella struggled to the Wild bench before being helped to the locker room. However, he returned for the second period. NOTES: Entering the game, Nashville had the leagues best faceoff win percentage at 55.8 per cent; Minnesota was second at 55.7. The Predators had a 55-45 advantage in the game. ... Wild D Ryan Suter played his 600th game, the first 542 with Nashville before signing a 13-year, $98 million deal with Minnesota on July 4, 2012. ... Predators C Mike Fisher missed his third straight game with a lower body injury. ... Wild D Keith Ballard missed his fourth straight game after being hit in the face by a puck Oct. 14. Norichika Aoki Authentic Jersey . And the Ottawa Redblacks linebacker wanted to be sure his words delivered their full effect. "Its an insult," he said over the phone Wednesday after the CFL Players Association lifted its media ban, giving its members the ability to speak openly about stalling collective bargaining talks. Mike Moustakas Jersey . So on Friday, they went to work. The two-time Eastern Conference runner-ups announced they had signed three free agents -- backup big man Lavoy Allen, swingman C.With the trade deadline passed and the stretch run to the NHL season beginning, its time for Scott Cullens latest update to the NHL Awards races. On one hand, there are familiar names throughout, with previous Hart, Norris, Selke and Jack Adams winners named as best through three quarters of this season. However, as we get more games in the file, the leading candidates begin to separate from the rest of the class. Its not to say that others cant mount a strong finish to alter the outcomes, but as the season gets closer to the end, there isnt as much wiggle room. Anyway, here are my picks for awards through first three quarters of this season: HART TROPHY Winner: Sidney Crosby, C, PittsburghRunners-up: Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim; Alex Ovechkin, RW, WashingtonComment: Its no surprise that a healthy Crosby is in position to win the award as the leagues Most Valuable Player, because hes 14 points up in the scoring race and playing at the level to which weve become accustomed, when hes in the lineup. This year, he hasnt missed a game, and that is the biggest reason that Crosby at the forefront of the MVP discussion. Getzlaf is scoring at a career-best rate of 1.17 points per game, leading the team that sits on top of the standings. While his possession numbers are solid, Getzlafs line has been particularly fortunate in terms of shooting percentage, which leads to a dominant goal differential (57 for, 25 against) when Getzlaf is on the ice during 5-on-5 play. Its not the kind of thing that can be sustained long-term (as in year-over-year) but, this year, it puts him in contention for the Hart. I recognize there may not be a lot of observers that would consider Ovechkin among the most valuable in the league this year, yet I do despite his deficiencies. Hhes so far ahead of the rest of the league as a goal-scorer, that I cant ignore that contribution. Right now, Ovechkin is on pace for a 57-goal season. Second-place Phil Kessel is on pace for a 42-goal season. The last player to win the goal-scoring race by 15 goals or more was Brett Hull, in 1991-1992, when Hull scored 70 and Kevin Stevens scored 54. (Incidentally, in 1990-1991, Hull scored 86 goals, 35 more than a trio of players -- Theo Fleury, Cam Neely and Steve Yzerman -- tied for second.) Its just not that often that the leagues top goal-scorer is that far ahead of the field and, this year, Ovechkin is. Additionally, while he does plenty of damage on the power play, Ovechkin also leads the league with 26 even-strength goals, so its not all one-timers from the faceoff dot with the man advantage. Looking beyond those three, Kessel, Joe Pavelski and Jonathan Toews are among others who could warrant consideration. NORRIS TROPHYWinner: Duncan Keith, ChicagoRunners-up: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa; Victor Hedman, Tampa BayComment: This season hasnt been all that different from Duncan Keiths 2010 Norris Trophy-winning campaign. Hes played his typically-strong two-way game, though he is down more than three minutes per game compared to his peak playing time, and has added more offence this season, scoring at the second-best rate of his carerr (0.79 points per game). There are some that decry the play of the Senators Erik Karlsson, because hes not a hard-hitting block of granite on the blueline and thats their vision of a defenceman, but Karlsson is a game-changer. Hes a rare defenceman that can drive his teams offence and his negative plus-minus is more a function of relatively bad luck on percentages (both shooting and save) when hes on the ice. After Keith and Karlsson, there are a number of worthy candidates, with my preferred choice being Victor Hedman, who has been great, while adding an offensive component that is far ahead of his previously established levels. Im not sure that Team Sweden is on board with this vote, but thats their prerogative. Some familiar names -- Shea Weber, P.K. Subban and Alex Pietrangelo -- are also viable candidates, close enough that a really strong finish could alter the outcome. VEZINA TROPHYWinner: Ben Bishop, Tampa BayRunners-up: Tuukka Rask, Boston; Semyon Varlamov, ColoradoComment: As a 27-year-old who had played 45 career games coming into this season, Bishop has been a major surprise, a rock for a LLightning team that has maintained its playoff position despite missing Steven Stamkos for a couple of months. Yordano Ventura Jersey. . Rask has pretty much always been a top puck-stopper, with a .929 save percentage over the past three seasons, and hes played a career-high 46 games this year, handling a number one workload over a full season for, really, the first time in his career. It hasnt been a smooth and steady road to the top for Varlamov, who has rebounded from a career-low .903 save percentage last season to post a career-best .925 save percentage this season. That might be a matter of arbitrary end-points, with Varlamovs real performance level somewhere between those two extremes but, for this season, his numbers warrant award consideration. If not Varlamov, Carey Price and Jonathan Bernier have both had strong seasons, strong enough that an impressive finish could push them into the discussion. CALDER TROPHYWinner: Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Runners-up: Tyler Johnson, C, Tampa Bay; Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Comment: Having set the record for the longest point streak by an 18-year-old rookie, MacKinnon is already looking like the kind of game-breaking skilled forward that teams hope to get with the No. 1 pick in the draft. Nothing like having a great pedigree and living up to it. MacKinnons closest challenger may be Johnson, an undrafted, 5-foot-9, 23-year-old who has simply scored wherever hes played and when Stamkos got hurt, Johnson took on more responsibility and continued to play at a high level. Its not easy for a teenage defenceman to step into the NHL and consistently play with poise, but dont tell that to Maatta, who has been a revelation for the Penguins. Injuries on the Pittsburgh blueline have forced the Penguins to use Maatta more than might have been initially anticipated, but hes risen to the challenge. Bruins power play quarterback Torey Krug and Johnsons left winger, Ondrej Palat, are other contenders. SELKE AWARDWinner: Patrice Bergeron, BostonRunners-up: David Backes, St. Louis; Jonathan Toews, ChicagoComment: This isnt an easy award to hand out, though there are some consistent performers that tend to be in consideration year after year. Heres a list of centres that face a decent level of competition yet still have strong possession stats. In addition to Bergeron, Backes and Toews, who have been at the top of my lists for past couple seasons at least, Anze Kopitar, Gabriel Landeskog and Alexander Steen are first-rate two-way performers that warrant attention. JACK ADAMS AWARDWinner: Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Runners-up: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis; Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay. Comment: It can be difficult to gauge exactly what a coachs role is in a teams performance, so there is some guess work involved here. One of the factors I try to take out of the equation, or at least minimize in importance, is goaltending, because great goaltending can mask all manner of shortcomings. Anyway, Im not sure that Bruce Boudreau has done anything revolutionary with the Ducks that allows them to score on such a high percentage of their shots, but getting strong contributions from so many throughout the lineup has to be considered in some way a reflection of Boudreaus approach. Oh, yeah, the Ducks are also first place in the standings, so he has that working for him too. The St. Louis Blues play such a relentless, grinding game that Im inclined to credit a coach that can keep his team playing that style so effectively. Enter, Ken Hitchcock. Admittedly, Jon Cooper has the benefit of outstanding goaltending, thanks to Ben Bishop, but his team has survived without Steven Stamkos and has done so with a lineup full of young, inexperienced players playing significant roles. For that, Cooper gets my nomination. There are many other qualified candidates. Patrick Roys Avalanche are exceeding expectations, Mike Yeo and Mike Babcock have managed to get through significant injuries and Claude Julien keeps the Bruins rolling with a steady spproach; all of these coaches deserve credit for their work behind the bench this season. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
