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MINSK, Belarus -- In winning its group at the world hockey championship, Team Canada beat goaltenders Jan Laco, Jakub Kovar, Patrick Galbraith, Daniel Bellissimo, Anders Nilsson and Steffen Soberg. wholesale jerseys . None of them are Finlands Pekka Rinne, who stands as Canadas biggest challenge in Thursdays quarter-final round. Even while a young Finnish team has struggled with penalties, turnovers and a lack of offensive depth, Rinne has been a rock with a 1.65 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and two shutouts. "Pekka is our most important player -- absolutely," coach Erkka Westerlund said Wednesday. "We built our whole system so that goalkeeping is No. 1, and then we try to build the strength (of) defence in front of him. Thats how it is, (how) hockey works." Westerlund said he was not yet satisfied with his teams defensive play but expects improvement. Even if that doesnt happen, Finland has a good chance in Canada if for no other reason than Rinne. Fortunately for the Finns, Rinne is not experiencing any injury problems after missing four months of the Nashville Predators season with a hip infection. Naturally, it took a while for him to get back to feeling right. "Its a process, and I think even when I came here (to Minsk) I thought that hopefully I can improve all the time and I didnt maybe feel 100 per cent," Rinne said. "But now I do, and Im really happy and I feel like my game has been getting better and (Im) just feeling more comfortable." Rinne is playing with confidence and instilling it in his teammates, only six of whom are back from the Sochi Olympics, where Finland won a bronze medal. Tuukka Rask and Kari Lehtonen were the goalies then, but as former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov pointed out, the best thing about his country is knowing there will always be great goaltending. Still, this isnt the Olympics. "Its a different roster, its a different tournament," said Komarov, who repeated his desire to return to the NHL last season. "Its a new day, a new life." But the same, old, reliable Rinne. Canadian defenceman Ryan Ellis knows all about that from parts of three seasons as a Predators teammate of Rinnes. Unlike a lot of other goaltenders, Ellis said Rinne doesnt let game action detract from his practices. "Every day, every practice its like a game," Ellis said. "He tries so hard in net in practice. I remember by first couple years there, I dont think I scored him in the first 10 or 15 practices. And then every time I did, I was pretty impressed with myself, pretty happy." Ellis said Canada was less concerned with how they were going to score on Rinne and more worried about his puck-handling thwarting attack time. "Hes active back there with the puck, so I think the biggest thing that were focused on is keeping the pucks away from him on dumps and stuff," Ellis said. "He gets out to play them a lot. Getting them in the glass and try to get them out of his reach." Thats especially important to a Canadian team that tries to play a hard, North American style on the bigger, international ice surface. Canada has succeeded at holding on to the puck to create chances and through seven games has averaged 34 shots a game. The strategy against Rinne is the same as many other elite goaltenders. "Were going to have to get pucks and traffic to the net," Ellis said. "Its tough for goalies when they get that kind of presence in front of him. Weve got some big guys, so hopefully we can get those guys going." Whether that happens or Rinne keeps rolling will go a long way to determining whether Canada has a date with the United States or Czech Republic in Saturdays semifinals. Westerlund said the Finns "dont have pressure (because) we are underdogs." Thats true. But Rinne still displays big-game confidence. "Im feeling good and Ive been enjoying hockey," Rinne said. "I think thats the biggest thing, when youre just having fun and just letting it go. Just dont think about anything, just play, and I feel like Ive been doing that." jerseys from china . Ekblad led all defencemen with 23 goals and finished tied for fifth in scoring among blue-liners with 53 points in 58.wholesale nfl jerseys . Buck finished with two hits for the Indians, while starter Mitch Talbot threw 5 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks, while striking out two. Niko Gallego and Tony Abreu had RBI doubles for Arizona.PHILADELPHIA -- Anthony Recker snapped out of his slump in a big way. Recker hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer, Jonathon Niese pitched seven sharp innings and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 Monday. Recker was in an 0-for-18 skid when he connected off reliever Justin De Fratus, who had retired 17 straight batters before allowing a single to the first batter he faced after replacing David Buchanan in the seventh. "It felt great. I needed it real bad," Recker said. The backup catcher is from nearby Allentown, but his family and friends didnt see him play this weekend. "They were here (Sunday)," Recker said. "They came to the wrong game." Darin Ruf hit a two-run shot for the last-place Phillies. Niese (6-8) gave up two runs on five hits to earn his first win since June 28. The lefty was 0-4 with a 6.04 ERA in his previous five starts. "It seems that I lose with my good stuff and win with my bad stuff," Niese said. Buchanan (6-6) allowed three runs and four hits in six-plus innings. Buchanan ran into trouble when he walked Juan Lagares to start the seventh. Matt den Dekker lined an RBI double to right-centre to tie it at 2. De Fratus entered and gave up a single to Wilmer Flores. "That late in a game, you cant walk guys to start an inning," Buchanan said. Recker then hit a full-count fastball 424 feet into the left-centre field stands to make it 5-2. With two outs in the Phillies ninth, pinch-hitter Chase Utley lined a 1-2 pitch off Jeurys Familia deep to right. A fan reached over with his cap and lifted the ball into the air and into the stands. The hit was initially ruled a two-run homer, but was overturned to an RBI double following a replay. Ben Revere then flied out to end it. The Mets took three of four in the wraparound series and are 13-3 in their last 16 games in Philadelphia. The Phillies bullpen had allowed one earned run in 24 2-3 innings before Recker, a .187 hitter, took De Fratus deep. Daniel Murphy led off the fourth with a double to right and David Wright followed with an RBI single up the middle to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. cheap jerseys. Ruf hit a two-run homer into the bushes behind the centre-field wall to make it 2-1 in the bottom half. TRAINERS ROOM Mets: Manager Terry Collins said closer Jenrry Mejia will continue to pitch despite a hernia. Mejia is taking medication for the hernia and hopes to wait until after the season to have it repaired. ... Rookie right-hander Jacob deGrom is likely headed to the disabled list because of tendinitis in his shoulder. He was examined in New York on Monday after experiencing shoulder soreness following his last start against Washington. DeGrom is 6-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 16 starts. Phillies: Former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton was treated and released from a nearby hospital Sunday after falling ill at Citizens Bank Park. Daulton, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year, participated in the teams alumni weekend. UP NEXT Mets: New York returns home to open a three-game series against NL East-leading Washington on Tuesday night. Rafael Montero (0-2, 5.40) will be called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to start in place of deGrom. Phillies: Philadelphia visits the Los Angeles Angels for a two-game interleague series. Right-hander Jerome Williams, claimed off waivers Sunday, will start Tuesday night against left-hander C.J. Wilson (8-8, 4.82). Williams was 2-5 with a 6.71 ERA for Texas and Houston this season. He set career highs in games (37), starts (25), innings pitched (169 1-3) and strikeouts (107) last season with the Angels. SHOWING OFF THE ARM Centre fielder Lagares made a perfect throw to the plate to prevent Domonic Brown from scoring on Ben Reveres single with two outs in the seventh. Brown, who doubled as a pinch-hitter, was out by several feet on Lagares one-hop throw. GLOVE WORK Phillies second baseman Andres Blanco made an excellent play to rob den Dekker on a hard one-hopper in the fourth. The ball was already past Blanco on the right-field grass when he made a diving stab, got up and threw him out. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
