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NEW YORK -- Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers are the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Buster Posey Giants Jersey . The the NHL awards the trophy annually "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." It essentially serves as the leagues MVP award. Crosby scored 36 goals and led the league in assists (68) and points (104) to capture his second career Art Ross Trophy and lead the Penguins to their second consecutive division title. He registered points in 60 of the 80 games he played in (75 per cent), including 30 multi-point performances, and never went more than two consecutive games without registering a point. Crosby also reached the 100-point milestone for the fifth time hit 700 career points in his 497th game, the fastest among active players and sixth-fastest in NHL history. The 26-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S., native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the fourth time after winning the award in 2006-07 and finishing as a runner-up in 2009-10 and 2012-13. Getzlaf scored a career-high 31 goals and ranked second in the League with 87 points to lead the Ducks to the top record in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. He posted a 14-game point streak from Nov. 15-Dec. 15 (six goals, 11 assists). Getzlaf also set a career high with seven game-winning goals and recorded a plus-28 defensive rating. The 28-year-old Regina native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the first time. Giroux matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race with 86 points to help the Flyers bounce back from a 3-9-0 start to the season. After being held pointless in his first five games and not scoring a goal until his 16th, Giroux totalled 28 goals and 51 assists in his final 67 games of the season. He also compiled a career-long, nine-game point streak Dec. 11-30, (six goals, 11 assists) and recorded his 100th NHL goal Dec. 19. The 26-year-old Hearst, Ont., native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the first time. The award is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The winner will be announced June 24 during the 2014 NHL Awards in Las Vegas. 11:44ET 01-05-14 Mel Ott Giants Jersey . Nestor and Mirnyi, the second seeds, rallied to beat Frances Michael Llodra and Serb Nenad Zimonjic 3-6, 6-1, 12-10 at the Shanghai Masters. It was the first doubles title for Nestor and Mirnyi since winning the French Open in June. Tim Lincecum Jersey . Though the Jets have not confirmed any updates to Scheifeles status, TSN Hockey Analyst Aaron Ward says early reports indicate he suffered an MCL injury and will likely out 6-8 weeks.VANCOUVER -- More than bragging rights will be on the line when Canada and the U.S. meet in Sundays CONCACAF womens Olympic soccer qualifying tournament final. The arch rivals have already qualified for the 2012 Summer Games, but they will still be competing for high stakes -- which may mean more later than now. With a victory, Canada can claim the CONCACAF championship as the top team in the North and Central and Caribbean zone. Although this competition is an Olympic qualifier, it doubles as the zone championship and a trophy will be awarded to the victors. Sundays winner will also earn CONCACAFs top seed in the Olympics and, at least in theory, have a chance to be placed in a more favourable preliminary-round pool. However, the pool picks may still be subject to the whims of FIFA under soccers governing bodys complicated ranking and points system. Canada won its CONCACAF qualifier for last summers World Cup, but still wound up in a tougher pool than the U.S. Canada, ranked seventh in the world, could also move up in FIFAs rankings when they are released in March. Although an improved ranking might not hold much sway in the Olympics, it could help Canada get better seedings in future competitions, particularly the 2015 World Cup. Canadian players view the game mainly as a way to test their mettle against the powerhouse American squad. "Not too often do you get a chance to play the best team in the world," said Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, who leads the tournament in scoring with nine goals. "We will absolutely use it as a building block towards London. We might face them in London." The U.S. eliminated Canada in the quarter-finals at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Here, both teams rolled to 3-0 records in the preliminary round before Canada beat Mexico 3-1 in one semifinal Friday and the U.S. blanked Costa Rica 3-0 in the other. The Americans have yet to give up a goal while outscoring their opponents 34-0. Canada has outscored its opposition 16-1. Canadian defender Sophie Schmidt said the game is "essential" to her teams preparation for the Games. "The U.S. is a potential opponent for us in the Olympics, and theyre the best team in the world," saiid Schmidt. Dave Dravecky Authentic Jersey. "So its a good tester game to see where were at and what we need to do to get to where we want to be come Olympics time." Noting that all Olympic opponents will be tough and strong, she called Sundays final "more of a pride game." So far, the U.S. has had much more to brag about than Canada when the neighbours face each other. The Americans have posted 41 wins compared to three losses and five draws against the Canadians since 1986. Canada has not beaten the U.S. since March 2001. The last two losses came in two friendlies in September. With both teams having clinched Olympic berths, U.S. coach Pia Sundhage and Canadian counterpart John Herdman are expected to shuffle their lineups and substitute liberally. "Some players will start and some (other) players will finish," said Herdman. "But thats the beauty of our team. Weve changed the culture greatly, and players know they have a part to play. Weve set a contest around people who start games and people who finish games." Sundhage is also expected to start a distinctly different lineup than the one that played Friday. She said Canadas hopes will hinge on Sinclairs performance. "The last two times we played against Canada, Sinclair didnt play, and Canada is a different team with or without Sinclair," Sundhage said. "Those two games she didnt play are not going to change the system. I thought we played very well against Canada." Sinclair missed the two games because she was on a break following her pro season. She took a hard knock in the first half of Fridays game, but Herdman does not plan to reduce the risk of further injury by sitting her out the entire game. "Youll see Sinclair on Sunday," said Herdman. "You try and stop her playing in that game." Note: Individual honours are also at stake. Sinclair and U.S. striker Abby Wambach are both tied for third in all-time scoring at the international level with 129 goals apiece. Both need one goal to tie, and two or more to surpass, retired American star Kristiane Lilly (130) for second all-time. But retired U.S. legend Mia Hamms all-time record of 152 is well out of reach for now. wholesale nfl jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
