Avatar1

yyys123 · Brand new Geregistreerd op: 08 Jul 2019 Berichten: 975

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Higher-seeded teams with the lead in a best-of-seven series over the history of the NHL playoffs have had plenty of trouble putting the opponent away. Sometimes the brink of elimination has been what truly gets a team going. Consider the Chicago Blackhawks, though, when their foe is down. An ability to swoop down and delivering the finishing victory has become a clear trait of this team since coach Joel Quenneville took over and stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews arrived. "The bigger the setting, the bigger the stage, they seem to rise to that challenge," Quenneville said. Since 2009, the first post-season appearance for Kane and Toews, the Blackhawks have not lost in any of the seven playoff series theyve been in that were tied after four games. Thats a 13-0 record in Games 5 and 6 of such matchups that were even at two each, including the Stanley Cup finals in 2010 against Philadelphia and 2013 against Boston. Theyll test that perfect mark once more on Tuesday in Game 6 against the Minnesota Wild, who fell behind 3-2 in this Western Conference semifinal series after losing 2-1 in Chicago on Sunday. "To do exactly whatever it takes ... is one of the hardest things in any series, to clinch it," said Blackhawks left wing Bryan Bickell, whos tied for the NHL lead with six goals this year in the playoffs. "But I feel we have the confidence and the poise and the relaxation that we dont get ahead of ourselves and just play shift by shift." During the Kane-Toews era -- which includes left wing Patrick Sharp and core defencemen Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson -- the Blackhawks are 11-2 in games played with a chance to win a series. Theyre 5-1 on the road, with the only losses in those clinching situations against Vancouver, in 2011 in Game 7 of the first round and in 2010 in Game 5 of the second round. They rebounded in 2010 to win Game 6 and advance. The Wild are bound to be one of the toughest outs these Blackhawks have encountered. Theyre 5-0 at Xcel Energy Center since the playoffs began, outscoring their opponents 16-5 and allowing an average of 19.2 shots on goal per game. The Blackhawks were stifled in Games 3 and 4, unable to amount any kind of offensive rhythm. "The building has been electric. The fans have been unbelievable. Im sure theyre having a good time with the late starts," Wild defenceman Ryan Suter said, smiling. "Everything, its been a lot of fun for us. Were driving to the rink and you see the excitement outside the rink, and we just build off that." The Wild won two elimination games in the last round against Colorado and, to factor in franchise history, are 9-5 all time in those situations. Theyre trying to become the first NHL team to force consecutive Game 7s in the same post-season without holding a series lead since the New York Islanders in 1987. "Just get ready for Game 6 here. Thats our Game 7 right now," captain Mikko Koivu said. Quenneville declared injured centre Andrew Shaw out again for Game 6. Wild coach Mike Yeo said left wing Matt Moulson and defenceman Keith Ballard were skating on Monday but declined to speculate on their status. Suter took a hard spill in Game 3 in a tangle with Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa, leaving the game briefly with an apparent injury to his right arm, but he and Yeo have said repeatedly hes fine. Really, at this point in the playoffs, any pain is mostly an afterthought. So, too, is the elimination scenario for the Wild. "I think we like the challenge. We always seem to make things harder than it needs to be. I dont know if thats a good thing to do, but it seems throughout the year thats kind of been the way weve gone about it," Suter said. So the teams will take the ice on Tuesday, with the pressure on each side higher than its been all season. "I think we know what theyre doing. I think they know pretty much what were doing, too," Blackhawks defenceman Johnny Oduya said. "From this point I think its just a matter of will and who wants to win the most and whos fresher and who plays better." Adidas Nmd Womens Clearance . The Canadian Football Leagues all-time passing leader said he has not made a final decision, but he will discuss his future with Montreal Alouettes owner Bob Wetenhall on the weekend. Yeezy Boost 350 Deals . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. http://www.nmdsneakerssale.com/nmd-shoes-white-deals.html . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. Adidas Nmd White Wholesale . Fans in the Jets viewing region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 5:30pm ct and listeners can tune in to TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg. Adidas Nmd r1 China . After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence. Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th.MINSK, Belarus -- High-scoring Russia routed Kazakhstan 7-2 on Wednesday for its fourth straight victory at the ice hockey world championship. Sergei Plotnikov scored twice on power plays, and Viktor Tikhonov had one goal. They each have four goals, tied for the most in the tournament. Tikhonov also added three assists, while Plotnikov had two. "Its a question of good partners," Plotnikov said. "We have a good team. We play all for one and one for all and that leads to the results. Were well motivated." Plotnikov, Yegor Yakovlev and Danis Zaripov each had a power play goal for a commanding 3-0 lead. Nikolai Kulyomin and Alexander Burmistrov also scored. Mikhail Panshin and Andrei Spiridonov scored for Kazakhstan. Russia leads Group B with 12 points and has scored a total of 22 goals. The United States, Belarus and Latvia, who were idle Wednesday, have six points. Kazakhstan has one. Also Wednesday, Switzerland ended a three-game losing streak by beating Germany 3-2, Czech Republic shut out Italy 2-0 and Slovakia beat Norway 5-2 for its first win. Damien Brunner had a power pllay goal and an assist to lead the Swiss team -- last years runner-up -- to its first victory after losses to Russia, the U.ddddddddddddS. and Belarus. "We found a way to win and thats important," Brunner said. Thomas Oppenheimer scored two goals for Germany. Switzerland has three points in four games in Group B. Germany has five. Jiri Sekac gave the Czechs a 1-0 lead in the second period, and Jaromir Jagr added an insurance goal in the third. The Czechs outshot Italy 37-11, but goaltender Daniel Bellissimo made 35 saves. Czech goalie Alexander Salak stopped 11 shots for the shutout. Ladislav Nagy scored the winning goal for Slovakia with 18 seconds remaining in the second period and added another one in the third. He has scored four times in the tournament. Tomas Tatar, Juraj Mikus and Michel Miklik also scored for Slovakia. Norway got goals from Alexander Bonsaksen and Morten Ask. The Czechs and Norway have six points in Group A in four games, two more than Slovakia, while Italy has three. Sweden tops the group with eight points, one point ahead of Canada. ' ' '