DHL » yers do not need to be protected, so Sam Ad

PITTSBURGH -- New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault had trouble finding the words to describe goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. "Hes OK," Vigneault said finally with a small shake of his head. Except that is, in Game 7s. In Game 7s, Lundqvist is unbeatable. And so are the Rangers. Frustrating Sidney Crosby and the reeling Pittsburgh Penguins one final time, Lundqvist made 35 saves to lift New York to a 2-1 win on Tuesday night and give his resilient team an unlikely spot in the Eastern Conference finals. "I was so tired at the end," Lundqvist said after setting an NHL record with his fifth straight Game 7 triumph. "But it was just a great feeling when you know its a done deal and we did it." Brian Boyle and Brad Richards scored for New York, which rallied from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in the franchises 88-year history. The Rangers did it behind Lundqvist, who stopped 102 of the final 105 shots he faced over the final three games as New York advanced to the conference finals for the second time in three years. The three-time All-Star is 10-2 when facing elimination. He was at his best during a mad scramble in front of the Rangers net with just over 5 minutes left, when he turned aside three shots from three different angles in a matter of seconds to preserve a one-goal lead. "He was OK with guys being on top of him as long as we didnt take penalties," New York defenceman Ryan McDonagh said. "He fought through screens, fought for loose pucks. He was incredible." The Rangers will play the winner of the Bruins-Canadiens series in the conference finals. That series is tied 3-3 and Game 7 is Wednesday night in Boston. Jussi Jokinen scored his team-high seventh goal of the post-season for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury made 18 saves for the Penguins, who outshot New York 36-20, but were outscored 10-3 over the final three games. Pittsburgh fell to 2-7 all time at home in Game 7s, including three such losses in the past five seasons. This one might have been the most painful for the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and coach Dan Bylsma that seemed pointed toward a dynasty after winning the 2009 Stanley Cup. Crosby, who led the league in scoring and is an MVP finalist, managed just one goal in 13 playoffs games. Just as importantly, five springs have now come and gone without Pittsburgh getting a Cup to bookend the one they hoisted that giddy night in Detroit and changes could be on the way. The Penguins are just 4-5 in playoff series over the past five seasons, with each loss coming to lower-seeded teams. Not exactly the expected outcome for a roster scattered with top-end talent that hasnt met expectations. While Bylsma declined to take the wide-angle view, his captain understood the dressing room could have a very different look next fall. "I think theres always questions," Crosby said. "When expectations are high and you dont win thats normal. Im sure there will be a lot of questions." There are none at the moment for the Rangers, who seem to thrive when their season boils down to three periods of hockey. Faced with their fifth Game 7 in the past three years, they did what they always do and took control early. Boyle quieted a raucous crowd 5:25 into the game at the end of a pretty breakout. Derek Dorsett hit Boyle streaking across the Pittsburgh blue line and Boyle tapped it between his legs to Dominic Moore, who waited a split second before sending it back to Boyle. The veteran forwards shot went between Fleurys legs for his second goal of the post-season. The Penguins responded by briefly taking over the game, their momentum cresting 4:15 into the second period when Jokinen pounded home a rebound off an Olli Maatta shot to tie the game. The goal seemed to get the Penguins almost too keyed up. Matt Niskanen went to the box for tripping and New Yorks power play, which was laughable when the series began, provided the clincher. Pittsburghs Brian Gibbons failed to get his stick down on a crossing pass from Brandon Sutter, nullifying a short-handed chance. The Rangers took off the other way, and with the Penguins still scrambling to get back into position, Richards took a pass from Martin St. Louis and flipped it into a wide-open net to make it 2-1 before the games midway point. Lundqvist did the rest. He robbed Pittsburghs James Neal at the doorstep late in the second period and fought off swarm after swarm over the final 20 minutes as the Rangers beat the Penguins in the playoffs for the first time in five post-season meetings. The first four series werent close. This one didnt appear to be either until the Rangers rallied behind St. Louis. The veteran forward, acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay, lost his mother suddenly last week. He raced home to Montreal to be with his family only to return for Game 5. New York responded with a 5-1 win that signalled a sea change in the series. The Rangers controlled Game 6 -- with St. Louis scoring the first goal on Mothers Day -- and Game 7 was more of the same. NOTES: Pittsburghs power play, which tied with Washington for tops in the league in the regular season, finished the series 1 for 20. ... The Rangers are 8-1 in their past eight Game 7s. ... Richards remained unbeaten (7-0) in Game 7s in his career. Custom Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . -- The Val-dOr Foreurs made it to the Memorial Cup semifinal thanks to their workhorse goaltender and their ability to hang around like a bad cold. Ryquell Armstead Youth Jersey . Anything less than gold for either nation is considered a disappointment. Yet for Switzerland, advancing to the semifinal might be a victory in itself. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspr...jaguars-jersey/. Pillar is batting .305 with 17 extra-base hits, 19 RBI and five stolen bases in 34 games for Buffalo this season. The right-handed hitter had an International League high, 18-game hitting streak this season and currently owns an IL high 26-game on base streak. Jalen Ramsey Jaguars Jersey . -- Slugger Jose Abreu, All-Star left-hander Chris Sale and closer Matt Lindstrom are on the disabled list. Telvin Smith Womens Jersey . New York Red Bulls. TSN primes Vancouver fans for the start of the 2014 season with MLS on TSN: Season Preview Special airing tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN2 (encore Friday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt on TSN2).With New York City FC and Orlando City joining Major League Soccer next year, the league will hold an Expansion Draft next Wednesday (December 10). Clubs are currently preparing to submit their player lists to league office – they are allowed to protect eleven players and could lose two. Here is a link to the full rules for the Expansion Draft. --- http://pressbox.mlssoccer.com/content/20...ion-draft-rules For MLS coaches, the next few days will be a guessing game as they take into account which pieces of their squad would be valued by New York and Orlando, but also being aware of the potential trade value of any players that are left exposed. Vancouver Whitecaps have built a squad that includes plenty of depth, and that makes them vulnerable to losing a player or two, as it is impossible to protect all of the players who played an important role for the club in making the playoffs last season. So lets throw a dart at the board and see how close we can get to the bullseye. Here are my predictions: Protected: Steven Beitasour, Sebastian Fernandez, Jordan Harvey, Erik Hurtado, Gershon Koffie, Matias Laba, Kekuta Manneh, Darren Mattocks, Pedro Morales, David Ousted, Kendall Waston Unprotected: Mehdi Ballouchy, Mamado Diouf, Johnny Leveron, Andre Lewis, Nicolas Mezquida, Andy OBrien, Mauro Rosales, Omar Salgado and Paolo Tornaghi The Whitecaps Homegrown Players do not need to be protected, so Sam Adekugbe, Marco Carducci, Caleb Clarke, Kianz Froese, Ethen Sampson and Russell Teibert are all automatically safe, as is Christian Dean, who is protected because he is on a Generation Adidas contract. Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson knows the whole process is a calculated risk: Youve just got to protect your players and the rest will take care of itself, said Robinson recently. And that is the key to this process. There is little margin for error, so the Whitecaps will have to ensure they protect the players they most want to keep, and not get into the game of wondering whether or not clubs would be interested in some of their key men due to other factors. We have seen in the past, clubs leave players unprotected because they believe a players high salary would make him undesirable and that has backfired on a few occasions. For example, earlier in the year, there was debate as to whether the Whitecaps would need to protect goalkeeper David Ousted as he is one of the most expensive shot-stoppers in the league, and takes up an international spot. But Ousteds performances towards the end of the season mean the Whitecaps cannot afford to lose him, so he must be protected. The majority of the players on my predicted protected list are easy decisions to make. Even with a player like Darren Mattocks – who likely will be traded in the New Year – it is necessary to protect him because of his value in the league. The Whitecaps will be able to receive something sizeable inn return for the Jamaican striker rather than lose him in the Expansion Draft.dddddddddddd The only slot I debated was whether to protect Sebastian Fernandez or Mauro Rosales. The Whitecaps would love to keep the veteran Rosales with the club next year, but it would need to be on much less money than last year. I believe Rosales could be more valuable than Fernandez next season, but the Uruguayan youngster has more upside in the long term. With both players, there are factors that would make the expansion clubs think twice about using one of their picks. Fernandez return to MLS hasnt yet been confirmed following his loan from Boston River last season, although both the Whitecaps and the player are hopeful of keeping him in Vancouver. As for Rosales, he could just decide to return to his native Argentina – if that happens, New York or Orlando would have wasted a pick. The same could be said for veteran defender Andy OBrien, who would be provide depth and veteran leadership to either of the leagues newcomers but is out of contract. I dont believe OBrien would be interested in the upheaval of moving to another club. He wants to stay in Vancouver, but if that isnt possible, he may just return to the UK. So of the players left unprotected, who are the Whitecaps most likely to lose? Mehdi Ballouchy would be top of my list. He has a wealth of MLS experience and would be a great player to have within an expansion squad. He is quality on the ball and can be a good influence on games in the midfield as he showed for the Caps last year off the bench. Honduran international Johnny Leveron has shown his ability and composure in the centre of defence but Im not sure whether either team would view him as the starting central defender that he wants to be. Even in Vancouver, it is unlikely Leveron will be the first choice to partner Kendall Waston in defence next year. Omar Salgado would be an interesting reclamation project should either NYCFCs Jason Kreis or Orlandos Adrian Heath believe they can get the unproven and unpredictable former top pick back on the right track after a controversial end to his time with the Caps. Of the players on my unprotected list, in my opinion, Nicolas Mezquida would be the biggest loss. Carl Robinson has often talked about Mezquidas qualities and ability but we have only seen limited glimpses of the young Uruguayan due to the fact he is an understudy for MLS Newcomer of the Year Pedro Morales. But its clear Robinson believes Mezquida will have a big role to play moving forward, and with the Whitecaps also in the CONCACAF Champions League next season, he could see his playing time increase dramatically. There is a strong chance Carl Robinson will lose one of his players on Wednesday. Thats the price to pay for a job well done in building a squad that has many valuable assets, even outside the players who are considered regular starters. ' ' '