by ldh2013 » Mon Jun 06, 2016 8:45 am
ANAHEIM, Calif. . -- With the Anaheim Ducks bearing down on him all night, Jaroslav Halak couldnt relax for even a moment in front of the Washington Capitals net until the horn sounded on another victory. None of the Caps can afford to take many more breathers if they hope to make it back to the post-season. Alex Ovechkin scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Capitals kept up their playoff push with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night. Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer also scored for the Capitals, who have won three straight to pull into an eighth-place tie with Columbus for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They barely held off the Ducks, who threw 45 shots at Halak and pressed right up to the final seconds. "We cant worry about anything else thats going to happen except for our games," said Halak, who made 43 saves in his sixth consecutive start. "Right now, two points are all huge, any way we can get them." The Caps havent trailed during their winning streak. But even after Ovechkin scored his 46th goal early in a power play, they were in a nail-biter against Anaheim. "That was a huge game," Ovechkin said. "We prepared for it, and we were ready for it. We played one of the best teams in the league." Ovechkins goal was just the second in seven games for last seasons NHL MVP, but the Capitals need every goal and victory possible on their three-game California road trip. The Blue Jackets and Detroit, one point back in ninth place, both have two games in hand on Washington. Ben Lovejoy and Mathieu Perreault scored for the Ducks, who have lost four straight home games while falling out of first place in the overall NHL standings. Anaheim is still near the top of the Western Conference playoff race, but San Jose has caught the Ducks atop the Pacific Division standings. The teams meet Thursday at the Shark Tank. Jonas Hiller stopped 27 shots, but the Ducks have lost to the Capitals in each of their last four visits to Honda Center. "I think we had a lot of looks and were shooting the puck, but we werent getting to any loose pucks," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You can make a million and one excuses, but were just not getting the job done." Washington hadnt visited Honda Center since Feb. 16, 2011, nine months before the Capitals fired Boudreau, who was hired by Anaheim two days later. "This was a big one for Bruce, and we all knew it," Lovejoy said. "I think we came out with a lot of passion. When were skating and playing tough hockey, we get our forecheck going, and we had that going tonight. We just werent able to put more than two in the net." Ward got his 21st goal on a fat rebound just 2:11 in, scoring in his third consecutive game. Lovejoy tied it 59 seconds later on an unobstructed slap shot set up by a terrible Washington line change. Brouwer scored on a power play in the final seconds of the first period for the Caps, getting his third goal in two games off another rebound. Anaheim generated nothing from a two-man advantage for 1:51 early in the second period, adding to the power-play woes of an otherwise powerful offensive club. The Ducks entered the game in a 2-for-42 slump in their previous 13 games, and they went scoreless in their first four chances against Washington. "At the end, it came down to the fact that our special teams werent special," Lovejoy said. Perreault, the former Capitals centre, put a wrist shot past Halak, who was thoroughly screened by Patrick Maroon, to tie it right after a power play expired early in the third period. But just 1:12 later, Nicklas Backstrom won a faceoff and John Carlson got the puck to Ovechkin, who put a typically vicious one-timer past Hiller. Stephane Robidas played more than 13 minutes in his debut for the Ducks, who acquired the veteran defenceman from Dallas two weeks ago for the playoff push. Robidas filled in for Cam Fowler, who missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. "It wasnt my best, but the first one is out of the way now," Robidas said. NOTES: Dustin Penner returned to Honda Center for the first time since Anaheim traded him to Washington on March 4. Penner had 13 goals and 19 assists in 49 games this season in his second stint with the Ducks, but was a frequent healthy scratch. ... Halak was in Anaheim with the Blues on Feb. 28 when he was traded to Buffalo, forcing him to leave Honda Center early while St. Louis faced the Ducks with a locker room attendant as their backup goalie. ... Boudreau won his first game against his former team when the Ducks beat the Capitals 3-2 on Dec. 23. . -- Michael Brantley gets to head home celebrating a game-winning hit instead of dwelling on a rare error. .C. -- Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B. . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3.TORONTO - After letting Dwane Caseys strong words marinate for roughly 48 hours, the Raptors took their coachs challenge to heart upon a return to home court Sunday evening. Despite a favourable final result in Fridays unimpressive win over the 76ers varsity squad in Philadelphia, Casey was irate with his teams effort, focus and sense of urgency, particularly right out of the gate. They had no such issue holding off a tougher opponent in the streaking Pistons two days later. This is the NBA and all of us are professionals, the Raptors coach said after his teams 114-110 victory over Detroit. Players know when they don’t give it to you or they’re not in tune or locked in and playing the game the right way. They know it. Every now and then you have to remind them but most of the time they know it. They’re smart people and you’ve been around us long enough to know they know it. I thought today they responded to the last game. The Raptors had fallen behind by 15 before scoring a point in Philadelphia but jumped out on the Pistons, leading by nine early, extending their advantage to five at the half and gaining some separation to begin the third quarter. Uncharacteristically, they had been held under 100 points in five straight games for the first time this season but on this night they looked like the team of old, the one that put up conference-best offensive numbers for most of the campaigns opening months. Thats how weve got to play, said DeMar DeRozan, who also enjoyed a bounce-back outing, scoring 25 points, more than double his total from the previous three games combined. When we play together like that and get everybody going were tough to beat. Thats how we played last year. DeRozan, playing in his seventh game back from injury, matched his highest scoring total since returning earlier this month. His 10 free-throw attempts were a pretty good indication that hes starting to feel like himself again - he had taken just three in three games previously. I almost forgot how I used to get to the free throw line, he joked. But it felt good. I just wanted to go out there and be aggressive. With a sporadic practice schedule since his return, DeRozan said he spent time in the gym the previous night to get some work in, hoping to get back in rhythm. Whether it was Caseys post-game rant from Friday or that accountability the coach referenced after Sundays win, DeRozan and his teammates - at least for one night - seemed fully committed to getting back on track. I call it coaching, Casey said, responding to a question about his perceived frustration a couple nights earlier. We get all upset, I get upset one time and everybody’s like ‘he’s frustrated, he lost his cool.’ No. That’s me every day, most of the time. Although the defence remains a concern, DeRozan shot 53 per cent from the field, attempted 29 free throws and eclipsed the 20-assist plateau - recording 23 - for the first time in five contests. Six Raptors scored in double figures, including Kyle Lowry - with 11 - who led the team with eight assists. Amir plays through pain With Amir Johnson listed as questionable, nursing a lingering shhoulder injury, there was some speculation the Raptors may opt to sit him out for a night or two to get him some rest. . Of course, it was no surprise to see Torontos iron man back at work on Sunday, in uniform and ready to play through pain, as per usual. He was fine, Casey said of Johnson, who had a solid outing, scoring 17 points and missing just two of his nine shots in 28 minutes of action. From my understanding it’s been there for a while and it was always going to be a situation where he could aggravate it at any time. He’s a walking wounded but Amir’s a warrior and he came in and gave us a great presence inside, 17 points and two big free throws there down the stretch. Johnsons shoulder has been bothering him for most of the season, already wearing a protective pad over it when it became increasingly sore in Fridays game. He was limited to just 16 minutes that night, coming off the bench to start the second half as Patrick Patterson took his place with the first unit. Life without Jennings After turning around their season with the surprising release of Josh Smith just before Christmas, the Pistons worst fears were confirmed ahead of Sundays game. Brandon Jennings, their starting point guard who crumpled to the court with a non-contact leg injury in Saturdays loss to Milwaukee, will miss the rest of the campaign due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. I know he was pretty down last night, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. The guy absolutely loves playing basketball, probably as much as anybody I have been around. He plays all summer. He loves being in the gym and on top of that he was having the best year of his career, particularly lately. The sixth-year guard had been at the head of Detroits resurgent, playing the best basketball of his career. Jennings was scoring an average of 19.8, more than a seven-point increase, since Smith was waived on Dec. 22, leading the Pistons to a 12-5 record after they started the season 5-23. It’s really tough, Van Gundy continued. It’s tough for us but it’s even tougher for him. I feel real bad for him because he was playing so well and to have it end when he was on such a run is really unfortunate. Its very unfortunate for a young man who was playing great, playing the right way, fitting into Coach Van Gundys system, Casey said. You hate to see any player go down like that, especially a guy thats turning his team around. Jennings was also the main culprit in Detroits 114-111 win in Toronto earlier this month, scoring 20 of his 34 in the final 24 minutes as the Pistons came back from a 12-point halftime deficit. The 25-year-old had the game-winning steal that night, knocking the ball away from Lowry in the dying seconds. Former Raptor D.J. Augustin, who was cut by Toronto after a brief and underwhelming stint early last season, will start in place of Jennings for the time being as Van Gundy and the Pistons seek additional help, looking to add a third point guard. At least for one night the transition was seamless. Augustin logged 37 minutes and poured in a career-best 35 points to go along with eight assists against his old club. ' ' '
