Hallensaison 2011/12 » The football world moves

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Marc-Andre Fleury skated to centre ice, eager to add an exclamation point to his 28th victory of the season. The Pittsburgh goaltender was cut off, though, by referee Kyle Rehman before he could reach Montreal counterpart Peter Budaj. All Fleury could do was shrug his shoulders as Rehman guided him out of harms way. "Oh well," Fleury said with a laugh. It was the only thing that didnt go Fleurys way on a night the Penguins restored order to their universe. Fleury stopped 23 shots, Jussi Jokinen picked up two goals and Pittsburgh dominated the Canadiens 5-1. Evgeni Malkin added a goal and an assist, Sidney Crosby picked up his 26th of the season and Taylor Pyatt added a rare score as the Penguins rebounded from a dismal performance against lowly Florida on Monday by overwhelming Montreal. "We definitely buckled down, especially defensively," Crosby said. "Didnt give them a ton and when we did (Fleury) made some great saves and we generated some good chances and capitalized on them. It was a good game to respond." The Panthers snapped Pittsburghs club-record 13-game home winning streak by outclassing the Eastern Conference leaders on both ends of the ice to send the Penguins to their worst home defeat in more than two years. Coach Dan Bylsma called it the byproduct of a steady decline in play over the last three weeks and the rustiness that comes with the return of regulars like James Neal and Paul Martin to the lineup. Whatever the problems were, they disappeared 48 hours later. The Penguins were crisp in the neutral zone, responsible on defence and efficient on offence. They didnt pepper Price so much as they surgically picked him apart. All five goals were either the byproduct of deft passing or nifty stickwork. Rene Bourque had his seventh goal for the Canadiens but Montreal spent most of the night fruitlessly chasing the Penguins. Carey Price stopped just 16 of 21 shots before being pulled late in the second period as the Canadians fell for the fourth time in six games. "Pittsburgh is the best team in the conference, and they were the best team tonight," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "They played hard and they deserved success." Jokinen, who tends to score in bunches, gave the Penguins the early lead after being on the receiving end of a bit of brilliance by Malkin. The Russian star took a pass from Matt Niskanen then darted around a flat-footed Montreal defender before feeding Jokinen with a centring pass that Jokinen easily slid by a diving Price 8:48 into the game. "You cant let Malkin carry the puck like that up the ice," Bourque said. "It looked like he was playing a video game out there every time he went around us." Pyatt doubled Pittsburghs advantage later in the period, deflecting a Niskanen slapshot from the point to make it 2-0. After failing to score in his first 27 games this season — 22 with the New York Rangers and five with the Penguins — Pyatt has found the back of the net twice in three games. Bourque briefly gave the Canadiens a lift by chipping the puck by Fleury late in the first, his seventh goal of the season coming via replay after his shot was initially waved off by officials. The momentum shift didnt last. Jokinen fired a knuckling one-timer by Price 5:46 into the second period to restore Pittsburghs two-goal lead and Crosby pushed his point total to an NHL-high 69 by redirecting a pass from Chris Kunitz that made it 4-1. Malkin ended Prices night by swooping in from the right circle and putting in his own rebound. Price skated to the bench after being chased for the second time this season in favour of Budaj, who stopped all 10 shots he faced. The saves will be long forgotten. The way Budaj nodded across the rink to Fleury to start a fight that never quite happened wont, though Budaj insisted it was nothing personal. "I think there was just a scrum on the ice and there was built-up tension - you know, we were losing 5-1," Budaj said. "It was a disappointing night for us. So props to him that he wanted to do it. Thats good." NOTES: All six of Pittsburghs defencemen had at least one assist. ... Penguins G Tomas Vokoun skated for about 45 minutes on his own Wednesday morning, the first tentative steps in his return from blood clots in his pelvis. The 37-year-old Vokoun was taken off blood thinners recently though it remains unclear when Vokoun will be cleared to practice. ... Montreal scratched F George Parros and D Raphael Diaz and Alexei Emelin. ... Pittsburgh scratched F Zach Sill and D Robert Bortuzzo. ... Pittsburgh plays at the New York Islanders on Thursday while the Canadiens play at Detroit on Friday. Fake Air Max 90 . The 25-year-old McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, was eligible to play for either Ireland or Team GB when golf makes its return to the Olympics in Brazil for the first time since 1904. Air Force 1 Wholesale China . Stiverne stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round Saturday night, claiming the WBC heavyweight title belt vacated by Vitali Klitschko. http://www.fakejordancheap.com/wholesale...mour-china.html. The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Fake Vapormax Plus . After missing 20 games as a rookie a year ago, Valanciunas - like the Raptors as a whole - has been fortunate to be in good health this season. As he spoke about it, the Raptors sophomore centre scanned the room for wood to knock on. "It is disappointing because we lost today so thats the worst part of the day," said Valanciunas, who left Tuesdays game with a lower-back sprain in the third quarter, missing the rest of Torontos 118-113 overtime defeat at the hands of the Hawks. Fake Yeezy 700 China . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand.TORONTO - It speaks volumes about Toronto FC that after a lengthy presentation to local media about the teams vision, the questions afterwards focused almost entirely on the immediate status of Jermain Defoe.No matter what general manager Tim Bezbatchenko and coach Greg Vanney do to right the ship down the line, the future is now for TFC.Eight losing seasons, nine managers and several other tattered visions have taken a toll. Talk is cheap when your franchise record is 62-120-74.The official line on Defoe? Hes coming back but well listen to offers.On Thursday, Bezbatchenko and Vanney laid out their plans for the future along with Jim Liston, the MLS clubs director of sports science and Michael Rabasca, director of cognitive development.It was an impressive show.Toronto measures everything from shoe size to heart rate as players progress through the ranks. The club has 23 principles on the field — 13 attacking and 10 defensive — that will be taught from the under-10 side team to the first team. Players are tracked on eight traits: motor general, motor specific, emotion, cognitive, life, psyche, social and personality. Practices are planned to test players ability to solve problems and react to situations on the field. Apparently even grit can be measured.Players are given daily schedules and tasks tailored to their needs, logging in by computer.A new USL feeder club is in the works to help bridge the gap between the first team and the senior academy side.Everything is up for consideration. It was noted that famed Dutch club Ajax has its youngsters learn martial arts as part of their physical education. Toronto has introduced gymnastics to its under-12, -13 and -14 players to help with their balance and co-ordination.Brain power can be improved too. Rabasca, whose career has involved both coaching soccer and occupational therapy for traumatic brain injuries among other issues, believes that TFC is on the cutting edge when it comes to the cognitive development side.For Vanney, whose brain is clearly firing on all cylinders, its all about helping players process whats going around them on the field.The former defender, who played both in MLS and France, believes that North American players have the physical tools to play at the highest level anywhere You add in the cognitive, the ability to read the game, the ability to do that in a timely manner at the proper speed, to have the solution, to have all of that sorted out prior to receiving the ball, thats where I think we fail. Thats where I think we are short. The presentation over, it wass all about Defoe in the question-and-answer session.dddddddddddd.The player has never indicated that he doesnt want to be here, said Bezbatchenko. Hes a professional soccer player and hes committed to being (on) whatever team hes on.I think theres a community around him that maybe has indicated in various ways that they could be here or elsewhere, but from him no.Is it any wonder that Defoes future with the club has continued to be an issue?Bezbatchenko says the 32-year-old Defoe is recovering from groin surgery, is back running on the field and is in regular contact with club staff.But the GM also says that the team has contingency plans, in case Defoe or anyone else leaves.We have names, we are actively vetting those names, watching films on those names, speaking to clubs about names on that list.If someone comes and there is an offer, well consider it, he added.Defoes future has been the source of speculation since Toronto turned down a club-record transfer bid at the end of the summer transfer window. The next transfer window opens in January.Vanney, once again the voice of reason, saw two different Defoes last season.At the beginning, there was a striker who was sharp, healthy and scoring goals.He was that guy around the building and also on the field, said Vanney.Then Defoe was left off Englands World Cup squad and was plagued by a nagging injury — hes not necessarily in the same place that he was at the beginning.Defoe then left for treatment in England.The question is which Defoe comes back. Vanney says the first indication from the player is positive, that he wants to get healthy so he can perform.We like that guy, said Vanney. That guy can make a difference in this league. And the guys like him in the locker-room.Bottom line? A fit, healthy and motivated Defoe is a huge asset — for someone.Well see where it all falls out in the end, said Vanney. I feel very confident that if he shows up, we have a plan for him. If he doesnt show up, well have another plan that were very comfortable with.So we will stay on our toes on that. The football world moves very fast on any given moment so well be prepared.To Vanneys and Bezbatchenkos credit, they are thinking long-term, well beyond Defoe.As Vanney noted, when he walks through the door the final time he wants to leave a legacy for the franchise and Canadian soccer — something that was largely lacking in the past.If people leave and you have to start back from scratch, its very hard to get anywhere, he said.As Toronto FC fans know well.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter ' ' '