WASHINGTON -- With newly signed Evgeny Kuznetsov looking on, the Washington Capitals did their best to entertain their new teammate. [url=http://www.thecanuckshockeystore.com/Canucks-Jacob-Markstrom-Adidas -Jersey/]Jacob Markstrom Jersey[/url] . Troy Brouwer scored a power-play goal off a rebound to c

WASHINGTON -- With newly signed Evgeny Kuznetsov looking on, the Washington Capitals did their best to entertain their new teammate. Jacob Markstrom Jersey . Troy Brouwer scored a power-play goal off a rebound to cap a rally from a two-goal deficit in the third period as the Capitals beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 on Saturday night. After failing to score in the first 49 minutes against Mike Smith (30 saves), Washington tallied three times in a span of 5 minutes, 2 seconds. Karl Alzner started the surge with a goal at the 9:45 mark. Just 32 seconds later, Brooks Laich tied it on a feed from Jason Chimera. When Washington got just its second power-play opportunity of the night, David Moss tripping Dmitry Orlov, the Capitals cashed in. Smith failed to control a slap shot by Nicklas Backstrom and it rebounded to Brouwer who scored his seventh goal in his last eight games. The win snapped Washingtons three-game losing streak. The Capitals remained in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, one point behind Columbus and Detroit, who are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot. "We know that were at a point where our season is on the line every single game," Brouwer said. "That should be enough motivation in here and it was tonight." It was a successful Washington debut for goalie Jaroslav Halak, who made 31 saves. Halak was acquired from Buffalo in a deadline deal on Wednesday. "It was really weird, wearing that jersey, looking down, seeing the red colour," Halak said. "The first half of the game, I was really nervous. I wanted to obviously leave a good impression on fans on my teammates and everybody in the organization." The victory ended an eventful night for the Capitals. Less than two hours before the game, Washington signed 2010 first-round draft choice Kuznetsov, ending a long pursuit of the 21-year-old forward, who has played the last four years in Russias Kontinental Hockey League. He could make his NHL debut Monday night when the Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins. "He doesnt know this hockey and we dont want to put him in a situation that he cant handle right now," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "But in saying that, if we can spot him in the lineup it could be a nice spark for us. Hes a very talented man." Brandon McMillan and Radim Vrbata scored for Phoenix, with Keith Yandle assisting on both. "It seemed like we stopped playing the way we played in the first and the second," Vrbata said. "When you have a 2-0 lead going into the third, you have to find a way to win, and we didnt." The Coyotes took the lead with 62 seconds left in the first period when Washington lost the puck in the neutral zone as it began a transition play. McMillan turned the mistake into a breakaway goal, his first in the NHL since scoring in the 2011 playoffs for Anaheim. It might have been the second goal for McMillan. Midway through the period, he appeared to score off a rebound. But officials ruled that McMillan simultaneously pushed the puck and Halaks pad across the goal line. In the second period, Phoenix made it 2-0 as Vrbata redirected a shot from the point by Michael Stone. After losing 3-0 on Thursday at Boston, Washington appeared destined for a second straight shutout until Alzner scored from deep as Yandle appeared to screen the view of Smith -- starting the big comeback. It was just the second goal this season for the defenceman. "Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was me who scored it and not a guy who normally scores, but people seemed really up after that," Alzner said. "It was the perfect momentum swing and the perfect line to come out right after that. It was a perfect storm for us." Notes: Phoenix forward Martin Erat was booed many times when he touched the puck. Erat was dealt by Washington this week after scoring one goal for the team. In November, Erat asked to be traded, complaining about a lack of playing time. Christopher Tanev Jersey . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. Pavel Bure Jersey . -- Byron Scott is taking over the Los Angeles Lakers with the vocal support of his fellow Showtime greats. http://www.thecanuckshockeystore.com/Canucks-Ben-Hutton-Adidas-Jersey/ . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival.TSN Baseball Analyst Steve Phillips answers several questions surrounding the game each week. This weeks topics include comparing Bryce Harpers playoff record to Mickey Mantles, the more intriguing LCS matchup, Kershaws playoff struggles and Mattinglys job security. 1) The Division Series saw some dubious stats comparisons: Bryce Harper tied Mickey Mantle (amongst others) for all-time post-season home runs before the age of 22 (with four) and Nelson Cruz passed Babe Ruth for all-time post-season home runs (16). Do these records mean much, given that the records being broken are from players whose only post-season games were in the World Series? Make no mistake about it: Bryce Harper hitting four homers before the age of 22 and Nelson Cruzs 16 career post-season homers are special accomplishments. It is amazing. Stats tell a story about patterns of behavior/performance. They only have meaning, though, in comparison to something else. The reality is that the sheer number of homers doesnt tell the whole story. The number of games played and at bats matter. The post season is different now than it used to be. We have more rounds now, which give todays players more opportunities to accumulate stats. Bryce Harper is not Mickey Mantle but any player earning four post-season homers before the age of 22 is special no matter how many games it takes to get them. By the way, it took Mantle 59 at-bats for his homers and took Harper just 40. Nelson Cruz has hit his 16 homers in 138 plate appearances, while Ruths 15 homers came in 129 at bats. Many people look at baseball today and say that the talent is diluted compared to the eras in which Ruth and Mantle played. Expansion has spread the talent across more teams. They believe that todays numbers are fortified by lesser competition. That is not necessarily true. Remember Ruth played in the era of segregation, when the best African American and minority players werent allowed in the major leagues. Therefore, his performance was enhanced by lesser competition too. Other factors to consider today are that stadiums are more hitter friendly and the pitchers mound was lowered in the early 70s to provide another advantage for todays hitters. Dont forget that Cruz was found to have used PEDs in his career. I dont know for sure when or for how long he did, but I assume the effects of the drugs may have helped him for some number of his homers. The bottom line is that whether you played in the 1920s or 1960s or in the 2010s, hitting post-season homers should be celebrated. For the record I will take Ruth and Mantle over Harper and Cruz on my team. 2. The LCS match-ups could not be in greater contrast. In the American League, the Orioles and Royals meet with a combined World Series drought of 60 years. In the National its the Cardinals and Giants, who now have seven combined NLCS appearances between them over the past five seasons, including a previous head-to-head match-up in 2012. How will these match-ups stack up against one another in terms of entertainment value? I believe there will be more interest in the National League Championship Series than the American League Series. Fans like name recognition and brand recognition. That is what garners more interest than anything. Pitching matchups also pique fans interest and the Madison Baumgarner vs. Adam Wainwright matchup will be phenomenal. I cant wait to watch it. The ALCS will be interesting for those that watch it but the casual fan might not take the time to sit and view. James Shields vs. Chris Tillman doesnt stimulate the senses quite like the names in the NLCS. I think both series will be interesting and exciting. The Giants and the Cardinals are pretty evenly matched. The Cards have a slight edge in starting pitching because I prefer Adam Wainwright over Madison Baumgarner in the head-to-head match-up of aces. The bullpens are comparable, although I like the strikeout ability of closer Trevor Rosenthal of the Cards over the contact style of Giants closer Santiago Casilla. Offensively, neither team possesses great power but the Cards have better overall lineup. Giants manager Bruce Bochy is the best in the game today and has an edge over the Cards Mike Matheny despite his early success at the helm. Im picking the Cards to win the Series in seven games. The Royals and Orioles starting rotations are pretty comparable. I give the edge to Kansas City because they are led by Big Game James Shields. Shields has previous playoff experience with the Tampa Bay Rays, which will prove helpful in this series. The bullpens are both very good, but again I give the advantage to the Royals even if set-up man Kelvin Herrera is hurting. Defensively the Royals have been playing out of their minds this post-season. Their outfielders have run down just about everything the opposition has hit in the air that hasnt gone over the walls, advantage Royals. The Orioles offence is far superior to the Royals. They have much more power and quick-strike production. Although the Royals hit several homers in the ALDS, they are by far more of a manufacturing offense than a power club. The Royals have great speed on the bases and that will be a challenge for the Orioles, yet having to lump multiple hits together for a single run could be a problem for the Royals. Oppositely, the Orioles are often in scoring position when they are standing at home plate with their power. The differential between the two offenses is more substantial than the Royals advantage in pitching and defence. Add the five-day layoff after the ALDS that hurts the Royals more than the Orioles, and Ill pick the Orioles to win the series in six games. I believe the ratings for the NLCS will be better than the ALCS. I just ask that fans give the AL series a chance. I think you could really like the type of game the Royals and Orioles play. Plus, the fans in these two cities are rabid right now, they are desperate for a pennant. That always makes the games more interesting. 3. The Dodgers got bounced in four games by the Cardinals, despite getting two starts in the series from ace Clayton Kershaw. Todd Bertuzzi Jersey. Did Kershaw choke? If not, who should be held accountable for the loss after a 94-win regular season? For the record, I hate the word choke. Sometimes players get the job done and sometimes they dont. The same player may get the job done in a critical situation one time and not the next time. That doesnt mean he choked. Clayton Kershaw threw six innings of one-run baseball in Game 1 before things blew up in the 7th inning. Does that mean Kershaw choked? Not for me. He pitched great for six innings and then choked? No! So what happened in the 7th inning? Baseball happened! Rather than criticizing Clayton Kershaw credit the Cardinals for taking advantage of the situation. They made him pay for his mistakes. They found holes and they put up eight runs before you can say Red Schoendist. In Game 4 Kershaw threw six shout out innings before getting tagged with a three-run homer by Matt Adams. Kershaw made very few mistakes in that game despite pitching on three days rest. He unfortunately hung a curve ball and Adams hit it out of the park. Since it went out of the park Kershaw choked? No way. That ball could have easily been a line drive right at some one for an out. It could have been caught at the wall or hit off the wall and the game could have been dramatically different. No one is to blame. Just give credit to Matt Adams. Clayton Kershaw does not have great post-season numbers does that make him a choker? The same is always said about Peyton Manning in football. He has all the MVP awards from great regular seasons but only one Super Bowl championship. They call him a choker. For the longest time Barry Bonds was called a choker because of poor post-season performance. That is until he finally hit in the post-season. Alex Rodriguez was the same way. Forever he was ripped in New York for being a poor post-season hitter until he hit in the post-season. Give me the player who continuously gets me to the post season and sooner or later he will perform then. Talent always finds a way. Give me Peyton Manning over Eli Manning everyday of the week. Doug Fister of the Nationals has pitched in three elimination games for in his career and his teams have won all three with him getting two of the wins. Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in five post-season starts, while Clayton Kershaw is 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA in his career. I will take Kershaw over both of them without hesitation. If I could draft one pitcher today to start Game 1 for my team in the 2015 playoffs I would choose Clayton Kershaw. Give me the best player with the most talent and I will take my chances. The Dodgers lost to the Cardinals because their team got outpitched and outhit. Sure Kershaw has a share in that but they would never have been in that position without him. He can pitch for my team anytime. 4) After the Cardinals defeated the Dodgers on Tuesday night to advance to the NLCS you would have thought that it was an upset the likes of Appalachian State beating Michigan or the 1980 US Mens Hockey team defeating the Soviets. There was slight acknowledgment of the Cardinals great play but mostly everyone wanted to crush the Dodgers for the loss. Specifically, fans and media are screaming for Don Mattingly to lose his job. The argument is that since the Dodgers had the highest payroll in the game, the season is a failure if they dont win the World Series. In fact, the Dodgers had somehow assumed the expectations of the Yankees. Heads must roll if the Dodgers didnt win the World Series. I mean, really, what was Mattingly thinking pitching Clayton Kershaw (21-3 1.77 ERA), the best starter in baseball? How did Mattingly not know that his ace, who will win both the NL Cy Young Award and MVP, would lose two games in the series? How dare he bench Yasiel Puig in Game 4 after he had struck out in eight of his last nine at-bats? The Twitter-sphere was abuzz with criticism of Mattingly for pinch running with Puig in the ninth inning while pinch-hitting Justin Turner. Why wouldnt he have batted Puig and run Turner instead? Why did Mattingly opt not to pinch-hit Puig who had a measly four homers and 17 RBI after the All Star break? What is so impressive about Turners .419 batting average with runners in scoring position? People couldnt believe Mattingly could have been so stupid. The fact is that the Dodgers lost to a very good team in the Cardinals. There is no shame in losing to them. The Dodgers won the NL West title for the second straight season. Under Mattinglys leadership they have gone from 82 wins in 2011 to 86 wins to 92 in 2013 and 94 this year. They advanced to the NLCS last season where they lost to the Cardinals. This season the Cards got them in the NLDS. How can this be looked at as failure? This Dodgers team was a tough one to manage. Just because a team has the highest payroll doesnt mean that it is as easy as just rolling the bats and balls on the field and writing a line-up. It takes work. Mattingly earned his money. It started the season with having four everyday outfielders for three positions. The call-up of two young outfielders made the juggling of playing-time even more difficult. Yasiel Puig is a handful who lives recklessly and plays recklessly. He made the most outs on the bases and he ran until he was tagged out at times. Puig has a bit of an attitude that at times rubbed his teammates the wrong way; there were several issues between Puig and his teammates this season. Hanley Ramirez can be a bit moody too. I understand that the Dodgers had the largest payroll in baseball, but the notion that it is a failed season if they dont win a World Series is absurd. Its arrogant. There are plenty of other good teams in baseball too. Remember it is not always the best team that wins but the team that plays the best. Don Mattingly did a good job this year and any thought of his termination is crazy. Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '