Dein erstes Forum » it. If respect is earned in the postseason

SUNRISE, Fla. -- A timely save by Alex Stalock helped turned the momentum to the Sharks favour. Joe Pavelski, Matt Nieto and Joe Thornton scored and Stalock made 24 saves for his first career shutout and the San Jose Sharks topped the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Thursday night. Leading 1-0, the Sharks scored two goals in the third period, the first one following a great save by Stalock. Scottie Upshall took a shot from in front but Stalock stuck his leg out to barely block it. The Sharks took the puck quickly back the other way and Tyler Kennedy took a shot from the right side of the crease. Tim Thomas stretched to block it, but Nieto was there to sweep in the rebound at 4:44. "I ended up getting there and sometimes that happens where you make a big save on one end and right away on the other you get a chance like that," Stalock said. "We capitalized and that was a big turning point." Upshall thought he had a great chance at a goal. "I pretty much had the whole net to shoot at and he got his leg on it," Upshall said. "It could have been a game-tying play. Unfortunately, it went the other way." Stalock recorded his first shutout in 14 NHL games. "A win is a win on the road, but the first shutout is pretty special, something to remember," Stalock said. Stalock played his 11th game of the season to give starting goalie Antti Niemi a rest and made the most of his opportunity. "The goaltender was fine. A big save at 1-0, then back the other way for 2. Well take it," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. Thomas made 36 saves for the Panthers. The Sharks, who defeated Washington 2-1 on Tuesday, won consecutive road games for the first time since taking three straight Nov. 12-15. They beat the Panthers for the first time in five games, dating to the 2008-09 season. The Sharks stretched their lead to 3-0 when Pavelski poked a rebound into the net at 11:46 of the third. Pavelski leads the Sharks with 22 goals and has 13 points in his past 13 games. San Jose took a 1-0 lead in the second on Thorntons breakaway goal. Thornton got a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated in on Thomas and put the puck over Thomass glove with 51 seconds left in the period. Thornton has 15 points in his past 13 games. "I dont know the last time I had a breakaway," Thornton said. "I wanted to float one in and see if I could catch him off guard and I did." Thomas stopped 21 shots in the first period, the most in a period against the Panthers since they allowed 21 against Ottawa on Dec. 3, also in the first period. "Obviously not happy that they were taking it to us pretty hard and they were the team that was ready to play and we werent," Thomas said. "Theyre a good team. They looked like a very good team against us tonight." The Sharks have been the best first-period team in the league with 52 goals, but Thomas was able to keep them out of the net. The Sharks had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:29 in the first, but the Panthers were able to kill off the penalty. The Panthers havent allowed a power-play goal in seven games. The Panthers are 0-for-25 on the power play over the past eight games. NOTES: Thornton leads the Sharks with 51 points. ... The Panthers havent played the Sharks since a 5-3 win on Dec. 3, 2011. Kansas City Royals Store . There are practical ideas, like this Chewbaca inspired Star Wars jerseys. Star Wars themed jerseys for the Toledo Mud Hens. Kansas City Royals Gear . Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . -- The defending Canadian womens curling champions squandered an opportunity to take sole possession of first place in the standings Tuesday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Royals Jerseys China .S. military base for UFC: Fight for the Troops 3. This fight card, which takes place in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has had a number of changes, including headliner Lyoto Machida replaced by fellow Brazilian Rafael Natal. Stitched Royals Jerseys . MacIntyre stopped 49 shots and the Marlies defeated the Texas Stars 5-1 in Game 1 of the American Hockey Leagues Western Conference final. "I felt in control, so that was nice," MacIntyre said.BROOKLYN - With just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, Amir Johnson sat on the bench, wincing in pain as he watched the game and, in effect, his teams season slip away. That seemed like an appropriate time to get a head start on the Raptors playoff obituary. Their first-half onslaught had evaporated, the 17-point lead was no more and Johnson, like Kyle Lowry, was battling foul trouble and a myriad of ailments. At that point the momentum, if you believe in such things, belonged to the hosting Brooklyn Nets. This upstart Raptors team had been in similar situations throughout the season - fighting for their lives, backs up against the wall - but, tied going into the fourth quarter of a critical Game 4, this would be their biggest and most revealing test yet. They had a new audience, a brighter spotlight, a bigger stage and 12 minutes to prove something that they themselves already knew. "Everybody has something on their body that definitely hurts," said Johnson, who injured his knee in a failed attempt to draw a charge on the Nets Paul Pierce, "but we keep playing, we keep fighting. Its not the time to hold back now. Weve got to keep going." The Raptors held Brooklyn without a field goal for the final six minutes, without a point for the last five and in doing so they showed more character than they had at any point in this series. "Thats just us, man," DeMar DeRozan said after scoring a team-high 24 points in the Raptors scrappy 87-79 win on Sunday, tying their best-of-seven opening round series up at 2-2. "Were definitely resilient, were not going to give up until the games over. Were going to fight through." Just as things were at their most bleak - Lowry had picked up his fifth foul and Johnson, still on the bench, was also saddled with five - the Raptors got serious. Slightly out of character, DeRozan drew a charge, then he took another. Was that a first? "Nah, I dont think so," the all-star guard said with a smirk on his face as Lowry, sitting next to him, chuckled. "I hope its not." Then Lowry, throwing caution to the wind, reached in and poked the ball away from Pierce. Johnson followed suit and in a familiar scene - one that earned him his fifth foul and a sore knee earlier - stepped in to take the charge. Both Lowry and Johnson were one foul away from spending the rest of the game watching from the sidelines, one hit to the knee away from spending the rest of the night on the trainers table. Neither player seemed willing to allow his team to lose. "Theyre fighters," said Jonas Valanciunas. "Theyre soldiers. They go on the court anyway. So its good when you have those types of guys on your team." Everyone is dealing with bumps aand bruises to some degree at this point in the season.dddddddddddd Who wasnt limping out there tonight, Valanciunas was asked. "Julyan Stone," the young centre said with a smile. But there was Lowry, limping up and down the court between possessions, lying next to the bench to stay loose when he wasnt in the game. He had tweaked his reoccurring right knee injury early in Game 3, on top of all the nicks hes accumulated over a long season, but he gutted it out again. Where would his team be without him? "We would have probably got in a fight if I tried to take him out of the game," coach Dwane Casey joked. "Hes dealing with a lot right now and he came through with flying colours. He fought through foul trouble, a little bit of adversity throughout the game and still came through.” Lowry scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half and once again, with the game on the line, his team resembled their point guard, their leader, their best player. "I am not surprised at all that Kyle was limping around, hes a warrior, hes everything to this team," said Chuck Hayes. "The guy gives it his all, we just feed off of him. Then we tease him about it after, hes going to have probably every ice bag in here on his body." "We dont give up man, were some fighters," Hayes continued. "We play like the underdog, we were the underdog probably all year, including this series. I dont know, we just go out there and play for each other." Go ahead, underestimate them, disrespect them and count them out. They feed off it. If respect is earned in the postseason, perhaps the Raptors are starting to turn heads. "We understand that this is a group thats not going to back down, thats not going to give up," Pierce said after the game. "Theyve earned a lot of peoples respect around the league. Just because you dont have a lot of playoff experience doesnt mean youre not a good team. You can learn on the fly." Theyve done just that, now its a whole new ball game. The Raptors will return to Toronto and their raucous crowd at the Air Canada Centre after reclaiming home-court advantage for what has become a best-of-three set, beginning with Wednesdays Game 5. Have they played their best basketball? "No," Lowry and DeRozan answered in unison, but there is a growing sense of belief in the room coinciding with an ambiance of nervousness that spread throughout Barclays Center as Toronto hit back on Sunday. The Raptors may not be in over their heads after all. "Were on a mission," Casey said. "Were not just here trying to win a game. We want to make sure we stay poised, stay focused on our business. Thats what weve been about all year." ' ' '