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couldnt hide his frustration

  • January 16, 2018 8:56 PM CST

    The Columbus Blue Jackets will try to build off the first playoff victory in club history when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Mondays Game 3 battle at Nationwide Arena. Columbus had been 0-5 all-time in postseason games before taking Game 2 in Pittsburgh on Saturday with a 4-3 double-overtime decision. The victory not only ended the Blue Jackets playoff win drought, but also tied this best-of- seven series against the heavily-favored Penguins at one game apiece. Matt Calverts second goal of the contest, coming at 1:10 of the second overtime, gave Columbus its first-ever playoff victory. The Blue Jackets are playing in just their second postseason since entering the league as an expansion club for the 2000-01 campaign. Columbus first made the playoffs in 2009, but was swept in four games by Detroit. Brandon Dubinsky fought off Pens forward Jussi Jokinen behind the net and fed the puck in front to Cam Atkinson, who missed from point-blank range on the right side. However, the rebound came out to Calvert, who made no mistake from the left wing. "Its a big win for our hockey team and a lot of people back in Columbus who are devoted to this organization," noted Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards. Jack Johnson and Ryan Johansen added tallies with David Savard contributing two assists for the Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 39 pucks to record his first playoff win after nine appearances and three losses. The 2013 Vezina Trophy winner was 0-2 in seven postseason appearances -- three starts -- during his time with the Philadelphia Flyers and fell to 0-3 after Wednesdays Game 1 loss in Pittsburgh. Brian Gibbons picked up a pair of first-period scores for the Penguins, who entered this postseason as winners of the Metropolitan Division and the second-best team in the East. Matt Niskanen also lit the lamp and Sidney Crosby netted two helpers for the Penguins, who have dropped their last three multiple-overtime contests. Marc- Andre Fleury halted 41 shots in defeat. Pittsburgh overcame a 3-1 deficit to take Game 1 by a 4-3 score, but on Saturday it was the Blue Jackets who successfully mounted a comeback. The Pens led 2-0 less than five minutes into the game and carried a 3-1 lead into the second period, but then went the final 63 minutes, 18 seconds of Game 2 without a goal. "I think its a missed opportunity," Niskanen said. "Were at home, Game 2, were having a great first period, we have a two-goal lead. Were in complete control of the hockey game and whether its a mistake or them capitalizing on an opportunity, the momentum changes and it took us a while to get back to playing." Calvert scored a short-handed goal at 7:31 of the second period and Jack Johnsons power-play tally tied it at 3-3 with 6:01 remaining in regulation. "The short-handed goal for us was, I thought, the difference maker in the game. It gave hope to our guys," Richards. "You could feel it on the bench. From that moment on I thought we played a very strong game." Pittsburgh finished 16 points ahead of fourth-place Columbus in the Metropolitan and also went 5-0-0 against the Blue Jackets during the 2013-14 season series. However, the Jackets now have a chance to take control of the series with it all tied up and Games 3 and 4 being played at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets went 22-15-4 as the host this season, but Pittsburgh was 3-0 at Nationwide Arena this season and outscored Columbus 10-4 in those games. Columbus has played the first two games without forward Nick Foligno, but he is expected to play in tonights Game 3. Foligno was tied for fourth on the team with 18 goals in 70 games this season. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday evening in Columbus. Joel Campbell Jersey. The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mathieu Flamini Jersey.Y. - Sven Andrighetto scored once and set up two more as the Hamilton Bulldogs hung on to defeat the host Adirondack Flames 5-3 on Tuesday in American Hockey League action. http://www.arsenalsoccerpro.com/Authentic-David-Ospina-Arsenal-Jersey/. Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill. Laurent Koscielny Jersey. -- The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Brandon Lyon that includes an invitation to their big league camp for spring training. Aaron Ramsey Jersey. Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year.LOS ANGELES - For the Raptors, Saturday mornings flight back to Toronto couldnt come soon enough. Its that time of the year. Players are tired, or hurting, or both. Some are looking ahead to the events theyll be participating in during All-Star Weekend, others are looking forward to their midseason vacation time. Its been nine days since the Raptors set out on a five-game West Coast trip and the fatigue was evident as they backed into a 2-3 record on the excursion. "We cant use that as an excuse," Dwane Casey said after his team suffered their third loss in the last four games, falling 118-105 to the Clippers in LA Friday. "We knew that coming in, that were getting ready for the all-star break, mental fatigue is setting in, everybody is preparing for the break but its not here yet, we have games to go and business to take care of." After taking care of business in two of their first three games on the trip, Caseys team lost themselves in a pair of losses to the Kings - a bottom dweller in the West - and the Clippers, one of the conferences elite. The Raptors fell behind early, giving up 67 points in the first half of each game, committing a total of 70 fouls and putting their opponent on the line 105 times over the course of three days. The commonality, according to Casey, was a lack of mental and physical toughness against the likes of DeMarcus Cousins Wednesday and the duo of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan two days later. "The guys are down because they know that we physically didnt take care of business," he said. "The physicality of the game is something we have to get ready for, especially if were thinking about the playoffs because its a physical game in the paint, setting screens, rebounding, going to the basket. All those things are there if youre serious about making the playoffs." Overall, a 2-3 record on the trip is hardly disappointing, its probably on par with what was expected of them going in, realistically. However, they should lose some sleep over the way they ended the road swing. No one expected them to win on Wednesday, not against a scorned Clipper team coming off a tough loss at home to the defending champion Heat. After coming out flat again, Casey was forced to get creative midway through the third quarter, opting to deploy the hack-a-Jordan strategy, a maneuver designed to extend the game by putting a poor free throw shooter - this case, DeAndre Jordan - on the line. Jordan, a 44 per cent free throw shooter, made just 10 of his 22 tries from the line, 14 of those attempts were gift wrapped and delivered to him from Casey. The move was not popular amongst the hometown crowd but for a coach on the verge of defeat, why not take a shot? Although it shaved just two points off the Clippers 20-point lead, directly, it slowed the game down and took the home team out of their rhythm. "We had to do something," Casey said. "Physically they were just manhandling us in the paintt.dddddddddddd I thought that changed the game a little bit." Toronto would cut its deficit to nine going into the fourth quarter. By that point the Raptors had run out of gas, understandably so. Less than a week before All-Star Weekend, the Raptors are a beat up team. Kyle Lowry is battling a knee injury while both DeMar DeRozan and the slumping Amir Johnson are playing on sprained ankles. DeRozan was the one Raptor who looked at home in LA, in actuality he was. The Compton-born guard scored 36 points, the most hes ever had in nine career games at Staples Center, knocking down a career-high 17 free throws. After averaging 10.0 points on 31 per cent shooting in his first five career games back home, DeRozan has scored 28.5 on 52 per cent over his last four contests in LA. Its yet another sign of DeRozans growth on and off the floor in his fifth season. "Its always good to come home and see the family, or whatever, but I dont put as much pressure on myself as I did my first year or even my second year," said the first-time all-star. "I dont try to come out here and prove a point that Im from here or whatever, I just come here and play." Johnson spent most of Friday night chasing down Blake Griffin, who scored 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting in 28 minutes. It was an impossible task for a player that has been slowed by the injury for a week and a half. The nine-year vet is used to playing through pain and plans to continue doing so but he couldnt hide his frustration after the loss. "That nagging pain is just bothering me," said Johnson, who had eight points in 24 minutes against the Clippers. "I want to but there are just some plays I really cant get to the ball or make a play because my ankle just holds me back." "I feel like I can do a lot better. Im trying to baby it but at the same time Im trying to go hard out there. Once the schedule turns and I can rest it a little bit, Ill definitely come through. Lucky for Johnson and the rest of the ailing Raptors, theyll be en route back to Toronto Saturday after spending one more night on the road. There, theyll host the Pelicans and the Hawks before going their separate ways for the weekend, NBA all-star festivities. The schedule eases up the rest of the way. The Raptors - who have played 28 games on the road, most in the East - only have 13 more to go away from the Air Canada Centre. Fridays contest against the Clippers marked their last road game against a winning Western Conference team. "We want to compete every time we walk out but the main thing is were building and were getting better in some areas and some areas were not," said Casey. "The physicality department, thats going to take some more time for guys to figure that out. My thing is competing, you go out and compete and fight physically and then you let the chips fall where they may and there were some situations where I didnt think we competed physically." 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