making his first start in six

**wanglei** 19 дек 2017, 04:56

PITTSBURGH -- If Pittsburgh Penguins rookie defenceman Olli Maatta was nervous, it certainly didnt show. Maatta sealed the Penguins season-high sixth straight victory when he scored on a third-period penalty shot Thursday night, and Pittsburgh beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2. "I was nervous, for sure, but I think thats the only move that Ive got and it worked," Maatta said. "I thought he got it at first and then I saw it go in so I was pretty excited." Chris Kunitz scored his 19th goal, Pascal Dupuis and Brandon Sutter each scored for the second consecutive game, and defenceman Matt Niskanen also tallied for Pittsburgh, which has won 11 of 12 overall and a season-high nine straight home games. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby added two assists, extending his season-best point streak to nine games. He leads the league with 51 points. Jason Pominville netted his team-high 16th goal and Dany Heatley scored 3:13 into the third period for the Wild, turning a three-goal deficit into a 4-2 game. "We were not ready to play the game hard enough and thats something that we have to look at ourselves in the mirror," said Wild head coach Mike Yeo, a former assistant at Pittsburgh. "To come out and get out-battled and outworked was disappointing." The Wild had an opportunity to make it a one-goal game shortly after with a 5-on-3 power play for 1:46, but the Penguins killed both penalties. Maatta was awarded a penalty shot after he was hauled down by Jonas Brodin on a breakaway while coming out of the penalty box. "Thats the game, depending on what happens there," Crosby said. "If they score on that power play its a different game and theyre one away from tying it." Instead, the 19-year-old Maatta, who made the team out of training camp, scored his third career goal on his first career penalty shot, part of a his first career three-point night. He is the second defenceman in team history to score on a penalty shot. "To step up on a penalty shot like that, and put it in was huge," Crosby said. "Its nice to see him capitalize. Hes been playing well for us all year." Maatta and Niskanen, his defence partner, have also shouldered the load while five of the teams top six defenceman missed a third straight game. The bigger role for the young rookie includes increased minutes -- he played almost a career-best 30 Wednesday night -- and matchups against the oppositions top line. "Thats a tall order, but the confidence and steadiness and consistency in which he played has been maybe the best in the last three or four games," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said of Maatta. The Penguins, playing for the fifth time in nine nights, were also without star forward Evgeni Malkin for the third straight game. Malkin, third in the league in scoring, injured his left leg last Saturday at Detroit. Penguins forward James Neal returned to the lineup following a five-game suspension for kneeing Bostons Brad Marchand in the head during a 3-2 loss to the Bruins. Neal was involved in a fight and had an assist. The Wild are in the midst of a stretch where they play seven of eight on the road. They played their first game without starting goalie Josh Harding, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Its a move that allows Harding time to make adjustments to medication for his multiple sclerosis. Harding, expected to return Dec. 27 at Winnipeg, led the league in goals-against average and ranked second in save percentage entering Thursday. It was a homecoming for Wild forward Matt Cooke, playing his first game in Pittsburgh where he spent five seasons before leaving this past summer by free agency. Cooke, an instrumental piece of the Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup run, has just 20 penalty minutes in 36 games this season, but he was a polarizing figure in Pittsburgh, serving multiple suspensions for several hits. He was recognized in the first period with a scoreboard video tribute. Dupuis opened the scoring 49 seconds into the game, slamming home a rebound from the top of the crease. Niklas Backstrom had trouble handling the initial shot, giving up a rebound -- tipped in the air by Crosby -- that fell into the paint, allowing Dupuis to give the Penguins the early lead. The Penguins struck less than two minutes into the second period as Sutter scored his eighth of the season, a turning shot from the left faceoff dot. Niskanen, who also logged nearly 30 minutes of ice time Wednesday at New York, netted a power-play goal less than two minutes later with a slap shot from the point that got past a screened Backstrom. Kunitz gave the Penguins a 4-0 lead seconds after a fight between Neal and Wild defenceman Keith Ballard, the third fight in two periods. Crosby set up the goal with a no-look backhand pass from the corner to Kunitz, who buried a one-timer past Backstrom. Pominville got the Wild on the board 37 seconds later, re-directing Nino Niederreiters shot behind Jeff Zatkoff, who won his sixth straight game. NOTES: The Penguins are 21-2 when scoring the first goal. .... Penguins forward Jayson Megna will miss the next six weeks with a lower body injury. . Justin Fontaine, former Penguin Mike Rupp and Nate Prosser were healthy scratches for Minnesota, while Brian Gibbons sat out for Pittsburgh. The Penguins host Calgary Saturday, while Minnesota visits the New York Rangers on Sunday. Paul Hornung Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored twice and added two assists as the Erie Otters beat the Sarnia Sting 7-3 on Saturday night in Ontario Hockey League action. Blake Martinez Jersey . -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C. http://www.officialpackersteamgears.com/jake-ryan-jersey/ . The (14-15-5) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 33 points. They trail sixth place Nashville and fifth place Dallas by two points. Ahmad Brooks Jersey . Hes still nowhere close to throwing yet. The four-time MVP was in good spirits when he made his first public appearance on the field since having neck surgery Sept. Kevin King Jersey . - The Detroit Lions have 13 takeaways this season — three less than all of last season — and the defence isnt the only unit pleased with the performance.SUNRISE, Fla. - For Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley, this game was the one that didnt get away.Lance Bouma scored the go-ahead goal to lift the Flames to a 6-4 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday. His one-timer from the slot came with 2:18 left and broke a 4-4 tie, giving the Flames their fourth win in their past five games.Johnny Gaudreau added an empty-net power-play goal with 1:05 left, and also had two assists.It reminded me of one day when I was a kid, I was fishing for brook trout and I caught a nice one but I dropped it between two rocks, Hartley said. With frozen fingers I tried to catch a trout that is dangling between two rocks; its a tough one and I was scared to lose it. Thats how I felt tonight. It was a wild one.Boumas winner rifled past goalie Al Montoya.I?just took a look, I saw the glove hand was kind of open there and just tried to shoot as hard as I could, Bouma said.Sean Monahan, Jiri Hudler, Mark Giordano and David Jones also scored goals for Calgary. Karri Ramo, making his first start in six games, gave up four goals on 22 shots for the Flames before being replaced by Jonas Hiller with 6:29 left in the second. Hiller stopped eight shots.The Flames came back from a 3-1 deficit, and the momentum seemed to turn on a short-handed goal by Giordano that closed the score to 3-2. Giordano swept in a loose puck from under Montoyas pads as he stretched out on the ice and into the net at 9:44 of the second. Giordano has points in six straight games.For me, that was the biggest play of the game, Hartley said.Scottie Upshall scored two goals and had an assist for Florida. Jimmy Hayess and Nick Bjugstad also scored for the Panthers.dddddddddddd Montoya made 19 saves. Aaron Ekblad and Dmitri Kulikov each had two assists.We were fired up for Monte (Montoya) to be between the pipes and we just didnt give him the game in front of him that we needed to, Upshall said. Down to crunch time, we didnt do the things we needed to do.Monahans tip-in with 15:07 left tied the score at 4 and extended his point streak to five games.Its not the game we wanted to play, but we got the result that we wanted, Monahan said.With Florida leading 1-0, both teams combined for six goals in the second period.Trailing 3-2, the Flames tied it at 3-all on Hudlers soft wrist shot that went over Montoyas glove at 12:56.Florida reclaimed the lead 35 seconds later when Hayes tipped in a deflection on a shot by Upshall that chased Ramo from the game.The Panthers, who have struggled scoring with a league-low 16 goals coming into the game, scored just 1:17 in on Upshalls first goal. Upshall passed the puck out from behind the net and it bounced off Ramos right skate and backwards into the net to make it 1-0.NOTES: Florida D Dmitri Kulikov left the game in the second with a lower body injury and did not return. ... Montoya made his second start this season for the Panthers, and first on home ice. ... Florida forward Jonathan Huberdeau returned after missing the past three games with the flu. ... Calgary LW Michael Ferland missed his fourth straight game with an upper body injury. ... The game was broadcast in 12 European countries, including the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '