proven talent at quarte

panxing18 · Geregistreerd op: 23 Jun 2018 Berichten: 137

Gerard Gallant didn’t consider pulling Marc-Andre Fleury as another game and perhaps the Vegas Golden Knights‘ Stanley Cup hopes slipped away.

The struggles and another pile of Washington Capitals goals are on the entire team. Gallant couldn’t pull all his players at once.

”There was nothing that he could have done Authentic Nathan Shepherd Jersey ,” Gallant said.

As the face of the franchise and its backbone on the ice, Fleury did just about everything to lead the expansion Golden Knights to the Cup Final with a .947 save percentage that made him the playoff MVP front-runner. In four games against Washington, Fleury has allowed 16 goals on 103 shots, a pedestrian .845 save percentage that speaks as much to Vegas crashing back down to earth as a team.

There is plenty of blame to pass around for the Golden Knights as they face a 3-1 series deficit that no team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs has overcome in the final. Vegas needs Fleury to be better and his teammates to improve in front of him in Game 5 on Thursday night or they will watch their opponent celebrate a championship their home ice.

”When you’re a goalie you don’t want to get scored on,” Fleury said. ”There was a lot of that (in Game 4). It’s never a good feeling. It’s a team game. Everybody’s trying hard out there, trying to help me out. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

It’s not working right now. The Capitals’ strategy of making lateral passes to get Fleury moving side-to-side is proving effective at even strength and on a power play that’s scoring at a 26.7 percent clip.

Forward Alex Tuch said staying out of the penalty box is one necessary improvement, but it goes beyond that. Vegas has ridden Fleury to this point and now has to cut down on the high-danger scoring chances he’s facing and too often allowing to turn into goals.

”Play better defensively,” Gallant said Tuesday. ”There’s too many guys staring at the puck carrier, and we’re leaving the back side open too much. Make sure we’re paying attention to the guys behind the puck and away from the puck. Marc will make the save on the guy shooting the puck. We’ve just got to make sure we’re taking away the passes.”

Fleury didn’t make the save on Devante Smith-Pelly on the doorstep in Game 4 as the Golden Knights fell behind 3-0 despite one of their best periods of the series that featured James Neal’s inexplicable shot off the post facing a wide-open net. As Gallant pointed out, Fleury had little chance on others as Washington put up six goals in a blowout .

Golden Knights players can’t help but feel like they’re letting ”Flower” down.

”We have the best goalie in the league and he’s been carrying (us) the whole year along and we feel like the goals … there’s not much you can do on those,” center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. ”This is the frustrating part.”

Fleury acknowledged falling behind 3-1 was demoralizing. But the 33-year-old refuses to say fatigue has been a factor for him or his teammates.

”I think everybody’s fine Youth Geron Christian Jersey ,” Fleury said. ”It’s the same for their team, also. They’ve been through the same season, same playoffs. Being tired is no excuse.”

The Golden Knights have lost three games in a row as they near the end of an otherwise-charmed inaugural season. Perhaps Fleury has one more stand-on-his head, stop-everything game left in him in front of the home fans in Las Vegas, but the Golden Knights will need more than a singular effort from their goalie.

”Not where we want to be, that’s for sure,” Fleury said. ”Nobody’s quitting. We’re going home. We’ve had some success there. We just have to focus on period at a time, you know? Don’t think too far ahead. Just play our game, see where that takes us.”

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More Stanley Cup coverage: Offensive lineman Wyatt Teller doesn’t need a scouting report to see what’s happening with the Buffalo Bills.

He knows his newest team made a splash to open the draft, with a potential franchise quarterback and defensive game-changer arriving in the top half of the first round.

Wyatt got a first-hand look at former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, whom the Bills selected seventh overall Ronald Jones II Jersey , while blocking for him on the North team at the Senior Bowl. Tremaine Edmunds, taken 16th overall by Buffalo, was Wyatt’s teammate in college at Virginia Tech.

”Tremaine, in my opinion, is an absolute stud. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played against,” Teller said. ”(Allen’s) deep ball is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He can chuck a ball and he’s a smart kid. I see an identity coming. You’re getting both sides of the ball and this is a place I wanted to go.”

Teller joined that duo on Saturday as part of Buffalo’s youth movement.

Selected 166th overall, the fifth-round pick may help to fill an unexpected hole along the offensive line. Center Eric Wood abruptly retired at the end of last season after doctors uncovered a career-ending neck injury at his exit physical.

Veteran guard Richie Incognito stunned the team by announcing his retirement earlier this month.

At 6-foot-4, 314 pounds, Teller has the size and power to make an impact in the NFL. He bench presses 420 pounds, squats 600 pounds and is known for his ability to handle defenders in the run game. He has already made one successful transition, moving from the defensive line in high school to the offensive line at Virginia Tech.

Some projections had Teller going as high as the third round Sebastian Janikowski Jersey Elite , and he’ll likely compete for a starting job at guard as a rookie.

”Everything comes down to competition,” Teller said. ”Everything comes down to working as hard as you can. If I want to make that transition from college to the NFL, it’s basically like switching a position. It’s going to be difficult and it’s all about competing.”

Here are some observations about the Bills’ draft.

KEEPING THEIR EDGE: One key for the Bills was landing two top-end prospects at premium positions without mortgaging the future or giving away their surplus of picks.

The Bills entered the week with a bounty of draft capital and were able to trade up twice in the first round without surrendering their second first-round pick or any 2019 selections.

”I have got to be honest, I did not expect to be able to get a quarterback and Tremaine,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said.

”I thought we were going to have to give up the 22nd pick. Tremaine would have been in our conversation at 12 if we did not move up and we did not have a quarterback we liked. When he was there and he fell a little bit, we just felt it was such a good fit that we had to go up and get him.”

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON? : Buffalo’s final pick of the draft was North Carolina wide receiver Austin Proehl, son of former NFL wideout Ricky Proehl. Buffalo chose Austin Proehl with the second-to-last pick of the draft at 255th overall. Ricky Proehl played in the league for 17 seasons, making 669 receptions for 8,878 yards and 54 touchdowns while winning a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. Austin Proehl had 91 receptions for 1,265 yards and five touchdowns in four years with the Tar Heels.

Beane has known Austin Proehl longer than any other prospect given his relationship with Ricky Proehl. Beane was with the Panthers when Ricky played for Carolina from 2004-06 Julio Urias Jersey , and Ricky was a member of the Panthers’ coaching staff from 2011-17.

”I’ve known him since he was eight, so I’ve known him for a long time,” Beane said of Austin. ”We were still looking for competition at the slot position and he was on the board. He’s a great young man obviously. We know what kind of person (he is). He’s a really polished route runner, refined. He was schooled up by a guy who played 17 years in the league.”

MORE DB DEPTH: Buffalo’s best position group got even deeper on Day 3 with the selections of cornerback Taron Johnson (121st overall) and safety Siran Neal (154th overall). Johnson is the early favorite to land Buffalo’s nickel cornerback role. Neal will have a hard time earning playing time to open his career with standouts Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer ahead of him on the depth chart.

STILL NEED: The Bills chose two receivers late in the draft with Ray-Ray McCloud (sixth round) and Austin Proehl (seven round), but they still desperately need help after fielding one of the worst receiving groups in the league in 2017.

Buffalo does have Kelvin Benjamin returning after playing through much of last season with a knee injury. More speed and experience would be a plus, especially with unproven talent at quarterback in Josh Allen and AJ McCarron.

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