Dein erstes Forum » the Capitals, and John Carlson had two assis

COLUMBUS Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey , Ohio — The Toronto Maple Leafs carry a four-game winning streak into Nationwide Arena on Friday night to face a team that’s even hotter.The Columbus Blue Jackets (22-12-3) returned from the Christmas break on Thursday night with their fifth consecutive victory, a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ goal 31 seconds into overtime.The Maple Leafs (25-10-2) will be the more rested team, playing their first game since the layoff, but coach Mike Babcock said afterpractice on Thursday in Toronto that he doesn’t think that’s necessarily an advantage.Article continues below ...“It concerns me a little bit that Columbus is playing just from the fact that if you watched this practice you know we’re a little bit rusty to say the least,” Babcock said. “But we’ll be better tomorrow and get ready for them.”Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly liked being able to have a practice before a game.“I think we should all be fresh and ready to go,” he said “We’ve got some big games coming up here. … It works to our advantage to have a practice today and play tomorrow.”The Maple Leafs kept their winning streak intact on Sunday with a 5-4 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings. John Tavares scored the tying goal in the final seconds of the third period and Kasperi Kapanen the winner in overtime.Tavares leads the Maple Leafs with 24 goals in his first season with the club and Mitchell Marner has a team-best 38 assists and 50 points.Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews was named this week in fan voting as the captain of the Atlantic Division team for the NHL All-Star game next month.“To be selected is a huge honor and to be the captain of a division is pretty special,” Matthews said. The 21-year-old Matthews has accumulated 19 goals and 34 points in 23 games this season.“It’s exciting for our franchise,” Babcock said. “Obviously, he’s a good player and it’s a real compliment for him from the fans.”The Maple Leafs are running into one of the hottest goaltenders in the league. Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky was honored as the NHL’s First Star of the Week. Bobrovsky was given the first night of the Blue Jackets’ back-to-back off on Thursday after posting a 5-0-1 record with two shutouts in six straight starts. He made 34 and 39 saves in his last two games. “He’s playing at the top of his game Womens Seth Jones Jersey , really, with a lot of confidence and he gives us a lot of confidence and keeps us calm on the bench,” Blue Jackets winger Cam Atkinson said. “We expect him to make those saves, and it’s amazing what he does for morale and then our team on the ice and the bench. He picks us up when we need him.” Although the Blue Jackets keep winning, coach John Tortorella was not particularly impressed with the how the team played last weekend at Philadelphia and New Jersey in victories.“I thought we sucked in both games,” he said. “It’s time to get back to work. It’s simple. You had your break. Christmas is over. It’s a National Hockey League season. I hope we play better after the break.”Besides Bobrovsky, Atkinson has provided a significantcontribution for the Blue Jackets with four goals in the last four games and 23 for the season.“He’s one of the top players in this league,” Tortorella said. “I think we feels that.”Against the Rangers, the Blue Jackets let an early lead slip away before defenseman Zach Werenski scored the tying goal with 2:20 left in the third period and then Dubois ended it. “You’ve got to find a way to get points and that’s what we’ve been doing Sonny Milano Jersey ,” Werenski said. “It’s crunch time now. These are huge points. Every game matters.” WASHINGTON (AP) — Trailing the defending Stanley Cup champions by four in the second period, the Anaheim Ducks believed they had a chance.They were right.Pontus Aberg scored twice in the third, including the go-ahead goal with 5:05 remaining, and the Ducks stopped Washington’s seven-game win streak with a 6-5 victory over the Capitals on Sunday.“It’s hockey,” Aberg said. “Anything can happen.”The Ducks trailed 5-1 before rallying for their fourth consecutive victory. Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists and Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist in the finale of a five-game trip.“Believe me, there wasn’t anybody on that bench accepting where we were just because we’d had success previously in winning three in a row,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “That wasn’t even in their minds. They’re in the moment now, and it’s our job to keep them in that moment.”Anaheim became the first NHL team to overcome a four-goal deficit on the road to win in regulation since Colorado accomplished the feat against Florida on March 3, 1999. It was the second time in franchise history that the Ducks overcame a four-goal deficit to win in any fashion http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-zach-werenski-jersey , joining a 5-4 overtime victory against Winnipeg on March 31, 2014.Evgeny Kuznetsov and Chandler Stephenson each had a goal and an assist for Washington, which chased John Gibson after scoring three times in the first part of the first period.“You really can’t fault him on it,” Carlyle said of Gibson. “But they had three goals on (11) shots, and as a coach you’ve got a decision to make for the rest of your team, not him.”It was Anaheim’s highest scoring game of the season. Ryan Miller stopped 19 of 21 shots for the win.“I can’t remember anything like that honestly,” Miller said. “We had half the game to kind of get ourselves back, and we did it.”Aberg’s ninth goal of the season came moments after Anaheim killed off Washington’s fifth power play, and resulted from a turnover in the neutral zone.Kiefer Sherwood took the puck into the right corner of the Ducks’ attacking zone and tried to feed Getzlaf in front. With Caps goaltender Braden Holtby coming out of his crease Authentic Alexander Radulov Jersey , Getzlaf failed to make solid contact.Aberg was first to the loose puck, where he easily guided it into an open goal from a few feet out.“I just tried to be patient, not to rush it, because I didn’t want to miss that one,” he said.Down 5-1, Andrew Cogliano and Rakell scored even-strength goals 55 seconds apart in the second period. Aberg and Hampus Lindholm then converted on back-to-back power plays 1:45 apart to tie it at 5 midway through the third.Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and Nic Dowd also scored for the Capitals, and John Carlson had two assists. Holtby made 19 saves.“We got too passive I think,” Backstrom said. “When we were up 5-1 we should have been more aggressive than we were. It’s our fault.”NOTES: Miller picked up his 374th win Ben Bishop Jersey , tying John Vanbiesbrouck for the lead among American-born goaltenders. … Washington’s opening goal was the 219th of Backstrom’s career, moving him ahead of Mike Ridley for fourth on the Capitals’ scoring list. … With his denial of Ondrej Kase with 7:57 left in the first period, Holtby became the second goaltender in Washington history to reach 10,000 saves. Olaf Kolzig had 18,013 for the Caps across 16 seasons. … Getzlaf now has points in six of his last eight games (four goals, six assists).UP NEXTDucks: Begin a four-game homestand on Wednesday against Chicago.Capitals: Start a three-game road trip with a Stanley Cup rematch Tuesday at Vegas.