Tired of pompous Womens Johnathan Joseph Jersey , entitled athletes who don't seem to realize how good they have it?Fed up with all the scandals and cheats and scoundrels mucking things up for the rest of us?Meet Ricardo Allen.He'll give you a reason to cheer.Allen plays for the Atlanta Falcons, a 26-year-old free safety who will readily admit he's not the fastest, not the strongest, not the biggest guy in the room."I won't be anybody's first pick," said Allen, who at 5-foot-9 comes up 3 inches shy of this aging sports scribe.That's OK.He's so much more than that.This is a guy who hasn't forgotten what it's like to be told you're not good enough — on HBO's "Hard Knocks" no less, for the whole world to see.This is a guy who remembers what it's like to spend a year on the practice squad, putting in as much work as the next guy but knowing he won't get a chance to shine on Sundays.So, when word came that Allen had agreed to a contract extension with the Falcons, one that should set him up nicely for the rest of his life if he manages his money right, he didn't exactly celebrate.That's not his style.Instead, he watched that "Hard Knocks" episode all over again, the one where then-Atlanta coach Mike Smith doles out the pink slip ."You can kind of see I smiled a little bit," Allen recalled. "I knew that wasn't going to be my last straw. I've been turned down plenty of times in life Womens Julien Davenport Jersey , man. That wasn't the first time I've been told I wasn't good enough."Allen's new contract — $19.5 million for three more seasons — pales in comparison to, say, teammate Matt Ryan, who agreed to a massive deal that averages $30 million a year and guarantees the star quarterback at least $100 million.But Allen is grateful for his $5.5 million signing bonus. He knows that's a massive amount of money to just about anyone else. He hopes it sends just the right message to anyone scuffling on the fringes of a roster."This wasn't just a deal for myself," Allen said. "This was a deal for everybody who has to struggle, who has to fight from the bottom. It's possible to make it to the top."Even now, he has a soft spot for all those guys going through the same struggles."When I was in college, I used to work out with the walk-ons," Allen said. "I was always attracted to hard workers. I was always attracted to the bottom feeders."After Dan Quinn took over as Atlanta's coach in 2015, he was impressed by Allen's tackling skills but felt he was out of place at cornerback, his position at Purdue and what he started out playing with the Falcons.Allen was moved to safety. Suddenly, he blossomed. One training camp after being waived, he surged to the top row of the depth chart, going on start 14 games as a de facto rookie in 2015.But he never got comfortable.Not then.Not even now Seantrel Henderson Jersey White , when he's so clearly a part of Atlanta's long-term plans."That ain't in my blood," Allen said, chuckling at the mere suggestion.Zealously guarding against those thoughts ever creeping into his head, Allen is always looking for ways to make things harder on himself.Right down to the smallest details.If his eggs are too runny, he's not sending them back. If it gets cold in his room, he'll turn down the thermostat even more."This world is so used to being comfortable all the time," Allen said. "It's weird, man, I know. But it's just something I do so I don't get complacent, so I never feel like what I've done is enough."Allen has always worn his emotions on his sleeve, which was never more evident that when I talked with him less than an hour after the Falcons squandered a 25-point lead in the Super Bowl.While most everyone else did their best to cover up the overwhelming pain, Allen made it clear exactly how he was feeling."I'm broken inside," he said that night in the bowels of Houston's NRG Stadium . "I'm not a guy that forgets very easy. I'll probably never forget this. It will always be haunting."But, like every setback in Allen's life Womens J.J. Watt Jersey , pain served a purpose.He put together another strong season in 2017, though the Falcons were knocked out of the playoffs in the divisional round. He's one of the leaders on a young, speedy defense, doling out and advice and mentoring anyone who wants to know how to do things the right way.When the Falcons announced Allen's new contract, there wasn't a hint of jealousy from his teammates.Quite the opposite.That day, during a meeting with the entire team, Quinn asked, "If you've ever been supported or encouraged by Ricardo Allen, please stand up."Everyone rose from their seats, from the biggest stars on the team to those who will likely be cut in a week or two."You see the impact that a guy like him has on a team," Quinn marveled.It doesn't matter if you're a Falcons fan.No. 37 is a guy we can all root for.Paul Newberry is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry@ap.org or at pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at s://apnews/search/paul%20newberry Texans defensive end J.J. Watt made an appearance on Friday’s injury report after a week of limited practices.Watt was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Browns due to a knee issue that kept him from taking on a full workload during the week. That didn’t lead to any discussion that he’d miss the game, but the listing made that a possibility that had to be considered.Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Watt will “probably” be in the lineup against Cleveland. Watt was named the AFC defensive player of the week based on his performance against the Titans last Monday night and has starred all season, so his presence will be a plus as the Texans try for their ninth straight win.Wide receiver Keke Coutee was also listed as questionable on Friday. Rapoport reports his status will be determined in pregame warmups.

The common perception about the 2018 Detroit Lions special teams units was that they played pretty poorly. That was apparently the perception within the Lions organization as well Da’Shawn Hand Jersey , seeing as they fired their special teams coordinator Joe Marciano halfway through the season.But this week Talk of Fame Network’s Rick Gosselin released his annual special teams rankings, and it suggests the Lions’ special teams units were better than many believed. His rankings—which combine 22 different kicking game categories—have the Lions at 12th overall, the best in the NFC North and fourth in the entire conference. Basic statistics aren’t quite as kind to the Lions. Though Detroit ranked 11th in kick return average (24.1), they were just 26th in punt returns (6.3), at least partially due to the early injury to 2017 All-Pro Jamal Agnew. They also struggled in coverage units. Though they ranked 14th in kick return average allowed (22.6) Jarrad Davis Jersey , they were 31st in punt returns (11.4). And perhaps worst of all were the penalties. According to NFLPenalties.com, the Lions had the seventh-most accepted penalties on special teams (22). However, when it came to field goals, the Lions outplayed their opponents by a large margin for the season. Matt Prater missed just four field goals all year (28-of-32) and was perfect at extra points (and also had a touchdown pass). The Lions’ opponents, however Teez Tabor Jersey , only converted on 19-of-28 field goals, the lowest percentage in the league by a large margin. Field goal percentage, along with opponent’s field goal percentage are part of Gosselin’s formula. Detroit also ranked first in extra point percentage (100%), opponent’s starting field position (23.8-yard line) and blocked kicks allowed (0). Regardless, John Bonamego—the Lions’ recently-hired special teams coordinator—has some work to do this offseason. Watch live as Alex Reno and Jeremy Reisman run through some mock drafts"If you’ve been following Pride of Detroit during the offseason Kenny Golladay Jersey , you know that we’ve been playing around with the Twitch format. We’ve done some live reaction shows—like after the first day of free agency. We’ve played Fortnite with Graham Glasgow. And Friday night, we’re going to try something new .Given that the NFL Draft is now less than three weeks away, we want to start preparing ourselves for the event. At 8 p.m. ET, myself and Alex Reno will be doing some live mock drafts. We’ll be running through a bunch of different scenarios for the Detroit Lions, picking our favorite prospects along the way Jalen Reeves-Maybin Jersey , and polling those in the chat room watching. UPDATE: You can watch a replay of the mocks below.It should be a fun opportunity to see what kind of outcomes we may expect on April 25 when the Lions are currently slotted to select eighth overall, and a neat way to have us all interacting together. Both Alex and myself will be streaming the live video, so if you want to watch and help participate, make sure you’re following both of our Twitch streams here (Jeremy) and here (Reno). You can set it up so that you get notifications every time we’re live, or you can just hang out this one time.We’ll also embed the live videos here Barry Sanders Jersey , if you’d rather not leave Pride of Detroit. UPDATE: The mock drafting is over, but you can watch a replay below:

DALLAS (AP) — Tyler Seguin provided the game-winning goal in a wild third period that opened with Dallas trailing and having to kill nearly three penalty minutes and ended with the Stars scoring four goals.Seguin’s tie-breaking goal came with 7:32 to play in a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night.Roope Hintz Pittsburgh Penguins Hats Authentic , John Klingberg, Radek Faksa and Mattias Janmark also scored for the Stars. Ben Bishop made 38 saves as Dallas extended its winning streak to a season-best five games.The Stars had allowed a total of four goals in the first four games of the streak.“It’s nice that we’re finding ways to win different types of games,” Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. “Power play came through, penalty kill came through. A lot of positives to build on.”Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Kevin Connauton, Vinnie Hinostroza and Alex Galchenyuk scored for Arizona. Darcy Kuemper finished with 24 saves.Trailing 2-1 after two periods, Dallas scored three times in 71-second span of the third to take a 4-2 lead. The Coyotes rallied with two goals in a 61-second span to tie it at 4-4.Seguin scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season by taking a pass from Jamie Benn from behind the net and sending a wrist shot from the slot past Kuemper and inside the left post. It was Benn’s second assist of the game.“Early on in this one, it wasn’t pretty,” Benn said. “It was players stepping up and owning up to their poor play. It was good to see accountability.”The game broke open after the Stars’ Brett Ritchie drew a major penalty for boarding the Coyotes’ Alex Goligoski and a game misconduct late in the second period.Arizona couldn’t score on the lengthy power play, in part because two Coyotes went to the penalty box during that time in the third period.“The energy of that five-minutes propelled us,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “We seemed to come at them in waves after that. Obviously, the tail end of that we got the power plays.”Klingberg and Faksa scored Dallas’ second and third power-play goals of the game for a 3-2 lead at 3:04. Janmark added the fourth goal with a shot from the slot at 3:39.“Obviously a big turning point in the hockey game,” Benn said. “It could have easily been 3-1 instead of 2-2 Custom Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys , 3-2, 4-2.”The Stars killed a penalty, but back at even strength allowed goals by Hinostroza at 6:49 and Galchenyuk at 7:50 that tied it. After Seguin’s goal, Dallas killed another penalty with Kuemper out of the net and Arizona skating 6-on-4.Goligoski did not return to the game after failing to pass the NHL’s concussion protocol. The defenseman was missed.“He’s an important guy for us,” Ekman-Larsson said. “Not having him in the third, it hurts us. It’s hard when you get scored on two times, three times, shift after shift.”Arizona took one-goal leads with Ekman-Larsson scoring in the first period and Connauton in the second.In between, Hintz scored a power-play goal at 3:36 of the second.The Coyotes had killed six of seven penalties in the previous four games, but allowed three power-play goals on four Dallas power plays. The Stars killed all five Arizona man advantages.NOTES: Coyotes D Jakob Chychrun (lower-body injury) missed his second straight game. He did not travel with the team. … Ekman-Larsson’s goal was his 109th for Arizona, setting a team career record. . Connauton’s goal was his first in 38 games, since April 3, 2018. . Hintz hadn’t scored in 20 NHL games www.officialsharks.com , since his goal at Pittsburgh on Nov. 21. . Each starting goalie came in hot. Kuemper had provided points in nine straight games (6-0-3), allowing only 20 goals. Bishop had allowed only three goals and had won three in a row.UP NEXTCoyotes: Complete a six-game trip on Tuesday at Nashville.Stars: Play the first of five games in a row on the road, and their second in six days at Nashville on Thursday. On the eve of free agency, John Tavares is leaving the NHL guessing about his destination.With less than 12 hours until the market opens, the elite center had not chosen between six suitors, with the San Jose Sharks, hometown Toronto Maple Leafs and incumbent New York Islanders considered the most likely options. Returning to the Islanders looks less likely now after the midnight deadline passed for Tavares to get an eight-year contract from his current team.The Tavares sweepstakes dragging on into Sunday seems to favor San Jose and Toronto, either of which could sign the 27-year-old to a seven-year deal worth $70 million or more. He met this week with the Sharks, Maple Leafs, Islanders, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, and his decision could drastically affect the plans of those teams and others.”I think other teams have admitted San Jose Sharks T-Shirts Authentic , we would have to make moves (to clear salary-cap space),” Bruins general manager Don Sweeny told reporters in Boston on Friday. ”Pretty confident we’d be able to do that.”As hockey waited for the Tavares watch to end, several teams made moves Saturday ahead of the frenzy.The Sharks agreed to a $64 million, eight-year extension with forward Logan Couture, according to a person familiar with the contract who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced. It can’t become official until after noon Sunday because it doesn’t begin until the 2019-20 season – the same as long-term deals the Los Angeles Kings have with Drew Doughty and Arizona Coyotes have with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Niklas Hjalmarsson.Detroit got its own defenseman under contract for the next two seasons by agreeing to deal with Mike Green that pays him $5,375,000 annually. Signing Green could be just the start of the action for the Red Wings, who have been linked to unrestricted free agent goaltender Jonathan Bernier and winger Thomas Vanek.New Jersey also shored up its goaltending situation by re-signing Eddie Lack to a $650,000, one-year deal. The Devils also have Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid, who split time last season and in the playoffs.A person with direct knowledge of discussions said the Buffalo Sabres are expected to sign goalie Carter Hutton, who had been the St. Louis Blues’ backup to Jake Allen. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because agreements cannot be announced until the signing period begins.Hutton and others seem to already be ticketed for certain places, but many big-name players are still up for grabs.Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk San Jose Sharks Hoodies Authentic , who tied Tavares with 36 goals last season, has been drawing significant interest and, at 29, could easily command a seven-year contract at a substantial raise over his previous $4.25 million salary. The Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights have cap space but might lose wingers David Perron and James Neal, who combined for 110 points last season.The Winnipeg Jets are doing their best to try to bring back center Paul Stastny after he was so instrumental in their playoff run. They cleared about $5.5 million in cap space by trading goaltender Steve Mason and Finnish forward Joel Armia to Montreal on Saturday but may still need more room to bring back the 32-year-old.The Canadiens are set to buy out Mason, putting him on unconditional waivers as the Minnesota Wild did with forward Tyler Ennis to clear cap space.Stastny fit in seamlessly after Winnipeg acquired him from St. Louis at the trade deadline but also might be better served waiting to see what Tavares does. Teams looking for a center who don’t land Tavares will look to Stastny and Toronto’s Tyler Bozak and could look into a trade for Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly, who is signed for the next five years and owed a $7.5 million bonus Sunday.—AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in San Jose, California, contributed to this report.

ANAHEIM Authentic Oliver Bjorkstrand Jersey , Calif. (AP) — Although Los Angeles is below the 14th-place Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference standings, the last-place Kings have emerged on top of their closest rivals in both of their head-to-head matchups so far this season.The Freeway Faceoff is about all that’s left to motivate these teams while Southern California’s hockey renaissance ends with a thud.Carl Grundstrom scored his second NHL goal in his second career game and the Kings won for just the second time in 15 games, beating the Ducks 3-2 Sunday night in a meeting of once-powerful rivals going through nightmare seasons.Dustin Brown and Kyle Clifford also scored first-period goals, and Jonathan Quick made 18 saves in the Kings’ second win over Anaheim this season. There are two more meetings in the Freeway Faceoff over the next four weeks, putting some excitement in the Southland before both of its hockey teams likely miss the playoffs in the same season for the first time since 2004.“We’re both not in playoff spots, but we’re still playing for pride,” Clifford said. “And they’re always a rival over there.”The stakes are usually higher for Los Angeles and Anaheim. These teams are coming off a brilliant seven-year stretch in which the Kings won two Stanley Cup championships and the Ducks won five consecutive Pacific Division titles while reaching two conference finals.The good times abruptly ended last spring when both teams were swept in the first round of the playoffs, and this year has been miserable since the Kings flopped in the opening weeks and the Ducks fell into a midseason tailspin.There’s always a spark when the rivals get together, but the Kings had enough resilience to beat the Ducks again despite going scoreless in the final 43 minutes.“You knew right off that it was a pretty competitive atmosphere within both teams,” said coach Willie Desjardins, whose first game behind the Kings’ bench was a 4-1 win over Anaheim on Nov. 6. “If you look at their history, both of these clubs have had really good teams for a number of years, so it’s not surprising that they’ve played in lots of big games. It’s always good when you get to be a part of a challenge like that.”Jakob Silfverberg and Daniel Sprong scored for the Ducks, who followed up an impressive performance against Montreal with a lifeless effort against their neighbors. Ryan Miller stopped 22 shots.“First half of the game, not even close to good enough Ryan Murray Jersey ,” Silfverberg said. “We’ve been playing pretty good, but that was a step way back. We got flat-footed against a team that wanted it more. We kind of turned it on in the third period, but it was too late.”Honda Center wasn’t completely full when the puck dropped on the clubs’ 139th regular-season meeting, but the sellout crowd eventually arrived while Brown and Sprong traded goals 65 seconds apart in the opening minutes. Clifford then put Los Angeles ahead with his career-best eighth goal midway through the first period.The Kings held Anaheim to two shots in the opening period and took a 3-1 lead when Grundstrom nimbly converted Adrian Kempe’s pass on a rush. Grundstrom, a 21-year-old Swede who came up from the AHL on Friday, joined Brian Boyle as the only rookies in Kings history to score a goal in each of their first two games.After a scoreless second period, Silfverberg emerged from behind Quick’s net and trimmed the Kings’ lead on an unassisted goal with 7:44 left.The Ducks couldn’t even it late, losing to the Kings for just the 10th time in their last 27 meetings.“In the last six or seven games, we’ve been the better team in the majority of those,” Ducks assistant coach Marty Wilford said. “Tonight was a slow start, and it’s tough to chase the game, as we’ve learned all year. It’s tough to catch up, especially against a team like LA. There really wasn’t much space. They checked very hard.”NOTES: Boyle scored in each of his first two games for Los Angeles in February 2008. … Silfverberg has points in a career-best five straight games. … Ducks C Ryan Kesler missed his second straight game with a hip injury. The 34-year-old veteran had major hip surgery before last season, and he has just eight points in 60 games this season. … Kings F Brendan Leipsic was scratched for the first time in 59 games. He hadn’t missed a game since Los Angeles claimed him off waivers from Vancouver on Dec. 3.UP NEXTKings: Host Predators on Thursday night.Ducks: Host Predators on Tuesday night. GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Connor McDavid remained on pace to set a career high for points for the third straight season — and kept the Edmonton Oilers on a roll Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey , too.McDavid scored two goals, including the winner in overtime, to lead the Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.The Edmonton star controlled the puck at his feet right out in front and put it past Darcy Kuemper 58 seconds into the extra period for the Oilers, who are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games while making a late playoff push. It was the third overtime goal of the season for McDavid, who also had an assist earlier in the game.“Klef made a great play, found me,” McDavid said of linemate Oscar Klefbom. “Didn’t handle it all that perfect. Just tried to get it on net and found a way.”Matt Benning also scored for Edmonton, and Mikko Koskinen made 28 saves to win for the sixth time in his last seven starts.“I’ve liked our game coming back from the bye week, minus a couple of hiccups here and there,” McDavid said. “We haven’t necessarily been rewarded by it, but we are starting to now.”Alex Galchenyuk had his third two-goal game of the season for the Coyotes, who lost for just the fourth time in their last 14 games. Arizona remained one point behind Dallas for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.McDavid has 36 goals this season and is on an 11-game point streak. He has a point in 19 of his last 20 games and has seven straight multipoint games, with three goals and 13 assists during that stretch. McDavid is second in the league with 103 points after having 108 last season and 100 in 2016-17.Leon Draisaitl tied his career high with his 48th assist of the season.“We ask a lot of Connor and Leon, and they deliver,” Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said. “They deliver most nights Womens Seth Jones Jersey , and they really delivered tonight. It was a hard game against a very significant opponent.”Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves for the Coyotes while making his 13th consecutive start.McDavid scored his first short-handed goal of the season 3 1/2 minutes into the game to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. He broke around Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the right side and beat Kuemper with a back-hander high on the glove side.Galchenyuk scored his eighth power-play goal of the season to tie it at 1 at 18:24 of the first period. Galchenyuk leads the Coyotes with 17 goals.Benning and Galchenyuk scored 12 seconds apart early in the second period to tie it at 2.It was Benning’s third goal in the last three games.“It’s just putting yourself in the right spots, and there are good players around on our team,” Benning said. “I thought there was a lot of energy today. That was a tough road win. The winning goal was kind of fitting of the way we want to play.”The Coyotes had a chance to take the lead, but Brad Richardson and Conor Garland each hit the right post in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second period and the game remained tied.“McDavid, Draisaitl, those guys are elite players,” Arizona coach Rich Tocchet said. “Edmonton is a desperate team. They have two of the best players in the world. They are fighting and scratching. They played hard tonight. So did we. That was a playoff-type hockey game.”NOTES: With 11 games remaining, McDavid is on pace to surpass his career high of 108 points, set last season. … Edmonton began a stretch of five games in eight days Saturday. … Rock star Alice Cooper, a Phoenix native, dropped the ceremonial first puck.UP NEXTOilers: Play the second game of three-game trip at Las Vegas on Sunday, finishing the 10th of their 11 back-to-backs this season.Coyotes: Play the first game of a four-game Eastern trip at Tampa Bay on Monday. Michael Grabner scored two short-handed goals in the Coyotes’ 7-1 victory Oct. 27, the Lightning’s most lopsided loss of the season.

The beauty of the draft is every year it offers renewed hope. Whether it for franchises seeking a savior or players looking to take that next step in their careers http://www.officialflames.com/authentic-adidas-jaromir-jagr-jersey , it a time of positivity. But it can also be time to reflect on the perseverance needed just to put that NHL sweater on for the first time. Florida third-rounder Logan Hutsko knows that better than anyone in the 2018 class.As a teenager, he played at Shattuck-St. Mary prep school, the alma mater of Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews. After that, Hutsko earned entry into USA Hockey National Team Development Program, where he was hot-housed with the some of the best under-17s and under-18s in the nation. But the path to the NHL is never easy, and for Hutsko Johnny Gaudreau Jersey Kids , his two years with the NTDP ended up being the most foreboding of... All-Access +All-Access Member AreaPremium content and in-depth analysis from our team of experts exclusively for magazine subscribers. Simply login to unlock the content or become a member for less than $2.50 a month.LoginBecome a Member TORONTO (AP) — John Tavares let out a big sigh of relief during the pregame introductions.The Toronto Maple Leafs did the same thing after an ugly season-opening victory.Auston Matthews scored his second goal of the night at 1:01 of overtime to give Toronto a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.Matthews took a feed from Patrick Marleau off the rush and beat goalie Carey Price high past the blocker.“It was a perfect pass,” Matthews said. “Patty had me there and I was able to just get it over him.”Tavares scored his first goal for Toronto, but for much of the game, Montreal that had the upper hand as Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen was forced to make 34 saves, including 15 in the third period.“They kind of outworked us,” Matthews said. “A lot we can learn moving forward.”Toronto coach Mike Babcock was happy with the victory Mark Giordano Jersey , but not how his team got there.“Montreal played with great effort and great structure,” Babcock said. “In the end, we won the game, but we have to work way harder and play way better than we did tonight.”Tavares received a raucous ovation when his name was announced as the final player to come out of the tunnel before puck drop, and seemed relieved to finally be in a game that mattered after so much hype.“It was tremendous,” Tavares said. “To have that type of welcoming from this fanbase and this city is pretty special.”Nazem Kadri had two assists for the Maple Leafs.“They’ve got a lot of players that can move the puck on both sides of their stick Youth Matthew Tkachuk Jersey ,” Price said. “They’ve got a lot of skill up front and they seem to find each other. They’re a pretty good squad.”Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw scored for Montreal, and Price made 23 saves. Max Domi, the son of former Leafs tough guy Tie Domi, had two assists in his first game for the Canadiens.Montreal rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the first NHL player born in the 2000s, picked up an assist. The Finn Michael Frolik Jersey , who turned 18 in July, also became the second-youngest player in Canadiens’ history to score a point.NOTES: Montreal coach Claude Julien sent a strong message to his team before puck drop by making 30-year-old defenseman Karl Alzner and 35-year-old center Tomas Plekanec healthy scratches. The move ended Alzner’s consecutive games streak at 622, the fourth-most among active players. “They’re never easy decisions,” Julien said. “I think it’s pretty obvious that there’s two things happening there to those players, but I think at the end of the day we’re all mandated to do what’s best for the team first.”UP NEXT:Canadiens: At Pittsburgh on Saturday night.Maple Leafs: Hosts Ottawa on Saturday night.

DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings are coming off their first win of the season http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-casey-cizikas-jersey , while the Carolina Hurricanes have lost three straight.Detroit hosts Carolina on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena.The Red Wings (1-5-2) finally got into the “W” column with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. Right winger Gustav Nyquist got the winner 3:44 into the extra period on a breakaway for his first goal of the season.Article continues below ...“It felt good to score there, for sure,” Nyquist said after the game. “To get that first one out of the way, hopefully we can build off this one.”It is the first time since 1985-86 (0-8-1) that Detroit failed to win in its first seven games.“The Red Wings a week ago would have drooped on the bench and the energy on the bench would have been terrible,” center Dylan Larkin said. “But it wasn’t like that. We battled.”The Hurricanes (4-3-1) fell 3-1 to the Colorado Avalanche in Raleigh on Saturday night.“You don’t want to let things snowball and go the wrong way,” Hurricanes right winger Justin Williams said after the loss. “The trick is to not let it become bigger than it is. Nip it. As long as we approach it that way, we’ll be fine.”Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said his team is playing better than recent results would indicate.“You just don’t want the losses to bleed and make it feel like, ‘Oh, my God, we’re not playing that well.’ Really, in my opinion, we’re playing pretty well,” he said. “We’re getting good efforts out of most of our guys Adam Pelech Jersey Womens , and a bounce here or there and we’re talking about a whole different situation.”Carolina right winger Sebastian Aho is tied for fifth in the NHL with 13 points (four goals and nine assists) and had an assist against Colorado to extend his season-opening point streak to eight games, tying Victor Rask’s run in 2016-17 for the longest in Hurricanes history.Aho also has 26 goals and 51 assists for 77 points in his last 52 regular-season games, a pace that would give him 121 points over a full 82-game regular season.Larkin and Nyquist, who each had a goal and an assist Saturday night, are tied for the Detroit team lead in points with seven each. Larkin has four goals and three assists and Nyquist a goal and six assists.Rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski also had a goal and an assist in the win. He has been impressive, playing on the Red Wings top defensive pair with two goals and five points and minus-4 in six games, while averaging 21:48 of ice time.He is one of five rookies on Detroit’s roster. The others are defensemen Joe Hicketts and Filip Hronek, and forwards Michael Rasmussen and Cristoffer Ehn.Rasmussen appeared to score his first NHL goal in the first period Saturday night on a tip in, but it was called back because it was ruled that the Red Wings interfered with Panthers goalie Michael Hutchinson. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — NHL goaltenders prepare for the unpredictable, ready for pucks deflecting off sticks, bodies, feet or a divot in the ice, past all the gear designed to help defend their net.The freaky Thomas Hickey Jersey Womens , fluky or simply weird goals can be laughed off by goalies who know sometimes the puck just takes a funny bounce.The goals that eat at a goalie are those he believes he could’ve — and should’ve — stopped. Not the goal allowed by Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin where the puck bounced off a Nashville forward’s back and over the net before hitting the back of the goalie’s helmet, then off his back and into the net.“It stings anytime you give up a goal,” Predators goalie Pekka Rinne said Tuesday. “That kind of goal, there’s nothing really he could’ve done. It’s a freaky goal, and I feel like those things maybe happen once, twice in a season. But yeah, the ones that hurt the most as a goalie, it’s the ones that you feel like you should’ve had it.”Stick-handling in the NHL has improved right along with players’ speed and skating thanks to offseason workouts. That also has boosted the creativity for shooters looking to do a bit more than a simple slap shot, wrister or snap shot.“There’s a lot of talent in the league, more maybe so now than there has been in years past,” Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “These young guys coming up, everybody has their own skills coaches and things like that. There’s a lot of skills. I don’t doubt there’s more highlight-reel goals.”Goaltenders have to be ready for the next move dreamed up by the league’s stars to put the puck over the line. Scoring is up with the average number of goals scored per game increasing in each of the past four seasons, and the current average of 3.06 goals per game is on pace to be the highest since the 2005-06 season, according to Hockey-Reference.com .“Maybe it’s the skill of the players too John Tavares Jersey , finding that one spot,” Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer said. “(Evgeny) Kuznetsov in Washington, he’s so sneaky in terms of what he wants to do and doesn’t want to do. He puts the puck in spots. Maybe you get a weird bounce, hit a guy’s shin pad or something like that.”The NHL also keeps downsizing goaltenders’ pads, most recently chest protectors . Grubauer sees teams also changing how they break out on offense, attacking faster and giving goalies less time.“Back in the days, you always used to go back and regroup and break out as a unit,” Grubauer said. “I feel like the last couple of years, it’s always like, (snaps fingers) and up (snaps fingers) and up.”Sometimes goalies get lucky, too.Buffalo goalie Carter Hutton appeared to be losing his balance Sunday in the first period against Winnipeg with Adam Lowry coming in on a short-handed breakaway. Hutton put his glove down at the exact moment Lowry tried to slip the puck between the goalie’s legs for the save.“You definitely get some fluky saves where you’re beat and a guy just hits you,” Hutton said.The Sabres goalie also recalls being on his goal line when the puck came up, rolled over the top of the net, hit his neck and went in. He had another puck slip past him on a penalty shot in December against Florida.“You make the initial save Authentic Jordan Eberle Jersey , and it lands on my pads sideways and just slowly rolls off,” Hutton said. “That’s one where if it’s during a game, a D-man’s probably there to stop it or that puck lands flat on my pad and doesn’t go in. It’s unfortunate that it lands sideways and rolls off my pad. So that’s one that I would say this year that’s been fluky.”There’s one goal so weird it’s called the Butt Goal.Defenseman Mark Pysyk, now with Florida, got his first goal of the 2013 season right before Christmas in overtime after jamming at the puck, sending it into the air and into the pants of Coyotes goalie Mike Smith who then backedinto his own net.“I didn’t think they would call it a goal, because I didn’t think they’d see it, but they did,” Pysyk said. “It was in his pants and he backed in. I think you could see me point at it. They counted it a little bit after, obviously, so I didn’t have a chance to celebrate normally. It was pretty funny.”SURPRISING ISLANDERSThe New York Islanders are atop the Metropolitan Division in coach Barry Trotz’s first season despite losing John Tavares last offseason to Toronto. They just snapped a three-game streak Tuesday night with a 3-1 loss in Buffalo but are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and remain second overall in the Eastern Conference.To Buffalo coach Phil Housley, credit Trotz for using the same philosophy and structure from coaching in Nashville and winning the Stanley Cup with Washington last summer.“I really had a pleasure to work with him for one year and learned a lot from him,” Housley said. “You can see he’s had success wherever he’s went.”RIVALRY SERIESThe best of women’s hockey are back at it this week with the United States and Canada playing each other in a rare three-game “Rivalry Series” that ends Sunday in Detroit at the home of the Red Wings. The U.S. beat Canada nearly a year ago for Olympic gold and then won a fourth straight Four Nations Cup title last November. Kendall Coyne Schofield will be the U.S. captain for the series, which will be aired on NHL Network.“That’s something we’ve been fighting for Josh Bailey Jersey , is more chances for us to play against Canada,” U.S. forward Dani Cameranesi said. “It’s not that often that we get to play at the highest level. We don’t really have that many chances for that, but for them all to be … on NHL Network too and for us to get coverage on that is a really big deal.”GAME OF THE WEEKThe Washington Capitals visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in a matchup of two of the NHL’s top 10 teams.LEADERS (after Tuesday games)Goals: Alex Ovechkin (Washington), 38; Assists: Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), 63; Points: Kucherov, 88; Ice time: Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), 26:45; Wins: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas), 29; Goals-against average: Robin Lehner (N.Y. Islanders), 2.08; Save percentage: Robin Lehner, (N.Y. Islanders), .929.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The biggest cheers from Flyers fans Monday night came when Gritty wrapped a blindfold around his googily eyes “Bird Box” style and kicked a Nerf football into the stands on a field-goal attempt as part of the “Cody Parkey Challenge.”This is how sad the season has become for Philadelphia — fans save their loudest cheers to rally around the local football team.Jordan Binnington became the latest goalie to stymie the Flyers. He stopped 25 shots for a shutout in his first NHL start to lead the St. Louis Blues past the Flyers 3-0 in a listless game between two of the worst teams in the league.Brayden Schenn Youth Derek Stepan Jersey , Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron scored to make it an easy night for Binnington.“Guys are thrilled for him, happy for him,” Schenn said. “He’s worked hard to get to this point and he finally got rewarded.”The Blues’ win gave them 38 points and moved them past Los Angeles out of last place in the Western Conference. Only Ottawa has fewer points than the Flyers (36) in the East after Philadelphia’s seventh straight loss. Both teams fired their coaches this season.Binnington, a third-round pick in the 2011 draft, became the 35th goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in his first career start. The 25-year-old Binnington had played just two games in mop-up duty this season behind Jake Allen. He was sent to the minors in December to keep fresh and earned three wins with a shutout to earn AHL player of the week honors. He was called up — and got the call to start against the hapless Flyers.“I was definitely excited to finally get the call, and it was a long road,” Binnington said. “I’m happy where I’m at right now and I’m hoping to get some more action and be a part of the solution on the rise of the Blues.”Blues coach Craig Berube said Binnington showed no signs of nerves.“I thought he was solid all game,” Berube said. “Very confident, even coming out and playing the puck. He moved it really well and crisply. He looked really good.”Schenn scored his ninth goal of the season on a rebound off the Carter Hart’s pads 41 seconds into the second period for the 1-0 lead. Tarasenko scored midway through the third to become the 20th active player to score against 30 other teams while playing for one franchise. Perron scored an empty-netter in the final minutes.Binnington wasn’t challenged much in a half-empty Wells Fargo Center. Once among the NHL’s loudest and craziest buildings, the crowds have dwindled with each defeat and the few fans that showed on Monday mostly sat on their hands and booed.They used to root for Schenn when he starred for the Flyers for six seasons. He scored 59 points in 2015-16 and 55 points the next season before he was traded for the Blues. The Flyers had another reminder of better days on the Blues bench: Berube led the Flyers to the playoffs in 2014 and was fired the following the season. The Flyers fired his successor, Dave Hakstol Womens Jason Demers Jersey , last month and have failed to win a playoff series since 2012.The Flyers fell to 3-6-2 under interim coach Scott Gordon.“I think there’s been good communication, but we have to be better as players,” Flyers forward Scott Laughton said. “It’s not up to him. We have to be better as players in this locker room. We have to do a job and we’re not doing it right now.”The Flyers have scored only 12 goals over their seven-game losing streak, their longest losing streak since they went 0-5-5 over November-December last season.The biggest cheers came when Gritty trolled Parkey, the maligned Chicago Bears kicker. Fans burst into the “Fly! Eagles! Fly!” fight song when Parkey’s missed kick was shown on the video screen.The Flyers were booed by the die-hards that stuck around as they trudged off the ice, a familiar scene in Philly.“When we play at home, we’re having a tough time,” Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. “We’re trying to make the extra play, we’re trying to push it. It’s kind of coming back in our face.”NOTES: Blues F Alexander Steen left with an undisclosed injury. … Blues C Tyler Bozak missed the game with the flu.UP NEXTBlues: Host Dallas on Tuesday.Flyers: Play Tuesday at Washington._____ Freed from the weight of the world of being Stanley Cup favorites, the Washington Capitals are playing like a team eager to prove something.Prove doubters wrong, prove their championship window hasn’t closed and Paul Thompson Jersey Womens , most notably, prove they can get over the playoff hump that has vexed them over the past decade. Led by top NHL goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals go into their first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets having won 12 of their final 15 games and feeling confident about this spring despite a series of early playoff exits.”I hope best hockey is going to be in the playoffs,” Ovechkin said Saturday night. ”I think the balance on our team right now is pretty good and pretty high. That’s very good thing to go into the playoffs because in playoffs you never know what’s going to happen. Maybe one shift can change the whole series. I think we’re ready for it.”Few expected the Capitals to win the Metropolitan Division again after losing Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Nate Schmidt, Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk and Daniel Winnik from last year’s team that won the Presidents’ Trophy for the second consecutive season. Coach Barry Trotz and players miss no opportunity to bring up all the preseason predictions about them being a playoff bubble team.Of course, when they sat at 11-10-1 just before Thanksgiving, those lower expectations looked accurate. General manager Brian MacLellan insists he was never worried – and his team’s 38-16-6 record the rest of the way was the fourth best in the NHL in that time behind only Boston, Nashville and Winnipeg.The Capitals don’t have the playoff buzz of the Bruins Troy Brouwer Jersey Womens , Predators, Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning or the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, but they have as good a chance as anyone of reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the Ovechkin era.”We have a chance to go the distance,” MacLellan said. ”I don’t know that we’re as deep or as experienced as we were last year, but I think the whole league is a little less of that. There’s probably a couple teams that are a little deeper that might have a chance, theoretically, of going farther, but I think we’re in the mix with the high-end teams.”Everyone thought the Capitals were the highest of high-end teams in 2016 and 2017, and they lost to the eventual Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round each time. Williams has implied that favorite status didn’t suit the Capitals well, and Trotz said ”the crown is quite heavy” for a team expected to win.It showed.”I think there was some external pressure that creeped in the room http://www.officialavalanche.com/authentic-adidas-sven-andrighetto-jersey ,” veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik said. ”I think maybe as a veteran group, we probably don’t want to admit that it affected us. I think at times it definitely did.”Finishing in first place puts some pressure on the Capitals, but it’s nothing like in years past. More than anything, there’s urgency to win with Ovechkin 32 and having three years remaining on his contract.”We all know what we’re playing for is to win a championship and I’m hoping we do it this year,” owner Ted Leonsis said. ”I’m hoping we do it within his contract time.”Columbus is a tough first-round matchup for the Capitals, but their play down the stretch makes a long playoff run possible if they get strong goaltending from Braden Holtby or Philipp Grubauer. From the net out, Washington looks like a contender thanks to the trade-deadline additions of defensemen Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek and the play of centers Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom.”We’re playing the right way a lot of the time,” Holtby said. ”It’s more where you’re at as a team and I think we’re continuing to build and push forward in the right direction. We have a lot of guys contributing right now. It’s a good sign.”Washington’s road to the elusive Cup could go through Pittsburgh and then Boston, Tampa Bay or Toronto. Perhaps the expectations being on those teams instead of the Capitals isn’t such a bad thing.”I think it’s a good thing because I think last two years we were on top of the league and we win Presidents’ Trophy,” Ovechkin said. ”Everybody thought we were going to be unstoppable in playoffs and we didn’t. … We’re going to do our thing and we’re going to have success.”—

Aaron Altherr got his first lucky break in a while.

Left fielder Marcell Ozuna dived for and missed Altherr’s two-run double with two outs in the 10th inning Taylor Decker Jersey , allowing the Philadelphia Phillies to rally for a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Altherr had been hitless in his last 12 at-bats and 1 for 20 before the hit.

”The way things have been going, I thought he was going to catch it,” Altherr said. ”Thankfully he dove for it and it got by.”

Tommy Pham hit a solo homer in the top of the 10th, one inning after a wild pitch on a strikeout kept the game going. But the Phillies rallied.

Rhys Hoskins hit a bloop single to start the bottom of the 10th off Matt Bowman (0-2). Odubel Herrera dived headfirst into first to seemingly beat out an infield single, but the play was overturned by a video review. After Carlos Santana was intentionally walked, Bowman struck out Jesmuel Valentin.

Altherr then hit a sinking liner that appeared to skip off Ozuna’s glove before bouncing to the wall.

”It was so nice to see a ball bounce in his direction,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of Altherr.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny tried to explain the unusual strategy to put the winning run on base.

”Wanted to avoid their best hitter,” he said of Santana, who is batting .226.

On a day former closer Hector Neris was sent to the minors, Kapler’s aggressive use of the bullpen nearly cost him. Seranthony Dominguez – the team’s best reliever – wasn’t available after pitching 2 1/3 innings in the previous two games. So Kapler turned to Victor Arano and Adam Morgan in the ninth to protect a 4-2 lead. Neither pitcher has ever earned a save.

Yadier Molina hit a one-out single in the ninth off Arano, and Jedd Gyorko followed with a double. Arano struck out Harrison Bader and fanned Yairo Munoz, but Munoz reached when catcher Andrew Knapp failed to block the wild pitch and a run scored.

”I have to make that play. I have to block it Golden Tate III Jersey ,” Knapp said.

Morgan came in and allowed a tying single to Kolten Wong.

Pham hit a deep drive off Jake Thompson (1-1) for his 11th homer.

Matt Carpenter and Molina also hit solo homers for St. Louis. Molina caught his 1,757th game with the Cardinals, passing the Cubs’ Gabby Hartnett for the most games caught with one team.

Herrera hit a three-run homer for Philadelphia.

The Phillies’ bullpen wasted a strong start from Nick Pivetta. He had a career-high 13 strikeouts, allowing two runs and four hits in 7 1/3 innings in his best outing since May 21. Pivetta lost his previous four starts, posting a 7.11 ERA in those games.

Pivetta left after Carpenter hit a double high off the fence in right to put runners at second and third. Right fielder Nick Williams exited with a bloody face after the ball hit him on the carom.

Edubray Ramos entered and struck out Pham and Jose Martinez swinging at sliders.

The Phillies have won six of eight games while the Cardinals have lost six of eight.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas gave up four runs and six hits in five innings.

EXTRA WORK

The Phillies are 5-1 in extra innings while the Cardinals are 5-6.

ROSTER MOVE

Neris was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and lefty Austin Davis was recalled. Neris had a 6.00 ERA in 30 appearances, going 1-3 with 10 saves in 13 chances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

CARDINALS: 1B Martinez returned to the lineup after missing three games on paternity leave. 1B Luke Voit was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

PHILLIES: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (right hand) is set to throw a bullpen session Tuesday. … Righty reliever Pat Neshek is scheduled to throw live batting practice Wednesday in the minors.

UP NEXT

RHP Luke Weaver (3-6, 4.52 ERA) starts for the Cardinals and RHP Vince Velasquez (5-7, 4.74) goes for the Phillies on Tuesday night. Weaver has lost both of his career starts vs. Philadelphia. Velasquez is 1-1 vs. St. Louis, including a victory earlier this season.

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PHOENIX — Give Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray an “A” in self-evaluation.

Ray won his final six regular-season decisions in 2017 after missing a month with a concussion suffered when he was struck in the head by a line drive in St. Louis on July 28. Then last Wednesday, he spun six scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory over Florida in his first start after missing 58 days with an oblique injury.

Ray will face the Cardinals again on Monday, in the first game of a three-game series at Chase Field. Right-hander Carlos Martinez will start for the Cardinals.

“Obviously Teez Tabor Jersey , I’m not going to go out there if I don’t feel 100 percent,” said Ray, a first-time All-Star in 2017.

“There is a constant line of communication between me and Torey (manager Lovullo). He was open with me. He wanted me to make another rehab start. I made it clear that I felt like I was ready. It felt good to be back on the mound and to be good to put up some zeroes for this team and help us win.”

Both Arizona and St. Louis enter the series after being swept, the Diamondbacks losing three to NL West rival San Francisco and the Cardinals dropping three to NL East-leading Atlanta.

That was only a slight hiccup for the Diamondbacks, whose 19 victories in June tied for the most in the majors. They led the majors with 11 triples and were second in runs in the month. Starting pitchers had 15 victories, also the most in the majors, capped by wins by Ray and Zack Greinke in the final two games of a four-game series in Miami early last week.

The D-backs have lost only two of their last 10 series, both to San Francisco, while recovering from a 2-15 skid in May.

“You are going to have ups and downs,” Ray said. “That was a little bit of an extended down, but good teams find a way to break out of that. I feel like we’ve done that this month.

“It’s another thing we have going on. The dynamic in this clubhouse, we are never down on ourselves. Guys were in here playing music every single day. Nothing has changed. We understand that there is a process Christian Jones Jersey , and you have to stick with it. The second that you start changing who you are and over-analyzing a little bit, it can weigh on you.

“We just come in there every day like it’s a new day. We prepare every day the same way, and we don’t change anything.”

The Cardinals have been careening a bit. They have lost four in a row after winning four straight, a run that ended another three-game losing streak. They have lost 12 of 18 since peaking at eight games over .500 on June 11.

St. Louis has scored 11 runs in their last four games after clobbering Cleveland’s Corey Kluber, scoring six runs off his in 1 2/3 innings, the shortest outing of his major league career.

Martinez (4-4) won that game, his first in five starts since returning from the disabled list, giving up two runs with eight strikeouts in six innings. He had a 1.62 ERA in eight starts before going on the disabled list and has 6.75 ERA in five starts since returning. His issue has been walks, 43 in 72 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals have considered moving first baseman Jose Martinez to the outfield in an attempt to increase their run production, but Martinez started at first again Sunday.

“The bat has to be (in the lineup),” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters over the weekend. “You’ve got a guy who’s been as consistent as anybody we’ve had all season. So you’ve got to find a place for him.

“We’ve never ruled out the outfield. None of that is out of the question. We haven’t featured that yet but it’s something that has been in the conversation. He’s been doing work out there, too. But Luke Willson Jersey , right now, it’s how do we improve at first base?”

Carlos Martinez has had good success against Arizona, with a 2.88 ERA in eight appearances. That ERA ranks 20th among active major leaguers with at least 30 innings against the Diamondbacks. Martinez has been even more successful at Chase Field, with a 2.11 ERA, fifth among those with at least 20 innings.

Martinez has given up one homer against the Diamondbacks, that coming to Gerardo Parra in their first meeting. Since then, he has gone 33 1/3 innings without giving up a homer to them.

Ray (3-0) is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals. He was removed after being struck by Luke Voit liner in the second inning of the July 28 start last season.

PHOENIX — As the second half of the season commences Ondrej Kase Jersey , both Arizona and San Francisco have reasons to feel confident as they prepare for the third game of a three-game weekend series Sunday.

Both are nearing full health, and the NL West remains wide open as the Diamondbacks, Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are within 3 1/2 games of each other entering July.

Arizona survived a 2-15 stretch in May and is playing as well as it did in the early going, when it did not lose any of its first 12 series. The Giants have won nine of 11 after going 18-10 in June, their first winning month since June, 2016.

“I know that we got off to a great start and hit a little downturn and fought back,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said when asked about his takeaways from the first half.

“The obvious thing is, we are playing very good baseball now. We’ve grown and learned and become stronger and tougher because of the situation we walked through in May. They have never pointed their finger at anything or any anyone in an particular situation or moment.

“When it didn’t go well, they were accountable. They played united baseball. We’re right in the middle of a story that we continue to want to tell the way we are telling it.”

Arizona right-hander Zack Godley will oppose Giants left-hander Derek Holland in the final game of the series at Chase Field on Sunday afternoon. The Giants begin a three-game series in Colorado on Monday while the Diamondbacks will host a three-game series against St. Louis.

“Considering everything that is happened, we are right in the thick of things, which is where you want to be,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said.

“If you would have told me what we have to deal with – three starters out, (Joe) Panik out, (Evan) Longoria out. Sure, no question you take it. I think it is going to be tight in September. Hopefully we’re right there. That’s our plan.”

Right-handers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija could made their next starts in the majors after prolonged absences due to injury Rickard Rakell Jersey , and Cueto would be particularly welcome. He was 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA in five starts while holding opponents to a .150 batting average before going on the disabled list because of shoulder soreness in the first week of May.

In the interim, Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez have pitched well. The Giants also have received only five starts from Madison Bumgarner, who opened the season on the disabled list before returning in early June.

Arizona outfielders A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza Jr. also are nearing a return from the disabled list after missing considerable time. The Diamondbacks also lost starters Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray for 58 days before returning.

Pollock and Souza Jr. are on rehab assignments for Triple-A Reno, and Pollock is likely to return before the All-Star break. Pollock was slashing .293/.349/.620 with 10 doubles, 11 homers and nine stolen bases in 43 games before suffering a fractured thumb trying to make a diving catch in center field in the ninth inning of a 7-2 loss to Milwaukee on May 14.

“You think about what the (injury) losses are,” Lovullo said “It’s been a very interesting season. I think the most resilient teams are the ones that understand and accept what’s happening day by day, whether it is good or bad, and move on to the next day as quickly as possible.

“We are a resilient group. We can turn the page quickly, no matter what the results are.”

Godley, 9-5 with a 4.58 ERA, is one victory short of NL leaders Max Scherzer, Jon Lester and Aaron Nola, in part because he has received 4.63 runs of support in his 16 starts. His 1.52 WHIP is 44th and last among qualified NL starters, and he has made seven quality starts.

Godley is 1-1 with a 6.10 ERA in two starts against the Giants this season and is 2-2 with a 6.97 ERA in six career appearances, four starts Marquis Haynes Jersey , against them. Godley has pitched his best at home this season, going 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA in six starts.

Holland (5-7, 4.24) is coming off arguably his best outing of the season, although he did not receive a decision in a 3-2 victory over Colorado. Holland gave up one run on six hits in a season-high 6 2/3 innings while striking out a season high eight. It was his longest appearance since he went eight innings against Seattle on May 21, 2017.

He is 0-1 in two starts against the Diamondbacks, both with Texas. Holland is 3-5 with a 3.94 ERA in nine road starts this season. He has never pitched in Chase Field.

Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann finally got to a point that something had to be done to try to fix his troublesome right knee.

McCann had arthroscopic surgery Tuesday after going on the disabled list for the second time this season, and the third time in less than a year, because of knee discomfort.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told MLB.com and the Houston Chronicle during a 5-3 win at Texas that the team was optimistic that the surgery would resolve the issue that kept recurring. While not specific about the procedure or a timetable, the GM said he’d expect McCann back in September to get ready for October.

Manager A.J. Hinch said before the Astros’ 5-3 win at Texas that he and McCann had a long conversation about the knee problems when the team played in Tampa last weekend.

”It’s just continually the same issue over and over with his right knee,” Hinch said. ”One of the options is surgery, and he went back to Houston to take care of it.”

Catcher Tim Federowicz, who made two starts earlier this season when McCann was on the DL, was promoted from Triple-A Fresno.

Max Stassi was the Astros’ starting catcher Tuesday night against the Rangers. Hinch said Stassi would get the bulk of the catching during McCann’s absence.

But Stassi never got behind the plate against the Rangers. He was hit by a pitch on his right (throwing) wrist while batting in the first inning. He stayed in the game to run, but Federowicz went to catch when the Astros took the field.

X-rays were negative, but Stassi has a bruised wrist and was considered day to day.

Shortstop Carlos Correa Ryan Getzlaf Jersey , who has been out since June 26 because of lower back soreness, also was back in Houston. He is eligible to come off the DL as early as Friday, though Hinch wasn’t sure if Correa would be ready to play then.

”He’s been reporting to Minute Maid (Park) every day and working with our people there,” Hinch said. ”The good news is that everything has been a step forward. The uncertainty is still we haven’t done any baseball activities yet, so we don’t know how that’s going to impact his timeline until we get home.”

McCann missed nine games during his first DL stint this season before being activated June 8, the last time Houston played at the Rangers.

He was also on the DL for 11 days last August because of right knee soreness before the Astros went on to win their first World Series title. McCann played in all seven World Series games.

His latest DL move was retroactive to Monday, a day off for Houston.

McCann has hit .206 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 50 games this season. He was in a 1-for-26 slump before going on the DL for the first time this season on May 29. He hit .171 (7-of-41) with one homer and three RBIs in his 13 games in June after returning from the DL.

Stassi has hit .255 with seven homers and 22 RBIs in 49 games for the Astros. Federowicz hit .328 with six homers and 22 RBIs in 38 games at Fresno.

”I have a lot of confidence in Stassi and Fed, both with major league time,” Hinch said. ”They’re comfortable, they know our pitchers, they know our program, our preparation, all things that make me feel really good about going into each particular game.”

—

The Oakland Athletics will go for their season-high fifth win in a row when they open a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.

Oakland (38-36) has achieved a four-game winning streak on four occasions this season Youth Billy Price Jersey , including its current stretch, but has yet to make it five. The A’s have outscored opponents 28-15 during this week’s streak, which includes two wins apiece against the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres.

A’s hitters slugged five homers in a 12-4 rout of the Padres on Wednesday. The team already has four players with double-digit blasts, including Khris Davis (20), Matt Olson (15), Jed Lowrie (11) and the injured Matt Chapman (10).

“We definitely have some power,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said to the A’s official website. “That’s one of the strengths of the team.”

As Oakland is riding a hot streak, Chicago (24-49) is mired in a seven-game losing streak. A loss in the series opener would give the White Sox their worst skid of the season, which is saying something considering the club’s ugly record.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria’s club is coming off back-to-back sweeps at the hands of the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. In Wednesday’s series finale, Chicago managed only two hits in a 12-0 loss to the Indians.

“It’s tough, but instead of getting frustrated, we have to keep working, use that feeling to work harder,” White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada said to the team’s official website. “There are still plenty of games to play, and we can improve. We can keep getting better, and if it is not this year Womens Henrik Zetterberg Jersey , then next year. But definitely the games we have this year, we have a chance to improve.”

White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (4-7, 7.19 ERA) will look to improve in his 15th start of the season. The former first-round pick of the Washington Nationals (No. 16 overall in 2012) has terrific potential but has been unable to produce consistent results in his first full season on the South Side.

Poor command has plagued Giolito, who has 45 walks in 71 1/3 innings. He also has hit 10 batters, which is tied for most in the majors along with Cole Hamels of the Texas Rangers and Carlos Martinez of the St. Louis Cardinals.

This will mark the 23-year-old’s first career appearance against Oakland.

For the A’s, right-hander Chris Bassitt (0-2, 2.45 ERA) will make his third start of the season. The 29-year-old is seeking his first victory since Aug. 4, 2015, against the Baltimore Orioles.

Bassitt is quite familiar with the White Sox, who drafted him in the 16th round in 2011 and developed him in the minors. He went 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six appearances (five starts) as a rookie in Chicago in 2014.

On Dec. 9, 2014, the White Sox shipped Bassitt, Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley and minor leaguer Rangel Ravelo to Oakland in exchange for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa. The trade did not pan out as hoped for Chicago, which retained Samardzija for one underwhelming season before he signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants.

Bassitt has faced the White Sox once in his career. That was in 2016, when he gave up eight hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings Gabriel Landeskog Jersey Kids , but did not get a decision in Chicago’s 5-4 victory.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the teams. Last year, Oakland won the season series 5-1.

First, it was third-string catcher Kyle Higashioka getting the silent treatment in the dugout after a home run. Then, the same for Aaron Hicks when he hit homer No. 3.

On a 91-degree night with the pennant race heating up, the New York Yankees enjoyed some more yucks against their biggest rival.

Hicks launched three home runs and the Yankees pummeled David Price again, connecting five times in the first four innings Sunday on the way to an 11-1 rout of the Boston Red Sox.

”It feels awesome,” Hicks said. ”I blacked out after the third one. Kind of didn’t know what to do. But I mean, it’s exciting.”

Luis Severino became the first 13-game winner in the majors, cruising through 6 2/3 shutout innings of two-hit ball after the Bronx Bombers quickly built him a big cushion. With the teams trading blowouts all weekend, the Yankees (54-27) took two of three from Boston to regain baseball’s best record and first place in the AL East.

”It’s going to be a dogfight. We have a good team, they have a good team,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. ”A weird series, honestly. It was very weird. Weird games.”

Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres also homered for New York, which leads the 19-game season series 5-4. The next time the teams meet is early August at Fenway Park.

”I’m sure it’s going to be a fun few months,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

The first Yankees leadoff batter to hit three home runs in a game, Hicks connected twice from the right side of the plate and once from the left. He smacked a two-run shot to right field in the second inning and a solo drive to center in the fourth that chased Price (9-6) and made it 8-0.

Hicks pulled his 14th of the season into the right-field stands in the eighth off Hector Velazquez. It was the first three-homer game by a Yankees player since Alex Rodriguez Jakob Silfverberg Jersey , part of the ESPN broadcast crew Sunday, accomplished the feat at Minnesota in July 2015.

The only other Yankees hitter to go deep three times at the current Yankee Stadium was Curtis Granderson in April 2012 against the Twins.

Judge had three hits and scored three times. Torres socked a three-run shot that gave New York a 4-0 lead in the first, and the Yankees finished with a season-high six homers to boost their major league-leading total to 137, setting a franchise record for before the All-Star break.

Exactly halfway through its season, New York is on pace to surpass the 1997 Seattle Mariners’ mark of 264 homers.

”That’s probably as good a night as we’ve had all year,” Boone said. ”Obviously, a big series to grab it on Sunday here. That’s a peak at what we can do.”

Higashioka homered into the second deck in left field off Price for his first major league hit after an 0-for-22 start to his career. Higashioka, wearing No. 66 in pinstripes, received the silent treatment when he returned to the bench before happy teammates finally engulfed him.

”The feeling is indescribable,” Higashioka said at his locker, the team’s championship belt for the night draped over his chair. ”I laughed. I didn’t expect that, but I mean, obviously it was amazing. It was just a great feeling.”

Price was rocked for eight earned runs – matching a career high – and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings, his latest flop against the Yankees. He had never given up more than three homers in a game.

Severino (13-2) lowered his AL-leading ERA to 1.98 and improved to 8-0 at home this season. He walked off to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 46,795 and tipped his cap , right on track to become the first Yankees pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Roger Clemens in 2001.

”It means a lot Authentic Saquon Barkley Jersey ,” Severino said. ”Facing the Red Sox is one of the best things in baseball.”

Boston (56-29) was outhit 16-4 and didn’t score until the ninth.

THE PRICE IS WRONG

Making his 40th career appearance (39th start) vs. the Yankees, Price fell to 2-6 with an 8.43 ERA in nine starts against them since signing a $217 million contract with Boston before the 2016 season. He has faced New York twice this year, allowing 12 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, and is 0-5 with a 10.44 ERA in his last five starts at Yankee Stadium.

”Honestly, I felt fine. They put some good swings on what I felt like were pretty good pitches,” said Price, who entered 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA in nine starts since being diagnosed with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome that caused him to miss a scheduled turn at New York in May. ”I’ve faced the Yankees many times. It’s time for me to kind of go back to that drawing board.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: Right-handed reliever Tyler Thornburg is expected back this week after rehabbing from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome last June.

Yankees: Higashioka started at catcher for Austin Romine, who exited Saturday’s game with tightness in his left hamstring. A precautionary MRI was negative, and Romine was available off the bench. He could return to the lineup Monday night against Atlanta. Romine has been filling in for All-Star backstop Gary Sanchez (groin), who might be able to come off the disabled list right after the All-Star break July 20-22 against the Mets. … GM Brian Cashman said if everything goes well, RHP Masahiro Tanaka (two strained hamstrings) will make a minor league rehab start this week and rejoin the Yankees early next week in Baltimore – perhaps in time to pitch in a July 9 doubleheader.

UP NEXT

Red Sox: Three interleague games at Washington, where RHP Rick Porcello (9-3, 3.60 ERA) faces former Detr