Allgemeine Themen » with his 13th of the season 2:17 into

DALLAS (AP) Ilya Kovalchuk signed with the Kings in his return to the NHL New Jersey Devils Hats Authentic , the Hurricanes and Flames pulled off a five-player trade, and John Tavares will now explore different possibilities for his future.After a dull first round of the draft, action picked up Saturday as teams laid the groundwork for more moves.The biggest is Tavares, who will begin talking to other teams Sunday when the free agent negotiating period opens. The New York Islanders‘ face of the franchise will reportedly meet with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and three other teams in the upcoming days in Los Angeles before he can sign a contract July 1.”He’s earned every right to make whatever choice he has,” Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said. ”He has a right to do that. The important thing is that he’s an Islander at the end.”That’s far from certain after the Islanders were unable to agree to terms with the 27-year-old point-a-game center before he could open the dialogue with other teams. Just being able to woo Tavares is a tantalizing possibility, even if GMs aren’t willing to say his name while he’s still property of New York.”I think players do identify our team, our organization, as a place that they want to explore, which is a good thing Custom New Jersey Devils Jerseys ,” Sharks GM Doug Wilson said. ”It’s a good thing that I think players look at our place as a place they want to consider to play, which as a GM makes your life a little bit easier.”Tavares is the biggest fish in free agency, especially considering the Stanley Cup-champion Washington Capitals were closing in on a deal to re-sign defenseman John Carlson.Amid the fast-and-furious selecting in Rounds 2 through 7, Carolina acquired defenseman Dougie Hamilton, winger Micheal Ferland and prospect Adam Fox from Calgary for center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin. After missing the playoffs the past nine seasons, the Hurricanes aren’t done dealing.”We’ll stay busy,” Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said. ”I can’t say for sure anything will get done. I’m pretty confident something will get done, whether it’s in the next few days or next 10 days.”Only two trades involving players went down at the draft, including the Capitals clearing cap space for Carlson by sending backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer and 37-year-old defenseman Brooks Orpik to the Colorado Avalanche for a second-round pick. But even beyond Carolina – which could trade winger Jeff Skinner and defenseman Justin Faulk and will likely also get a goalie – the seeds were planted for several more moves over the next week.One of those could include Montreal captain Max Pacioretty, who changed agents amid trade rumors. Buffalo is also entertaining offers on center Ryan O’Reilly www.officialislanders.com , and the Rangers are seeing what’s out there as they rebuild but have an overflowing amount of cap space.”We have a lot going on,” Rangers GM Jeff Gorton said. ”It didn’t seem like there were as many trades as we’ve seen in the last couple of years at the draft. I’m going to guess that’s going to keep coming here as we go into free agency that in the next week you’ll start to see some more players move around based on the conversations that we’re having.”Gorton believes some of the higher-end players being available in trades or free agency is holding back trade action. As soon as some of them go, it could start a domino effect.”A lot of teams set their sights on those guys, and when they don’t get them it may change what you’re doing,” Gorton said. ”A lot of times when some of the best players are out there for trade it does hold everybody up because you want the best players and everyone is trying to do it, and they all can’t do it.”Los Angeles got it done with Kovalchuk, signing him to a three-year contract with a $6.25 million cap hit. Boston GM Don Sweeney, who was in talks to sign the Olympic MVP, said going to three years made it tough on the Bruins and ultimately sealed the deal for the Kings.The Islanders, Maple Leafs New York Islanders T-Shirts Authentic , Sharks and others will certainly try to do the same with Tavares, who would almost certainly get $10-plus million a season on a seven-year deal and fits into the category of players Wilson believes San Jose can get.”We’re looking for difference-makers,” Wilson said. ”We’ll be prepared and see what opportunities and what conversations we’ll be able to participate in.— NEW YORK (AP) The Islanders are stumbling hard at the wrong time of the season for a team with eyes on a postseason berth.Alex Galchenyuk completed his hat trick shortly after Paul Byron and Noah Juulsen scored 1:43 apart in the third period, lifting the Montreal Canadiens over New York 6-3 on Friday night.New York dropped to 29-29-7 with its fifth straight loss. Tanner Fritz, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson scored, and Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves.”Our record is ugly the past couple weeks,” Thomas Hickey said. ”You just have to win. It’s that time of year. We’ve been given all the X’s and O’s and everything. We have to win. We have to find a way to win. Simple.”The Islanders entered the game trailing Columbus by four points for the final Eastern Conference wild card. However, New York has lost 27 of 41 (14-22-5) since Dec. 1.Galchenyuk scored his third goal into an empty net with 49 seconds left and also had an assist. Brendan Gallagher also scored for Montreal, which improved to 24-29-10 with its second straight win.”We’re happy to find a way to win,” Galchenyuk said. ”We’ve been playing better the last couple of weeks.”Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury. Montreal coach Claude Julien said Pacioretty would travel with the team during the rest of its six-game trip and would be ”re-evaluated as we go along. We were just being cautious in the third period.”Montreal’s Charlie Lindgren stopped 32 shots.Montreal added to New York’s woes when Byron and Juulsen scored to give Montreal a home-and-home series sweep – the Canadiens beat New York 3-1 on Wednesday in Montreal.Byron made it 4-3 with his 16th of the season at 8:10. Juulsen New York Islanders Hoodies Authentic , a rookie, then scored his first NHL goal on a slap shot off of a feed from Artturi Lehkonen.Gallagher opened the scoring with his team-leading 22nd goal 1:28 in by deflecting Galchenyuk’s shot from the blue line.The lead held until Fritz scored his second of the season with six seconds remaining in the period.Galchenyuk snapped the tie with his 13th of the season 2:17 into the second with the teams playing 4 on 4. Galchenyuk found the rebound when David Schlemko’s shot ricocheted off the post.Bailey tied it 2:06 later with his 16th of the season.Montreal took its third lead of the game on Galchenyuk’s second of the period at 11:31, but Nelson’s power-play goal with 3.3 seconds left sent the teams into the intermission tied at 3.”After the middle of the second it didn’t feel like a playoff atmosphere,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. ”We weren’t physical like we’ve been. Yeah, there’s things we can do, but we have to play better. We’re not playing well.”NOTES: MSG Network reporter Stan Fischler announced he would retire at the end of the season. … Bailey played in his 700th NHL game, all with the Islanders. … RW Jordan Eberle missed the game with soreness from Thursday’s practice. New York also did not have C Casey Cizikas, who was awaiting the birth of his first child.UP NEXTCanadiens: At Boston on Saturday night.Islanders: At Pittsburgh on Saturday night.—