Allgemeine Themen » through the first quarter

A few years ago the Los Angeles Kings were celebrating their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons and looking like a budding dynasty.The once-formidable franchise is occupying the basement of the NHL these days and thinking more about positioning for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft than winning another title. At least that was the narrative a few weeks ago.The Kings have shown life lately Scott Mayfield Jersey Womens , winning four straight — three against teams in playoff position — before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night. Los Angeles will try to keep its momentum going when it plays at the struggling Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.Article continues below ...The Kings (15-21-3) are still eight points out of the second wild card in the West with half the season left. How thing unfold over the next couple of weeks could determine if the franchise becomes a seller before the trade deadline. The players are just focusing on what is happening on the ice.“I think we’re trying to just take it one game at a time, quite honestly,” Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. “We have a lot of new guys with not a lot of experience of what it takes to win at this level.”The Kings are surging as the Avalanche are stumbling. Colorado has lost four in a row, including an overtime setback to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. Scoring has become an issue after the Avalanche were one of the top offensive teams through the first two months of the season.In five of the last six games, Colorado has scored two goals or fewer and the one contest it had four goals was a loss at Arizona.The struggles led to coach Jared Bednar shaking up his top two lines to create a spark. Despite the trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog combining for 160 points before Saturday’s game Bednar moved Landeskog to the second line and put Matt Nieto with MacKinnon and Rantanen.By the second period, Landeskog was back on the top line. He played well but his double minor late in the third period led to a Chicago power-play goal in overtime.“Landy is a heck of a player,” Colorado forward Alexander Kerfoot told HockeyBuzz.com about the team’s captain. “Whatever line’s he’s playing on, he’ll help them produce and help them be consistent. We’re lucky to play with him tonight. He’s very consistent in what he brings every night. You know what you’re getting out of him.”Colorado (19-13-7) has three games left on this homestand and needs to turn things around. Despite going 3-7-2 in the last 12 games the Avalanche are still in third place in the Central Division.They will try to shore up some of their defensive issues, which may help get the offense going.“We want to be dangerous offensively, but we’ve got to be better on the defensive side Max Domi Jersey Womens , both on the rush and in our zone,” Bednar said Saturday night. A pair of Metropolitan Division rivals return to action following U.S. Thanksgiving to face off Friday afternoon when the New Jersey Devils host the New York Islanders at Prudential Center.It is the second meeting this season between the teams, who are separated by 16 miles, a pair of rivers and only two points in the standings. Back on Nov. 3, the Islanders (10-8-2) beat the Devils (9-9-2) 3-0 behind Thomas Greiss‘ 35-save shutout.Since then, the Islanders stumbled, winning just two of seven games. They come off Wednesday’s 5-0 road loss at Madison Square Garden to the New York Rangers, allowing 11 goals in consecutive defeats and 16 goals in the last three contests.Article continues below ...“The last two games have been awful,” Islanders captain Anders Lee told Newsday.One of the NHL’s biggest surprises the first quarter of the season, the Islanders are showing some cracks in their overall game, and coach Barry Trotz held a detailed practice on Thanksgiving to prepare his listing club for the important division clash against the Devils.Trotz reunited both of his top two lines on Thursday after some recent experimentation. Mathew Barzal centered Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier http://www.officialsabres.com/authentic-adidas-jack-eichel-jersey , while Brock Nelson was back between Jordan Eberle and Lee.In addition, rugged bottom-six wingers Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin both practiced. Clutterbuck missed the game against the Rangers due to an illness and Martin is on injured reserve, having missed the previous eight games.“Some guys who have played well, have slipped a little bit,” Trotz told reporters. “We’ve got to get back on the rails here.”The Islanders could be without defenseman Ryan Pulock, who injured his arm against the Rangers and did not practice Thursday.Since losing to the Islanders earlier in the month the streaky Devils are 4-4-1. New Jersey beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Wednesday night following two consecutive defeats and is now an impressive 7-1-2 on home ice.“Any win is good right now, but it’s great to get those home wins, and as long as we get those home wins, we put ourselves in a good spot,” Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid told reporters.Kinkaid made 24 saves in Wednesday’s victory, while Nico Hischier scored in his return following a four-game injury absence. Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist http://www.officialflames.com/authentic-adidas-sean-monahan-jersey , and a rejuvenated Pavel Zacha scored twice, giving him four goals in his last three games.“I’m happy they’re going in for me right now,” said Zacha. “Before, I had a lot of chances, but they weren’t going in. They’re finally going in for me now.”The Devils, who seek to win consecutive games for only the second time since winning their first four games of the season, are 4-3-0 within the Metropolitan Division. They won three straight division games before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Sunday.One of the team’s strengths through the first quarter of the season is the penalty kill. New Jersey did not surrender a power play goal in its last four games and surrendered only one in its last 19 times short-handed, covering seven games. The Devils are fourth in the league with a penalty kill success rate of 84.5 percent.“Special teams are so important in this league, and our penalty kill can be a game-changer for us,” said Devils forward Blake Coleman.The Devils won both games against the Islanders played at Prudential Center a year ago and have four wins in their six games on home ice against New York covering the last three seasons.