Gästebuch » Tavares’ nine years in the league

DENVER (AP) The third-string goalie nicknamed ”Hamburglar” stole a game for Colorado in Nashville.No time for Andrew Hammond to revel in his thievery www.mapleleafsshoponline.com , though. Game 6 awaits Sunday at the Pepsi Center. Once again, the Avalanche and their surprise goalie with the catchy moniker – he used to have a mask with the McDonald’s “Hamburglar” character on the side – will try to ward off elimination trailing Nashville 3-2 in the first-round series.”Backs against the wall in an elimination game seem to bring out the best in us,” Hammond said Saturday after the team arrived home.In Philadelphia, Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth faces the same kind of pressure Sunday with his team down 3-2 heading home against Pittsburgh. He stopped 30 shots in Game 5 to help the Flyers extend that series.”I’ve been practicing well and feeling good about my game,” said Neuvirth, who’s been banged up this season. ”I believe in myself that I can bring my `A’ game on the big stage.”Hammond certainly brought out his best in what Colorado coach Jared Bednar called ”one of the biggest games he’s had in his career.”The 30-year-old Hammond turned back 44 shots from the top-seeded Predators in Game 5. This after he was thrust into action for the third period of Game 4 when Jonathan Bernier went down with a lower-body injury. Bernier was filling in with starter Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a knee injury.To think, Hammond was essentially a throw-in player during the three-team deal that sent Matt Duchene to Ottawa in November. The Avalanche already had a surplus of goalies, so Hammond spent time in the American Hockey League. Eventually, Hammond was called up, but before making an appearance with Colorado he suffered a concussion. And once he recovered, he was briefly sent back to the AHL.Hammond’s only NHL game of the season came on March 28 against Philadelphia Toronto Maple Leafs T-Shirts Womens , stopping 31 shots in a 2-1 loss.On Friday, Hammond made his first playoff start since April 17, 2015, with Ottawa.”I won’t lie. There are days you wonder if it would happen again for you,” Hammond said. ”As cliche as it is, you stick to the process and try to get better. Fortunately, it all worked out last night. We’re not satisfied, though. We want to keep going and win tomorrow night, and extend the series, and go back to Nashville and play another meaningful hockey game.”The Predators now find themselves trying to avoid becoming the fifth Presidents’ Trophy winners to be eliminated in the first round since 2005-06.”There’s a lot of confidence in the room and belief in the room that we can go to Colorado and win a game,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.ABOUT THAT NICKNAMEHammond is ambivalent about being called the ”Hamburglar Toronto Maple Leafs Hoodies Womens ,” a nickname that’s followed him since his college days at Bowling Green.”To be honest, I don’t know if anyone actually calls me that to my face outside of maybe fans,” said Hammond, who had the “Hamburglar” character on his mask while in Ottawa. ”I have no problem with it. I think the side story it’s taken on has been pretty funny. It adds to it.”Does his family call him that?”No,” he laughed. ”No.”ROAD SCHOLARSThe road team is 4-1 in the Penguins-Flyers series as it shifts back to Philadelphia. Even more, the Penguins are 4-0 in Philly this year, winning by a combined score of 20-4, including 10-1 in Games 3 and 4.”I’m not a huge believer you carry momentum over from one game to the next,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. ”You have to re-generate it. We played some really good hockey games at home down the stretch. We didn’t do it the last two.”ON THE MENDThe Penguins could have forward Patric Hornqvist back in the lineup after he skated with the team Saturday. He’s missed the last two games with an upper-body injury.Hornqvist has 20 career playoff goals, including one in this series.READY TO GOVegas coach Gerard Gallant plans to pick up the intensity at practice, maybe with some 3-on-3 scrimmages featuring a little contact. He doesn’t want his team to become too rusty given the layoff in between series. The expansion Golden Knights could go more than a week between finishing the sweep of Los Angeles on Tuesday and starting their second-round series against San Jose.”In a perfect world Toronto Maple Leafs Hats Womens , I’d soon have three or four days off and get back at it,” Gallant said. ”I’m sure San Jose is the same way. Any coach would say the same thing.”—AP Sports Writers Teresa M. Walker and Will Graves contributed to this report.— John Carlson can’t forget that he is fighting for the NHL lead for points among defensemen because his Washington Capitals teammates keep razzing him about it.”The guys do a good job of pumping that up in the locker room,” Carlson said.Carlson’s 61 points have him tied with the Dallas Stars’ John Klingberg, and he is a dark horse candidate for the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.”John’s having just a whale of a year,” teammate Matt Niskanen said. ”Monster year – production, been carrying the load all year. He’s been a stalwart back there for us.”This breakout season with a career-high 15 goals and 46 assists is coming at a perfect time for Carlson, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer but has been flying under the radar compared to New York Islanders captain John Tavares. Carlson command upward of $7 million per season on a deal that’s almost certain to be eight years if Washington re-signs him or seven if he hits the market July 1.The 28-year-old has outperformed the six-year contract he signed in 2012 that pays him just under $4 million a year. He has shown the ability to be a dominant No. 1 defenseman by averaging 25 minutes a game, running the point on the top power-play unit, killing penalties and drawing the toughest matchups.A 2008 first-round pick of the Capitals, Carlson likes Washington and would like to stay if the fit is there. General manager Brian MacLellan has said he believes each side wants to get a deal done but will wait until after the season to try to make it happen.The big question is whether the Capitals can make it work under the salary cap, which might require trades even though the ceiling is expected to go up to between $78 million and $82 million from $75 million.Carlson might not reach the $7.875 million annual salary of Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman Custom Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys , who along with Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings is a Norris front-runner, but he might not be far off. Carlson has more of an offensive punch than San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, whose new deal pays him $7 million a year, and he has almost double the points of the next-highest potential free agent defenseman, former Capitals teammate Mike Green, who’s 32.”He’s always been steady,” Washington goaltender Braden Holtby said of Carlson. ”His role’s expanded, obviously, which shows: time on ice and points and such. He’s got all the tools of a great defenseman. “Carlson isn’t the only player excelling in a contract year. Here are some others:JAMES VAN RIEMSDYKThirty-goal scorers get paid handsomely in free agency because they are so rarely available. Van Riemsdyk’s 33 goals are 11th-most in the NHL, and the 6-foot-3, 217-pound left-winger has gotten better around the net. Van Riemsdyk www.canucksshoponline.com , the second overall pick in 2007, has another one of the league’s best bargain contracts at $4.25 million a year, which Toronto inherited from Philadelphia. The Maple Leafs have expressed interest in keeping the 28-year-old.JOHN TAVARESUndoubtedly the best pending free agent, Tavares still not having a new contract with the New York Islanders is generating buzz and whispers like Steven Stamkos two years ago. Stamkos re-upped with Tampa Bay on the eve of free agency, which Tavares could do. The Islanders will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season and sixth time in Tavares’ nine years in the league. The point-a-game player with 32 goals and 43 assists could fetch $10 million a year or more if he isn’t back with New York.DAVID PERRONThe expansion Vegas Golden Knights struck gold with Perron, whose 66 points are a career high and a big reason they are leading the Pacific Division. The soon-to-be 30-year-old winger got his game back after bouncing around to four different teams the past five seasons and could easily re-sign with Vegas like teammate Jonathan Marchessault did.JOE THORNTONKnee surgery knocked Thornton out of the San Jose Sharks’ lineup in January, cutting short a season in which he had 36 points in 43 games at age 38. If Thornton shows he can still play at the top of his game when he returns, he will be in demand for another one-year contract.RICK NASHGoing from the New York Rangers to Boston appears to have reinvigorated Nash’s game after just 28 points in 60 games before the trade. The 33-year-old power winger’s contract year won’t truly be judged until the playoffs, where he gets another chance to exorcise some past demons.—