Gästebuch » "Hes not the loudest guy in the clubhouse,

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading to the playoffs for an eighth straight year. Jeremy Lauzon Jersey . Barring an epic collapse, a Metropolitan Division title is all but clinched. What happens after that, however, is anybodys guess. Dominant in the beginning but dismal at the end, the Penguins let a chance to clinch their second straight division crown slip away in a 4-1 loss to Carolina on Tuesday night that left Pittsburgh just 8-8-2 since returning from the Olympic break. Not exactly the kind of momentum a Stanley Cup contender wants to bring into the final days of the regular season. "If youre not 100 per cent, they can expose you and make you look pretty silly," Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik said. "Thats what happened here tonight." Carolina rookie Elias Lindholm scored twice for the first multi-goal game of his career, Eric Staal and Justin Faulk also scored while Jeff Skinner added two assists. Anton Khudobin stopped 30 shots as the Hurricanes avoided being swept in the season series by Pittsburgh for the first time in 18 years. "I thought we kept it simple and kind of slowly frustrated them as it went on and it was a win we needed," Staal said. Chris Kunitz scored his 35th goal to give Pittsburgh an early lead, but the Penguins crumbled over the final two periods. Sidney Crosby picked up an assist to push his NHL-leading point total to 100, but the Penguins appeared to lose interest after failing to bury the Hurricanes during a frenetic opening barrage in which they appeared ready to run Carolina out of the arena. "We all felt like the first 10 minutes we were carrying the play ... for whatever reason we got away from that," Crosby said. "Maybe we thought that came easy or we could get away with cheating. And it didnt work." No, it didnt. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves, but received little help playing behind a sloppy defence. The Penguins turned it over 13 times, including a series of miscues the Hurricanes were only too happy to turn into goals. "I think we started mismanaging the puck and started having turnovers in the neutral zone," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. The Penguins appeared to right the enigmatic final third of their season with a spirited 4-1 victory over Chicago on Sunday night. Two days later, the sense of urgency evaporated when the Hurricanes -- who are about to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year -- failed to roll over. Pittsburgh recorded 12 of the first 14 shots, including Kunitzs wrist shot from the left circle that Khudobin never saw. Crosby picked up the secondary assist to lift his point total to the century mark for the fifth time in his career, drawing a roar from the usual sellout crowd at Consol Energy Center. It had all the makings of a blowout. One developed, just not the one the Penguins were expecting. Carolina steadied itself late in the first, evening the game on a knuckling slap shot by Faulk that gave the Hurricanes the confidence boost they needed to get back in it. The Penguins malaise did the rest. "That goal from (Faulk) really evens it up and then we kind of just took a deep breath, got our legs going better and then I thought we just started moving better and playing a much smarter game," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. Lindholm put Carolina in front to stay 9:24 into the second with a power-play goal that included a pretty feed from Skinner, who threaded a pass between Pittsburgh defenceman Olli Maattas legs right to Lindholms stick. Fleury never had a chance. The goaltender was equally helpless five minutes later when a turnover by teammate Deryk Engelland handed Skinner and Lindholm a breakaway that Lindholm converted into the first multi-goal game of his brief career. Any late push by the Penguins ended when Staals tip-in eluded Fleury with just over 8 minutes left. Instead of skating off the ice with their fourth division title since Crosbys arrival in 2005, Pittsburgh trudged to the locker room wondering when the consistency that propelled them to the top of the Eastern Conference before the Olympic break will return. "Theres not much good to take out of it," Crosby said. "So weve just got to make sure we respond the next game." NOTES: Carolina played without F Alexander Semin, who was scratched due to an illness. ... The Hurricanes return home to face Dallas on Thursday. ... The Penguins fell to 45-8-4 this season when Crosby scores a point. Johnny Bucyk Jersey . "We were left with the overall impression that the team wasnt trending toward being able to compete for a Stanley Cup," Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said in a news conference at the clubs arena. "And that was just a clear signal and why it was time to make those changes. Phil Esposito Jersey . - Jerome Verrier scored the winner 8:24 into overtime and Louis-Phillip Guindon stopped 46 shots as the Drummondville Voltigeurs edged the host Val-dOr Foreurs 4-3 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. http://www.authenticbruinsnhlhockey.com/ray-bourque-jersey/ . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute.CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber stayed stone-faced, maintaining the same stoic look in the clubhouse that he had for nine innings on the mound. Only when prodded by an Indians teammate did Kluber crack. "Did you smile after the game?" pitcher Justin Masterson yelled to Kluber. "I did," he said. "Only when I saw you." Kluber had everyone in Clevelands clubhouse smiling after he struck out a career-high 11 and pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game, leading the Indians to a 5-1 win over the Royals on Thursday. Kluber (2-2) didnt walk a batter, and his rare outing allowed Cleveland manager Terry Francona to give some needed rest to his bullpen. "That was really fun to watch," Francona said. "He had everything working. His fastball was going both ways, change-up, location. He worked ahead and he threw a ton of strikes. That was really impressive." Kluber is the first Cleveland pitcher to throw a complete game while recording 11 strikeouts, no walks or earned runs since Len Barkers perfect game in 1981. "It was nice," said Kluber, who couldnt remember the last time he pitched nine innings. "I really wasnt trying to make a bigger deal out of it than going out there and getting three more outs. Maybe thats why it worked out." David Murphy and Asdrubal Cabrera drove in two runs apiece in the Indians five-run fifth off Bruce Chen (1-2), who controlled Clevelands lineup for four innings. The Indians have won four of five to get back to .500. The Royals scored an unearned run off Kluber in the seventh when Omar Infante singled and scored when Indians first baseman Nick Swisher made a half-hearted attempt at Mike Moustakas grounder, which got by him for an error and rolled all the way into the right-field corner. Other than that, Kansas Citys hitters were unable to do much against Kluber, whose previous long outing was 8 2-3 innings last July against the White Sox. Hes 3-0 in four career starts against the Royals. "He put it to us," said Alex Gordon, who went 0-for-4 and struck out to thee end the game. Tuukka Rask Jersey. . "Give him credit. You look at our offence today and say we stunk. Thats how it was." Chen coasted through four innings, dominating the Indians with a mix of off-speed pitches before they touched him for five runs and chased him in the fifth. The left-hander retired 11 straight before Carlos Santana led off with a double, snapping an 0-for-16 slide with just his third hit in 48 at-bats. Michael Brantley followed with a single to centre for his team-leading 19th RBI, giving Cleveland a 1-0 lead. The Indians didnt stop there as Murphy slapped a two-run single to left, and Cabrera made it 5-0 with his double down the left-field line to end Chens outing. The 28-year-old Kluber doesnt come across as fiery, but Francona said his low-key demeanour is deceiving. "Hes not the loudest guy in the clubhouse, but theres a fire there, man," Francona said. "He competes. He wants to be really good. He goes at it the right way. For a kid that doesnt have a ton of time in the major leagues, hes a good pro." Kansas City managed just one hit off Kluber in the first four innings, and then the Royals ran their way out of a scoring chance in the fifth when Alcides Escobar hesitated rounding second on Jarrod Dysons base hit, and Brantley threw him out from centre. The Royals turned a nifty double play to end the first. With a Cabrera at third, first baseman Eric Hosmer fielded Jason Kipnis hard grounder, stepped on first and threw home. Catcher Brett Hayes made a sweeping tag on Cabrera, who was called out. Crew chief Bill Miller called for a review to see if Hayes had blocked the plate, but the call was confirmed. NOTES: Kluber threw 101 pitches, 75 for strikes. ... Klubers complete game was the first for the Indians since Justin Mastersons on June 30 last season. ... The Indians and Cincinnati Reds entered the day as the only teams yet to play in an extra-inning game this season. ... The Indians will open a three-game interleague series in San Francisco on Friday. ... Brantley is 11 for 22 in his career against Chen. Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Cheap Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Discount Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys ' ' '