Gästebuch » Jordan Greenway pumped his fist

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jordan Greenway pumped his fist Authentic Pekka Rinne Jersey Kids , and Luke Kunin held out his arms waiting for teammates to join him.They celebrated like kids after performing like seasoned veterans.With the Minnesota Wild outside a playoff position with little margin for error, the kid line of Kunin, Greenway and Ryan Donato pumped in two crucial goals to beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals 2-1 on Friday night. Minnesota snapped a two-game skid and leapfrogged the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche to move into the second wild-card spot in a competitive Western Conference race.“When we have the focus that we did tonight, the confidence, the commitment, I think we can do a lot of good things, and we can beat anyone,” Greenway said. “Whether it’s Washington or whoever, I think we can beat them.”Minnesota fed off the confidence of the second line of 21- and 22-year-olds to hand the Capitals their second consecutive loss. Devan Dubnyk made 21 saves, but more impressive was the Wild holding Washington to 22 shots a game after it put up 58 on NHL-leading Tampa Bay.“That was just a playoff game,” Dubnyk said. “The focus was there.”Donato — acquired from Boston in February — was the best player on the ice for much of the night and assisted on the Greenway’s goal in the first period and Kunin’s go-ahead goal with 7:35 left in the third. Coach Bruce Boudreau believes having three young players on a line together gets rid of the expectation to pass to a veteran, and this mix is working lately.“We’re learning from each other,” Donato said. “I think we’re starting to get each other’s habits, where we’re going to be on the ice, where the other guys are going to be, where they like to pass to. Being able to learn with each other, it makes you feel comfortable on the ice. You don’t feel like you’re doing anything wrong.”It wasn’t a masterpiece Roman Josi Jersey , but Minnesota needed two points in any way possible. Returning to face the team that gave him his start in the NHL, Boudreau knew full well that with only two games Friday night, the Wild were the only ones who could gain ground after getting some help from a Coyotes loss on Thursday.Remembering his team’s recent roller-coaster play, Boudreau said the victory only “means temporarily we’re in a playoff spot.”The Capitals are in a good spot atop the Metropolitan Division, but have now lost four of six. They missed an opportunity to add to their division lead and still lead the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins by four points.“We didn’t play our game at all,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “We knew they were going to play desperate — they need points as we do — but I think the sense of urgency was on their side, not on our side.”Brett Connolly scored his 21st goal of the season and Braden Holtby made 25 saves for Washington, which didn’t have the same intensity as its showdown against the Lightning two days earlier.“After coming off some emotional games lately, I think we didn’t ramp it up enough for this one, for their situation, how they were playing,” Holtby said.Despite losing seven of their previous nine games, the Wild remain in control of their playoff hopes with seven games remaining.“It’s never easy when it’s out of your control, so for us having it in our control and getting a win like that, it’s definitely a feel-good win,” Donato said.NOTES: Minnesota improved to 20-15-2 on the road. … Donato’s primary assist on Greenway’s goal was the 10,000th point in Wild franchise history. … Connolly has 13 points in his past 16 games. … Washington’s power play went 0 for 3 with just one shot in those six minutes. … Capitals D Christian Djoos returned to the lineup to replace Michal Kempny http://www.officialpredators.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-hartman-jersey , who’s out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. … LW Carl Hagelin was a late scratch with an illness and was replaced by Chandler Stephenson. … Ovechkin remained two goals away from his eighth career 50-goal season.UP NEXTWild: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday in Victor Rask’s first game against his former team since being traded for Nino Niederreiter.Capitals: Look to end their brief losing streak Sunday when they host the Metropolitan Division-rival Philadelphia Flyers. The Florida Panthers were supposed to be serious playoff contenders this season, and the New York Islanders, well, weren’t.But through roughly the first-eighth of this season, the opposite seemed true.The Islanders, who visit the Panthers on Saturday night at the BB&T Center, entered the weekend atop the Metropolitan Division with 18 points and an 8-5-2 record.Article continues below ...New York hasn’t seemed bothered by what many hockey writers predicted would be a catastrophe for the franchise — superstar center John Tavares’ decision to bolt to the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent.“We know we can play with anyone,” Islanders center Mathew Barzal said of his team sans Tavares. “We know we can beat anyone.”Meanwhile, the Panthers, who finished just one point short of the playoffs last season and then traded for winger Mike Hoffman — who has averaged better than 25 goals in each of the past four seasons — entered the weekend tied for last in the NHL with 11 points.But it appears Florida’s fortunes are changing. Goalie Roberto Luongo, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, injured his right knee in the season opener. Ever since he got back, the Panthers are undefeated at 2-0-0.“It’s good to get on a roll,” said Luongo, who has a stellar 1.19 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage in three games this season. “We’ve got to keep pushing hard.”Assuming Luongo gets the start Saturday, he will be facing an Islanders team that has lost two straight games, allowing eight goals during that span.Winger Evgenii Dadonov leads the Panthers this season in goals (seven) and points (14). Hoffman is tied for third on the team with 11 points Ryan Johansen Jersey , and he also has a career-best 10-game points streak.In 25 years of Panthers history, only three other players have had points streaks of that duration – Pavel Bure, Olli Jokinen and Jussi Jokinen.“I guess it’s good,” Hoffman modestly said of his streak. “You’ve got to get a couple of lucky breaks to have a streak like that, but I’m just trying to help the team win as many games as possible.”Hoffman leads Florida in power-play goals (three) and power-play shots (43). He has led a Panthers power play that has recovered since starting the season with no goals in 13 tries.In their last five games, Florida has gone 7 of 23 on its power play.As for the Islanders, they are led in scoring in points by Josh Bailey (17) and in goals by Brock Nelson (seven).In goal, the Islanders have Thomas Greiss and Robin Lehner. Greiss is 4-2-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .940 save percentage. Lehner is 4-3-1 with a 2.53 GAA and a .924 save percentage.One issue for the Islanders is that left winger Matt Martin, who has three goals in 11 games this season, has an upper-body injury. If he can’t play against the Panthers, that would be the fourth straight game he has missed.Florida is relatively healthy, especially now that Luongo is back. Most of the Panthers’ current injuries are to players who are bottom-six forwards or Mark Pysyk, who is one of their bottom-three defensemen. In other words, Florida’s injuries are manageable now that Luongo has returned.