sting fame that goes with back-to-back no-hitters. Josh Beckett gets

Mon Oct 14, 2019 7:55 am
#1
sa

Heading into the second round series between the Boston and Montreal, the favoured Bruins were doing plenty of talking through the media to spur up the hatred. Texas Rangers Shirts . Now with the series tied at one after two exciting games in Boston and headed to what promises to be a raucous Bell Centre, the Canadiens jumped into the fray with some verbal barbs of their own on Monday. After being stonewalled by Canadiens goalie Carey Price in Game 1 - when he made 48 saves to help his team steal one with a 4-3 double overtime win - and then finding themselves down 3-1 halfway through the third period of Game 2, the Bruins scored three goals in 5:32 to take a 4-3 lead en route to a 5-3 win. Following the game, Bruins defenceman Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug told the media they believed theyve solved the Canadiens gold-medal winning netminder. "I think weve definitely noticed that when hes screened, hes looking low," said Hamilton who scored first in the three-goal outburst late in Game 2. "He gets really low, so it seems like we score a lot of goals up high when we have net front presence. I dont know if were really trying [to do that], but weve definitely noticed that. When we can get our shots through their defenceman – especially the ones trying to block it -- we have a really good chance of getting it in." "It seems like almost all of the goals so far have gone to the upper half of the net," added Krug. Following practice on Monday, the Canadiens were quick to brush the Bruins analysis of Price aside, with head coach Michel Therrien claiming it was just another example of his counterpart Claude Julien and the Bruins trying to get under the skin of an opposing goalie. Early in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins scored frequently on the glove side of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford and werent shy about telling the media that they were exposing Crawfords weakness. Ironically, Crawfords goalie coach then was current Montreal goalie coach Stephane Waite and Therrien believes the Bruins are playing the same mind games as the series switches to the Bell Centre. "Well we all remember last year and Stephane Waite remember it more than anyone else that they make the same comments when they went into the playoffs and the Stanley Cup final with the Chicago Blackhawks and talking about about Corey Crawford," Therrien pointed out Monday. "Thats part of their game and their thinking. They try to put pressure on the other team with the media." Price seemed to find Hamiltons and Krugs comments almost comical. He pointed out that shooting high through traffic in front of the net is a common objective of most teams and players. "Ive seen a lot of scouting reports on lots of goalies throughout the league and thats pretty much the scouting report on everybody," Price said. "Its the same for Tuukka [Rask], its the same for Ben Bishop and its the same for Corey Crawford. So its a pretty irrelevant comment I thought." Price was then asked if this was just another example of the Bruins trying to wage a verbal war through the media. "Sure. I dont know," Price said laughing. "I guess. But like I said, they can try it but its going to be no different. Like I said, thats essentially how most goals are scored this time of year in this league so thats essentially a generic comment." During Game 2, the Bruins took a bench minor due to Julien expressing his displeasure with some calls against his team and what he felt were a lack of calls against the Canadiens. When asked about his teams ability to rally for the win, the Bruins bench boss took what appeared to be a little jab at the officiating. "I think especially the way it happened - we had that tough second period and at the start of the third, they got that other power play goal, but the way we just battled back through, I felt, a lot of crap that we put up with today, was pretty indicative of what our teams all about," Julien said. "It just shows that if you focus on the things you need to focus on, theres a pretty good team that can accomplish a lot." The crap part didnt go unnoticed by Therrien and on Monday he called his counterpart out. "Its the same thing with Claude. Hes not happy with all that ‘crap," he said. "I thought they got away with a lot of things as far as Im concerned, but they try and influence referees. Thats the way they are. Thats not going to change. Thats the way they like to do their things. But for us, were not paying attention to those things. We all know what theyre trying to do but it doesnt affect us at all." Therrien went on to say his team isnt going to focus on more retaliation through the media but rather to stay focused on their game plan on the ice. "We want to play hard and honestly we all understand the discipline is really crucial," he said. "Whatever comments they make on us, Im not a coach thats going to start making comments the other way. Its never been my philosophy. I dont like that. They can say whatever they want. Its their choice. But we know what we have to do to get success." That may very well be true, but the Canadiens made it clear Monday that they also dont plan to let every verbal jab from the Bruins go unheeded. James Murphy is a freelance reporter who also writes for NHL.com, the Boston Herald and XNsports.com. He covered the Boston Bruins/NHL for last 11 seasons writing for ESPNBoston.com, ESPN.com, NHL.com, NESN.com, the Boston Metro, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. Murphy also currently hosts the radio show "Murphys Hockey Law" heard Saturdays 9-11 AM ET on Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio and 4-6 PM ET on Websportsmedia.com. In addition to that, he is a regular guest TSN 690 in Montreal and Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio as well as a hockey analyst on CTV Montreal. Fake Rangers Jerseys . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Rangers Jerseys 2019 . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ .200. His solution to his hitting woes was business in the front and a party in the back."That would be a mullet," Norris says.The Blue Jays have had an incredible month of May - no two ways about it. With two games still to play, they are 20-8 including a nine-game win streak that came to an end at the hands of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night at the Rogers Centre in 10 innings. If they win the last two games in May against KC, they will close out the month at 22-8. A year ago only four teams had a singular month better than that, three in the American League and one in the National League. Three of the four made the post-season and the other, the Texas Rangers, made it to the knockout tie-breaker and lost out in Game 163. The Tampa Bay Rays were the best going 21-5 in June, while the Cleveland Indians were a scorching 21-6 in a pressure-packed September run. The Rangers were 20-7 in August. The Blue Jays best month in 2013 was June where they finished 17-9, including an 11-game win streak. but they quickly faded after that. The Dodgers actually put together the most incredible short-term run on the way to winning the NL West. On June 20, they were sitting 12 games below .500 and there was talk skipper Don Mattingly was on the verge of being fired. Then, almost coincidentally with the arrival of Yasiel Puig , they went 8-1 to close out June, followed by a League best 20-6 in July and 23-6 in August. That in total is a fabulous 51-13 run that led them to finish the campaign at 90-72. Im not saying one 20-win month guarantees you a playoff spot. Injuries can undermine all that momentum, but one huge month can provide a team with an incredible boost of confidence and provide a bit of a cushion for the inevitable cold spells as the season unwinds. Heres something else. I know the season is only one-third over, but I cant remember the last time the Blue Jays had contenders for four major awards. Edwin Encarnacion for MVP, Mark Buehrle for Cy Young, Melky Cabrera for Comeback Player of the Year and, possibly, Casey Janssen for Fireman of the Year ( 8-for-9 in save opportunities, so far) and, if Edwin werent my pick for MVP, Jose Bautista would be right there, too. A lot can change over the course of the final fourth months of the season, but you cant ignore all of the positives coming out of the Blue Jays camp after all those years wandering in the wilderness. - There has been plenty of talk about the Blue Jays trying to pry right hander Jeff Samardzija loose from the Chicago Cubs to shore up the rotation and possibly push the Blue Jays over the top. Well, Alex Anthopoulos made it pretty clear on Thursday, the Blue Jays wouldnt be making any trades until July at the earliest and could wait up until the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. This wont really make any difference as far as possible dealings with the Cubbies go this season, but in their entire 37-plus years history, the Blue Jays have only made six trades with the Cubs. Only one really included a significant name player from a Blue Jays standpoint. On December 10, 2001, Gord Ash, eembarking on his final season as Jays GM, dealt shortstop Alex Gonzalez to the Cubs for lefty reliever Felix Heredia and a player to be named later, who turned out to be 3B/SS prospect Jim Deschaine who never made it to the Majors. Cheap Rangers Jerseys. Heredia only spent one season with the Jays before leaving as a free agent. Alex spent two-plus years with Chicago and even went to the playoffs with them in 2003, the year of the " Bartman" catch down the left-field line, that helped the then Florida Marlins rally to win that NLCS in seven games and ultimately go on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Some Blue Jays fans believe George Bell was dealt to the Cubs. Not so, as he left the Jays and signed with the Cubbies as a free agent on December 6, 1990. On March 30, 1992 Bell was swapped across town to the White Sox for reliever Ken Patterson and, yes, Sammy Sosa who would go on to become a tainted legend with the Cubs. That is to this day considered to be the worst trade in White Sox history. Outside of teams that have never won the World Series, the Cubs have the worst Fall Classic legacy. They are 2-8 all-time and, since winning their last World Series over the Detroit Tigers in 1908, they have won only one playoff series since when they edged the Atlanta Braves in a five-game NLDS in 2003. They dropped seven-straight World Series appearances between 1910 and 1945 and their all-time playoff win-loss record is 27-54. If thats not enough, they have the worst record in the Majors this season at 19-32 and are sitting in last place in the NL Central 11-and-a-half games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and the season isnt even two months old yet. - Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Josh Beckett will be the latest to try and equal a record that most feel can never possibly be broken. Beckett will have the chance to throw a second-straight no-hitter when the Dodgers host Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds made history within a four-day span in June of 1938. On June 11, the 23-year-old lefty, in his first full season in the Majors, pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Braves, then known as the Bees. It was the first no-hitter by a lefty since 1931. Four days later at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Vander Meer was the Reds starting pitcher in the first night game ever in New York in front of a sellout crowd of 48,000. "Vandy" was outstanding again. He almost lost it in the ninth when he walked the bases loaded with one out, but he got a force out at the plate for the second out and then got Leo Durocher to fly out to end the game. Though he was a four-time All-Star and was one of a handful of pitchers to lead his league in strikeouts three years in a row, he finished with a 119-121 record and a 3.44 ERA with 29 career shutouts, He also has the ever-lasting fame that goes with back-to-back no-hitters. Josh Beckett gets his shot at immortality on Friday night. ' ' '


 reply

 Report post
Already a member?
Register now!
Create an account?
Sign up now!