Die Anpflanzler [DA] » loss to the Bulls, Lowry

NEW YORK -- Rick Nash scored the winning goal with 1:42 left, on New Yorks third shot of the third period, and the Rangers clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the NHL-worst Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. Drew Stafford gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the second, and Benoit Pouliot tied in in the final minute of the frame. Nash fired a one-timer off a cross-zone feed from Martin St. Louis, and sent the puck past Hacketts glove to break the 1-1 tie for his 26th goal. The Rangers then killed a late penalty against Brian Boyle, the third Sabres power play of the third period. Drew Stafford gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the second, and Benoit Pouliot tied in in the final minute of the frame. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots in the win, New Yorks last home game of the season. The Rangers final game is at Montreal on Saturday. Hackett made 28 saves for the Sabres, 2-15-1 in their last 18 games. The Rangers dominated the Sabres 18-1 in shots in the second period, yet had only a 1-1 tie to show for it. Buffalo recorded the first five shots of the game, and New York didnt record its first until Pouliots partial breakaway 7:30 in. However, the Rangers had a 27-13 edge through 40 minutes. The Sabres made the most of their only second-period shot and grabbed a 1-0 lead on it with 10:54 left in the period. Buffalo defenceman Mike Weber drifted backward with the puck from the right circle toward the blue line, and flipped a shot toward the Rangers net. Stafford, stationed in front of Lundqvist, got enough of his stick on it to deflect it into the net for his 16th goal of the season. New York did nothing with its two power plays in the first period or its next two in the second after a two-goal performance with the man advantage Tuesday against Carolina. It took until there were only 30.4 seconds left in the middle frame to get even with the Sabres. Hackett had been tough up until then, including shaking off a hard one-timer off the stick of Brad Richards that struck him flush in the forehead portion of his mask with 2:11 remaining in the period. After being briefly attended to on the ice by medical personnel, Hackett got up off his knees and stayed in the game. Pouliot took a pass across the Sabres zone in the left circle and fired a drive past Hackett to tie it. It was Pouliots 15th goal of the season and third in five games. NOTES: Lundqvist had a run of 26 minutes, 32 seconds between saves -- spanning from the first period until the third. ... Stafford and Sabres D Henrik Tallinder both returned to the lineup after missing four games each due to injury. Stafford has six goals and nine points in his past 13 games. ... The Rangers didnt record their first shot in the third period until Carl Hagelins attempt with 6:20 left. ... New York didnt take a penalty until the third period. In Tuesdays win, the Rangers were unpenalized in a full game for the first time since Jan. 10, 2012, against Phoenix. Kennys Vargas Jersey . -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two. Paul Molitor Jersey .Y. - Brooklyn Nets centre Brook Lopez has a strained lower back and will miss at least a week. http://www.authentictwinsgear.com/twins-justin-morneau-jersey/ . 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He sits 113th in FedEx Cup standings and has dropped to 31st in world rankings — not the results expected from a player ranked fourth in the world only two years ago.TORONTO - Its been just over two months since Masai Ujiri aggressively opened trade season in the NBA, pulling off a blockbuster seven-player deal with Sacramento, but the Raptors general manager opted to employ a different tactic Thursday afternoon, as the deadline came and went without much noise. "Its weird with the trade deadline," Ujiri said, shortly after 4pm et, one hour removed from the deadline itself. "We all get caught up in it, were working the phones and doing all kinds of stuff." "Nothing really significant got done but its always a tedious time because youre always trying to see what makes sense for your team, now and in the future." It wasnt for a lack of effort - Ujiri and company had contemplated a number of larger scale trade scenarios - but ultimately the Raptors core was left untouched, their roster kept intact, apart from a last minute tinker to the back end of the bench. "For us in our positions, its always tough to stand pat," the Raptors GM admitted. "There are things that are tempting and you do the exercise in your mind, on paper, you try to picture it [but] you dont know until its actually put in there and they begin to play." For Ujiri, the evaluation process has been muddled by his teams unexpected success since the Rudy Gay trade in December and the porous Eastern Conference in which theyve experienced said success. The result of that appraisal was somewhat inconclusive. Ujiri is still unsure what he has in the Easts surprising third seed but their recent play - and most importantly the chemistry theyve developed - has piqued his interest enough to buy them more time. "You pray and you hope for chemistry and I think we found it a little bit," he stressed. "We said we were going to give these players a platform and they would dictate where we go and to be fair, I think weve also tried to live up to our part of the bargain here and they have, too." Simply put, the right deal wasnt out there, not one that would satisfy Ujiris long-term goals while also maintaining what they have in place now. Ujiri is confident most of the discussion that has taken place over the last week can be revisited over the summer, if need be. At that point, he should have a greater idea of whats available but also how much his own assets are worth. One of those players, soon-to-be free agent point guard Kyle Lowry, has been the focus of trade speculation and will headline Ujiris offseason decision-making process. "Obviously, we didnt do anything with Kyle because we view him highly in this organization," Ujiri said of Lowry, who is averaging career-bests in points and assists this year. In Wednesday nights loss to the Bulls, Lowry knnocked down his 129th three-pointer of the campaign, matching his career-high for threes made in a single season, with 28 games still left to play.dddddddddddd Ujiri met with Lowrys agent, Andy Miller, on Wednesday, the eve of the deadline. Overall, the Raptors GM has been content with the communication on both sides and seemed enthusiastic about Lowrys progress and his future with the team. "We set some good [goals] and had good talks with him," said Ujiri. "He was upfront with us, we were upfront with him in the beginning of the season and hes living up to his part and I think weve lived up our part, too. I think thats how you build partnerships. Well see how he grows." It was a relatively quiet day league-wide. The most notable deal was leaked by Yahoo Sports shortly after the 3pm et deadline had passed with Indiana, the Easts best team, shipping often-injured former all-star Danny Granger to the rebuilding 76ers for a package that included breakout forward Evan Turner. The Raptors also made a late, albeit inconsequential move, trading seldom-used forward Austin Daye to San Antonio in exchange for French combo guard Nando De Colo. De Colo - averaging 4.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26 games for the Spurs this season, his second in the NBA - is due to become a free agent this summer and doesnt figure to factor into Caseys rotation as long as his regulars stay healthy. Daye has appeared in just eight games for Toronto after signing with Raptors for the league minimum in the offseason. Often at the end of the bench, or one of Caseys inactives, Daye hasnt logged more than three minutes in a game since early December, coincidentally against the Spurs. "You never know when an opportunity will come," Daye said in conversation with TSN.ca last month. "I know I can play in this league. Its just a matter of a numbers game right now." "Its tough when you feel like theres no hope," he continued, "but you have to also look at it this way, you may not be playing, then youre thrown in a trade and then youre needed to play." With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror and the uncertainty of Lowrys immediate future put behind them for the time being, the Raptors can focus all their attention on the stretch run. "[The deadline] does weigh on you, it weighs on everybody," Ujiri admitted. "Theres anxiety, people are wondering whats going to happen. Its gone, its gone and now everybody plays a little more free and they kind of figure at least were here for another few months or for the future. As tough as we all try to be, me included, the trade deadline is a date, I think, thats significant for everybody." 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