Die Anpflanzler [DA] » When they were teammates

DENVER (AP) —www.sanjosesharksteamshop.com , Nicklas Backstrom always had a tough time against Philipp Grubauer in practice.The Washington Capitals veteran had better luck when they met as opponents Friday night.Backstrom was left uncovered on a 4-on-3 power play and scored 22 seconds into overtime to lift the Capitals over the Colorado Avalanche 3-2.“I used to struggle scoring in practice against Grubauer,” Backstram said. “He was probably used to me passing, too. Tom (Wilson) gave me a good pass and I was able to get the shot off.”Alex Ovechkin and Devante Smith-Pelly also scored for the Capitals, and Pheonix Copley stopped 24 shots.Colin Wilson and Carl Soderberg scored for the Avalanche while Grubauer, acquired by Colorado in an offseason trade with Washington to bolster their depth at goalie behind Semyon Varlamov, had 26 saves.With 2:44 left in the third period, Ian Cole fired a shot from between the circles that glanced off Copley’s pads. The puck trickled out to the right side of the net, where Wilson tied it at 2.The Capitals ended it on a 4-on-3 power play. Backstrom was left uncovered for a clean shot in the high slot that beat Grubauer on his stick side. Backstrom also had an assist.“We drew a penalty and made the most of our chance,” Ovechkin said.Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said he thought the Avalanche did not play with a sense of urgency early.“Third period, different story,” he said. “We started ramping it up, that’s why we generated some chances in the third and they didn’t, because we were more desperate. I want us to play a whole game like we’re down a goal and bring that desperation and urgency to the game.”With the score tied at 1, Tom Wilson started a rush and passed the puck ahead to Backstrom San Jose Sharks T-Shirts Womens , who dished off to the streaking Ovechkin. He split defenders and let loose a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that sailed over Grubauer’s glove at 18:29 of the second.Smith-Pelly pulled Washington Even 8:55 into the second off a cross-ice pass from Chandler Stephenson.Colorado just missed adding a goal from Mark Barberio when his shot glanced off the right post at 11:01 of the second.“A sloppy game by us,” Colin Wilson said. “They had more effort, a little more attention to detail. We turned it on in the last 10 minutes, but it was just too little, too late. Games like that, you want to eliminate them as much as possible. It wasn’t an X’s and O’s thing, just effort.“Coming out with a point is better than no points at all,” Wilson added.NOTES: T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Braden Holtby were ruled out for the game against the Avalanche because of upper body injuries. They are all listed as day to day. … The Avs remain one win shy of their 1,000th victory since moving to Denver from Quebec in 1995. The Avs 999 wins in that span include 897 in the regular season and 102 in the playoffs.UP NEXTCapitals: Play at Montreal on Monday night.Avalanche: Visit Anaheim on Sunday night. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The scene was all too familiar for the San Jose Sharks: a postgame handshake line on their home ice with the other team celebrating a series win while the Sharks wonder what might have been.A team that seemed to have the ingredients necessary for a long playoff run went out instead in the second round with a 3-0 loss Sunday in Game 6 against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.”For periods of this series I thought we were a better team, I thought we played the game that we know we’re capable of, we showed we could beat them,” forward Logan Couture said. ”We just didn’t do it long enough.”That’s what perhaps makes this the most bitter playoff loss in coach Peter DeBoer’s three seasons in San Jose San Jose Sharks Hoodies Womens , all of which ended with home playoff losses.In 2016, the Sharks got over a major hump and made it to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history before losing in six games to a more talented Pittsburgh team.Last year, San Jose sputtered toward the finish of the season and lost in six games to Edmonton in the first round in large part due to injuries that hampered top two centers Couture and Joe Thornton.But the Sharks were healthier this year despite Thornton’s absence because of a knee injury. Midseason acquisitions Evander Kane and Eric Fehr had San Jose surging following a first-round sweep against Anaheim.They came out flat in the opener against Vegas and lost 7-0 and then dropped a key overtime contest at home in Game 3, playing much of the series from behind. The biggest difference was the performance of the top lines with Vegas’ trio of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith combining for eight goals and 17 assists, while Kane, Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi had just three goals and two assists for the Sharks.”We definitely would’ve liked to have been a little bit more productive,” Pavelski said. ”It’s hard to say. We’ll have to take a look at it, figure it out. We had some looks, we had some chances, we didn’t capitalize when we did. I wish I had an answer. We sure should’ve been a little better.”Here are some other takeaways from the season and things to watch this summer:JUMBO JOEThornton injured his right knee on Jan. 23 and never was able to make it back into the lineup. He practiced all postseason and even took part in all the pregame skates but never felt quite healthy enough to get back into the lineup. The 38-year-old Thornton is now eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, leaving his future in San Jose in doubt. He still can be productive as evidenced by his 13 goals and 23 assists in 47 games. But after significant knee injuries the past two seasons, there are questions about whether he will be able to keep up in the faster paced game.KANE’S CALLThe move to acquire Kane from Buffalo at the trade deadline provided a major spark. He had nine goals and five assists in 17 games, providing needed speed and physicality on San Jose’s top line. That carried over to the first round when he had three goals and an assists in a sweep against Anaheim but Kane wasn’t nearly as effective against Vegas as he played through injuries. Now the Sharks have a decision to make whether to keep Kane or let him leave as a free agent. If he signs San Jose Sharks Hats Womens , they owe Buffalo a first-round pick in 2019. If he leaves, that pick becomes a second-rounder.”Obviously I enjoy winning and coming here was a great opportunity for me to do that,” Kane said. ”I really, really, really enjoyed my time with this group of guys, and loved going to battle with these guys.”STEPPING UPThe best development for the Sharks this season was the development of some younger players. Tomas Hertl looks like he could be a dominant power forward, Chris Tierney and Kevin Labanc are able playmakers, Timo Meier scored 21 goals at age 21, and Joakim Ryan is an ideal defensive partner for Brent Burns. Those players will be counted on to do even more in the future as the Sharks transition from players like Thornton, Pavelski and the departed Patrick Marleau to a new generation.CAP ROOMThe Sharks head into the offseason with projected salary cap room of more than $15 million. While some of that could be used up by keeping Thornton or Kane, GM Doug Wilson also could use that money to target a top free agent like John Tavares of the New York Islanders. Wilson has been planning for that flexibility for years and now the question becomes how he will use it.—