y lineup with one exception. C A.J. Ellis got the ...
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y lineup with one exception. C A.J. Ellis got the day off and was replac
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2014/09/28 08:57AM
Latest post: 2014/09/28 08:57AM, Views: 273, Posts: 1
Latest post: 2014/09/28 08:57AM, Views: 273, Posts: 1
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One day after a public tongue-lashing from his head coach and a post-game meeting with the general manager, Ottawa Senators captain Jason Spezza was adamant that his teammates are all on the same page as their frustrated management group. cheap jerseys . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. "I think hes been disappointed all along. I think hes been disappointed with the group right from the onset of the season. I think it was just him letting us know that its not acceptable how were playing," Spezza said of Murrays meeting with the players. "Theres no ultimatums and theres no threats, but there is a definite understanding that if we dont start playing better, it could be you the one being out the door. It could be any one of us and when you dont win, thats what happens. We put ourselves in this situation and were the only ones who can get ourselves out of it. We understand thats part of the game." MacLeans pointed criticism of the leadership core had many wondering if there was a disconnect between the head coach and the captain. But heading into Thursdays game against the Florida Panthers, Spezza wanted to make it blatantly clear that he had no issues with MacLean. "No - our coaches are good coaches and weve always liked playing for them. Im sure theyre getting frustrated by us and that may lead to some of the frustration and some of their remarks," Spezza explained. "But we believe in what theyre preaching to us and Mac is a good hockey man and he understands. Were probably more frustrated than him as players out there playing. But he goes home and its frustrating for him to figure out why he cant get us to go." Spezza has become accustomed to being a lightning rod for criticism in this market, but this is his first season as captain of the hockey club. He insists he is not uncomfortable being the scapegoat on many nights this season. "Whenever youre not winning, you start looking at the top down. As being the captain, it gets reflected on me first and I have to find a way to get our group more consistent and I have to find a way to get my own game consistent," said Spezza. "When things go wrong you look at the top down. And its always been that way in sports." When asked about his attack on the leadership group from the previous night, MacLean made sure to include himself in the group of people who need to improve. "For me, leadership is everyone. Its myself, its my coaching staff, my training staff and its every player in the room. Jason Spezza, Chris Phillips and Chris Neil are the representatives of the leadership of our team, but theyre not the only guys," MacLean said on Thursday. "Everyone is accountable and everyone has to provide leadership on a daily basis and we havent done that as a group. Theyre representatives of it, so they do most of the talking about it, but its not just them. Yes, they need to be better, but every one of us has to better." Spezza has yet to record a goal this month, a drought that has now extended to 12 games. He has been a consistent offensive producer during his career, but has watched his numbers decline so far this season with 28 points in 35 games. The 30-year-old says he is making some adjustments to his game to try and be more of a two-way player, which could explain the decline in his offensive statistics. "Im trying to change my game. Im trying to play in more straight lines, Im trying to drive the net more and doing some things that take away from my offense a little bit," said Spezza. "We feel that in the long run its the best way to play and its the best way to help the team. The more comfortable I get playing that way, the better our team will be." For his part, MacLean acknowledges his captains adjustments, but still expects more. "For Jason, weve asked him to make changes to his game to a more complete game and a more 200-foot game," said MacLean. "And when you go through changes to your game, the offensive side of it a lot of the time suffers. And I think hes starting to get through that. He created some opportunities last night and some previous games. Were seeing an improvement in it, but wed like to see it speed up a little more than it has. But its a process that takes time and we have to be willing to be patient with it. But at the same time, we need him to be better – especially in the power play situations." cheap jerseys . The win moved the defending champions ahead of Canada atop Group H in round-robin play. Finland, which plays Canada on Friday, joined Sweden and Russia as the only teams undefeated in regulation at the tournament. nfl jerseys china . Cabrera hit .348 with 44 home runs and 137 RBIs this season, but he was bothered for the last couple of months by a number of injuries. http://www.cheapnfljerseysgi.com/ . Vargas struck out seven in seven innings to end the Indians four-game winning streak and give Seattle a 4-1 win Wednesday night. cheap jerseys from china .J. -- New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams is going to have wrist surgery and will miss the final week of the season. cheap jerseys . Forte sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee early in a loss to Kansas City on Dec. 4 and sat out the rest of the season.LOS ANGELES -- With nothing at stake in the last game of the season, many teams aces would take the day off. Not Clayton Kershaw. The left-hander finished with a major league-leading 2.53 ERA, Adrian Gonzalez singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Wednesday, a day after being eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight year by the NL West champions. "Hes as good as anybody in the game," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He loves pitching." Kershaw (14-9) allowed one run and three hits in eight innings, struck out eight and walked three in his 33rd start, tying a career high. He assessed his season as "all right." "If we make the playoffs next season it will be a great year," Kershaw said. "Not making the post-season, thats kind of what we play for." The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner recorded 229 strikeouts, one behind NL leader R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets. The left-hander became the first pitcher to lead the league in ERA in consecutive seasons since Arizonas Randy Johnson in 2001-02. Kershaw became the first Dodgers pitcher to do so since Sandy Koufax accomplished the feat from 1962-66. "I dont care," he said about his ERA crown. "It was fun to get a win and hopefully build off these last nine games." Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp struck out twice to end the season 0 for 10 with seven strikeouts in the three-game series, which the Dodgers won, 2-1, giving them four straight series victories for the first time this season. Afterward, Kemp announced he will have left shoulder surgery Friday. He has a torn labrum. "Theyre going to see whats going on inside of there and hopefully just clean it up," the right-handed hitter said. "If they need to do more, theyll do more, but I wont know anything until I wake up." Gonzalez finished on a 15-game hitting streak, longest on the team he joined from Boston on Aug. 25. He drove in Andre Ethier, who doubled, with two outs to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. They tied the game 1-1 on Kershaws RBI single in the fifth -- the Dodgers first hit off Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong, who also retired his firsst 10 batters. jerseys nfl cheap free shipping. "Kept me about .200 for the year," said a smiling Kershaw, who actually hit .207. "It was a big hit." Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 32 chances. Clay Hensley (4-5) gave up one run and two hits in one inning to take the loss for the Giants, who open the NL division series on Saturday against Cincinnati. Giants catcher Buster Posey went 0 for 2, finishing the regular season with a .336 average to claim the NL batting title. Hes the first Giants player to win it since Barry Bonds in 2004 and the first Giants catcher to do so. The previous catcher to win the NL title was Bostons Ernie Lombardi, who hit .330 in 1942. "I dont think its something that you ever think about doing," Posey said. "Its such a long season, and from day one, you try to grind out at-bats no matter what the situation is. And if you can go up there and are able to make some adjustments, good things will happen." The Dodgers made it 5-1 in the eighth on homers by Alex Castellanos and Juan Rivera, who had a two-run shot. San Francisco led 1-0 in the fourth on Poseys RBI groundout to shortstop, scoring Marco Scutaro, who singled to extend his hitting streak to 20 games. Vogelsong allowed one run on two hits in five innings, struck out seven and walked one. NOTES: The Giants will start RHP Matt Cain in the opener of the NL division series against Cincinnati on Saturday, and LHP Madison Bumgarner in Game 2 on Sunday. ... Scutaro joined 3B Pablo Sandoval and CF Angel Pagan as the first trio of Giants with 20-plus-game hitting streaks in a season since 1918. ... Dodgers manager Don Mattingly used his everyday lineup with one exception. C A.J. Ellis got the day off and was replaced by rookie Tim Federowicz. ... Ellis finished his first full season in the major leagues with a .270 average, 13 home runs and 52 RBIs. ... The Dodgers season attendance of 3,324,246 was third-best in the NL. ... Dodgers organist Nancy Bea Hefley signed a three-year contract extension. ... Wednesday marked the 61st anniversary of Bobby Thomsons pennant-clinching home run off Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, known as the "Shot heard round the world." ' ' '
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