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ANAHEIM, Calif. nfl jerseys china . -- With the Anaheim Ducks bearing down on him all night, Jaroslav Halak couldnt relax for even a moment in front of the Washington Capitals net until the horn sounded on another victory. None of the Caps can afford to take many more breathers if they hope to make it back to the post-season. Alex Ovechkin scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Capitals kept up their playoff push with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night. Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer also scored for the Capitals, who have won three straight to pull into an eighth-place tie with Columbus for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They barely held off the Ducks, who threw 45 shots at Halak and pressed right up to the final seconds. "We cant worry about anything else thats going to happen except for our games," said Halak, who made 43 saves in his sixth consecutive start. "Right now, two points are all huge, any way we can get them." The Caps havent trailed during their winning streak. But even after Ovechkin scored his 46th goal early in a power play, they were in a nail-biter against Anaheim. "That was a huge game," Ovechkin said. "We prepared for it, and we were ready for it. We played one of the best teams in the league." Ovechkins goal was just the second in seven games for last seasons NHL MVP, but the Capitals need every goal and victory possible on their three-game California road trip. The Blue Jackets and Detroit, one point back in ninth place, both have two games in hand on Washington. Ben Lovejoy and Mathieu Perreault scored for the Ducks, who have lost four straight home games while falling out of first place in the overall NHL standings. Anaheim is still near the top of the Western Conference playoff race, but San Jose has caught the Ducks atop the Pacific Division standings. The teams meet Thursday at the Shark Tank. Jonas Hiller stopped 27 shots, but the Ducks have lost to the Capitals in each of their last four visits to Honda Center. "I think we had a lot of looks and were shooting the puck, but we werent getting to any loose pucks," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You can make a million and one excuses, but were just not getting the job done." Washington hadnt visited Honda Center since Feb. 16, 2011, nine months before the Capitals fired Boudreau, who was hired by Anaheim two days later. "This was a big one for Bruce, and we all knew it," Lovejoy said. "I think we came out with a lot of passion. When were skating and playing tough hockey, we get our forecheck going, and we had that going tonight. We just werent able to put more than two in the net." Ward got his 21st goal on a fat rebound just 2:11 in, scoring in his third consecutive game. Lovejoy tied it 59 seconds later on an unobstructed slap shot set up by a terrible Washington line change. Brouwer scored on a power play in the final seconds of the first period for the Caps, getting his third goal in two games off another rebound. Anaheim generated nothing from a two-man advantage for 1:51 early in the second period, adding to the power-play woes of an otherwise powerful offensive club. The Ducks entered the game in a 2-for-42 slump in their previous 13 games, and they went scoreless in their first four chances against Washington. "At the end, it came down to the fact that our special teams werent special," Lovejoy said. Perreault, the former Capitals centre, put a wrist shot past Halak, who was thoroughly screened by Patrick Maroon, to tie it right after a power play expired early in the third period. But just 1:12 later, Nicklas Backstrom won a faceoff and John Carlson got the puck to Ovechkin, who put a typically vicious one-timer past Hiller. Stephane Robidas played more than 13 minutes in his debut for the Ducks, who acquired the veteran defenceman from Dallas two weeks ago for the playoff push. Robidas filled in for Cam Fowler, who missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. "It wasnt my best, but the first one is out of the way now," Robidas said. NOTES: Dustin Penner returned to Honda Center for the first time since Anaheim traded him to Washington on March 4. Penner had 13 goals and 19 assists in 49 games this season in his second stint with the Ducks, but was a frequent healthy scratch. ... Halak was in Anaheim with the Blues on Feb. 28 when he was traded to Buffalo, forcing him to leave Honda Center early while St. Louis faced the Ducks with a locker room attendant as their backup goalie. ... Boudreau won his first game against his former team when the Ducks beat the Capitals 3-2 on Dec. 23. jerseys from china . 8 exhibition game marking the leaders birthday. Rodman said the game is on track despite the recent execution of Kims uncle in a dramatic political purge. Rodmans visit comes less than a week after North Korea announced the execution of Jang Song Thaek, an unprecedented fall from grace for one of the most powerful figures in the country. jersyes nfl wholesale . Stairs, who holds the major-league record with 23 pinch-hit home runs, was a disappointment for the Nationals. The 43-year-old batted just .154 with two RBIs in 56 games. He was 6 for 39 as a pinch hitter.ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Bobcats havent had a lot of positives things to smile about this month. One thing they have done well this season is shoot their free throws, and on Friday night it helped them secure a much-needed victory. Al Jefferson had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Kemba Walker added 19 points and 10 assists and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Orlando Magic 111-101. The Magic dug out of an 18-point first-half hole and pulled to 78-76 early in the fourth quarter. However, the Bobcats shot 16 for 20 on free throws in the final period to help secure the win. "I like the way we played. We had good fight," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "There were times there where we could have caved, but we showed good poise and good execution." Josh McRoberts and Gerald Henderson added 17 points apiece for Charlotte. Charlotte had lost nine of 11 entering the night and was coming off a last-second loss at Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Bobcats appeared to be cruising early against Orlando before having to fend off the Bobcats late charge. Jefferson said he is still working his way back from an ankle injury during Charlottes loss at home to Orlando last month. "Im getting a better feel and still trying to work around this ankle, but its something I can deal with for the remainder of the year, just play through it," he said. Walker said their offence is a lot more fluid when Jefferson is touching the ball. "We want to play through him," Walker said. "We get opportunities on fast breaks and things like that, but whenever we can get him the basketball we want to because he makes all the right plays. "Were trying our best to get better every day at playing off him." Orlando committed 16 turnovers in the loss, and extended its season-high losing streak to 10 games. Arron Afflalo scored 24 points in his return to the Magic lineup after missing three games with a strained right foot, and Tobias Harris and Jameer Nelson each added 18. The Magic are also now 0-12 this season without centre Nik Vucevic, who missed his sixth straight game Friday as he works his way back from a concussion. The Magic lookedd sluggish early coming off a three-hour, triple-overtime loss to Chicago on Wednesday that saw their starters play at least 43 minutes each. cheap jerseys from china. Orlando connected on just 1 of their first 10 field goal attempts to begin the game, allowing the Bobcats to jump out to a 21-3 lead. The Magic found some energy as they closed the half on a 50-31 spurt to take a one-point lead into halftime. Charlottes shooting kept them in the game, though, and they took a 78-74 lead into the fourth quarter. The Bobcats seemed to be in control late at 103-91, but Afflalo scored six straight points -- including a four-point play -- to get the Magic back to 103-97 with 2:55 to play. But Jefferson scored six straight points as Charlotte responded with an 8-4 run to close out the game. Harris acknowledged that the Magics ongoing shortcomings are beginning to show their wear on the team a little. Just like their one-day turnaround following the overtime loss to Chicago, they have just one day to correct their issues before hosting Boston on Sunday. "I think tonight we did show poor body language throughout the fourth quarter," Harris said. "And its tough because we werent making that many shots and they were making some tough shots. It is human nature. But going forward we have to cut that out and we have to be locked in on our team and what we can control." Jefferson said there is no real secret to what his team needs to do to gain some momentum as it heads into the second half of its schedule. "We talk about not using any excuses as a young team. We have enough talent in this room to be a playoff team," he said. "We have to find a way to get out there and win games. We have to continue to play 48 minutes and keep our mindset and our focus." NOTES: The Bobcats snapped a three-game road losing streak. ... Orlando is now 1-22 this season when its opponent scores 100 or more points. ... The Magic honoured Horace Grant between the first and second quarter as part of the teams season-long "Legends Nights" series to commemorate its 25th anniversary season. Grant played six plus years for Orlando from 1994 to 1999 and 2001 to 2003. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
