Inland Waterways » he pass the ball

ANAHEIM - It was one of the funnier moments in this years Stanley Cup playoffs. Anaheim Ducks winger Corey Perry squirted water into one of Jeff Carters hockey gloves, which was left on top of the boards by the Kings bench, unattended, during a commercial break. The Los Angeles Kings centre appeared unamused and voiced displeasure to a nearby linesman. "Just trying to, I guess, get under peoples skin," said Perry with a shrug when asked about the prank he pulled in Game 1 of the series. "Just try to get people off their game." But so far in the first-ever playoff showdown between the NHLs two southern California teams it has been the Kings, who have gotten the Ducks off their game as Perry, a 43-goal scorer in the regular season, and Hart Trophy nominee Ryan Getzlaf have failed to make a major impact. "Him and I put a lot of pressure on each other and on ourselves and its our responsibility to get the team going, to produce and we havent done that," Perry admitted. So far it has been the Kings top line featuring Selke Trophy nominee Anze Kopitar, which has gotten the best of the Ducks dynamic duo. "In the playoffs you have to be better than the guy across from you," Getzlaf said. "If hes playing great you got to be better than that. Thats how you find a way to win." "If you know Ryan, he puts a lot of onus on himself," said Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau, "and he knows hes the leader of this group and when hes going to his best [level] then we usually have a good result. He feels he needs to be a little bit better, hes probably correct." Post-game on Monday, Getzlaf said he was "ticked off" by how the series has unfolded. And the Ducks captain made it clear on Tuesday that the anger he felt in the moments after the loss has yet to subside. "Yeah, Im still mad. I want to win and when we dont win I get mad. Thats just [my] nature I guess." And while Getzlaf believes he can be better he certainly doesnt shoulder all the blame for the bind his team is in. "Its not all about me. Im not going to go out and win Game 3 by myself thats for sure. The story of our season has been our depth and our lineup and we need, from top to bottom, everybody pushing." The Kopitar line, which also features captain Dustin Brown and sniper Marian Gaborik, is likely to be matched up against the Getzlaf unit over the next two games as Kings head coach Darryl Sutter will have the advantage of last change at the Staples Center. But Anaheims lack of success isnt about one matchup. The Kings have tightened up all over the ice and are playing the same suffocating style that led to a Cup two years ago. "They didnt win the Jennings Trophy just by luck," said Boudreau. "Theyre a good defensive team." The Kings allowed the fewest goals in the NHL in the regular season (2.05 goals per game). Los Angeles also led the league in hits. "The system [they play] is really basic," Boudreau explained. "Theres nothing really extravagant with what Darryls doing. They just do it well. They got the right personnel, theyve been through the wars, theyve won the Cup before with that group and they know how to do it. "Quite frankly, its the same system we use. Its layers of blocking, layers of having to go through guys when you come into [their] zone and the last six games theyve been very good at it." Cracking the Kings sound defensive structure is one issue, but the bigger issue for the Ducks has been Jonathan Quick, who has reverted to his Conn Smythe form after a shaky start in the first round series against the San Jose Sharks. Quick has a .961 save percentage during the Kings current six game winning streak. "Yeah, hes played well, but we havent played our game," said Perry. "We just have to be more determined." Quick turned aside 36 of the 37 shots he faced on Monday night with the only puck to beat him deflecting in off defenceman Jake Muzzins skate. "Hes seeing a lot of pucks," said Ducks forward Patrick Maroon, who was credited with Anaheims lone goal in Game 2, which came during a four-on-three power play. "Thats one of the problems here. Five-on-five we got to get in front of the net, get in his eyes, create more traffic and get in his head a little bit, because were not doing that. Were an outside team right now. We got to crash and bang, throw pucks at his feet and go to the net." Jonas Hiller, who faced just 16 shots Monday night, suggests Anaheims current approach is actually helping Quick build even more confidence. "I know from experience that those are the nice games to play if you face a lot of shots and are able to see most of them," said the Ducks goalie. "Quicks just playing a little better than I am right now. I think their first line is just a little bit better than our [top] line. We got to find a way to change that." Scoring goals wasnt a problem for the Ducks during the regular season as they led the NHL in that category (3.21 per game). Perry finished second in the league in goal scoring behind only Alexander Ovechkin while Getzlaf posted a career-high 31 goals. Ten Ducks had 10 goals or more. So why has the potent Anaheim attack, become so punchless? It appears the challenge at the moment is more mental than physical. "I think guys are almost trying to do too much, myself included, trying maybe to push it a little too hard and making it unnatural," said Matt Beleskey, who has two goals and two assists in four playoff games this spring while skating alongside Perry and Getzlaf. "The Kings are doing a pretty good job of boxing guys out, but its timing. You got to bear down and get there." Dropping the first two games at home can shake the confidence of a team. But Boudreau downplayed the importance of home-ice advantage. He pointed out that the games between the Kings and Ducks have been close all season whether theyre played at the Honda Center, Staples Center or even Dodger Stadium. "To me, these games whether we play them here or frigging any stadium you want, its going to be a tough game or a one-goal game and its two teams just battling really hard," Boudreau said. "The difference is they scored an empty-net goal and we didnt. Thats the whole difference in the series right now." Anaheim will need to win on enemy ice at least twice to keep their season alive. The Kings only have one regulation loss at the Staples Center in their last nine games there, but the Ducks dont see this as a daunting task. "Its tough to win in this building too and they did it twice," said Beleskey standing in the Ducks dressing room. "Definitely not going to be that hard for us." The Ducks believe one win can turn this series on its head. After all, the Kings stormed back against the Sharks in the first round. The Chicago Blackhawks erased an 0-2 deficit against the St. Louis Blues. Comebacks are all the rage in the NHL these days. "Were a confident group," said Ducks defenceman Ben Lovejoy. "We know we can beat this team. We feel weve had two pretty even games ... I truly believe that playoffs is all about momentum and right now we need to put a seed of doubt in their mind. And if we win that first game, if its 2-1 and we have momentum, we can do that. "As soon as we win one they remember that were a good team, we remember that were a good team and it puts doubt in their mind, but it all starts with us." Mike Bibby Jersey .J. Barea during a three-game shooting slump that was getting him booed off his home court with regularity. John Collins Jersey . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. http://www.authenticbasketballshophawks.info/tracy-mcgrady-hawks-jersey/ . Miralem Pjanic dribbled through the defence to score an extraordinary goal in the 43rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico and Gervinho added another from a rebound in the 65th for Romas ninth straight victory — ending Milans five-match winning streak. Miles Plumlee Jersey . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own. Taurean Prince Jersey . The two were in the batting cage moments before game time. Bautista was taking final warm up cuts. Pillar was hitting soft toss. The one-time utility player turned All-Star pulled aside the clubs young, fourth outfielder and offered him some advice.What is the most important space on a soccer field?Some suggest that it is the zone directly in front of the penalty area – referred to as Zone 14 – where the largest percentage of goal scoring opportunities originate. Others suggest that the penalty area is the most important, as it is where the largest percentage of goals are scored. Still others suggest that the midfield is the most crucial area of the pitch, as it is often where games are "won and lost".I disagree with all three suggestions. For me, the most important space on a football pitch is the space between a players ears.For me, football is simply a game of decisions. The ability to make the correct decisions consistently is what is often referred to as a players "football IQ" or "football intelligence". You will often hear analysts refer to a player having a good "football brain", which is simply a way of saying that a player consistently makes the correct decisions on a football pitch.Does he pass the ball or does he dribble? If he passes the ball, whom does he pass it to? When he passes the ball, how hard does he pass it? Does he pass it to the left side or to the right side of the receiver? Does he pass it on the ground, or does he have to lift the ball in order to get it to its intended target?Players make thousands of these decisions during a 90-minute game, yet the difference between glory and failure can often rest on just one or two. For defenders, the wrong decision often results in conceding a goal.Consider Spains humiliating 5-1 loss to the Netherlands.Just one minute after Spains David Villa had a one-on-one with Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen – which would have put Spain in front 2-0 just before the halftime break had Silva scored - the Netherlands scored a fabulous equalizing goal through Robin van Persie. The goal completely changed the course of the game, as the momentum heading into the break turned 180 degrees in favour of the Netherlands.As wonderful as the goal was for the Netherlands, from Spains perspective it was a defensive calamity.When Dutch defender Bruno Martins Indi passed the ball to wingback Daley Blind, the assessment of the situation from Spanish defender Sergio Ramos was that there was no imminent danger.However, Ramos failed to correctly assess the situation because he got caught ball-watching. Ramos focused his attention on Blind, rather than on Robin van Persies position in relation to the ball at Blinds feet. Had he seen van Persies positioning on his back shoulder, Ramos would have realized that there was a genuine threat. Had Ramos then decided to run just three or four yards to get back into the correct defensive position, Blind would have opted to retain possession with a safer pass, rather than sending the ball forward for van Persie to attack.The ball in behind Spains back line from Blind was inch perfect, matched in qualitty only by the diving header from van Persie.ddddddddddddThe goal completely changed the course of the game, as the momentum swung in favour of the Netherlands – who went on to score four unanswered goals in the second half to pull off one of the results of the tournament.Consider Italys shocking 1-0 defeat at the hands of Costa Rica.Usually one of the most consistent defensive teams at the international level, Italy was badly caught out for Bryan Ruizs game-winning goal.When Costa Ricas Júnior Díaz picked up the ball on the left flank and shaped to cross, Italys Giorgio Chiellini (arguably one of the best defenders in the world) never spotted the run of Ruiz off his back shoulder. Why? Because Chiellini never took his eyes off the ball.Yes, it was clever movement from Ruiz. But Chiellinis decision to focus solely on the ball, rather than on Ruizs movement in relation to the ball, resulted in a devastating outcome for Italy. A tremendous cross from Diaz and a clinical finish from Ruiz was all Costa Rica needed to separate the two sides, clinching the minnows passage to the knockout stage.Consider Ecuadors winning goal in their 2-1 victory over Honduras.One of the key principles of good defensive play is "see the ball, see the man". A good defender always puts himself in a position where he can see both the ball and the player he is marking. Generally speaking, this is a position that is ball-side and closer to the goal that is being defended than the attacker.On Ecuadors free kick, Honduran defender Juan Carlos García committed the cardinal sin of turning his back on the ball when marking Ecuadorian striker Enner Valencia. Garcia had no idea that the ball had been kicked, as he was trying to wrestle with Valencia instead. This left Valencia the easy task of wriggling away from Garcias clutches to head the ensuing cross into the back of the net.While there have been some examples of very good defensive play at the World Cup – Iran, Greece and Costa Rica have all put on excellent defensive performances in various games – I have been surprised at how many individual defenders are making fundamental defensive mistakes.As the game changes – fullbacks are now more coveted for their ability to get forward in attack than they are for their one on one defensive abilities – the characteristics of the next generation of defenders will also change. Speed, comfort on the ball and a wide passing range are all characteristics that the modern game seeks in its defenders.But those characteristics should never come at the expense of situational and positional awareness, tackling, heading, organization and communication. The young players - like Frances Raphael Varane and Uruguays José Giménez – who can marry all of these traits together will go on to be the next "defensive artists" of the modern game. Cheap Twins Jerseys Wholesale Royals Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Authentic Indians Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Discount Blue Jays Jerseys Wholesale Rays Jerseys Cheap Yankees Jerseys Discount Red Sox Jerseys Discount Orioles Jerseys Discount Astros Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Athletics Jerseys Cheap Mariners Jerseys Rangers Jerseys From China Braves Jerseys Outlet Cheap Marlins Jerseys Wholesale Mets Jerseys Wholesale Phillies Jerseys Cheap Nationals Jerseys Cubs Jerseys From China Reds Jerseys From China Cheap Brewers Jerseys Wholesale Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Authentic Rockies Jerseys Dodgers Jerseys From China Wholesale Padres Jerseys Giants Jerseys From China ' ' '