ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- The St Johns IceCaps got an early preview of what it will take to win in the post-season. Jerome Samson scored the eventual winner as St. Johns defeated the visiting Springfield Falcons 3-1 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. The IceCaps currently sit in fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Springfield, while the Falcons are just one of two clubs in the East to have already clinched a playoff spot. "That is the kind of team, the kind of squad, we are going to have to beat in the playoffs down the road," said Samson. "The kind of game we played, to be hanging around 3-0 and almost get the shutout, it shows a lot and builds up our confidence." Samsons goal came on what he described as a "broken play" at 10:55 of the second period and gave St. Johns a two-goal advantage. "I took a shot off a defenceman and then the puck was kind of scrambling and then (Brenden) Kichton ended up behind the net," said Samson. "I got open on the side of the net and the goalie was kind of swimming in the crease a little bit, so that helped me. It was a huge goal for us, to get the two-goal lead." John Albert had a pair of goals for the IceCaps (42-22-6) while Tyler Beskorowany made 23 saves for the victory. Patrick McNeill replied for the Falcons (44-21-6). Jeremy Smith stopped 28 shots in defeat. Albert opened the scoring for the IceCaps when he picked up a loose puck off a rebound and buried a low wrist shot 4:34 into the first period. Albert added his second, finishing off a 2-on-1 give-and-go with captain Jason Jaffray 15:13 into the second period. McNeill put the Falcons on the board with a point shot that hit off a skate on the way through with 4:33 left in regulation time. St. Johns head coach Keith McCambridge was satisfied with his clubs effort, especially in the defensive zone, just one night after allowing eight goals against in a loss to Springfield. "I was impressed with the level we played at," he said. "I thought our attention (towards) the areas we thought we had to get better at, (things) that we werent at our peak performance in with regards to last night-- we were able to get offensive opportunities and keep pucks out of our net by bearing down and making sure we are strong in front of net." . Goergl, the 2011 world champion, started 28th after the other top contenders had already gone down but had the fastest time at each interval. Goergl finished the demanding 3-kilometre Kaelberloch course in 1 minute, 47. . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle.
http://www.cheapgoldenknightsjerseysaut ... arr-jersey. The 10-year deal the league and players agreed to that ended the 2011 lockout gave either side the right to opt out after six years. With the league projecting financial growth, there has been speculation that players will take that option in three years, especially since a new national TV contract will be in place by then. . Trailing by a goal after 20 minutes of play, Joe Pavelski responded with three goals and an assist as the Sharks snapped a two-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. . - Roger Federer squandered a big lead and lost to No.DENVER -- Moments after deflecting in the winning goal, Colorados Tyson Barrie did a little dance. Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. "That was a heck of a goal," Avalanche forward Matt Duchene said. The pass was pretty good, too. Duchene dribbled the puck into the corner and sent a sharp pass at Barrie, who was standing in front of the net and tipped it past goalie Eddie Lack. "I was fortunate," Barrie said. With that, the Avs are on the verge of sewing up their first post-season appearance since the 2009-10 season. There was a scenario in which Colorado could have wrapped up a spot on Thursday, but Phoenix prevented that by beating the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a road shootout. Colorado also remains on the heels of the Chicago Blackhawks for second in the Central Division. The Avs trail the Blackhawks by one point. "We want to finish as high as possible," said Duchene, who also scored a goal. "We arent giving anybody a break coming in." The game had a playoff feel with all the fights, thrown shoulders and scuffles in the corner. With good reason: The Canucks are trying to scratch and claw to remain in the post-season picture. Struggling just a few weeks ago, the Canucks earned a valuable point and are now five points behind Phoenix, which holds the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. But time is quickly running out for the Canucks, who have seven games remaining. "Were right there. Were still in it," said Canucks coach John Tortorella, whose team had its three-game winning streak snapped. "Were fine. Were fine in our room. Were going to keep on playing. "No bad news from me here." Daniel Sedin recorded his 800th NHL point with an assist in the first period. His twin brother, Henrik, reached that milestone on Oct. 15 at Philadelphia. Henrik didnt make the trip bbecause of a leg injury.dddddddddddd The Canucks showed no signs of fatigue despite playing on back-to-back nights. Vancouver kept up with the high-flying Avalanche most of the game, especially in the third period. "We were in their end zone quite a bit," Tortorella said. "We grinded. Thats a skilled team. Its a very quick team. I thought we did a really good job through the neutral zone to slow them down." Gabriel Landeskog missed a wide open net early in the second period, only to atone minutes later when he lifted a shot over the shoulder of Lack to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. The Avalanche captain has scored three times in two games. The Canucks tied it at 18:38 when Zack Kassian stopped a puck headed for the corner with his right skate, quickly corralled it and poked the puck past a sprawled-out Varlamov. Things got a little testy in the second period. It started early when Patrick Bordeleau and Tom Sestito fought. Duchene and Ryan Kesler later began shoving each other behind the Vancouver net. On the next shift, Jamie McGinn got into it with Kesler, as well. When the giant video board showed Kesler sitting on the bench, the Canucks centre made a kissing motion at the screen, drawing loud boos from the crowd. "They were playing hard," Duchene said. "They played a great game, and Varly played outstanding as usual." Yannick Weber staked Vancouver to a 1-0 lead in the first when he lined a shot past Varlamov for a power-play goal. It was his fifth goal of the season. Late in the opening period, Duchene tied it by knocking a rebound past Lack, who played for a second straight night. NOTES: Canucks F David Booth had an assist on Kassians goal, giving him four points in three games. ... Avs D Erik Johnson played in his 400th NHL game despite having the flu. ... It was Barries third OT goal of the season, tying the franchise record set by David Jones in 2010-11. ... Varlamov earned his 36th win of the season, the fourth most in franchise history. Hall of Famer turned Avs coach Patrick Roy has the record, winning 40 in the 2000-01 season. ' ' '
