teammates to be able to get through this stretch, | Forum
miaowang123
Feb 1 '18
WINNIPEG - The season is young and the results so far mixed, but one Winnipeg Jet who came out of the gate ready to run this year is Evander Kane. John Stallworth Jersey . Its been noticed. Kane has stepped up with a more physical all-round game and is now back with Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler on the teams No. 1 line. "You look at the obvious things, like produce offensively, thats my job and thats what Im counted on to do," says Kane, who has three goals and two assists in six games for the Jets. "But I try to be a two-way player in terms of little things like blocking shots, taking hits, looking good in my own zone and creating offensive opportunities for myself and my linemates. Whatever I can do to help the team." Kane is a plus-3 so far this season, with a team-leading 30 shots on goal before Tuesday nights home game against Montreal. That he shoots a lot isnt news, but he has been visibly more physical and defensively minded and says he wants to embrace more of a leadership role. "I think Evander can bring the level of leadership up with his game," says coach Claude Noel. "But all players are like that. Theres other players as well that would like to take a more leadership role but it starts with your game. If you bring consistency to your A-game then you can now have a voice in the room. You can have a voice just by the way you play." Both the Jets and the Canadiens entered Tuesdays game looking for more consistency. But unlike the Jets, who havent seen the post-season since 2007 when they were still the Atlanta Thrashers, the Canadiens have made the playoffs five out of the last six seasons. Theyve also been knocked out in the first round in three of those five seasons. "I havent made the playoffs in my career and thats frustrating," says Kane, who played two seasons in Atlanta before the move to Winnipeg. The fourth pick overall in the 2009 entry draft, Kane has speed and stick-handling ability. But there have been times when his team game and desire to win have been questioned. Hes still just 22 but its hard to find fault with his effort this season. His average time on ice per game is just .02 seconds less than Bryan Little, who leads all Winnipeg forwards at 20:09. Ladd is next at 18:26. Being bounced around as coaches try to find a good fit for him is nothing new for Kanes career. He started the season anchoring a second scoring line with Mark Scheifele and Devin Setoguchi. "Ive been doing line juggling for 264 games," Kane said with a chuckle Tuesday. Many nights the Kane line generated the bulk of the pressure and scoring opportunities for the Jets. Two games ago Noel started juggling again to try and spread some of that energy around. "I think his teammates know what he can bring to the table and when he does that we do get energized because it makes everybody else feel like were moving," says Noel. "(Hes) an exciting player to watch when he plays like that and then you find that your other players are following suit." Other things also may be coming together for the Jets, who had the worst power play in the league last season and were only slightly better at penalty killing. Their power play ranked 20th and their penalty kill 16th as of Tuesday and they managed at least one power-play goal in each of their first five games. "If you look at our special teams the last couple of games, weve worked a lot harder to make sure were getting those lanes or getting shots to the net," says defenceman Zach Bogosian. "We dont really look at stats too much but you can feel it when youre out there that its starting to come together." The Jets didnt score a power-play goal in their last 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils but they did kill five penalties, including a five-on-three. "You know youre doing your job when things are going well. thats satisfying in itself when you get those lanes and block those shots that prevents a goal or a scoring chance," said Bogosian. He says more communication on the ice is working. Marcus Gilbert Jersey . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest. Kevin Greene Jersey . -- The Val-dOr Foreurs made it to the Memorial Cup semifinal thanks to their workhorse goaltender and their ability to hang around like a bad cold.OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook already is off crutches and shooting free throws, but the All-Star point guard says he doesnt know when hell be ready to return to the court for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook, who underwent his third knee surgery since April on Dec. 27, offered his first public comments since his latest surgery before the Thunders game against the Boston Celtics. Westbrooks on-court performance was fine - he had a triple-double by the middle of the third quarter in a Christmas Day win over the New York Knicks - and he said he wasnt in any pain, but his knee "just kept swelling and swelling." After he underwent an MRI, the decision was made to undergo arthroscopic surgery instead of just trying to rest. "You dont really know either way, resting or going in and doing surgery, but me personally, Im just trying to do whats best for my body and whats best for me in the future," Westbrook said. He said theres "never a doubt" that he wont be able to return to form. Before Sunday, Westbrook hadnt played since tearing the lateral meniscus in his right knee during the second game of the NBA playoffs last April. The injury occurred when Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley banged knees with him while going for a steal after Westbrook had stopped to call a timeout. Dermontti Dawson Jersey. Westbrook underwent an initial surgery for the injury on April 27. He underwent another surgery on Oct. 1 to remove a loose stitch from the first procedure. At the time, the Thunder said he would miss the first four to six weeks of the regular season. Under that timetable, Westbrook could have been out for as many as 22 games, but instead, he missed only the seasons first two games. Westbrook said then he never expected to be out four to six weeks. This time, the Thunder has said they expect him to be out until after the All-Star break. "I dont pay no attention to those projections," Westbrook said. "I just wake up and try to get better each and every day. Thats it." Entering Sunday, the Thunder was 3-2 since Westbrooks latest surgery. He said hes trying to stay involved with the team as much as he can while hes out of the lineup. "This time of the year, its very important for me and my teammates to be able to get through this stretch, find a way to continue to get wins, and me personally, I want to come in and stay positive and be around my teammates and stay involved with whats going on," Westbrook said. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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