CHICAGO -- The Pittsburgh Penguins were wrapping up practice Friday when Tanner Glass grabbed an iPad mini and skated around the temporary rink in the middle of Soldier Field.
Cheap Nike Tn Trainers Uk . The 30-year-old Canadian forward smiled as he captured the chilly scene, which took him all the way back to when he first learned to skate at his grandparents farm. "As I grew up, there was an outdoor rink right beside by the main rink," said Glass, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan. "So even tournaments, wed have our real game inside and then wed all just take half our gear off and run across to the outdoor rink and play all day. It reminds me of that and kind of the good old days." Yup, these outdoor games still have an allure for NHL players, especially when they involve two of the best teams in the league. The league gets a marquee prime-time finish for its successful Stadium Series when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins take on Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night at the home of the NFLs Chicago Bears. "Youve got two pretty fast, skilled hockey teams and if the ice can kind of agree with everyone I think that would make for a pretty good product out there," Crosby said. The forecast calls for light snow and temperatures in the teens, but each team has some experience with the pratfalls of playing outside. Chicago lost 6-4 to rival Detroit in the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Crosby had the winning shootout goal when visiting Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 2-1 in the first Winter Classic in 2008, but the Penguins lost 3-1 to Washington when they hosted the 2011 game at Heinz Field. Now the Blackhawks and Penguins return to the great outdoors for their first meeting since Pittsburghs 3-2 victory on Dec. 20, 2011. Its their first game in Chicago since Patrick Kane had the only shootout goal in the Blackhawks 3-2 win on Feb. 20 of that year. While scheduling and the leagues most recent labour dispute have kept the teams apart, the players are plenty familiar with one another. Team captains Crosby and Toews face off for the first time in an NHL regular-season game after leading Canada to the gold medal in the Sochi Olympics last weekend. Crosby, Toews and Penguins forward Chris Kunitz scored in their countrys 3-0 victory in the final against Sweden, which included Marcus Kruger, Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Blackhawks. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma got a chance to see Kane up close when he was behind the bench for Team USA in Russia. "Ive learned quite a bit about his competitiveness," Bylsma said. "You kind of see the smile. Its certainly a ton of skill how he plays the game, but I was impressed by it and learned just the competitiveness that he has and brings to the game. Skill-wise you see it live." The first NHL game at Soldier Field also features two teams in need of a win. The Penguins are coming off a 6-5 shootout loss to Montreal, while the Blackhawks lost 2-1 at the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Chicago, which almost tied the game against the Rangers in the final seconds, is playing its first game in the Windy City since Jan. 26. "Everybody is excited for Saturday," centre Peter Regin, who scored the only goal against New York, said Thursday night. "Obviously we were hoping to get a different outcome tonight, but we play in two days. That is the good thing about the NHL, you play every second night, so its not so long before you can redeem yourself."
Air Max 90 Wholesale Cheap . Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres came to an agreement on a big trade that may only offer incremental improvement to the Blues in their quest for a Stanley Cup.
Air Max 200 Uk .Kraft says Goodell realized before seeing a video showing Baltimore running back Ray Rice striking his then fiance that domestic violence was very serious for society in general.ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis backup goalie Brian Elliott may not enjoy his limited role. He sure knows how to make the most of it. Elliott made 34 saves in only his fifth start of the season and the Blues got goals from six players in their third straight win, a 6-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. St. Louis (16-3-3) has won five of six and is off to the fastest start in franchise history. Dallas had its six-game road winning streak snapped. St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock recorded his 621st win, moving him into sole possession of eighth place in career wins. Vladimir Sobotka, Vladimir Tarasenko, David Backes, Derek Roy, Chris Stewart and T.J. Oshie scored for the Blues, who have won six of their last seven against the Stars. Elliott, the backup to Jaroslav Halak, stopped the final 27 shots in improving 4-0-1. He has a 1.79 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. "You always want to be in there and fight for the guys and be part of it," Elliott said. "(Halak) is playing well and I want to play well so we can move this train forward." Elliott made numerous key saves, especially in the first period when the game was close. He robbed Valeri Nichushkin from close range and also stopped Antoine Roussel on a breakaway in the second period. "He was absolutely tremendous," St. Louis defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said. Dallas coach Lindy Ruff agreed, "He made the saves that kept them in the game." Brenden Dillon scored for Dallas, which fell to 8-6 on the road. Elliott says the key to his success as a backup comes from his mental preparation. "You just trust in your game and everything else will take care of itself," he said. "When you dont get a lot of opportunities, its hard to get in that peak performmance state.
Authentic Air Max 270. I think it just comes with experience and a lot of patience." Tarasenko put the Blues ahead to stay with his eighth goal of the season at 11:02 of the first period, just 9 seconds after the Stars had tied it 1-all. Backes pushed the lead to 3-1 by converting on a two-on-one. Backes, using Jaden Schwartz as a screen, held the puck before beating goalie Kari Lehtonen, who was pulled in the third period after allowing five goals on 18 shots. The Blues balanced four-line attack did a good job taking advantage of limited opportunities. St. Louis had 25 shots on goal. "Through the whole lineup everybody was solid," Oshie said. "When we can go at them in waves, I think thats when were at our best." The Stars were coming off a season-high 43 shots in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. They managed to create numerous opportunities on Saturday, but could not solve Elliott. "It might be the most misleading 6-1 game Ive ever been in," Ruff said. "For the most part, we outskated them and in a lot of areas we outworked them." Lehtonen took full blame for the loss, "I had a bad night," he said. "I feel bad for the guys. They tried hard." Sobotka scored 1:39 into the game for his 100th career point. St. Louis RW Ryan Reaves broke his right hand in a first-period fight with Dillon and will be out up to four weeks. NOTES: This was first of five meetings between the new Central Division rivals. ... Dallas LW Ray Whitney missed his fifth successive game with a groin injury. ... Stars C Cody Eakin played in his 100th game. ... St. Louis is 11-2-1 in its last 14 contests. ... Blues LW Brenden Morrow, who spent 13 seasons with Dallas, picked up an assist on Stewarts goal and now has a point against every NHL team. ' ' '