You have performed a great job on this article. It's very precise and highly qualitative. You've managed to make it readable and easy to read. You have some real writing talent. Thank you so much.
dubai exposition universelle 2020
The Tampa Bay Lightning have done it twice in the past three years. And it hurts.
”It’s everything from agonizing to angry to disappointed to shock [url=http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ian-thomas-jersey]http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ian-thomas-jersey[/url] ,” the coach said Thursday, less than 24 hours after one of the most successful seasons in franchise history came to a screeching halt with a 4-0 loss to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.
”I’m sure that’s going to turn into proud and happy for our group,” he added. ”There are so many good emotions about coaching this team … but the emotions of how it ended is tough.”
After compiling the best record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, eliminating the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and rebounding from losing the first games of the conference final to take a 3-2 series lead, the Lightning truly believed this was their year.
Now, general manager Steve Yzerman and Cooper face decisions about what needs to be tweaked.
The Lightning won Game 7 of the conference final against the Rangers in 2015, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history. They made it back to the East final, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games two years ago.
”If anybody sits and says it was an unsuccessful season, I have to question that. You look back at this team. All the accomplishments of the regular season, and then to be one game away from getting to the Stanley Cup Final,” Cooper said [url=http://www.chiefsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-armani-watts-jersey]http://www.chiefsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-armani-watts-jersey[/url] , his voice trailing off.
”Now it’s just solving that piece of the puzzle,” the coach added, ”getting over the top.”
With a talented roster that’s both deep and fairly young, there won’t be wholesale changes.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, a Vezina Trophy finalist in his first full season as a starter, is just 23 years old.
Leading scorer Nikita Kucherov is 24, Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman is 27, and emerging star Brayden Point is just 22.
Even captain Steven Stamkos, completing his 10th NHL season, is only 28.
”What were we missing? A couple of goals in Game 7,” Cooper said. ”You can sit here and pick apart all you want of what went wrong, it was one game. We didn’t score and we lost the game. They were opportunistic and scored [url=http://www.authenticsindianapoliscolts.com/cheap-nyheim-hines-jersey]Nyheim Hines Color Rush Jersey[/url] , and they advanced. … It’s razor-thin how close this league is.”
Yzerman said there are a number of areas where the Lightning need to get better moving forward, including defensively.
The GM, however, rejected the notion that somehow the season was a failure because a team with such high expectations didn’t get back to the championship round.
”It’s really difficult to win the Stanley Cup, and if you’re going to measure every year strictly on it’s a failure if we win or not, I don’t think I look at it that way,” Yzerman said.
”There’s a process and there’s no definitive timeline for it. Just continue to improve, continue to hang around, I guess, and we’re going to win one of these things,” the GM added. ”It’s not a failure. It’s a disappointment at this stage, but we’re not sitting here saying we’re the best team by a mile. We realize there’s a bunch of good teams out there [url=http://www.authenticsnewyorkjets.com/cheap-thomas-rawls-jersey]Thomas Rawls Color Rush Jersey[/url] , a group of teams that could win the Stanley Cup.”
Cooper said one thing it’s important to not do this summer is over-react.
”It’s hard to explain just how hard it is to get here,” the coach said. ”There are 30 teams who are going to get Monday morning quarterbacked, and one team that is not. You just have to build on your strengths and keep getting better and come back next year stronger than ever.”
—
Jaylen Brown could see the fourth quarter well enough from the Boston bench to know he wasn’t worried about the Celtics‘ recent stumbles.
”If we would have played our normal rotation, we would have won that game,” he said Sunday after coach Brad Stevens rested his starters and watched the subs blow a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead to the Atlanta Hawks. ”No doubt about it.”
Taurean Prince made seven of eight 3-pointers to score 33 points, getting help from Isaiah Taylor and Dewayne Dedmon down the stretch to help the last-place Hawks beat the playoff-bound Celtics 112-106.
With the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference already locked up, Stevens left Brown, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier on the bench for the entire fourth quarter and Boston lost for the third time in four games.
”I think Brad made a good call,” Brown said. ”(The backups) got an opportunity and it was well-deserved.”
Rozier had 10 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Boston [url=http://www.seattlemarinersteamshop.com/authentic-james-paxton-jersey]James Paxton Seattle Mariners Jersey[/url] , which had beaten Atlanta in the other three meetings this season. Tatum scored 19, Horford had 16 and Greg Monroe scored 17 for the Celtics, who are without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward for the rest of the season and Marcus Smart for the start of the playoffs.
”Let young guys play in the fourth,” Stevens said. ”Bench play is going to be huge for us going into the playoffs without a full roster.”
Taylor and Dedmon scored nine straight points for the Hawks after they trailed 103-101 with 2 minutes remaining.
Prince added eight rebounds and five assists, and Damian Lee scored 14 with eight boards. Taylor had 13 points and Dedmon scored 10 for Atlanta, which has beaten playoff teams in consecutive games but still has the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
”(It’s) especially gratifying, knowing you have a couple impact players out and still be able to do what we do,” Prince said, alluding to the injuries to Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore, two of the team’s top three scorers. ”It’s good to see what we’re able to do, even without a full team.”
CRUNCH TIME
The Celtics took a 20-8 lead in the first quarter and nursed it through most of the game before a four-point play on a clear-path foul by Tatum, followed by a Prince 3-pointer [url=http://www.authenticsindianapoliscolts.com/cheap-darius-leonard-jersey]Darius Leonard Color Rush Jersey[/url] , helped turn a 73-63 deficit into a one-point game.
The Celtics opened the fourth with a 9-2 run to take a 91-78 lead. But Atlanta tied it 99-all on a four-point play by Mike Muscala with 5:32 to play. After taking a 101-99 lead, the Celtics made five straight trips down the floor without scoring before Monroe’s tip-in made it 103-101 with just over two minutes left.
That’s when Taylor and Dedmon took over.
Taylor tied it 103-all with a layup and, after Monroe made one of two free throws, Dedmon made a 3-pointer to give Atlanta its first lead since the score was 3-2. Jonathan Gibson made a 20-footer for Boston, then Dedmon’s dunk gave the Hawks the lead for good. Taylor followed with a layup to make it a four-point game with 26 seconds left.
”Of course, they didn’t play their starters in the fourth quarter,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. ”I think they got a lot out of today; those (Celtics) played well for three quarters. I’m proud of the way our guys played for all four quarters. It’s a good sign the way they’re developing.”
KYRIE SURGERY
Stevens said Irving’s surgery was a success and he should be ready to return next season. The point guard had two screws removed Saturday from his left knee, which had developed an infection. The screws were inserted after he broke his kneecap during the 2015 Finals.
Irving has not played since March 11. Rozier started at point guard on Sunday, the 11th time in 12 games he had been in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for all but three of the previous 67 games.
TIP-INS
Prince scored 10 in the first quarter and had eight points and four rebounds in the fourth. … Boston’s Semi Ojeleye had a career-high 13 points. … The Hawks’ 13 turnovers led to 15 Boston points, but the Celtics’ 12 turnovers led to 24 Atlanta points.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Finish the season at home against Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Celtics: At Washington on Tuesday.
—
.