Begrüßung » wing with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Texas Rangers needed a reason to feel good about themselves on getaway day before starting a pivotal six-game homestand that includes a series against the team theyre fighting for the AL West title. They got it from a bullpen that ate up 5 2-3 innings and prevented a three-game sweep by the Los Angeles Angels, a team they will face in a four-game series that wraps up the regular season schedule. Alex Rios homered in the first and drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop double in the seventh, Elvis Andrus also had two RBIs, and the Rangers hung on for a 4-3 victory Sunday. They remained 1 1-2 games out of first place, as Oakland beat Houston 7-2 to complete a three-game sweep. "It was a very big win. We needed it bad," manager Ron Washington said. "They took the lead, but we didnt give in. We just kept fighting and were able to make some good things happen. Its only one win, but it was huge." Angels rookie Buddy Boshers walked Leonys Martin with one out in the seventh and Ian Kinsler greeted Michael Kohn (1-2) with a ground-rule double into the left field corner. Andrus followed with a looper into right-centre and was robbed of a hit on a diving catch by right fielder Kole Calhoun, but Martin scored the tying run on the sacrifice fly. "Youve got to find a way to win games, and sometimes its going to be with bloopers," Andrus said. "It was a tremendous play by Martin, to be able to read that flyball and the fielder at the same time and then tag up." Centre fielder Mike Trout then attempted a diving catch on another Texas leaguer by Rios in left-centre, but missed it as Kinsler scored. "You could call it a break," Washington said. "Sometimes in a game, you need breaks. But you make your breaks by making contact. And when you make contact, things can happen." Alexi Ogando (6-4) got the victory with 1 1-3 scoreless innings. Neal Cotts gave up a leadoff double in the eighth to Calhoun, who advanced on Mark Trumbos groundout and was stranded when Tanner Scheppers struck out Hank Conger with the infield in and retired Grant Green on a flyball to centre. "Trumbo hits the ball to the right side to get the runner to third, and Im sitting there and saying: We need a strikeout here," Washington said. "We got the strikeout, then he made Green put the ball in play and we got a line drive to Martin. There was the good inning right there, and we certainly needed that." Joe Nathan, the seventh Rangers pitcher, got three outs in the ninth for his 39th save in 41 attempts and helped them avoid what would have been the Angels first three-game sweep against them since September 2009. "Fortunately weve got 12 or 13 guys out there in the pen, so weve got plenty of arms to stretch it out," Nathan said. "We feel confident in all of those guys -- not just to bring them out in the fourth and fifth inning, but to come in late in the game in tight situations. We love when our starters go deep -- but when this is what we need to do on a given day, were more than glad to do that. Weve got guys with experience who know how to throw the baseball." Rangers rookie Nick Tepesch was charged with two runs and four hits in 3 1-3 innings and struck out five in his first start off the disabled list, after pitching 3 1-3 innings out of the bullpen at Oakland last Monday in his first relief outing in the big leagues. The 24-year-old right-hander was winless in eight consecutive starts before beating Houston on July 5, then was sidelined with inflammation in his elbow. Tepesch was lifted after 63 pitches with a runner at first and the score tied 1-all. Trumbo was held at third on Congers double to left field, and subsequently erased in a rundown on Greens fielders choice grounder to third baseman Adrian Beltre. But No. 9 hitter Andrew Romine lined the next pitch down the left field line for a two-run double that put the Angels ahead 3-1. The Rangers got one of the runs back in the fifth on an Andrus RBI single against Jason Vargas, who allowed two runs and six hits over six innings and struck out eight. Rios, the third batter Vargas faced, homered to left-centre for his 16th this season and fourth against the Halos. Kole Calhoun tied it with his sixth of the season leading off the second. "You never know where numbers are going to end up for a young player, but theres absolutely no doubt that he has the ability to drive the ball," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Hes a strong little guy. What his numbers will end up being, thats just going to be a function of him just continuing to put good swings on the ball." NOTES: Rangers opening day starter Matt Harrison, whose season ended after his second outing on April 6 because of back problems that required surgery twice in a span of nine days to repair a herniated disc, is scheduled to undergo Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery on his right side in Dallas on Monday. Harrison missed the final three months of the 2009 campaign because of the same ailment, then won 18 games last season to tie Kenny Rogers 2004 club record for left-handers. ... Andrus stole his 36th and 37th bases, tying his career best from 2011. Brent Honeywell Jersey . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings. Rays Jerseys 2020 . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/296i-oli...ersey-rays.html. Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Eric Sogard Rays Jersey . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. Michael Perez Jersey . His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said.With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up are the New York Islanders, a team that has higher expectations after some quality offseason work. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Buttons analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSNs Scott Cullen. Division: Metropolitan GM: Garth Snow Head Coach: Jack Capuano 2013-14: 34-37-11 (8th in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Did not qualify Goals For: 216 (17th) Goals Against: 261 (28th) Powerplay: 17.8% (17th) Penalty Kill: 78.1% (29th) That Was Then: After 4-4-3 start to the season, Islanders general manager Garth Snow decided to shake up his roster and make a move that could help put his team in the playoffs for the second straight season a€“ a feat the Islanders hadna€?t accomplished since 2004. Snow traded forward Matt Moulson, the Islandersa€? first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and a 2015 second-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for two-time 40-goal scorer Thomas Vanek. The move was immediately questioned as Moulson was coming off a strong 2012-13 campaign, in which he posted 15 goals and 44 points in 47 games, and Vanek a€“ like Moulson - was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In Vaneka€?s first three games with the club, the Islanders went 2-1 with the Austrian scoring one goal and adding two assists. The Islanders then went into a nosedive, losing 15 of their next 17 contests, including a season-worst 10-game losing skid. By the end of January the Islanders were reeling; their record sat at 21-28-8, well out of a playoff spot and the team was in the midst of a five-game losing skid. Looking to address their future, the Islanders offered Vanek a substantial contract extension. Reports put the extension in the range of $50 million over the next seven seasons, identical to the number offered by the Edmonton Oilers and matched by the Sabres in 2007. Vanek, however, declined the offer and Islanders set out to find a trade partner for the veteran forward. To make matters worse for the Islanders, their leading scorer John Tavares suffered a torn MCL and torn meniscus while playing for Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Tavares was third in the league in points at the time of the injury. On trade deadline day, the Islanders traded Vanek to the Canadiens for 2012 second-round pick Sebastian Collberg as well as a second-round draft pick and a conditional fifth-round draft pick in 2014. The Islanders finished the season 26th in the league, 11 points out of the second and final wild card playoff spot. Kyle Okposo finished as the teama€?s leading scorer with 69 points, three points ahead of Tavares who missed the final 23 games of the season. Scott Cullens Analytics Predators 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 3.05 3.25 7.8% .911 48.9% .425 21-41 2.62 3.52 7.2% .912 45.7% .390 42-62 3.10 3.38 8.1% .904 48.2% .500 63-82 2.80 3.10 6.6% .917 52.0% .625 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Subpar goaltending and possession leads to a tough start. Games 21-41: Goaltending continues to struggle, possession gets worse, record collapses. Games 42-62: Possession and shooting improve a bit, enough to tread water despite worse goaltending. Games 63-82: Best possession and goaltending segment of the year, leads to winning record despite goal deficit. Key 2014 Additions: G Jaroslav Halak, C Mikhail Grabovski, RW Nikolai Kulemin, G Chad Johnson, LW Cory Conacher, D TJ Brennan Key 2014 Subtractions: G Evgeni Nabokov, G Anders Nilsson This Is Now: Garth Snow started his attempt to revamp the Islanders roster early in the off-season; trading for two pending free agents in goaltender Jaroslav Halak and defenceman Dan Boyle. Thhe Islanders signed Halak to a four-year, $18 million contract ahead of free agency.dddddddddddd With Boyle, the Isles had less success and attempted to trade the veteran after he rejected a two-year deal from the club. In free agency, the Islanders made a major splash in signing former Toronto Maple Leaf teammates Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin to four-year contracts. The team also signed Chad Johnson to a two-year contract, cementing their goaltending tandem. In Grabovski and Kulemin, the Islanders receive a pair who combined for 59 goals and 115 points in the 2010-11 season with the Leafs. Kulemin scored 30 goals that season, but has yet to score more than nine goals in any season since. Grabovski spent last season with the Washington Capitals, scoring 13 goals and 35 points in 58 games. The two figure to align on the Islanders second line as they reunite after a year apart. The additions of Grabovski and Kulemin should strengthen the Islanders top-six, which already included Tavares, Okposo and former 30-goal scorer Michael Grabner. Halak and Johnson form the Islanders new goaltending duo, after the assembly of Evgeni Nabokov, Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson posted a combined 3.00 goals against average and a .898 save percentage last season. The remaining question mark for the Islanders is on defence, where their group remains unchanged despite the attempt to sign Boyle. The lone defenceman the Isles added in free agency was T.J. Brennan, who could push playing time after winning the Eddie Shore Award as the outstanding defenceman of the AHL with the Toronto Marlies last season. Unless Brennan makes the roster, the Islanders hope the upgrades at goaltender and forward suffice for standing pat on defence. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Brock Nelson John Tavares Kyle Okposo Josh Bailey Frans Nielsen Michael Grabner Anders Lee Mikhail Grabovski Nikolai Kulemin Matt Martin Casey Cizikas Cal Clutterbuck Cory Conacher Ryan Strome Colin McDonald Eric Boulton Johan Sundstrom Jack Skille Defence Left Right Lubomir Visnovsky Travis Hamonic Calvin De Haan Thomas Hickey Matt Donovan T.J. Brennan Brian Strait Matt Carkner Griffin Reinhart Ryan Pulock Goaltenders Jaroslav Halak Chad Johnson Kevin Poulin Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Griffin Reinhart There is not much flash in Griffins game but here is a tremendous amount of substance. Excellent sense and feel for situations and is very calm, composed and settled under pressure. He has the ability to quiet things down, so to speak, and get the game back into balance when hes on the ice. Excellent agility and balance and with his size, he is a very difficult defenseman to beat one-on-one and to break down. He plays with a self-confidence and assuredness that says, Dont worry, I have this under control. For Islander fans, think of what Ken Morrow brought to four Stanley Cup teams, and you can get a picture of what Griffin means to a team. Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Brock Nelson Coming off a strong rookie season, during which he contributed 26 points in 72 games, with strong possession stats (52.6% Corsi) and is looking at a much better opportunity in his second season. While there is competition among a suddenly-deeper group of Islanders forwards, Nelson may get a chance to skate on left wing with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo on the Islanders top line and that opportunity is too good to ignore. A full season in that spot, along with power play time, would give Nelson a chance to double last seasons output, but even if he doesnt end up making a jump that big, hes a promising young forward who should continue to play a more significant role as he matures. ' ' '