Subject :NHL draft lottery losers last year, the Florida Panthers had their number come up this year. Kenny B
NHL draft lottery losers last year, the Florida Panthers had their number come up this year. Kenny Britt Jersey . In the meantime, chalk up yet another loss for the Buffalo Sabres. The Panthers bucked the odds Tuesday by jumping up a spot and earned the right to the top pick in June. Florida, which finished 29th in the league, vaulted ahead of the last-place Sabres, who had the best odds of winning the lottery held in Toronto. "It means a lot to us. Weve very excited," said Travis Viola, Panthers president of hockey operations. "Were looking to continue to build on our core talent of young players. Its just a great opportunity." It also marked a reversal of fortune for Florida. After finishing last a year ago, the Panthers were relegated to the No. 2 pick after Colorado won the lottery. The top two projected prospects are left wing Samuel Bennett, of OHL Kingston, who finished first in the final rankings released by NHL Central Scouting last week, and OHL Barrie defenceman Aaron Ekblad. The draft will be held in Philadelphia on June 27-28. The Panthers (29-45-8) had an 18.8 per cent chance of winning the lottery, behind only Buffalo (21-51-10), which had a 25 per cent shot. The Sabres continued whats been a losing trend since the season began in October. Buffalos 51 losses were a franchise worst, and the most losses in the NHL since the New York Islanders went 21-51-7-3 in 2000-01. General manager Tim Murray took the latest loss in stride, telling the teams website that he almost anticipated losing out on the No. 1 pick. "Were very comfortable," Murray said. "The other way wouldve been gravy, but its kind of what we thought would happen, and we prepared for it." The Sabres were guaranteed falling no further than second. Florida will have the first pick for the fourth time in franchise history. The Panthers are gradually rebuilding. They made a splash this year by acquiring goalie Roberto Luongo in a trade with Vancouver. And theyll be picking third or better for the fourth time in five years. Their previous top three picks -- defenceman Erik Gudbranson (in 2010), wing Jonathan Huberdeau (2011) and centre Aleksander Barkov (2013) -- all played significant roles this season. "Were anxious to put a winner in Florida," Viola said. The Panthers move up marked the fourth straight year in which the last-place team failed to win the lottery. Since the NHL lottery system was introduced in 1995, the last-place team has earned the No. 1 pick only six times. The Panthers had the No. 1 pick in the 2002 and 2003 drafts, but traded them away both times. They also had the No. 1 pick in 1994, when they selected defenceman Ed Jovanovski. The remaining 11 teams maintained their draft order based on the final standings, starting with the Edmonton Oilers staying with the No. 3 draft pick. Calgary will select fourth followed by the New York Islanders. The top 10 picks are rounded out by Vancouver picking sixth, followed by Carolina, Toronto, Winnipeg and Anaheim. The Pacific Division champion Ducks earned a lottery spot by acquiring a first-round pick in a trade with Ottawa, which finished 21st. The New Jersey Devils, who finished 20th, were included in the lottery to maintain the weighted odds, but were not eligible to be selected. The Devils are already slotted to pick 30th after being sanctioned by the NHL. The league ruled New Jersey circumvented the collective bargaining agreement by attempting to skirt the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $102 million contract in 2010. Center Sam Reinhart (WHL Kootenay) and left wing Leon Draisaitl (WHL Prince Albert) were ranked third and fourth among North American skaters, while the top-ranked European skater is Finnish right wing Kasperi Kapanen. The Sabres actually have a shot at holding three first-round picks based on two trades they made this year. The Islanders have to until June 1 to decide whether to hand over their first-round selection to Buffalo this year or next year. Islanders head amateur scout Trent Klatt said the team has not yet determined its plans. The Sabres will also acquire the Blues first-round pick should St. Louis reach the Western Conference finals. DeShone Kizer Jersey . Patrik Bartosak turned away 50-of-52 shots for the Rebels (28-26-4), who halted their losing streak at seven games. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Feser forced overtime with his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the third period. Carl Nassib Jersey . After losing Brett Cecil to groin tightness on Friday, the Blue Jays watched as R.Colorado Springs, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Air Force played spoiler with a 27-24 win over 21st- ranked Colorado State on Friday. Colorado State faced a 3rd-and-2 from the Air Force 42 with under a minute remaining when Jasen Oden Jr. was stopped for no gain. The Rams gambled on fourth down, but Dee Hart was also stood up and the Falcons took over with 38 seconds to play. On 3rd-and-4 of the ensuing possession, Nate Romine fired to Garrett Brown for 26 yards, setting up Conants game-winner. Romine, who made his first start of the season, was only asked to throw 15 times for the run-heavy Falcons (9-3, 5-3 MW). He completed just six passes for 135 yards while racking up a team-high 61 yards and a touchdown on the ground. D.J. Johnson and Shayne Davern also scored on the ground for Air Force, which finished the regular season with a 6-0 record at Falcon Stadium. The loss overshadowed another big game for CSU receiver Rashard Higgins, who led the nation in yards heading into this week. Higgins made a career-high 12 receptions for 193 yards and a pair of scores. Garrett Grayson threw for 366 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for the Rams (10-2, 6-2), who had won nine straight. Their loss opens the door for the winner of Saturdays matchup between Boise State and Utah State to advance to the Mountain West title game. They beat us on both sides of the ball up front. There were some busted routes but theyre the ones that beat us, Colorado State coach Jim McElwain said. Grayson found Higgins for 22 yards on the second play of the game, then went to him on 3rd-and-9 and extended Colorado States drive with an 11-yard pickup. On the very next play, Higgins caught a 31-yard pass down the left sideline. Grayson and Higgins put the stamp on a dominant first drive with a 7-yard touchdown connection. Kevin Hogan Jersey. The dynamic sophomore made four catches for 71 yards on the 9-play scoring drive. Jalen Robinettes 47-yard catch on the first Air Force series led to Johnsons 5-yard TD run to tie the game at 7. Jared Roberts kicked a 30-yard field goal to cap CSUs next series, but Air Force scored 10 straight points before halftime. A 12-play series that spanned the first and second quarters culminated with a 1-yard Davern TD run, and Conant was pure with a 33-yard field goal later in the half to send the Falcons into the break with a 17-10 lead. Romines QB keeper with 3:09 left in the third quarter put the Falcons up by two touchdowns. Late in the third, Grayson scrambled on third down and found Xavier Williams near the sticks in traffic and the redshirt freshman did the rest, turning on the jets and outrunning the entire Air Force secondary for a 76- yard touchdown. After Romine was sacked on third down and Air Force punted, CSU marched down the field in seven plays. On 3rd-and-goal from the 2, Grayson lofted a fade to Higgins in the back right corner of the end zone, and Higgins made a diving catch to tie the game. Grayson was picked off by Weston Steelhammer on CSUs next drive. (We) had some good forward runs and we came up with two big ones, not only the interception, but the big fourth down stop there inside a minute left, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. Game Notes Steelhammer has an interception in three straight games ... Air Force has won five of six overall ... The Falcons have won nine of 10 in the series ... Air Force ran for 242 yards as a team ... Hart had 115 yards but was kept out of the end zone. He had five rushing touchdowns and a receiving TD last week against New Mexico. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
|
Majalah Online