Dein erstes Forum » Tavares skated freely into the Montreal

UNIONDALE, N. Donald Driver Jersey .Y. - The message to the Montreal Canadiens after another sluggish first period was familiar, yet still effective.No, the Canadiens werent starting their three-day Christmas break early. It just seemed that way.Carey Price held the fort while his teammates rounded into form, and Andrei Markov and Brendan Gallagher scored second-period goals as the Canadiens cooled off the New York Islanders with a 3-1 victory Tuesday night.Price stopped 13 of 14 shots in the first while his teammates mustered only three at the other end. He was perfect over the final 40 minutes — making 37 saves overall — and the Canadiens won for the fifth time in six games.I am not going to repeat what was said, Price said of the post-first period conversation. We definitely received the message loud and clear.The Canadiens have scored only 12 goals in the first period through 35 games this season. They have 79 the rest of the way, including 45 in third periods.Markov, in his 800th NHL game, and Gallagher beat backup goalie Chad Johnson 5:17 apart to erase a 1-0 deficit. Price has allowed two goals or fewer in the past six games.We had a very slow start. We werent good enough, Gallagher said. We were only down 1-0. (Price) kept us in it, gave us a chance to get our legs under us and start competing.We dont want to rely on him that much, but thankfully we had him.David Desharnais scored with 1:11 left to make it 3-1 for the Canadiens, who had only 21 shots.Kyle Okposo scored in the first period for the Islanders. Johnson made 18 saves as No. 1 goalie Jaroslav Halak took a maintenance day and didnt dress for the game. New York, which had won four straight overall, fell to 13-4 at home and 10-2 in its last 12 at Nassau Coliseum.The Islanders (23-11) are tied in points with the Atlantic Division co-leading Canadiens (22-11-2).We cant forget what weve done here in the past, and whats made us good, Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said of his surprising team. We threw a lot of pucks on net, and it seemed like Price was there every time. He made a lot of big saves.Halak had played in nine of the previous 10 games.Its frustrating, Johnson said of his missed opportunity. You play to win hockey games. We were right there. It just didnt happen. Youve just got to regroup and keep working.New York had 15 shots in the third in an attempt at another late comeback. This one fell short.This is not the old Islanders — definitely not, said Canadiens forward Lars Eller, who set up the final goal. They are a fast team, relentless.After going nearly 14 minutes before recording their first shot of the game, the Canadiens needed only 36 seconds in the second period to put a puck on Johnson. Markov made it 1-all at 6:10 on Montreals third shot of the period.Hamonic broke his stick near the New York net, and the Canadiens moved the puck from left to right inside the blue line. P.K. Subban set up defence partner Markov for a slap shot that beat Johnson.Montreal took a 2-1 lead with 8:33 left in the period when Gallagher cleaned up a rebound of Sergei Gonchars drive and scored his 10th of the season from the slot on the ninth Canadiens shot.New York held a 23-12 shots advantage through two periods but entered the third down by a goal. The Islanders had two power plays in the first 40 minutes that generated four shots and no goals.The Islanders controlled the first period and kept the pressure off Johnson, who hadnt played since Dec. 9. New York held Montreal at bay throughout and didnt allow a shot until there was 6:09 left. By then the Islanders had 11 shots and a 1-0 lead.That goal came at 7:06 after Islanders captain John Tavares created a 2-on-1 break with Okposo by eluding a check at centre ice. Tavares skated freely into the Montreal zone and made a pass from the right circle to the left, where Okposo dropped to a knee and steered in a one-timer for his eighth goal this season and third in six games.NOTES: Michel Therrien tied Pat Burns for fifth place on the Canadiens career list with 174 wins as coach. ... Price has made 10 straight starts. ... The Islanders are 1 for 17 on the power play the past six games. ... New York brought up G Kevin Poulin on an emergency basis to serve as Johnsons backup and sent him back to Bridgeport (AHL) after the game. Preston Smith Jersey James Lofton Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/custom-montravius-adams-jersey-large-1912r.html .com) - Al Horford collected 19 points and 16 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks held off a furious rally to beat the Detroit Pistons 106-103 on Friday night in a game between two of the NBAs hottest teams.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Orlando Magic went small — and came up big.Struggling to find their way on offence, Magic coach Jacque Vaughn turned to a four-guard lineup late in the second half, sparking a huge comeback.Evan Fournier scored 21 points, Tobias Harris had 17 points and 16 rebounds and the Magic erased a 23-point second-half deficit to hand the Charlotte Hornets their fourth straight loss 105-100 on Friday night.At one point, the Magic had Fournier matched up on Charlottes 7-foot power forward Cody Zeller.When they went small it changed the momentum of the game, Hornets guard Gary Neal said. They drove the ball. When you have a lead and guys are coming down the floor and attacking, attacking and attacking, thats one of the hardest things to guard. And it seemed like they didnt miss any shots.The Magic shot a blazing 71.4 per cent (15 of 21) in the fourth quarter and outscored the Hornets 41-21.It tied the third largest comeback in Orlando history.It was pure magic, Harris said with a laugh.The Magic trailed by 15 entering the fourth quarter, but Willie Green jumpstarted the offence by scoring all nine of his points at a crucial juncture in the final period. Fellow reserves Elfrid Payton had eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and Ben Gordon had all nine of his points in the final period.Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando (6-8).There was no panic and we talked about that at halftime, Vaughn said. I told them we would get a chance to get back into the game. This was a great lesson for a lot of guys in the locker room.Its the second time in 11 days the Hornets have surrendered a 23-point lead andd lost. ZaDarius Smith Jersey. l Jefferson had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Kemba Walker added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the struggling Hornets (4-9), who have lost six of their last seven games.The Hornets pushed the lead to 23 points midway through the third quarter.But Green ignited a key run.The 11-year NBA veteran hit back-to-back jumpers, Gordon connected on a 19-foot jump shot before Green swished another 19-foot jumper to tie the game at 93. Payton finally put the Magic ahead with 1:30 left when he hit a pull-up jump shot.But the big play came with the game tied 97-97. Payton missed two free throws but the Hornets forgot to box out and Green grabbed an offensive rebound for an all-too-easy put back with 57 seconds left in the game to give Orlando the lead for good.Walker said it was his job to box out Green and he didnt.Its inexcusable, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.___TIP-INSMagic: Rookie forward Aaron Gordon underwent successful surgery on the fractured bone in his left foot on Friday. He is out indefinitely.Hornets: Neal returned after he missed the last two games with a concussion. ... Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (stress reaction) and P.J. Hairston (ankle sprain) remain out of actionLONG DISTANCE STRUGGLE: The Magic came in shooting better than 45 per cent from 3-point range over the last eight games, but failed to connect from beyond the arc in the first half. They finished 4 of 16.ROY IN THE HOUSE: North Carolina coach Roy Williams took in the game from the front row. Williamss Tar Heels will play here on Saturday afternoon.UP NEXTMagic: Host Miami on Saturday night.Hornets: Play at Miami on Sunday night. ' ' '