My Sports News Digest

NEW YORK (NHL/Rosen) — For the first time in a while, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s expectations don’t match those of his fans.

The most faithful Blueshirts followers will tell you that Lundqvist, without question, should win the Vezina Trophy at the annual NHL Awards Show on Wednesday in Las Vegas. He’s a finalist along with the Kings’ Jonathan Quick and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne.

Most of those same fans will also say he should win the Hart Trophy, despite the fact that just being a finalist for the League’s MVP award along with Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos caught the typically alert and aware Lundqvist totally off-guard.

“No, I never really thought about that [being a finalist for the Hart],” said Lundqvist, who also joins Malkin and Stamkos as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given to the most outstanding player as judged by the players themselves. “That’s just a big bonus. It’s a pretty amazing feeling.”

Not as amazing as it would be to win either the Vezina or the Hart. Lundqvist has yet to collect a piece of hardware in three previous trips to the annual NHL Awards show, but clearly his odds this year, with being a finalist for two trophies instead of one, are better than they ever have been.

However, Lundqvist isn’t expecting to win anything Wednesday night. It’s a totally different feeling from the one he gained while backstopping the Rangers this season.

After recording 109 points, earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference and getting within two victories of the Stanley Cup Final, the expectations around the Rangers are the highest they’ve been since Lundqvist arrived in New York in 2005.

Lundqvist knows it — and he loves it.

“I just like the feeling to expect, to expect more out of everybody on the team,” Lundqvist said. “When I got here some years ago I think a lot of people were hoping and were not really sure, but with this year, I hope we continue building, and that’s to expect more out of everybody, to want to be a top team. To be that you have to push yourself hard, because it’s not just going to happen.

“Everybody had a fun year, but we need to come back and try to be even better because we came up short.”

Lundqvist got closer than he ever had before this spring. He was bounced out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2007 and 2008, but this year he took the Rangers to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against New Jersey before the Devils extinguished their cross-river rivals on an Adam Henrique overtime winner at Prudential Center a few weeks ago.

Regardless, Lundqvist still finished the playoffs with career-bests in wins (10), goals-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.931). His 39 wins, 1.97 GAA and .930 save percentage in the regular season were all career-bests as well.

“I can only speak for myself; it motivates me a lot to work on my game and come back, try to be even better,” Lundqvist said of falling two wins shy of going to the Stanley Cup Final. “Just to get a taste of it, it’s exciting, but at the same time we didn’t reach the ultimate goal, we didn’t get to where we want to be. But to get a taste of it, I think it’s good for the future. We have a young group, a bunch of guys that hadn’t been there before, it’s exciting.”

The whole season, all of it leading up to the Awards show Wednesday night, was exciting for Lundqvist.

In addition to getting married last summer, Lundqvist, who has a baby on the way this summer, started the 2011-12 season with the Rangers in Europe. He received a hero’s welcome as he returned to Gothenburg, Sweden, and played a game against his old team from the Swedish Elite League, the Frolunda Indians — who happen to be captained by Lundqvist’s twin, Joel.

Lundqvist backstopped Frolunda to the Swedish Elite League championship in 2005.

Then he got to open the regular season in Stockholm, Sweden’s capital city. A few months after returning Lundqvist became a main storyline on HBO’s “24/7″ series, which documented the Rangers’ and Flyers’ road to the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

“Everybody had a fun year, but we need to come back and try to be even better because we came up short.” - Henrik Lundqvist reflects on the Rangers season

Of course, Lundqvist won the Winter Classic game at Citizens Bank Park on Jan. 2 with 34 saves, including a brilliant stop on Danny Briere’s penalty shot that would have tied the game with 20 seconds left in the third period.

Once that was over and normalcy returned, Lundqvist kept up his end of the bargain and helped the Rangers finish the regular season with 109 points, the most in the Eastern Conference. They needed seven games each to beat the Senators and Capitals before New Jersey knocked out Lundqvist and the Rangers in six.

“This was a great year. There were so many things that happened that you learn from,” Lundqvist said. “You start in Europe, had the Winter Classic, a lot of distractions — good distractions with HBO — and it was fun. I definitely see this as a really special year. I just hoped it would continue for a couple more weeks, but we’ll try again next year.”

The expectation around the Rangers is they will succeed because of this past season.

Lundqvist saw a young defense corps, led by a top four of Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto, develop right in front of him. Ryan Callahan got comfortable in his role of captain while newcomer Brad Richards got comfortable in New York. Marian Gaborik played in every game and scored 41 goals. Chris Kreider, the 20-year-old sensation out of Boston College, joined the team during the playoffs and played like a veteran.

And that’s only the beginning. Lundqvist said he can tell the culture in New York has changed from hoping good things will happen to expecting them to happen.

“That’s a good thing when people expect more out of you,” Lundqvist said. “It’s a good thing when you can look around the room and expect good things out of everybody. This is definitely the right step and a good direction for us as a club. As a player, just me personally, I think it’s been a great year and thing to be a part of.

“I’m just hoping that one day I’m going to lift that Cup. That’s my goal. That’s my dream.”

That’s his expectation.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NHL news see: Rangers’ Lundqvist already eager for next season.

GLENDALE (NHL/Newsfeed) – The Nashville Predators made a series of changes at the trade deadline in order to beef up their offense and toughness — and transform themselves into a fairer fight with the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks and the other elite teams in the Western Conference.

And for one playoff series against the Red Wings, the plan worked to perfection. There was just one problem: The Blackhawks weren’t waiting for them in the second round.

It was the Phoenix Coyotes, a team built more like the plucky Nashville teams of the past, who weren’t interested in matching skill and were more than happy to grind in front of elite goaltender Mike Smith.

Start with some frustration, add in a little team dissention and, just like that, the Predators are going home much earlier than they expected – just like the Blackhawks. Monday’s 2-1 loss in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals capped 11 days of frustration that included defensive breakdowns, suspensions to forwards Andrei Kostitsyn and Alexander Radulov and enough blown scoring chances to fill an entire postseason.

“It’s the worst feeling in the world,” said Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne, who allowed three goals in the last three games of the series and came out a loser twice. “You think that if this would have happened or that … but they worked hard and their goalie was unreal. He was the difference in the series.

“It’s tough to swallow. The series goes by so fast it is over before you ever realize it. We played a lot of good hockey, but now it’s done.”

Nashville brought in defenseman Hal Gill, center and faceoff specialist Paul Gaustad and a scorer in Kostitsyn at the deadline; they brought Radulov back from Russia to beef up its team for the postseason. But the Preds’ work ethic wasn’t there in the first two games, and the distraction of the Kostitsyn and Radulov suspensions hung over the team the rest of the way.

But Smith stoned Nashville at every turn, and the Predators allowed the first goal in all four games they lost – and never led in any of them.

“As (general manager) David (Poile) said, he was ‘All in,’ ” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “We gave up some draft choices to get some pieces that we needed — the Hal Gills the Gaustads — and they were big pieces. We had high expectations as an organization and we didn’t get it done.

“I don’t want to take anything away from the Coyotes. They found a way to beat us and they’ve beaten two pretty good hockey teams now. [The] Chicago Blackhawks are a good hockey team. We’re a good hockey team, and they found a way to get it done with a really good goaltender, a strong defensive commitment and some timely goals and they got it done.”

Nashville captain Shea Weber said the first two games in Phoenix — where Nashville lost 4-3 in overtime and 5-3 in an uncharacteristic, high-scoring affair — was where the series was lost.

“We didn’t play our style early in the series and they took advantage early and we dug ourselves a big hole. After that, it’s tough to beat a team like (four times five games),” Weber said. “In Game 1 we deserved a better fate, even though they played well defensively. In Game 2, we weren’t ourselves at all. They definitely deserved that game.”

Now the Predators have decisions to make. Weber is a restricted free agent, while defense partner Ryan Suter is unrestricted. The draft picks cashed in for immediate help are gone. And there are no assurances those rent-a-players acquired at the deadline will be re-signed.

“You know that every year it’s going to be a different team and it’s always one of the things that stings the most,” Rinne said. “You battle for your teammates and then next year, maybe they aren’t here. You never know.”

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NHL news see: Preds’ season ends prematurely.

GLENDALE (NHL/Newsfeed) – The Nashville Predators made a series of changes at the trade deadline in order to beef up their offense and toughness — and transform themselves into a fairer fight with the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks and the other elite teams in the Western Conference.

And for one playoff series against the Red Wings, the plan worked to perfection. There was just one problem: The Blackhawks weren’t waiting for them in the second round.

It was the Phoenix Coyotes, a team built more like the plucky Nashville teams of the past, who weren’t interested in matching skill and were more than happy to grind in front of elite goaltender Mike Smith.

Start with some frustration, add in a little team dissention and, just like that, the Predators are going home much earlier than they expected – just like the Blackhawks. Monday’s 2-1 loss in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals capped 11 days of frustration that included defensive breakdowns, suspensions to forwards Andrei Kostitsyn and Alexander Radulov and enough blown scoring chances to fill an entire postseason.

“It’s the worst feeling in the world,” said Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne, who allowed three goals in the last three games of the series and came out a loser twice. “You think that if this would have happened or that … but they worked hard and their goalie was unreal. He was the difference in the series.

“It’s tough to swallow. The series goes by so fast it is over before you ever realize it. We played a lot of good hockey, but now it’s done.”

Nashville brought in defenseman Hal Gill, center and faceoff specialist Paul Gaustad and a scorer in Kostitsyn at the deadline; they brought Radulov back from Russia to beef up its team for the postseason. But the Preds’ work ethic wasn’t there in the first two games, and the distraction of the Kostitsyn and Radulov suspensions hung over the team the rest of the way.

But Smith stoned Nashville at every turn, and the Predators allowed the first goal in all four games they lost – and never led in any of them.

“As (general manager) David (Poile) said, he was ‘All in,’ ” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “We gave up some draft choices to get some pieces that we needed — the Hal Gills the Gaustads — and they were big pieces. We had high expectations as an organization and we didn’t get it done.

“I don’t want to take anything away from the Coyotes. They found a way to beat us and they’ve beaten two pretty good hockey teams now. [The] Chicago Blackhawks are a good hockey team. We’re a good hockey team, and they found a way to get it done with a really good goaltender, a strong defensive commitment and some timely goals and they got it done.”

Nashville captain Shea Weber said the first two games in Phoenix — where Nashville lost 4-3 in overtime and 5-3 in an uncharacteristic, high-scoring affair — was where the series was lost.

“We didn’t play our style early in the series and they took advantage early and we dug ourselves a big hole. After that, it’s tough to beat a team like (four times five games),” Weber said. “In Game 1 we deserved a better fate, even though they played well defensively. In Game 2, we weren’t ourselves at all. They definitely deserved that game.”

Now the Predators have decisions to make. Weber is a restricted free agent, while defense partner Ryan Suter is unrestricted. The draft picks cashed in for immediate help are gone. And there are no assurances those rent-a-players acquired at the deadline will be re-signed.

“You know that every year it’s going to be a different team and it’s always one of the things that stings the most,” Rinne said. “You battle for your teammates and then next year, maybe they aren’t here. You never know.”

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NHL news see: Preds’ season ends prematurely.

Mora confirmed on Saturday that linebacker Isaiah Bowens would miss the 2012 with a torn ACL, which he suffered last week during practice when a helmet collided with his knee (eek).

“It’s a bad deal,” Mora said. “That’s a big loss for us and you just feel for the kid. He was making progress and working hard and it’s tough that had to happen.

“It’s part of the game, but it’s a part you don’t like.”

The redshirt junior saw action in 12 games last season, but mostly contributed on special teams.

The Bruins’ spring game is next Saturday.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more college football news see: UCLA Loses Bowens for Season.

Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda needs surgery on his right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Wednesday.

Doctors diagnosed the 23-year-old right-hander with a torn labrum and he will undergo surgery Tuesday. He is expected to be out of action for at least a year.

General manager Brian Cashman said Pineda felt a “sharp pain” in his shoulder Saturday after 15 pitches in an extended spring training game in Florida.

The six-foot-seven Dominican came to the Yankees in the winter in a trade, with the Yankees sending top prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle.

But Pineda, who struggled in the second half of last season, alarmed the Yankees during spring training by failing to throw with the same velocity as last year.

An All-Star last season, Pineda was found to have tendinitis in his shoulder after his last spring training start March 30, when he was tagged for six runs in two-plus innings. An MRI at the time revealed no structural damage.

Cashman said an MRI at the time of the January trade also came back clean, adding Pineda has never had a shoulder problem.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more MLB baseball news see: Yankees’ Pineda to miss rest of season.

NBA (Helin) – We keep talking about the teams talking playoffs – who gets home court, Boston or Atlanta, or can Phoenix catch Utah and get the last spot in the West – but there is a tight race among teams who have long forgotten about the playoffs.

A lot of lottery odds are still to be decided this week as teams are bunched up near the bottom. A lot of team’s chances of landing Anthony Davis or taking a risk on Andre Drummond ride on this week.

Make no mistake, the Bobcats will clear and away have the best lottery odds. Thanks to their historically bad 7-56 record, they will have a 25 percent chance at the top spot and Davis. Washington (17-46) will finish second worst and have a 19.9 percent chance of winning the lottery. The matchup of Washington and Charlotte will have no meaning on this, it will just be hard for the rest of us to watch.

But after that it gets interesting.

New Orleans is third worst as I write this at 20-44 but then comes Sacramento (21-43), Cleveland (21-42), New Jersey (22-42) and Toronto (22-42) all within two games of each other. The Warriors are 23-41 and just one game back of the Nets and Raptors. They have a handy chart of all this at the Plain Dealer.

It matters if you are in tank mode – as it stands right now the Hornets would have a 15.6 percent chance of winning the top pick, the Raptors 4.3 percent. The odds drop off pretty steeply, and teams like some of the guys at the top of this draft a lot. Here is how the Plain Dealer describes it with the focus on Cleveland (for obvious reasons).

Losing out could move Cleveland ahead of Sacramento and New Orleans and into the third slot. That would give the Cavs a 15.6 percent chance of picking No. 1 and a 46.9 percent chance of picking somewhere in the top three.

Winning out could drop the Cavs below New Jersey, Toronto and Golden State and into a tie for eighth with Detroit. Losing the tiebreaker would put Cleveland ninth, with only a 1.7 percent chance of drafting No. 1 and just a 6.1 percent chance of picking somewhere in the top three.

There’s going to be some shifting at the bottom of the standings this week, too, and it may be as interesting to watch as at the top. Well, almost.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NBA news see: Lottery odds also decided last week of season.

PHILADELPHIA — His teammates were quick to come to his defense. His coach refused to throw him under the bus. Marc-Andre Fleury’s family and close friends were all by his side, too.

Nobody in Fleury’s inside circle, inside his world, was blaming him for the 0-3 hole Pittsburgh was in heading into Game 4 Wednesday.

Not his fault, they were saying. We didn’t help him out, was the common thread coming out of the Penguins dressing room. Don’t point the finger at him, defenseman Brooks Orpik so clearly stated Wednesday morning.

Fleury heard it all.

“Everybody has been great,” the All-Star goalie was saying with a smile on his face following the Penguins’ 10-3 win to keep their season alive. “I think we have a close team, good chemistry. We’ve been around for a while together so it’s nice to hear that your teammates have your back.”

And Fleury finally had theirs Wednesday in the orange-and-black cauldron that is Wells Fargo Center.

He yielded a power-play goal to Claude Giroux just 1:14 into the game and then back-to-back power-play goals to Kimmo Timonen and Jakub Voracek later in the first period, but (and this is a big but for Fleury) he steadied himself and found a groove as the goalies in the other net fumbled their way to a blowout loss.

Fleury did not allow a goal on 14 shots after the first period. He finished with 22 saves against 25 shots as the Penguins pushed the series back to Pittsburgh for Game 5 Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS).

After giving up 17 goals on 84 shots through the first three games — including 13 goals on 58 shots in the last two — Fleury made a bit of a statement Wednesday.

Was he perfect? No, far from it. He was beaten twice through his five-hole.

But was he good enough? Oh, yes he was.

“He stuck with it and he did end up getting tested there a few times and made some good saves,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “That’s really good for him. We all have confidence in him, but I think for him it’s good to get a couple of periods there where he feels good and he made some big saves.

“They’re going to keep coming. We know that, so he’s going to get tested again.”

Fleury expects the Penguins to keep coming, even harder in Game 5 actually. Orpik, though, said as long as the Penguins play as well in front of him as they did in Game 4, Fleury should be just fine.

“He’s been unfairly criticized here,” Orpik said. “From top to bottom, we just weren’t good for the first three games. He’s the easiest target because he plays in goal. If we played well in front of him it gives him a chance to play well, and vice versa. We did a lot better in front of him and hopefully that adds to his confidence moving forward here.”

Fleury is confident. There is no doubt about that.

He said all he thought about heading into Game 4 was “put it behind me and get calm and relaxed.”

After giving up the Giroux goal just 74 seconds into the game, he said to himself, “Relax, it’s a long game.”

When the Flyers scored the back-to-back power-play goals later in the period, the first on a 5-on-3 and the second on a 5-on-4, Fleury thought, “I was confident we could come back in the game.”

They did, in quite a spectacular way. The Penguins scored eight unanswered goals in a span of 27:35.

Fleury didn’t give any of them back to Philadelphia.

“He was sharp and aggressive,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “He was part of the win.”

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter: @drosennhl

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NHL news see: Fleury good enough to keep Pens’ season alive.

PITTSBURGH - With Game 1 still several hours away, Jaromir Jagr was reluctantly fielding questions about his future Wednesday morning.

Jagr, 40, re-affirmed his desire to play next season, but he wouldn’t give an answer about where even though he has nothing but tremendous things to say about the Flyers organization and his time in Philadelphia so far.

“Stop talking about myself,” Jagr said with a smile. “After playoffs is over then we can talk about stuff like that. Right now there are a lot more important things than me.”

The line of questioning started when a reporter asked Jagr if how he performs in the postseason will determine if he plays again next season. Jagr said “it’s a tough question to answer,” but went into detail about why he does want to play next season.

He never mentioned the fact that he had 19 goals and 35 assists in 73 games this season, proving he can still perform in the NHL despite spending the three previous seasons playing in Russia.

“I want to play because I love the game and I believe no matter how old you are you still can learn as long as you love the game and as long as you are willing to work hard,” Jagr said. “You can learn even when you turn 50. It doesn’t matter what kind of job you have, you always can learn if you’re willing to do it.

“I know I am going to play. I don’t know where I’m going to play, but it doesn’t matter because I love the game. Right now I’m here right now and I just want to get ready for the playoffs.”

Jagr is getting ready to play his former team, one he even entertained returning to this offseason before he signed a one-year, $ 3.3 million contract with the Flyers. He will likely be booed every time he touches the puck Wednesday night, but the ill-will any fans feel toward him has not changed his view on his experience with the Penguins from 1990-2001 and some of the teammates he had.

He specifically referenced Phil Bourque, Jay Caufield, Joey Mullen, Kjell Samuelsson and Bob Errey.

“I have such great memories of the teammates. We won together,” Jagr said, referring to the Penguins’ Cup championship teams of 1991 and 1992. “Those kind of guys, they showed me around. They showed me the life off the ice. They taught me on the ice. Of course you have to appreciate it.”

Jagr also appreciates how this season has unfolded for him in Philadelphia, where he had a major impact both on the ice and in the dressing room.

“I think our group is very tight and I don’t think I was on a team that there was no argument and no fighting over the year. That’s a first for me,” Jagr said. “This group is so tight and the chemistry is so good and a lot of great guys are around the team. That gives me confidence. In the playoffs it is up and down, but if the group is tight you can always turn around everything.”

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NHL news see: Jagr expects to play next season, focuses on playoffs.