ERST LESEN! » onas Gustavsson has earned NH

ARLINGTON, Va. -- When Matt Niskanen contemplated skipping a trip to the gym over the summer, he remembered what happened in May.As the offseason went on, Niskanen thought less and less about the Washington Capitals loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Instead, he let the memory of the second-round playoff exit fuel him from time to time.That hurt, it lingers, and I think you can use that as motivation, he said. That kind of stuff creeps into your mind, and it pushes you.Several months removed from another painful playoff loss, the Capitals came to training camp ready to harness whatever energy they could from it while also preparing to move past it and focus on another run at the Cup this season. Almost the entire roster is back from the Presidents Trophy-winning team that ran roughshod over the NHL during the regular season, and with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and goaltender Braden Holtby in their primes, there isnt time to waste on reflection and hindsight.You need to see where things went awry and try to rectify it, said veteran winger Justin Williams, one of several players with one year left on his contract. We set a standard with having successful teams, a team every year fans can look at and say, You know, we legitimately have a chance to win it again. As players, we embrace that, and we respect it, and we know that these opportunities that we have in front of us arent forever.Along with Williams, winger T.J. Oshie and defenseman Karl Alzner could be unrestricted free agents July 1. Restricted free-agent center Evgeny Kuznetsov will get a big raise on a new deal, and Washingtons salary cap picture will get more difficult as the years go on. Ovechkin just turned 31, and though he led the league in goal-scoring last season, theres no certainty as to how long his Hall of Fame-caliber production will keep up.?After winning the division by 16 points and losing in the second round (again), general manager Brian MacLellan doesnt think theres a bigger burden to win this year, with so many unknowns on the horizon.I think theres pressure every year, he said. Last year, we were a contender, theres pressure. Same pressure this year. We have a goal of winning a championship. We know were close, and we need to pursue it, and well do everything we can to get there.Alzner was just starting to get over the early exit when pictures of the Penguins celebrating with the Cup filled his social media feeds. The ironman whose groin injury forced him out of the deciding Game 6 and led to sports hernia surgery scoffed at the notion that Pittsburghs winning makes the loss easier to take.Its worse, in my opinion, because then you really think, OK, if I could have got past that team, then the Cup was ours, said Alzner, whos still working his way back to 100 percent. I think that all of us in the room thought that we were going to win that last year.Being great in the regular season and losing in the first or second round has become the Capitals reputation the past decade. The 2015-16 team was perhaps the best on paper, which made the late stumble into summer that much more confounding.As more top players trickle back into town after playing in the World Cup of Hockey, associate coach Todd Reirden expects the staff to impart lessons about the past season on the full group. Early in camp, the mood is light, with players eager to make a fresh start and learn from losing to the Penguins.Asked what the Capitals can do to improve, Williams deadpanned: We can finish the season with a win. Thats it.Thats a challenge that cant be accomplished until spring. Players, coaches and fans might want to fast-forward until then, but Washington has to again get there first.Youve got to be patient, center Jay Beagle said. The game has to develop. Weve got new guys, so we want to go into this year making sure were playing our best going into the end of the year and in the playoffs.Bill Mackrides . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Louis Riddick . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/butch-byrd-jersey-for-sale/ . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Frank Oliver .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season.DAYTON, Ohio -- Alex Jeske threw for 248 yards and a touchdown and ran for three more to lead Dayton to a 37-21 win over Valparaiso on Saturday.Jeske completed 18 of 24 passes and added 59 on the ground on nine carries as the Flyers (7-2, 6-1 Pioneer) finished 6-0 at home.Jeske connected with Adam Trautman for a 29-yard touchdown to open the scoring before the Crusaders tied the game on a 1-yard run by Austin Petrie. Jeske broke the tie with a 5-yard run in the first quarter then added a 332-yarder in the second and a 7-yard run in the third as Dayton opened a 31-7 lead.dddddddddddd Senior Owen Williams followed with a 1-yard TD plunge, his first score this season.Valparaiso (3-7, 2-5) added two late touchdowns, including a second for Petrie.Dayton finished with 522 yards while holding Valparaiso to 315 with three turnovers that led to 21 points. ' ' '