Forums » Suggestions
points for the Blue Devils. T
-
The Ottawa Senators made a low-risk investment, both in terms of picks and contract, in an effort to boost their offence. Diamondbacks Jerseys China . Numbers Game looks at the Senators getting Ales Hemsky from the Edmonton Oilers for a pair of draft picks. The Senators Get: RW Ales Hemsky. Hemsky, 30, is not the two-time 70-point scorer that he was earlier in his career, but there are some factors working in his favour, at least in terms of producing more offensively. For one thing, he has good possession numbers while facing high-quality opposition and starting an unsually-low (43.9%) percentage of his shifts in the offensive zone. If the Senators plug Hemskys playmaking skill alongside Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, that would have to be considered a much better situation for an offensive player than Hemskys role in Edmonton this year, where his most common centre was checker Boyd Gordon. The Senators are in tough to try and get into the playoffs -- four points out with 20 games remaining -- but its not impossible and adding Hemsky does give them a decent chance to have a second productive scoring line. Perhaps the real coup of the deal for the Senators is that they convinced the Oilers to retain half of Hemskys salary and while thats not a huge deal for a pending unrestricted free agent, it makes for a cheap addition of a top six forward. The Oilers Get: A fifth-round pick and 2015 third-round pick. The net return on this deal is remarkably little for the Oilers. Cumulatively, a fifth and third-round pick brings approximately a 36% chance of landing an NHL player, and that player is likely not going to be in the league for three or four years, at least. Its one thing to roll the dice on a few picks, but to also pick up half of Hemskys cap hit is a tad generous, but this is likely a function of how the Oilers have used Hemsky this season. If he was played in an offensive role throughout the year and put up points, there would be greater demand for his services which would obviously bring a better return. Since Hemsky was effectively playing on the Oilers third line, there is room to plug in the likes of Ryan Jones or Jesse Joensuu to fill the spot. Presumably there will be an attempt in the offseason to find a more suitable top nine forward to fill the void created by Hemskys departure. In any case, the Hemsky Era in Edmonton is over, after 477 points in 652 games, and hes going to have a decent shot to rehabilitate his offensive image before hitting free agency in the summer. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Corbin Martin Jersey . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. Matt Andriese Jersey . It will then be back to business once the puck drops as the two clubs battle for key points in their respective playoff races. Watch the game live on TSN Canadiens and listen on TSN Radio 690 starting at 7:30pm et.DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke can finally take a breather. Rodney Hood scored 21 points to help the sixth-ranked Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech 66-48 on Tuesday night, a game that followed a demanding stretch that included games against their fiercest rival and the nations top-ranked team in a span of about 48 hours. Duke (23-6, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) completed a stretch of five games in 11 days by beating the last-place Hokies (9-18, 2-13). "We need to get away a little bit," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We need to review our stuff instead of always planning for someone elses stuff." The Blue Devils fought to the final second to hold off Maryland on Feb. 15, then travelled to Georgia Tech before losing the weather-delayed rivalry game at North Carolina. Two nights later, they held off then-No. 1 Syracuse at home, then returned once more to Cameron Indoor Stadium to beat Virginia Tech in what Krzyzewski called "a grueling stretch." "Its kind of like -- I dont know if you do this -- getting that last bit out," Krzyzewski said. "Even though youve got two full containers, youre going to get that last little bit. Today was kind of, lets get it out there." Duke doesnt play again until next Wednesdays trip to Wake Forest, followed by the regular-season finale against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 8. The Blue Devils have won 32 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation. "Probably everybody in the back of their minds was looking forward to (the break)," sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon said, "but at the same time we knew we had to take care of business." Hood said the coaches didnt let the players ease into this one, jumping on them about a sluggish pregame shootaround. The Blue Devils responded by running out to a 24-4 lead midway through the first half, though they struggled to land a game-finishing blow. "We started to warm up and we came back in and they got us pretty good because we didnt look like we were ready to go out there and fight," Hood said. "I mean, weve got to be prepared for that. The ACC tournament, you can play three or four games in three or four days so theres no excuse for us. Mark Grace Jersey. . I think its taxing on us, but weve got to be ready and get rejuvenated for next week." The win, along with Clemsons loss at Wake Forest, helped secure some extra rest for the Blue Devils. They are assured a top-four seed in Greensboro and the double-round bye that comes with it. Sulaimon scored 15 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 39 per cent and went 10 for 33 from 3-point range -- well below their ACC-leading 40.7 per cent from behind the arc. Freshman Trevor Thompson matched his season-high with 15 points for Virginia Tech, which has won once since the start of the calendar year. The injury-depleted Hokies have failed to reach 60 points in 10 of those 14 games. Still, Virginia Tech shot 48 per cent after halftime to keep the Blue Devils from running away with it. Virginia Tech finished with 15 turnovers, six from freshman Devin Wilson, that led to 22 points for the Blue Devils. The Hokies also went 8 minutes without a basket in the second half as Duke crept further ahead. "They do what bothers us, that pressure defence bothers us," Hokies coach James Johnson said. "And they did a good job with that. And at that time (in the second half), were probably running out of gas a little bit." Duke ran out to a 15-2 lead on Sulaimons first 3-pointer, then pushed ahead by 20 points when Sulaimon knocked down another 3 at the 9:50 mark. Virginia Tech closed the gap to 32-20 by halftime thanks to a spark from C.J. Barksdale, who had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting, and got within 34-27 on Jarell Eddies driving score with 17:59 left. But Sulaimon knocked down two 3s then reserve big man Marshall Plumlee slammed home a miss to push the lead to 51-36. The Hokies never got the lead to single digits again. Virginia Tech was short-handed once again for this game. Second-leading scorer Adam Smith (11 points) missed his 10th straight game with a left calf injury, third-leading scorer Ben Emelogu (10.8) missed his second straight with a left ankle injury while reserve forward Cadarian Raines played just 1 minute after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury. ' ' '