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Monday, May 11, 2015

NHL Playoffs 2015: Updated Schedule, Predictions for Remaining 2nd-Round ...

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

With the Anaheim Ducks' win over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night, only two more series remain in the second round of the 2015 NHL playoffs.

The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals are tied at 3-3, while the Tampa Bay Lightning own a slim 3-2 lead in their battle with the Montreal Canadiens.

Here's a brief forecast for how each of the remaining series will unfold from here.

Tues., May 12 7:30 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Tampa Bay Lightning NBCSN Wed., May 13 7:30 p.m. Washington Capitals New York Rangers NBCSN Thurs., May 14 TBD Tampa Bay Lightning Montreal Canadiens TBD

* denotes game may not be necessary

Series Predictions

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens

The Lightning have had two chances to close out this series so far. Seriously, they can't take a 3-0 lead and fail to advance against the Canadiens. That would be a postseason collapse of epic proportions.

Montreal won 6-2 in Game 4 and 2-1 in Game 5. Speaking after the Lightning's Game 5 loss, Steven Stamkos talked about his desire to close out the series at home.

"There's pressure for [Montreal] knowing it could be the last game of the year," he said, per the Associated Press (via CBSSports.com). "We're coming in to our home rink where we've played very well. We have to go prove that last home game we played was unacceptable and I believe we'll do that. Our fans deserve for us to win a game in front of them."

Few teams have been more affected by the low-scoring nature of this postseason than the Lightning. Their 3.16 goals per game ranked first in the regular season, but they're averaging just 2.6 a game against the Canadiens. Take out their six goals in Game 2, and the number falls to 1.75.

Lighting coach Jon Cooper offered up his reasoning for why scoring is down in the postseason, per USA Today's Kevin Allen:

There are top offensive players who are really paying attention to defense. I think that is what has kind of smothered (offense). There is such a commitment to playing defense now because teams know you really only need to get one, maybe even two (goals), there is a real good possibility you are going to win the game. That's probably what's stifling a lot of the offense.

Should Tampa Bay fail to win Game 6, things could really get interesting. But the Lighting should prevail in Game 6. Their offense is too good to fall on its face three games in a row.

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals

The No. 1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference is in serious danger of elimination in the second round. Were it not for Henrik Lundqvist making some big saves, the Rangers likely would have been packing their bags Sunday night:

Relying too heavily on a goaltender can be a recipe for disaster in the postseason, even more so for a team that ranks 15th out of 16 playoff teams in average scoring. New York was one of the higher-scoring teams during the regular season, but it's putting a lot of stress on Lundqvist and the blueliners.

ESPN Stats & Info also highlighted how the Rangers have been unable to win without some sort of drama in the postseason:

It would be unfair to say that New York has simply gotten lucky in the playoffs, but nobody can deny that luck has played a factor for the Rangers so far. You can't have that many one-goal games otherwise.

The question regarding the Rangers is whether that luck might run out in Game 7.

CBS Sports' Adam Gretz drew attention after Game 6 to the Capitals' anemic power-play unit. The No. 1 power-play team during the regular season is just a paltry 3-of-25 in the playoffs and 1-of-12 in this series.

It sounds like Washington is due for some success on the power play, while the Rangers' continued reliance on their defense might end up being their undoing.

Maybe Sunday's offensive outburst was a sign that New York is getting back to the perfect balance that resulted in so much regular-season success. In addition, NHL.com's Dan Rosen added that history is in the Rangers' favor:

If the Capitals can make the most of their power-play opportunities in Game 7, they'll walk out of Madison Square Garden with a win.

Note: All stats are courtesy of NHL.com unless otherwise noted.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2460470-nhl-playoffs-2015-updated-schedule-predictions-for-remaining-2nd-round-series

Happy Mothers Day from all of us at the Pleasanton Weekly

Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which now holds the International Mother's Day Shrine.[

According to a write-up in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, her campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States began 100 years ago in 1905, the year her beloved mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Anna's mission was to honor her own mother by continuing work she started and to set aside a day to honor mothers, "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world".

Anna's mother, Ann Jarvis, was a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created Mother's Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.

In 1908, Congress rejected a proposal to make it an official holiday, among jokes that they would have to proclaim also a "Mother-in-law's Day".

Due to the campaign efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all states observed the holiday, with some of them officially recognizing Mother's Day as a local holiday, the first in 1910 being West Virginia, Jarvis' home state.

In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.

By the early 1920s, Hallmark and other companies started selling Mother's Day cards, which Jarvis protested was becoming a misinterpretation and exploitation of the holiday that she had worked so hard for as a day to be about sentiment, a day to appreciate and honor mothers by writing a personal letter, by hand, expressing love and gratitude, rather than buying gifts and pre-made cards.

Even so, Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world, both as a day of sentiment to honors mothers but also as an engine of consumerism. It's celebrated with varying enthusiasm, in various ways, and on various days, though more often than not on the second Sunday in May as in the U.S.

Brian Handwerk, writing in National Geographic, and the National Retail Federation, report that Americans will spend an average of $162.94 on mom this year, down from a survey high of $168.94 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $19.9 billion. The U.S. National Restaurant Association reports that Mother's Day is the year's most popular holiday for dining out.

Hallmark Cards itself, which sold its first Mother's Day cards in the early 1920s, reports that Mother's Day is the number three holiday for card exchange in the U.S., behind Christmas and Valentine's Day.

About 133 million Mother's Day cards are exchanged annually, according to Hallmark. After Christmas, it's the second most popular holiday for giving gifts.

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Source: http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/2015/05/10/happy-mothers-day-from-all-of-us-at-thepleasanton-weekly

Possession 40% 60% 90 mins Manchester City Queens Park Rangers

Full time

Full Time Match ends, Manchester City 6, Queens Park Rangers 0.

90:00 +1:55 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Manchester City 6, Queens Park Rangers 0.

90:00 +1:48

Attempt missed. Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Jess Navas with a cross following a corner.

90:00 +1:24

Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

89:17

Attempt blocked. Wilfried Bony (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Yaya Tour.

86:20 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Manchester City 6, Queens Park Rangers 0. David Silva (Manchester City) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Wilfried Bony with a through ball.

86:00

Attempt blocked. Matthew Phillips (Queens Park Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joey Barton.

85:36

Attempt saved. Shaun Wright-Phillips (Queens Park Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Niko Kranjcar.

85:09 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Queens Park Rangers. Shaun Wright-Phillips replaces Yun Suk-Young.

83:10

Foul by Wilfried Bony (Manchester City).

83:10

Niko Kranjcar (Queens Park Rangers) wins a free kick on the left wing.

82:27

Attempt missed. Yun Suk-Young (Queens Park Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left following a corner.

82:00

Corner, Queens Park Rangers. Conceded by Eliaquim Mangala.

81:39 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Manchester City. Jess Navas replaces James Milner.

81:00

Attempt missed. James Milner (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right following a fast break.

80:57

Wilfried Bony (Manchester City) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the right side of the box. Assisted by David Silva following a fast break.

80:19

Corner, Queens Park Rangers. Conceded by Aleksandar Kolarov.

78:07

Attempt missed. Yaya Tour (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Wilfried Bony.

77:12 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Queens Park Rangers. Niko Kranjcar replaces Leroy Fer.

76:37

Offside, Queens Park Rangers. Charlie Austin tries a through ball, but Yun Suk-Young is caught offside.

75:44

Attempt saved. Yaya Tour (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by David Silva.

74:36

Attempt missed. Leroy Fer (Queens Park Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a set piece situation.

74:07 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Manchester City. Yaya Tour replaces Fernandinho.

73:28

Foul by Wilfried Bony (Manchester City).

73:28

Steven Caulker (Queens Park Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

71:32

Hand ball by Martn Demichelis (Manchester City).

69:17 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Manchester City 5, Queens Park Rangers 0. James Milner (Manchester City) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Sergio Agero following a corner.

69:15

Attempt missed. Wilfried Bony (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Aleksandar Kolarov with a cross following a corner.

68:44

Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Robert Green.

68:41

Attempt saved. Wilfried Bony (Manchester City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by David Silva.

65:27

Offside, Manchester City. James Milner tries a through ball, but Sergio Agero is caught offside.

64:03 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Manchester City 4, Queens Park Rangers 0. Sergio Agero (Manchester City) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.

63:21

Penalty Manchester City. David Silva draws a foul in the penalty area.

63:21

Penalty conceded by Matthew Phillips (Queens Park Rangers) after a foul in the penalty area.

62:28 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Manchester City. Wilfried Bony replaces Frank Lampard.

61:53

Attempt saved. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.

61:08 Booking

Booking Joey Barton (Queens Park Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.