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DENVER (AP) — Don’t be fooled: That third-period lead isn’t so safe.Not this season Dougie Hamilton Jersey Womens , anyway. There’s been quite a comeback for the comeback.The NHL has seen 110 third-period comeback wins spanning 611 games through New Year’s Eve. That’s third-most in league history and not far off the 114 rallies in 2014-15 and 113 in ’13-14, according to research by the NHL stats and information department.Going into the new year, the only teams without a third-period comeback for a win in regulation were Carolina (0-13-2 when trailing after two) and Los Angeles (0-17-1). And the only team not to lose with a final-period lead remains Toronto, which is 19-0-0.Translation: Don’t leave early, because anything can and often does happen in the final period.“Fans are getting what they want,” joked Montreal forward Tomas Tatar said. “It’s got to be pretty intense for them.”These days and in this speedy version of the game, no lead seems out of reach. Take Tampa Bay on Saturday: Down a goal in the third against Montreal, Adam Erne tied it up and then scored the game-winner with 1:02 remaining.“There’s no more of sitting back and closing and trying to suffocate the other team,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said when his team was in Denver on Dec. 19. “It’s a skating game now. With the skating game that’s being allowed right now, there’s more offense being showcased.”Try sitting on the puck to protect a lead with the likes of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov or Nathan MacKinnon attempting to swipe it away.Good luck with that.“The league is just getting faster and faster, young guys are coming through the league and they’re really, really good skaters http://www.officialsharks.com/authentic-adidas-brent-burns-jersey ,” Tatar said. “It’s just a fast game. It’s faster than ever.”Not only that, but these youngsters don’t view things as erasing a deficit so much as an opportunity to crank up the intensity.“Everybody is good throughout the lineup,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “That makes it that much harder to put teams away. It goes to show how many good players there are in the league and how many game-changers there are, that can turn things around.”And no slashing. Or holding. Or hooking. Defensemen need to be on their best behavior.“Defensively speaking, when you can’t clutch and you can’t grab — it’s been that way for 10 years now — that really opens up the ice and allows guys to score,” Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole said. “The guys are as skilled as they’ve ever been. Every year, they’re more skilled and scoring more and more ridiculous highlight-reel goals. Guys are shooting from the goal-line and it’s going off the side of the goalie’s mask and in. Guys are doing stuff now that they haven’t done before — or doing it more often.“The skill level is as high as it’s ever been in the league.”Hence, the volume of comebacks. This also helps when down: A positive attitude.“You always have to believe. You can’t give up,” Tatar said. “And you don’t have to. There’s a big chance you score one or two goals and you’re back in the game.”That was the case on Dec. 15 for Dallas, which fell behind the Avs 3-0 after one period and 4-2 after two. The Stars tied it up late in the final period before Colorado scored twice to earn the win.Nothing is easy.“I don’t feel comfortable with any lead until the buzzer sounds,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s a tribute to the talent around the league. When teams start feeling it, they start coming at you in waves, and it’s tough to defend.”That’s why the best defense is sometimes to remain on the offensive. Don’t sit back — keep striking.“We’re trying to stay aggressive,” Landeskog said. “The O-zone is the best place to play defense. At least Julien Gauthier Jersey Womens , that’s the way we think about it. That’s easier said than done. The team that’s behind is always going to push.”THREE AMIGOSMikko Rantanen (17 goals, 45 assists) and MacKinnon (24 goals, 35 assists) get the lion’s share of the credit on the high-scoring top line for Colorado.Chalk up another assist for Rantanen, though, because he wanted to make sure Landeskog received full credit, too. Landeskog’s tied for the team lead with 24 goals.“He flies under the radar,” Rantanen said. “The way he plays the game is the right way always. That’s real fun to watch.”WINTER CLASSICThe 2020 Winter Classic will be held at the Cotton Bowl in Texas. Dallas will host the 12th edition of the NHL’s annual outdoor game on New Year’s Day against an opponent yet to be determined. Commissioner Gary Bettman also said the Heritage Classic will return on Oct. 26 when Winnipeg plays Calgary at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. In addition, the NHL will bring an outdoor game to the Air Force Academy on Feb. 15, 2020, as part of the Stadium Series. Colorado will play a team not yet announced.LEADERS (through Monday)Points: Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), 65; Goals: Alex Ovechkin (Washington), 29; Assists: Kucherov, 46; Game-winning goals: Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado) Womens Evander Kane Jersey , 7; Rookie goals: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver), 19; Goals-against average: Robin Lehner (New York Islanders), 2.14; Shutouts: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas), 5; Wins: Fleury, 22; Save percentage: Lehner, .930.GAME OF THE WEEKJohn Tavares leads Toronto against Minnesota on Thursday. Tavares is two goals shy of 300 for his career. He was the first overall pick by the New York Islanders in 2009. This kind of deja vu, the New Jersey Devils can do without.Last January when the Nashville Predators most recently visited New Jersey, the Devils had seven injured regulars missing from the lineup. As such, the resulting 3-0 loss to the Predators was not a big surprise.Now, with the teams again set to face off Thursday at Prudential Center, the Devils are hoping for a better result despite another rash of injuries.Article continues below ...The Devils (4-2-0) placed defensemen Steven Santini and Ben Lovejoy, and winger Drew Stafford, on injured reserve earlier this week. Veteran center Travis Zajac is battling a lower body injury and may not be able to play Thursday, while winger Jesper Bratt remains on IR with a fractured jaw. Then there is goaltender Cory Schneider Authentic Joe Pavelski Jersey , who is still rehabbing offseason hip surgery in the minor leagues.“That’s a lot hanging over our heads, but we have to be ready to play,” said Devils coach John Hynes. “We have a team picked to win the Stanley Cup coming in, and they’re coming off a loss, so we we’ve got to be ready to play no matter what.”Four players were recalled from the Devils AHL affiliate in Binghamton this week. Rookie forward John Quenneville is back after starting the season in New Jersey, as is veteran defenseman Eric Gryba. They are joined by forward Kevin Rooney and former KHL defenseman Yegor Yakovlev in joining the Devils for Thursday’s contest.“Those guys should bring energy to your team and you should have some real hungry guys in your room,” said Hynes. “That’s important to find ways to win.”The Devils are looking to snap a two-game slide, punctuated by Saturday’s lackluster 5-2 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. In response, Hynes put the team through a series of battle drills in an exhausting practice on Monday before returning to normal hockey drills the next two days.“We kind of got away the last few games from our game,” said Devils forward Marcus Johansson. “We’re going to make sure we’re ready to play hard when the next game comes up.”Despite Tuesday’s 5-4 home-ice loss to the San Jose Sharks, the Predators won seven of their first nine games this season. The defeat snapped a five-game winning streak.Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals and added an assist in the loss, and has six goals, tied for the team lead with Filip Forsberg. However, it wasn’t enough as the Predators surrendered three unanswered goals in the third period.“We weren’t going to win out the rest of the season Joe Thornton Jersey ,” Nashville forward Colton Sissons told nhl.com. “Obviously, it stings a little more when you have a two-goal lead heading into the third in your own building. We don’t like that one bit.”While the Predators do not have the injury woes New Jersey does, they are a bit banged up. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis left Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed injury and his availability for Thursday’s game in New Jersey is not known. And Pekka Rinne, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, is on IR with as lower body injury.In Rinne’s place, 23-year-old Juuse Saros was elevated to the starter’s role. He has four wins in five decisions on the season with a 2.37 goals-against average and one shutout, but did allow five goals on 32 shots in the loss to San Jose.“One of the best up-and-coming goalies in the league,” Forsberg said of Saros to The Tennessean.Added Predators coach Peter Laviolette, “Juuse has given us no reason to think he can’t handle this.”The Predators won each of their last three visits to Prudential Center, including last year’s blanking of the Devils. Saros has two career appearances against the Devils, a regulation win and an overtime loss to go along with a 1.45 GAA.