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ASHBURN Authentic Courtland Sutton Jersey , Va. (AP) Inconsistency is one of the few consistencies on the Washington Redskins’ offense.

Another is Kirk Cousins.

While 27 players have shuffled around him this season, Cousins is not only surviving but thriving and keeping the offense on track.

Quarterback is one of just three offensive positions at which Washington has had the same starter for all 11 games, and Cousins’ play is a major reason why the team is still in the playoff race going into its game Thursday night at the Dallas Cowboys.

”Kirk being as good as he is and playing at the level he’s been playing at, it’s made everybody around him better,” said left tackle Trent Williams, who has missed three of five games with a right knee injury.

”So even if we do have a center that just joined the team two weeks ago, as long as Kirk is at the helm and he’s running the offense it’s supposed to be ran, it makes everybody’s job easier.”

Injuries got to the point that Cousins met teammates in the locker room hours before a game, and he has had 11 offensive linemen protecting him. He has completed passes to 15 players.

All that and Cousins is already over the 3 Authentic Alex McGough Jersey ,000-yard mark, is on pace to surpass 4,000 for the third consecutive season and has 19 touchdowns with six interceptions.

”Could be a new center, could be a new wideout, could be a new running back, whatever it is – we’ve just had a lot of new pieces,” coach Jay Gruden said.

”He’s done a nice job of taking care of his business, but I think his comfort level in the offense is starting to show where it doesn’t really matter who he’s playing with, he’s going to be successful.”

Cousins Connor Williams Super Bowl LI Jersey , 29, is in his third full year as an NFL starter and credits that experience for his ability to adapt.

Everyone knew there would be a significant adjustment with the departures of receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, but this got ridiculous with season-ending injuries to Chris Thompson, Rob Kelley and Terrelle Pryor and two linemen plus a hamstring strain that has sidelined tight end Jordan Reed four games.

So Cousins began leaning on Jamison Crowder and Vernon Davis as his favorite targets and developed more trust with second-year wideout Josh Doctson.

From week to week, Cousins has rarely had the same players around him.

”Sure, my thought process as I drop back is going to certainly factor in personnel and what guys have been there before and done that and how many reps we have banked in a certain play or experience and where are we a little newer,” Cousins said.

”Sometimes we have to trust it. We have to go and just play and believe that, however new this player is, he’s got to make the play and he’s got a jersey and a number and he can do it.”

When Cousins played behind a makeshift line Authentic Paul O'Neill Jersey , he got throws off quicker or scrambled more.

When Thompson broke his right fibula in New Orleans, Cousins integrated newly signed running back Byron Marshall into the mix and mitigated what looked like a season-crushing injury.

”The great quarterbacks do it without their guys,” said right tackle Morgan Moses, who joins Cousins and Davis as the only three offensive players to start each game.

”Kirk’s doing a good job of making due with what he has. That’s what makes him a great quarterback. He’s winning. You might not know who’s out there, but he’s making plays with them.”

Crowder considers Cousins’ preparation the key to this consistency.

Knowing how much of a perfectionist Cousins is in practices and games, rookie running back Samaje Perine couldn’t help but laugh about what the QB is doing differently with such a varying supporting cast.

”He’s not doing anything special. He’s just being Kirk Cousins,” Perine said.

”When you really look at it, he hasn’t done anything different with all the pieces that’s missing and all the changing bodies. He’s just been doing the same thing he’s always been doing, which is being a leader and making sure everybody’s on their Ps and Qs.”

NOTES: Rookie DL Jonathan Allen did some light agility work as he attempts to return from left foot surgery. Allen has been on injured reserve since mid-October Breeland Speaks Super Bowl LI Jersey , can practice next week and is eligible to return Dec. 17 against Arizona. … Williams, who didn’t practice Monday, said he’s again in wait-and-see mode about playing at Dallas. … S Montae Nicholson (concussion), C Chase Roullier (hand) and DL Terrell McClain (toe) also did not practice.

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NEW YORK (AP) The Minnesota Wild have been thriving lately on the road to keep pace in the Central Division. After smothering the Rangers 4-1 Adidas Taylor Hall Jersey , they completed a three-game sweep in the New York area.

Mikael Granlund and Eric Staal each scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves in the Wild’s victory over the free-falling New York Rangers on Friday night. The Wild also beat the Islanders on Monday night and New Jersey on Thursday night.

”Well, it obviously means getting six points, but we have never done that before,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”Anytime you do something you haven’t done before Martavis Bryant Jersey Elite , it’s pretty cool.”

The Rangers lost for the sixth straight time in regulation. New York is 6-17-0 since beating Buffalo in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1.

”In my mind, we worked hard. We just weren’t able to make the plays that we needed to make to get something out of that,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.

Granlund opened the scoring for Minnesota at 16:06 of the first period after Staal intercepted a terrible breakout pass attempt by Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. Staal passed to Granlund, who easily put the puck past rookie netminder Alexandar Georgiev.

Georgiev played his second NHL game after making his debut Thursday night in a 3-1 loss at Montreal.

Staal made it 2-0 at 18:43. The goal was originally credited to Granlund but was changed to Staal late in the third period.

The Rangers narrowed the deficit to 2-1 when Jesper Fast scored his ninth of the season at 2:41 of the second.

Staal made it 3-1 for the visitors 52 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal – his team-leading 29th – of the season. Defenseman Ryan Suter and Granlund had assists.

Eric Staal had a short stint with the Rangers two seasons ago Authentic Justin Verlander Jersey , joining his brother Marc in New York but only recording only three goals in 20 games and none in the playoffs.

”There’s always motivation every night,” Eric Staal said. ”You always want to prove yourself. Tonight was one of those nights we caught them with some great plays and we were fortunate to be able to capitalize.”

Granlund, made it 4-1 at 9:22 of the third with his 17th goal of the season.

”Obviously, it’s always nice to score Brian O'Neill Jersey Elite ,” said the 25-year-old Finnish forward who was drafted ninth overall by the Wild in 2010. ”It’s nice to get some offense going.”

Minnesota is 6-1-2 in its last eight games. The Wild are in playoff position in a tight Central Division race.

Rangers forward Rick Nash didn’t dress for the second straight game. The 33-year-old Nash, whose contract expires after this season, is expected to be traded by Monday’s deadline.

He has 18 goals and 10 assists this season and is one point shy of 800 for his career. Nash scored against the Flyers in last Sunday’s 7-4 home loss. He was also a healthy scratch for Thursday’s loss at Montreal.

The Rangers traded forward Michael Grabner – their leading goal scorer – to the Devils late Thursday after sending defenseman Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins earlier in the week.

The Rangers are facing late-season games without playoff-race meaning for the first time since 2004 when they also made numerous deadline trades. They have only missed the playoffs once since 2005-06, in 2010 when the Rangers missed out on the last day of the season in a shootout loss at Philadephia.

”We’re in a results-oriented business Authentic Justin Turner Jersey ,” Vigneault added. ”The effort and preparation is there. We just have to stay with it.”

NOTES: Forward Chris Kreider returned for the Rangers after missing 24 games with blood clot in right arm. Kreider last played Dec. 27 against Washington. … The Wild are 4-7-0 at Madison Square Garden … Minnesota scratched forward Chris Stewart and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Gustav Olofsson … The Rangers continued to be without injured defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan McDonagh and Steven Kampfer.

UP NEXT:

Wild: Host San Jose on Sunday night.

Rangers: Host Detroit on Sunday night.

ASHBURN Fred Warner Jersey Elite , Va. (AP) Taking a defensive lineman from Alabama in the first round for the second consecutive year, the Washington Redskins chose tackle Da’Ron Payne with the 13th overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.

The 6-foot-2, 311-pound Payne is considered a top-notch run-stopper, and he’ll line up next to former college teammate Jonathan Allen, Washington’s initial selection in 2017.

”That’s my guy,” Payne said.

It’s the first time the Redskins drafted players from the same school in consecutive first rounds since getting Oklahoma’s George Thomas and Leon Heath in 1950-51.

Payne also joins another Alabama defender, linebacker Ron Anderson Authentic Johnny Pesky Jersey , selected by Washington in the second round a year ago.

”I get the opportunity to play with old teammates,” Payne said in a conference call from a party with family members in Birmingham, Alabama. ”At Alabama, I won a bunch of games. I think I can take that winning mindset and the whole mentality it takes to be a winner and take it to the Washington Redskins.”

Asked to describe his style of play, Payne said: ”Just a relentless lineman. I’m going to get after the pass rush and just dominate the run every chance I get.”

His most famous play for the Crimson Tide might actually have come on the other side of the ball: He caught a touchdown pass against Clemson in a College Football Playoff victory last season.

After missing the playoffs and going 7-9 last season, the Redskins entered the draft with all sorts of areas of need on the roster, but perhaps nothing as pressing as various places on defense and at running back. While the Redskins will be expected to try to improve an ineffective rushing offense later in the draft – only four teams ran for fewer yards last season – they opened by beginning to address the problems on ”D.”

Having traded for Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs and signed him to a four-year extension Authentic Sandy Koufax Jersey , they were not among the many teams in the market for a young quarterback. So with an unprecedented four QBs taken in the top 10, some highly regarded players on the defensive side drifted down toward Washington.

And that unit could use the help, particularly when it comes to Payne’s specialty: stuffing runners.

Only four teams gave up more points per game than the 24.2 allowed by the Redskins, and none was as easy to run against: They were gashed for a league-worst average of 134.1 yards on the ground. They also were prone to ceding chunks of yardage at a time, with opponents recording 54 plays of 20 or more yards; only a half-dozen clubs let up more than that.

And in the NFC East, it’s vital to stop the run. The Dallas Cowboys, for example Authentic Brian O'Neill Jersey , have 2016 NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott, and the New York Giants made Penn State running back Saquon Barkley the No. 2 overall pick Thursday night.

”You see what’s going on in our division, with Saquon Barkley and Zeke Elliott and Philadelphia, the way they run the ball,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. ”Our ranking on defense wasn’t quite up to speed at 32nd, and we feel like Da’Ron paired with Jonathan Allen and the rest of the guys … is a perfect fit.”

A year ago, Washington got Allen with the 17th overall pick. He played promisingly when he was on the field Braden Smith Jersey Elite , but only appeared in five games before getting injured and missing the rest of the season.

The Redskins have seven other picks in this year’s draft, starting in the second round with No. 44 overall. They do not have a choice in the third round, because it was sent to Kansas City in the Smith deal.

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SAN JOSE Mike Remmers Super Bowl LI Jersey , Calif. (AP) Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi delivered the fast start San Jose coach Peter DeBoer wanted and Martin Jones did the rest to help the Sharks tie their playoff series with Vegas at two games apiece.

Sorensen and Donskoi scored in the first period and Jones made 34 saves for his sixth career postseason shutout as the Sharks bounced back from an overtime loss to beat the Golden Knights 4-0 in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

”We’d been chasing the game the whole series,” DeBoer said. ”We talked about it, but it’s easier said than done. I think we’ve had chances in the last two games to get out in front, but (Marc-Andre) Fleury has I think been exceptional, especially early in games Josh Rosen Super Bowl LI Jersey , in order to keep us off the board. It’s nice that we’ve stuck with it, and hopefully we see some cracks.”

Tomas Hertl added his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs and Joe Pavelski scored a power-play goal in the third to set up a best-of-three for a spot in the Western Conference Final.

Game 5 is Friday night in Las Vegas.

Fleury made 30 saves and Vegas failed to convert on all five power-play chances while losing for the second time in eight games this postseason.

”They were a little more competitive than we were tonight,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. ”We didn’t play a bad game, but we didn’t play well enough to win and they did, and they really did. I think we played well enough to win all of the first three Authentic Sam Hubbard Jersey , but tonight? No.”

Jones was a big reason for that, starting with a key save early against Reilly Smith. Jones was helped on a delayed penalty when Brent Burns cleared a puck off the goal line and when James Neal hit the post on a power play in the first period.

But the San Jose goalie also delivered some big-time saves, including back-to-back stops against William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault on a Vegas power play in the final minute of the second. Jones then turned aside Smith on a power play in the third.

Jones tied Evgeni Nabokov’s team record for most saves in a playoff shutout, and the Sharks have turned things around following a 7-0 loss in the opener.

”I thought we probably managed the puck a little bit better for the whole game,” Jones said. ”We won battles on the boards Jeremy Kerley Super Bowl LI Jersey , we got pucks out when we needed to and we got pucks in when we needed to. That was big for us tonight.”

Hertl helped give Jones a cushion with his goal early in the second. Logan Couture won an offensive zone faceoff against Erik Haula, and Mikkel Boedker took the puck behind the net for a wraparound attempt. Hertl was in front and knocked in the loose puck to make it 3-0.

Pavelski’s goal on the rebound of Couture’s shot sealed the game midway through the third.

The Sharks made some changes from Game 3, with defenseman Joakim Ryan returning to the lineup for the first time since March 16 in place of Paul Martin, and Donskoi getting back in after missing the previous game with a lower-body injury.

After an early giveaway led to a scoring chance for Vegas, Ryan fared well and stripped William Carrier of the puck to thwart a chance for the Golden Knights.

San Jose then scored twice in the final five minutes of the first period. Sorensen struck first Authentic R.A. Dickey Jersey , using a pick from linemate Eric Fehr to get loose from the corner and then skate around two defenseman to beat Fleury with his fourth goal of the playoffs.

The Sharks added to the lead with 5.1 seconds to go when Donskoi skated from his own zone and beat Fleury with a wrist shot from the high slot.

”At the start of the game they actually had some better looks than we did. I think they came out hard and better than we did and then Marcus scored and Joonas’ goal was big as well,” Couture said. ”The 2-0 goal was a massive goal heading into the first intermission.”

Vegas was never able to recover from that early deficit.

”We got caught a little bit sleeping in the first period and they took advantage,” Marchessault said.

NOTES: Nabokov made 34 saves in playoff shutouts against Calgary in 2004 and Detroit in 2007. … Vegas had outscored the opposition 7-1 in the first period through its first seven games this postseason. … Sorensen has five goals in 14 playoff games compared to six in 51 regular-season games.

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EAST RUTHERFORD Trent Murphy Jersey Elite , N.J. (AP) Nick Foles replaced the injured Carson Wentz, and nothing really changed for the Philadelphia Eagles.

They got four touchdown passes from their quarterback, like they did a week ago, and won again to secure a first-round playoff bye.

Another ho-hum day for the best team in the NFC and NFC East champions.

Foles hit four different receivers on touchdown passes ranging from 3 to 13 yards in his first start, and the Eagles (12-2) rallied from an early 14-point deficit to defeat the surprising New York Giants 34-29 on Sunday.

”I thought he played well,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said of Foles. ”There are some things he would like to do over. Every game is going be that way. I thought he handled himself extremely well, a lot of poise. He did a nice job.”

There was speculation the Eagles would rely on their running game this week against the Giants (2-12) to give Foles time to adjust to the offense. Pederson ruled that out.

”With him coming out and saying he’s not changing anything J'Mon Moore Super Bowl LI Jersey , it says a lot about his confidence in me and his confidence in the players in the offense,” said Foles, who completed 24 of 38 passes for 237 yards and no interceptions.

Foles clearly is no Wentz. He is more a pocket passer, and there were times in the game when Wentz clearly would have been scrambling for a first down. Foles carried twice for zero yards.

The Eagles made a late stand on first-and-goal in the final minute in edging the Giants for the second time this season, spoiling a three-touchdown, season-high 434-yard passing game by Eli Manning.

”We know what he’s capable of and that showed today,” Giants interim coach Steve Spagnuolo said after Manning’s ninth 400-yard game.

Manning Authentic Saquon Barkley Jersey , who threw for 366 yards earlier this year against the Eagles, said the Giants had a good game plan.

”We got the ball out quickly, playing fast with some tempo stuff,” said the 36-year-old who finished 37 of 57. ”I think that confused them a little bit.”

Foles hit Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Trey Burton and Nelson Agholor on scoring passes ranging from 3 to 13 yards in filling in for Wentz, who tore an ACL last week and was lost for the season after a brilliant year.

The Eagles also got two field goals from Jake Elliott and three blocked kicks from their special teams Wholesale Ian Thomas Jersey , foiling an extra point, a punt and field goal. The block on the punt set up a touchdown.

Philadelphia will play its final two regular-season game at home and then wait for the conference semifinal.

”It’s obviously something great,” Foles said of the bye. ”I was fortunate to be a part of it last year in Kansas City. We still have a lot of work to do this season. The big thing is you let your body recover.”

Manning hit Tavarres King on two touchdowns and Sterling Shepard on one. Orleans Darkwa scored on a short run and Aldrick Rosas kicked a 28-yard field goal.

Manning drove the Giants from their 25 with 3:56 to play to the Eagles 9 with about a minute to go. A 2-yard loss on a pass to Shepard, an incompletion in the end zone and 5-yard run by Shane Vereen got New York to the Philadelphia 6 with 48 seconds to play. Right tackle Bobby Hart had a procedure penalty on fourth down, putting the ball at the 11.

Manning then threw a pass to Evan Engram at the back of the end zone that was high and incomplete. The Giants complained bitterly after the play that Eagles safety Corey Graham held the rookie tight end’s left arm and should have been called for pass interference.

”I definitely thought it was defensive pass interference,” Engram said. ”Fourth down. It was really obvious, but no call.”

The Giants led 23-21 at the half and the Eagles took the lead for good in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Elliott and a 10-yard TD catch by Agholor .

Leading 20-6 John Franklin-Myers Jersey Elite , mistakes by Manning and special teams got the Eagles back in the game in a less than three-minute span in the second quarter.

A 37-yard interception return by Ronald Darby to the Giants 18 set up Foles’ second touchdown pass, a 10-yarder to Ertz, cutting New York’s lead to 20-14. Kamu Grugier-Hill blocked Brad Wing’s punt on the Giants’ next series. Foles found a wide-open Burton on a 13-yard pass to give the Eagles a 21-20 lead.

Rosas had a go-ahead 28-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the half for a 23-21 lead.

BLOCKS

The last time a team had a hat trick of blocked kicks was the Buffalo Bills against New England on Nov. 24, 1991.

UP NEXT

Eagles: host Oakland on Dec. 25.

Giants: at Arizona on Sunday.

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CHICAGO (AP) Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers marched down the field on a couple drives. Once they got into scoring range Authentic Paul O'Neill Jersey , everything fell apart in a hurry.

Big time.

Carolina held the ball for 38 1/2 minutes, limited Chicago to just 153 yards and lost. The difference was a pair of first-half turnovers that turned into defensive touchdowns for the Bears in a 17-3 victory Sunday.

”Three plays. It came down to three plays,” Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. ”This game was won by the team that made those three plays and that’s the bottom line.”

Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, Newton was sacked five times and spent much of the day dancing around the pocket. He was 21 for 34 for 211 yards and rushed for a team-high 50 yards on nine carries, but he threw two interceptions and missed some throws at key moments in the Panthers’ second straight loss.

Two-time All-Pro center Ryan Kalil played for the first time since Carolina’s season-opening win over San Francisco, but lasted only one quarter. His brother, left tackle Matt Kalil Wholesale Logan Paulsen Jersey , limped off the field early in the second, but started the second half. Right guard Trai Turner injured his left knee late in the third and never returned to the field.

The injury woes contributed to Carolina’s lowest scoring game of the season. The Panthers (4-3) failed to score a touchdown for the first time since a 9-3 victory against Buffalo on Sept. 17.

”Injuries aside, we still have to get the job done and offensively we didn’t,” Newton said. ”We didn’t get an opportunity to get in the red zone and that’s unacceptable. We will and we have to be better.”

Turner said he thinks he will be able to play next Sunday at Tampa Bay. Ryan Kalil, who was sidelined by a neck injury, stayed mostly quiet when asked about his health.

”I’m just pretty frustrated about the whole thing,” he said. ”Just get back to Charlotte and figure out what the game plan is.”

Kelvin Benjamin Wholesale Braden Smith Jersey , who had three receptions for 65 yards, also was hampered by soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. He missed two days of practice last week with a bursa sac issue.

”It just didn’t feel good, so I’m frustrated,” he said. ”I had surgery and I am still kind if dealing with it, the same knee, so it just kind of frustrated me.”

Even with the injuries, Carolina still had some success in the middle of the field. But the Panthers made life difficult on themselves with a pair of costly miscues.

Newton drove his team down to the Chicago 24 on its opening drive. But rookie receiver Curtis Samuel dropped a lateral on first-and-10 and Bears safety Eddie Jackson scooped it up on his way to a 75-yard return for a TD.

”I probably took my eyes off of it too early because I was worried about the defense Quenton Nelson Super Bowl LI Jersey ,” Samuel said. ”I have to make that play.”

Turns out, Jackson was only getting started.

On Carolina’s fourth drive, a pass from Newton intended for Benjamin was deflected into the air by Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara. Jackson ran in, picked it off and returned it 76 yards for a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

”Those two turnovers hurt us and we just couldn’t seem to get our (footing) back,” Newton said.

The third play that caught the attention of Rivera was a 70-yard, catch-and-run by Tarik Cohen that set up a Chicago field goal right before halftime. Newton also was stopped short on a fourth-and-2 play on Carolina’s first drive in the third quarter and was picked off by Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan midway through the fourth period.

Newton also threw three interceptions in Carolina’s 28-23 loss to Philadelphia on Oct. 12. The Panthers have 13 turnovers this season and just four takeaways for their defense.

”It’s very disappointing,” Rivera said. ”We had opportunities last week , too. Again, I can’t keep getting up here in front of you guys and saying it’s disappointing. I’ve said that two weeks in a row.”

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LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights conclude the first half of their inaugural season with a Sunday night home game with the New York Rangers. And it’s fair to say Gerard Gallant’s surprising squad heads into the final game before a six-day break playing with some house money.

No matter what the outcome against the Rangers Authentic Roy Oswalt Jersey , Vegas (28-10-2) will hit the halfway point leading the Western Conference in points. The Golden Knights, who are 17-2-1 at T-Mobile Arena, will also have the most home wins of any team in the NHL. And their eight-game winning streak, which was snapped with a 2-1 loss at St. Louis on Thursday night, is tied for the longest in the NHL this season.

But one thing Vegas doesn’t have this season is a win over the Rangers, who won their only previous meeting 6-4 on Halloween night at Madison Square Garden.

Vegas Authentic Tremaine Edmunds Jersey , playing with fourth-string goalie Maxime Lagace because of injuries to starter Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion), and backups Malcolm Subban (lower-body injury) and Oscar Dansk (lower-body injury), led that one 4-2 heading into the third period. But David Perron was whistled for a double-minor that Chris Kreider scored on to cut it to 4-3 and jumpstart a four-goal third period for the Rangers that included a game-winning goal by Mika Zibanejad with 5:39 left.

Afterward, Gallant, known for being a straight shooter, openly criticized his team’s play for one of the few times this season.

“Until (Perron’s) penalty Byron Maxwell Jersey Elite , we were in control of the game and playing well,” Gallant said. “The rest of the period we looked like an expansion team.”

Boom. Anyone who has been around the Vegas locker room knows nothing hurts the players than to be reminded they are a squad of castoffs, players who were made available to be part of an expansion draft.

Vegas has gone 20-7-2 since that loss, including an amazing 13-1-1 in its last 15 games. The Golden Knights bounced back from Thursday’s tough loss in St. Louis — goalie Carter Hutton had 32 saves including two tough stops in the third period to help the Blues hold on — to win at Chicago 5-4 on Friday night.

“It’s huge,” Reilly Smith, who had three points and scored the game-winner on a breakaway with 5:07 remaining Kareem Martin Super Bowl LI Jersey , said. “It’s usually tough on that second game of a back-to-back. It’s nice to get the win now and get back to .500 for the trip.”

The Rangers (22-14-5) will be playing their second game in a 27-hour span on the second half of a back-to-back that started with a 2-1 shootout win at Arizona on Saturday night.

Zibanejad scored the game-winner in the first round of the shootout. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist had 38 saves and then stopped all three shots in the shootout to notch his 424th career victory, passing Tony Esposito (423) for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time victory list.

“We are going to play against one of the better home teams in the league,” Lungqvist, who has started 35 of the New York’s 41 games in net, said of Vegas. “A confident group. I remember the game in New York. They’re a really fast, skilled team and if you’re not careful they’re going to make you pay. Quick turnaround and we need all-in tomorrow.”

New York played Saturday without two of its top six scorers in forward Mats Zuccarello Cassius Marsh Jersey Elite , who missed his first game of the season because of illness, and Kreider, who will be out indefinitely because of surgery to resect a rib. Zuccarello leads the team in scoring (31 points) and assists (23) while Kreider is sixth with 22 points, including 11 goals.

DAVIE Authentic Ted Williams Jersey , Fla. (AP) Jay Cutler wore the beginning of a beard Wednesday, perhaps because there’s no time to shave when you’re trying to figure out how to score a few points.

The whiskers framed a rueful smile when someone suggested to Cutler that the Miami offense has struggled this year.

”That,” he said, ”is an understatement.”

In the wake of a 20-0 loss to New Orleans Sebastian Janikowski Super Bowl LI Jersey , the Dolphins (1-2) rank last in the NFL in points and yards per game, yards per play and third-down conversions. They’ve scored two touchdowns in three games and hope to break out Sunday against the Tennessee Titans (2-2).

While Cutler doesn’t sugarcoat the situation, he said it’s not as awful as it seems.

”On the outside it looks like all the walls are falling and we’re really bad and there’s no hope and no prayer for us,” he said. ”But we’re close. We’re right there. If we clean up a few things here Wholesale P.J. Hall Jersey , we can be a competitive team offensively.”

Cutler acknowledges he has been part of the problem. He appears unsettled in the pocket and has often responded to pressure with awkward footwork, which has led to erratic or weak throws. As a result he ranks 29th in yards per attempt and 25th in quarterback rating. In short, He lined up as a flanker and didn’t twitch a muscle when the ball was snapped.

”That’s what they told me to do – sit there, don’t get hit Shaquem Griffin Super Bowl LI Jersey , don’t touch anybody, don’t move,” he said, breaking into another smile. ”I feel like I executed that one.”

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OTTAWA Logan Paulsen Super Bowl LI Jersey , Ontario (AP) Disgruntled Ottawa Senators fans want owner Eugene Melnyk to know exactly how they feel. Their message is hard to miss.

Four billboards with the message (hash)MelnykOut went up at four spots across the city Monday thanks to a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $10,000 in less than a month.

The fund was started by fan Spencer Callaghan, whose frustration with Melnyk reached a breaking point amid talk that captain Erik Karlsson might be traded.

On the GoFundMe page launched Feb. 23, Callaghan wrote: ”Eugene Melnyk has decided that he would rather tear the team down and sell it for spare parts than admit he can no longer run it effectively. Sens fans and the city of Ottawa need to step up to save a pillar of this community.”

He said billboards are a way for fans to be heard, and he contends ownership has driven off players and front-office staff. And Josh Rosen Jersey Elite , he adds, this is not just about this season, but ”a series of decisions over a long period of time.”

The Senators advanced to the Eastern Conference final last season but will miss the playoffs. Karlsson’s future in Ottawa remains unknown, adding to fans’ unease.

The billboards are scheduled to be up for two weeks, with a fifth going up April 2. General manager Pierre Dorion Authentic Orlando Cepeda Jersey , when asked about the billboards, said he’s ”not talking about that.”

For all his anguish, Callaghan does not discount the possibility of the Senators eventually turning things. But he has grave doubts.

”It requires some collaboration,” he said. ”It requires some humility and it requires some listening and I haven’t seen any desire on the part of the organization to do that.”

The Twitter hashtag (hash)MelnykOut was launched in December by a fan after the Senators owner threatened to move the team if he didn’t see better fan support. Melnyk’s comments were made the night before the first outdoor game in Ottawa and set off a firestorm on social media.

Players can appreciate the fan frustration, but Senators defenseman and Ottawa native Mark Borowiecki says Melnyk deserves credit for coming to the city’s rescue when the team was on the verge of bankruptcy.

”Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion Durham Smythe Super Bowl LI Jersey ,” said Borowiecki, who wasn’t aware of the billboards or the funding campaign until told about it. ”I will say this, running a sports franchise isn’t quite as easy as some people think it is. There’s a lot to it that I think a lot of us don’t understand and can’t appreciate.

”Eugene’s stepped up big for this city. Growing up here, being a fan, I can remember there was a real danger of losing this team.”

Lewis was a registered Democrat all his life. He eats breakfast at the same diner every day Authentic David Ortiz Jersey , and one morning last year as the primaries drew near, he and a handful of others got up from their tables, marched down to the elections office, and asked to change their registrations. They wanted to vote for Trump, because he talked like them and promised to restore the values they hold dear.

Lewis thinks complaints of racism are overblown and Trump is being unfairly condemned, but he says he would be interested in hearing what the cheerleaders have to say because he figures they must have some reason for doing what they did. He might have listened, he adds, if they’d expressed their grievances in a different way – maybe by taking their problems to elected officials or to church, maybe by kneeling in prayer and not defiance.

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Almost three weeks after the protest on his field Authentic Yasmani Grandal Jersey , South Robeson High School Principal Christopher Clark was still sorting through how he and his school had gotten so caught up in the tug-of-war over racial equality and nationalism.

”We’ve got a cultural battle going on for the heart and soul of America,” he says. ”We’ve heard, `We’re taking this country back.’ Well, where do you want to take it?”

He understands that to some, that might harken back to the wholesome world of Ozzie and Harriet. But that was also a time when Clark, a Native American, had to go to the pharmacy through the back door.

Clark’s school is in the poorest pocket of one of the poorest counties in North Carolina. The student body is almost entirely minority, split approximately evenly between African-Americans and Native Americans. Some of his students have never left the county. During a fieldtrip to Fayetteville, he discovered kids who’d never seen an escalator. When ”life is so different depending on where your zip code is Authentic David Ross Jersey ,” he says, he doesn’t know how anyone can believe that inequality no longer exists, even if he’s not happy about how his cheerleaders chose to demonstrate against it.

A preacher’s son and a devout Christian, Clark would never have knelt had he been a kid on the field that night, and he wouldn’t have allowed his own children to, either. But he doesn’t believe he gets to make those choices for everybody else. Nor did the local school district. In the wake of the NFL protests, the superintendent had sent out a memo reminding administrators of students’ constitutional right to protest, stating they could not be forced to stand during the anthem or punished for declining to.

Clark tried to explain all of this when the ugly messages arrived. ”You don’t have the guts to lead,” read one note from a friend. One after the other Authentic Chase Utley Jersey , the notes kept coming. Public outrage is not the rule of law, the principal tried to remind folks, but it seemed that many would rather it were.

”When we start down the road of `the other’ – the other is wrong, the other is un-American, the other, the other, the other – where will we stop?” he wonders. ”There will be a day when we look back on this and think: What in the world happened to us?”

And so on a Wednesday afternoon before the next home football game, Clark couldn’t help but worry that the cheerleaders practicing down the hall would choose to kneel again and start this heartache all over.

The girls had their own worries: that their message was lost amid the anger and condemnation.

At the first game after the protest, homecoming Authentic Paul Goldschmidt Jersey , they decided to stay in the locker room as the national anthem played.

Then they discussed again what to do at the next. Kneel, and relaunch their mini-culture war? Stay inside, and let it pass?

So they marched out onto the field that next Friday night.

They stood along the sidelines and just held hands, a sign of unity, they hoped, each one of them up on both feet.

No one booed. No one applauded them, either.

The girls turned around, picked up their pompoms and launched their first cheer.

”Go Mustangs!”

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Multimedia journalist Martha Irvine and data journalist Angeliki Kastanis contributed to this report. Follow Claire Galofaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/clairegalofaro and find the entire Trump Country series here .