Giriþ

Orijinalini görmek için týklayýnýz : Conference first-round series


hongwei28
11-10-2018, 07:47
KANSAS CITY Authentic Nick Leddy Jersey Fanatics Branded: New Adidas Breakaway Womens Youth New York Islanders NHL Jerseys (http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-nick-leddy-jersey) , Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes finally gets to face a team in an environment that’s familiar to him.

The Chiefs‘ hotshot quarterback takes his record-setting show to Denver on Monday night to face the Broncos, the team he made his debut against in Week 17 last season.

But whereas that game was mostly meaningless, with Kansas City assured of its playoff positioning and the Broncos’ season over, the trip back holds plenty of significance for both clubs.

The Chiefs are 3-0 with two of those victories coming on the road, where their second-year star has been downright dynamite. The Broncos (2-1) are just a game back in the AFC West.

“I mean, every game I go in I know that the defense is going to have some surprise they’re going to try to throw at us,” Mahomes said. “I know that defenses in this league are good and that defensive coordinators are going try to find ways to distract us and keep us from doing what we do.

“But I know that if we run the game plan the right way and I get the ball out of my hands and to those guys,” he said, “there is a chance for success.”

Especially if there’s a team he’s seen before.

Then again, maybe it’s not such an advantage for Mahomes that he’s seen Denver already.

The Chargers, Steelers and 49ers went into their games against Kansas City largely blind, unsure of what the strong-armed passer could do. The Broncos saw it firsthand last year, when the Chiefs rested their starters in their regular-season finale and Mahomes led a come-from-behind win.

“He’s playing well. He’s got a bunch of weapons, and again, they have a good scheme also,” Denver coach Vance Joseph said.

“You combine a quarterback’s arm talent with the skilled players he’s throwing to and with Andy Reid’s system, it makes it a tough out.”

More broadly, the Chiefs have been an impossible out for the Broncos lately. They have won five straight in the series, including two in Denver and a Christmas Day rout in Kansas City.

“They’ve got an explosive offense right now and their defense is making plays, too. For us, we’ve just got to go out there and play our game,” Broncos defensive tackle Shelby Harris said.

“Last week is last week, I’m not really worried about that anymore,” he added. “Go out there and just focus on just doing what we have to do: sticking to our keys and making plays.”

Indeed, the Broncos are coming off a road flop in Baltimore in which they blew a 14-10 halftime lead. And now the task is a Chiefs team that has scored at least 38 points in each of its games, with a quarterback in Mahomes who has an NFL-record 13 touchdown passes in the first three weeks.

“They’re averaging almost 400 yards a game and almost 40 points,” Joseph said. “The quarterback is playing at a high level. He’s got multiple weapons. Along with Reid’s system, it’s going to be difficult for us to get them stopped.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge, but being a six-point underdog, I’m not surprised. They’ve won the last three times in Denver. They’ve beaten the Broncos five straight times. I’m not surprised they’re favored. That means nothing.”

As the Broncos try to end their streak of futility Youth DaeSean Hamilton Jersey (http://www.thebroncosfootballauthentic.com/daesean-hamilton-jersey-authentic) , here are some things to know:

FAST STARTS

The Chiefs have scored on their first possession in every game this season, and they led San Francisco 35-7 late in the first half a week ago. Those quick starts stand in contrast to the Broncos, who have trailed entering the fourth quarter in each of their games.

THE CASE FOR CASE

The Broncos gave Case Keenum a two-year, $36 million contract to play at the same level as he did last year in Minnesota. But so far Keenum is faring no better than Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler or Paxton Lynch. He’s completing just 61 percent of his passes with three TDs and five interceptions, including three in a Week 1 win over Seattle.

TRACKING TRAVIS

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is coming off back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, and he’s been good against Denver in the past. Two of his three career games with 130 yards or more have come against the Broncos.

MEDICAL REPORT

Broncos cornerback Tramaine Brock should be available after leaving last week’s game against Baltimore with a groin injury. His running mate, Adam Jones, was also expected to practice this week after being inactive for the Ravens with a thigh injury. Both would come in handy against Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and the rest of the Chiefs’ receiving group.

WHAT A RUSH

The Chiefs had four sacks last week against San Francisco, more than double their total the first two weeks combined. But there’s a good chance they’ll be without pass rusher Dee Ford, who left last week with a groin injury, leaving it to Justin Houston to pick up the slack.

BOSTON — Despite three losses in their last five games, the Florida Panthers still have a chance to grab the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

And, thanks to a January postponement, much of what happens to the Panthers depends on how they do with three of their last six games against the first-place Boston Bruins.

Florida, 1-1-1 on its current four-game trip, ends that journey with a matinee in Boston Saturday.

The Panthers host the Bruins April 5 and then return to TD Garden for the April 8 makeup.

They also have a home game against the Nashville Predators, so it’s hard to say the schedule is favorable. The other games, though, are at home against the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres, both in the draft lottery.

Florida, which has lost two in a row for the first time since mid-February, trails the New Jersey Devils by three points but has a game in hand.

The Panthers lost 3-2 in Ottawa on a penalty shot goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau with 12.9 seconds left in overtime Thursday night, leaving a vital point on the table.

“At this time of year, you want the two points,” said Florida goaltender James Reimer, who yielded the goal. “Two points are big, but any points are good. I’m disappointed we lost that one in OT, but the positives are that we got a point. We’re going to keep rolling Authentic Adrian Clayborn Jersey Elite Womens Youth Big&Tall Nike New England Patriots NFL Shop Free Shipping (http://www.patriotsauthorizedshop.com/authentic-adrian-clayborn-jersey) , keep winning games and see where it stands at the end of the year.”

The penalty shot was awarded under what could be called controversial circumstances — defenseman Mike Matheson diving at Pageau.

“I watched it a few times,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. It’s an iffy, iffy call. It could have gone either way. I just think this time of year, the fight we’re in, it would have been nice to see it be called just a penalty with 13 seconds to go in the game. It’s a major decision that ended up costing us a point. Hopefully it’s not a costly point at the end of the day.”

Back on March 15, Reimer made 46 saves and the Panthers blanked the Bruins 3-0 after Boston swept the five-games between the teams last season.

The Bruins, meanwhile, continue to march impressively toward the playoffs despite their training room looking like a MASH unit.

They might get rookie Jake DeBrusk back Saturday, while top two defensemen Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy will travel with the team and could play Sunday at Philadelphia. Rick Nash and Sean Kuraly are also hurt.

The Bruins, 11-2-3 in their last 16 games despite all the injuries, won their third straight game this season against the Tampa Bay Lightning, moving into first place in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

Friday night, however, the Lightning ended a three-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Rangers in New York.

The Bruins have two games in hand and visit Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

“For us, I think we haven’t talked about the standings much this year, and we won’t going forward,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after the 4-2 win over the Lightning. “When the 82 games are over, we’ll see where we are, who we got, and we’ll go from there. And, I’m not trying to be disrespectful to that either, because it is an accomplishment, but we still have games to go, so we’ll enjoy it for a day or however long we’re there, and hopefully longer.”

Both teams have debuted Hobey Baker finalists in recent games, the Bruins with Harvard’s Ryan Donato and the Panthers Henrik Borgstrom.

Goalies Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin will split the two weekend games. Rask is 20-3-1 with a 1.48 goals against average and .950 save percentage against Florida while Khudobin is 3-2 in five games.

Roberto Luongo is 15-16-5 with a 2.49 goals against and .925 against Boston, but that doesn’t count his painful Game 7 loss to the Bruins for Vancouver in the 2011 Stanley Cup final. Reimer is 8-8-3 with a 2.34 average and .933 percentage against Boston.

The Bruins signed Jordan Szwarz to a one-year contract extension and then sent Szwarz and Tommy Cross back to Providence Friday.