Trump welcomed Alex Ovechkin and the reigning NHL champion Washington Capitals to the Oval Office on Monday to congratulate them for winning the Stanley Cup in June.Trump said it was an honor to host the team because he is a hockey fan and a Capitals fan. The president called the Capitals “winners” and said there is “an awfully good chance” they will repeat this season.“You brought the Stanley Cup home
Cal Clutterbuck Jersey ,” Trump said. “Thousands of adoring fans greeted you. They were all over the place. And I have a feeling you’re going to be doing it again. You’re champions. You have a champion’s heart.”Players, coaches and staff members took a private 45-minute tour of the White House and met with Trump in what was a last chance to be around hockey’s sacred trophy as defending champions.“It’s a good reminder of the special things that our group did,” coach Todd Reirden said after practice earlier Monday. “That will kind of put a wrap on it and the final chapter of that moving forward into finishing up the regular season here and moving some of that success into playoffs this year.”Two players on the current roster, Canadians Braden Holtby and Brett Connolly, and Devante Smith-Pelly, who is in the minors, did not visit the White House. Smith-Pelly in June cited Trump’s rhetoric, and Holtby last week said he had to stay true to his values and respectfully decline.In the days since the team scheduled its visit, Holtby and his teammates explained their stances on going or declining while also shifting the focus back to the ice where the Capitals are trying to repeat as champions like the rival Pittsburgh Penguins did.“The more important thing is we’re just gearing up for a playoff run, and (different decisions on going or not going are) not going to hurt team unity,” Holtby said Friday. “I hope they have a good experience there and then we can get back to hockey.”The rest of the team was in attendance, along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, who wore a Capitals Stanley Cup champions hat. Trump called daughter Ivanka a friend and fan of Ovechkin’s, compared him to Babe Ruth and also singled out owner Ted Leonsis and American defenseman John Carlson during his remarks.Trump called Ovechkin a “very special athlete, a great player.”“It’s huge honor for us to be here and meet you personally
Eric Tangradi Jersey Womens ,” said Ovechkin, the Capitals’ Russian-born captain and playoff MVP. “We’re going to try to (win) again. We have same team, experienced team, very good group of guys and we’re going to try to do it again.”The visit comes a day after Attorney General William Barr released a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that found no evidence Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Trump did not take questions from reporters.Several Capitals players said going to the White House wasn’t about politics. American Brooks Orpik, who went in 2009 with the Penguins to visit then-President Barack Obama, said the decision to go is “not an endorsement of whoever’s in the office.”The Capitals presented Trump with a red No. 45 jersey and a gold, engraved stick. Trump took individual pictures with players and staff and gave them pens and M&Ms before they left.Leonsis called visiting the Oval Office a “true thrill for all of the players and the organization.”Carlson said: “It’s an honor to be here. I think all of us looked very much forward to it.”The Capitals’ White House visit came nine-plus months after their first title in franchise history and with six games left in the regular season before the playoffs begin. Washington is in first place and again is a top contender.“I think you’re going to be successful,” Trump said. “Very proud of you guys. Good luck. We’re going to be watching.” LAS VEGAS (AP) The thought of playing an NHL game in his hometown never entered Jason Zucker’s mind when the Minnesota Wild made him their second-round pick in the 2010 draft.Leading up to Friday night it was all he could think about, and he made the most of it.Zucker, the only NHL player raised in Nevada, scored a goal and assisted on another in leading the Wild to a 4-2 victory over the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.”It wasn’t even a dream, so I can’t even say it was a dream come true. I just never thought it was going to happen,” said Zucker, who was born in Southern California but moved to Las Vegas as an infant. ”It’s really cool to do it, and to have my family and friends here, my wife and kids
http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-casey-cizikas-jersey , it doesn’t get any better than that.”The Wild, who had lost two in a row and four of seven, completed a 3-0 season sweep of the Pacific Division leaders in front of 18,295 fans.Charlie Coyle, Matt Dumba and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild, and Alex Stalock stopped 26 shots.”You could tell in the morning skate we were ready,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”It goes to show when they put their mind to it, they can play. This was something against a really good hockey team, a really fast team.”Erik Haula and Ryan Carpenter scored for the Golden Knights, who dropped to 24-9-2 at home and have lost four straight in T Mobile Arena.Marc-Andre Fleury, who fell to 2-8-0 in 10 starts against the Wild, made 26 saves. It was the first time Fleury lost back-to-back games in regulation this season.”We’ve had such success all year long. I don’t think we’ve had too many rough patches, especially at home,” Fleury said. ”It’s frustrating. We know we can be better. I know I can be better.”The Wild showed no signs of struggle without defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who leads the team in blocked shots (127) but partially tore his right hamstring against Colorado on Tuesday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Minnesota, which had 18 blocked shots
Adam Pelech Jersey Womens , ranks 28th with its penalty kill on the road but stopped Vegas on all three power plays.In his homecoming, Zucker gave the Wild a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with his 29th goal of the season.Coyle extended his point streak to five games when he backhanded a loose puck over Fleury’s stick midway through the second. Coyle has three goals and three assists in his last five games.Moments later, Zucker fed Dumba, who lifted the puck over a sprawled-out Fleury to extend Minnesota’s lead to 3-0 with 13:24 left in the period. Eric Staal, who ranks fifth in the league with 37 goals and leads all NHL players with four versus Vegas, now has six points against the Golden Knights after assisting on Dumba’s goal.With Jonas Brodin’s assist on Coyle’s goal and Dumba’s 11th goal of the season, Minnesota defensemen have totaled a franchise-record 173 points (36 goals, 137 assists) in 71 games this season. The Wild rank second behind Nashville for most points by blue-liners this season.Haula and Carpenter scored late in the third to make it a one-goal game, but Parise’s empty-netter sealed the win for the Wild.Minnesota is third in the Central Division behind Nashville and Winnipeg. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are eight points ahead of second-place San Jose in the Pacific Division.”I don’t care who we’re playing, it’s time to get back to winning,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. ”We’ve had a great home record all year long. We’ve got to make sure we’re the hardest-working team on Sunday and find a way to win.”NOTES: Vegas goalie Malcolm Subban, who is 11-3-1 with a 2.59 goals-against average, was activated from injured reserve and could see his first action since Feb. 2 on Sunday vs. Calgary. … Dumba and Vegas’ Pierre-Edouard Bellemare both played in their 299th career game. … Gallant remains three wins shy of 200 career victories. … Fleury still needs one win to move into a tie for 12th on the career list for goaltenders at 401.UP NEXTWild: Visit the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.Golden Knights: Host the Calgary Flames on Sunday.—
