Banliste/Verwarnungen » s to win, we have to have more guys con

BOSTON -- When Patrick Kane scored twice to help the Chicago Blackhawks move within one victory of another Stanley Cup, he did so on the sixth anniversary of being drafted first overall. Players dont get selected there without skill, but the bulk of Kanes nine goals in the playoffs have been more a result of hard work and smart positioning by a player whose game has developed substantially in recent years. "Hes really good, especially around the net," Boston Bruins right-winger Brad Marchand said. "If you give him any kind of room down there and he can find the puck, then hes going to make something happen." Kane showed three years ago during the Blackhawks Cup run that he has a knack for making things happen and scoring big goals. But this time around it has been his ability to put back rebounds and loose pucks that earned him some late buzz for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Six of Kanes nine goals through 22 games have come on the doorstep -- either in the crease or just outside it. As his coach with the London Knights, Dale Hunter, watched his Game 5 performance, he remarked that Kane was having success because he was playing in traffic close to the net. "He has no fear to his game. Hes not the biggest guy in the world but hell score goals and hell go anywhere to score them," Hunter said in a phone interview Monday. "He has good vision. Thats why he can go in them bad areas where you can take big hits, and he doesnt get hit often." Its one thing to have good vision and yet another to make a concerted effort to be around the crease. "I think one of the things on this team, you want to crash the net, whether its bringing it back out and getting pucks there and then crashing it again," Kane said. The 24-year-old brings a combination of skill and that willingness to play in tight spaces that makes him difficult to defend. "I think hes not afraid, whether its not afraid to get hit or not afraid to make mistakes," Boston defenceman Torrey Krug said. "Hes not afraid to go to those high-traffic areas. Thats important for a player, especially players that like to play with the puck, to not have the fear like that." Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville knows all about Kanes "high-end skill," but its his ability to control the play with little room to manoeuvre that helps him stand out. "Hes just an unbelievable puck-handler, and I dont know if thats just natural talent or hes worked on it," Chicago defenceman Duncan Keith said. Either way, it has caused fits for the Bruins. Coach Claude Julien and his team had to emphasize better awareness because of Kane. "You look at the goals that Kane has scored, youve got to give him credit," Julien said. "Hes done a good job of getting into those quiet areas and sliding into those pockets and the puck keeps coming to him, and thats what good players do. They find areas to go to where pucks come to them." Of course Kane can still pick a corner and score. His goal on a two-on-one rush put the Blackhawks into the Cup final, and he scored one-on-one against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard earlier in the playoffs. Against the Bruins, Kane showed teammates that hes adept at scoring the so-called dirty goals, too. Julien likened him to Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby as far as being shifty and elusive around the net. "Hes an elite player," Bruins defenceman Andrew Ference said. "Hes obviously got tremendous skill and speed to get away from defenders and to find open spots on the ice. Hes a challenge for any team to defend against." Even more so now than several years ago when he was a budding NHL star. Bostons Aaron Johnson played with Kane in 2008-09, and though he hasnt had a chance to study the right-wingers improvement, he pointed out that Kane has become a "solid hockey player." Thats not under-valuing Kane but rather an indication that, like other talented forwards, his career is an ongoing maturation process. "I think it takes time because their whole life they havent really needed to play that game," Johnson said. "And once you get to the NHL you have to learn that theres a time and place for certain moves and certain plays. It does take a year or two and a good coach to really embed that inside him." It didnt start with Hunter, Denis Savard or Quenneville. Hunter knew Kane could score before the Knights drafted him. But the way hes been putting the puck in the net in the playoffs has Kane on another level. "Every time theres more on the line, the more he comes up and goes in the dirty areas even more than he should because he wants to score the big goals," Hunter said. "He wants to make the difference in the game, and he has the ability to do it and he pushes himself in big games to do it." Serge Ibaka Jersey . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. 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Marc Gasol Raptors Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Frank Mason III and Josh Jackson took it as a shot to their pride.Bill Self was just trying to win a game.The Jayhawks coach turned to a zone defense Tuesday night, a rarity for a guy whose hallmark is a relentless man-to-man, and that slowed down Georgia enough to give fifth-ranked Kansas a 65-54 victory over the Bulldogs in the CBE Classic championship game.I didnt think it was a hit (to their pride), Self explained, but you know, if you cant guard their bigs and you cant rebound out of man, we had to try to do something.On the other end, Mason led the way with 19 points, Jackson had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Devonte Graham contributed 14 points for the Jayhawks (4-1), who won their third consecutive in-season tournament title and second CBE Classic. They also won the event in 2012.Jackson, one of the nations top freshmen, was voted MVP.Kansas hopes its the beginning of a sweet ride at the Sprint Center this season. The Jayhawks face Davidson in the same building in a couple of weeks, then play the Big 12 Tournament there in March before the arena hosts an NCAA Tournament regional final, where they hope to earn a spot in the Final Four.Yante Maten had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (3-2), but they were done in by 3-for-18 shooting from the perimeter, equally lousy foul shooting and turnovers that led to easy runouts.J.J. Frazier, who had been averaging 19 points per game, was held to two on 1-for-10 shooting.You have to make shots to win, Georgia coach Mark Fox said. We didnt shoot the ball very good. Give Kansas defense credit for that. But we shot the ball so poorly the first three-quarters of the game, we didnt score enough to get in position to win it.The zone defenses, which neither coach particularly enjoy, were a big reason for it. They slowed the game and turned it into a shooting contest.We havent really done it much so it was kind of new to us, Jackson said, but obviously it worked. For our pride a little bit, we really wanted to play man, but to win the gamee, we had to go zone.dddddddddddd.Kansas was a bit more efficient from the perimeter, slowly drawing away after trailing 20-19 with about 8 minutes to go, to forge a 35-25 lead at the break. The Bulldogs only made one of their final 16 field goal attempts, and their only scoring in the final 5 minutes came at the foul line.The lead was still just 42-34 with 16 minutes to go when Mason drove for a basket, the first of eight straight points for the Jayhawks. Mason added another basket, Jackson solved the Bulldogs zone for a dunk and Graham and Dwight Coleby finished it off to give Kansas a comfortable cushion.Georgia went more than 7 minutes without scoring as the game got away.We were prepared to play. We thought we could win the game. Were disappointed we didnt win, Fox said. We didnt have enough guys chip in, and for us to win, we have to have more guys contribute.POST PROBLEMSThe Jayhawks post players were virtually non-existent. Landen Lucas never took a shot before fouling out in 10 minutes, Udoka Abuika played only 5 minutes and never took a shot, and Carlton Bragg Jr. finished 1 for 3 from the floor while gathering just one rebound in 10 minutes.Theyre just not playing very well and not playing very smart and not contributing, Self said. They are good kids and they want to do well, but for whatever reason they have really struggled.BIG PICTUREGeorgia earned a split in the CBE Classic, and losing to Kansas doesnt hurt its NCAA Tournament resume. The Bulldogs showed in their win over George Washington that they can be competitive.Kansas has already proven it can score this season. On Tuesday night, the Jayhawks proved they can play a little defense, too, even if it meant ditching Selfs preferred man-to-man.UP NEXTGeorgia begins a five-game homestand against Gardner-Webb on Friday night.Kansas plays UNC-Asheville on Friday night in its second game at Allen Fieldhouse this season. ' ' '