When You Don’t Score, You Try To Be Too Cute, When you don’t score, you try to be too cute Options

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EAST MEADOW Greg Pateryn Jersey Womens , N.Y. (AP) After missing the playoffs for the second straight year, and eighth time in the last 11, the New York Islanders head into the offseason with much work to be done.The most important task is signing captain John Tavares, who is set to be a free agent this summer.Tavares has said all along he hopes to be back with the only franchise he’s played for, but doesn’t know what will happen. However, with the season having ended less than 48 hours ago, he needs to take a breather first.”Take some time to not even think about hockey for a few days,” Tavares said Monday. ”And then prepare for the offseason and training, and obviously the contract will come up here as well.”Tavares, 27, just wrapped up the final year of a six-year, $33 million contract, and would be the top free agent available July 1. The face of the Islanders since they selected him No. 1 overall in the 2009 draft Womens Luke Kunin Jersey , Tavares had 37 goals and 47 assists this season, finishing a goal and an assist shy of the career highs he set in 2014-15.”This is where I hope to be and I’ve stated that,” he said. ”Just have to take some time and figure out what I want to do.”Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky and general manager Garth Snow have both repeatedly said they want Tavares to return, and Snow reiterated that Monday.”We want to be in a situation where he has the Stanley Cup in his hand, wearing an Islanders jersey, and we want him to retire as an Islander,” Snow said.Ledecky read a statement in which he declined to address the futures of any player, or the statuses of Snow and coach Doug Weight, saying the team was ”committed to long-term success,” and defined that as ”competing every year for the Stanley Cup and eventually winning a fifth ring.”He added: ”For the past season, as owners we have failed. We sincerely apologize to our fans. We want to express that our ownership group is totally committed to winning and providing the resources to do just that.”The Islanders finished 35-37-10 despite getting off to a strong start in which they won 15 of their first 24 games.However, injuries to defensemen Calvin de Haan and Johnny Boychuk started them on a tailspin in which they lost 30 of their final 45 games (15-24-6).There were some bright spots, led by Mathew Barzal’s 22 goals and 63 assists that make him the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Also Marcus Foligno Jersey , Anders Lee had the franchise’s first 40-goal season since Jason Blake in 2006-07, and Josh Bailey had career bests of 18 goals and 53 assists.Some other things to know as the Islanders head into the offseason:IMPROVING THE DEFENSEFinding a way to improve the defense needs to be the second priority this summer – after retaining Tavares. The Islanders finished eighth in the league in scoring with 261 goals, but gave up a league-worst 293. They were also last in shots allowed and penalty-killing,Nick Leddy had an unseemly minus-42 rating, the league’s worst since Pittsburgh’s Rico Fata (minus-46) in 2003-04. Calvin de Haan was lost for the season in December and is also set to be free agent. On the bright side, Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech, both 23, established themselves as solid young defensemen.THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHTBarzal and Anthony Beauvillier, both 20, formed a solid second line with Jordan Eberle, 27, combining for 180 points to complement the top line of Lee-Tavares-Bailey (217).Eberle had 25 goals and 34 assists in his first season in New York, and Beauvillier had a breakout second season in the NHL with 21 goals and 15 assists.WHO’S IN GOAL?Thomas Greiss is the only goalie signed for next season http://www.officialwild.com/authentic-adid...tt-dumba-jersey , with Jaroslav Halak set to be an unrestricted free agent. Greiss dealt with an injury down the stretch and finished 13-8-2 with one shutout and a 3.82 goals-against average.Halak was 20-26-6 with a shutout and a 3.16 GAA in the final season of a four-year deal. The 32-year-old had a solid first season, going 38-17-4 with a 2.43 GAA in 2014-15, but totaled just 50 wins the last three years.SNOW’S JOBWith the Islanders having made the playoffs just four times in 12 years since Snow was hired as the GM, he was asked if he deserved to stay on the job.”Yeah,” he said. ”When I took over this position it was a situation where it was an all-out rebuild. … Now we’re in a situation where we feel we can compete for a Stanley Cup.”You can go through the lineup and have a pretty common theme of successful stories of where we’ve built through the draft. And I think our prospect pool at this point in time is impressive as well.”HOME AND HOMEThe team’s struggles this season were punctuated by losses at Barclays Center, where they were 59-26-16 since moving to the Brooklyn arena before the 2015-16 season.However, they lost 15 of their final 22 games there to finish with a losing record on home ice for the first time since 2013-14.Now, the Islanders will be splitting home games between Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum – their former home – for at least the next three seasons until a new arena is built at Belmont Park.—-Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP— RALEIGH, N.C. — The Pittsburgh Penguins have lots going for them recently.And it might be getting even better.That’s because they tapped another source for production earlier this week.Article continues below ...This could spell more trouble for the Carolina Hurricanes, who’ve been unable to snap out of it, when the teams meet Saturday night at PNC Arena.Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust scored two goals in Thursday night’s 2-1 victory against the Minnesota Wild. That gives him five goals in a six-game stretch.It’s almost like giving the Penguins a bonus considering that Rust, a 26-year-old winger, had one goal in his first 29 games this season.“Rusty does so many things beyond the numbers Mikael Granlund Jersey ,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “Certainly when he helps us offensively, it’s a boost for our team. His speed is evident. He’s confident. We’re thrilled that it’s going in the net for him.”There’s a serious tone coming from the Hurricanes, who’ve sputtered to a 2-5-2 mark across their last nine games.Thursday night’s 4-1 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings resulted in a prolonged postgame meeting.“We’re not tough enough,” Carolina captain Justin Williams said. “We dominate stretches of periods and maybe feel that we should be leading. We’re not mentally tough enough to stay, ‘All right, that didn’t go our way. Let’s stick with it.’ “Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said the team’s ongoing scoring woes are draining for the team.“We got away from our game,” he said in reference to the Detroit game. “When you don’t score, you try to be too cute. … It’s all predicated on just not scoring. Guys trying to do too much. That definitely doesn’t work for us.”The Hurricanes outshot the Red Wings 39-24 but it didn’t matter.“Regardless of age or experience, everyone in here has played on good teams,” Williams said. “Everyone knows what the good feelings are when things are going well.”More than two months into the season, Brind’Amour said seeing the team waver too much from the game plan is trouble.“It doesn’t work when we get away (from the system),” he said. “To see that creep in. … No one will feel sorry for you. You have to believe that your game plan is good enough to win.”The Penguins have points in eight of their last 10 games.“We’re taking what they give us and not trying to force plays that aren’t there,” Sullivan said. “Having success the last couple of games Youth Mikko Koivu Jersey , it’s important for our confidence.”It’s not all rosy for the Penguins. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak has been sidelined by a concussion.For Carolina, rookie right winger Andrei Svechnikov has a four-game points streak. He has scored a total of four goals across the past four games, giving him 10 goals for the season.“We can’t be sitting here relying on an 18-year-old to be the guy to get it done,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s not the plan, that’s for sure.”In Thursday’s loss, center Jordan Staal and left winger Micheal Ferland returned to the Hurricanes lineup, so getting them back in a groove is a priority. Staal missed the five games, while Ferland sat out seven of eight games — both dealing with concussions.This will be the first of four meetings this season between Pittsburgh and Carolina.