News » hits keep coming

Eric Staal was coming off his least productive NHL season since he was a teenage rookie with Carolina when Minnesota took a flier on him two summers ago to add some depth at center.

The three-year contract was modest for a player with Staal’s ability and accomplishments. The expectations were Authentic Kareem Hunt Jersey , too. Three consecutive seasons of decline in points per game, after all, don’t provide a hint that the scoring touch or passing knack is primed for resurgence.

Bruce Boudreau could see the rebound potential, though. His first day of training camp with the Wild happened to be Staal’s practice debut with his new club, and a strong impression was made on the new head coach.

”I said, `You know what? Everybody was wrong,”’ Boudreau said. ”Because he did the skate test on the very first day, and he blew everybody out of the water. So I said to the staff, `He should be able to play for us.”’

Staal has done much more for the Wild than simply prove he can keep up and stabilize a key position with some savviness and leadership. Nobody on the team has scored more since he arrived, and with 40 goals this season he’s tied for sixth in the league through Monday’s games.

”I never thought a specific number was a goal. I don’t ever usually think like that,” Staal said. ”Once you start a season, it can go a lot of different ways, but once the puck starts hitting the back of the net and you’re gaining confidence that way, you want to hold on to it as long as you can and accumulate as much as you can to help your team win.”

Staal became just the second player in NHL history, joining Gordie Howe, to record a 40-goal season at least nine years apart with none in between. Slumps can factor into that Authentic Jordan Reed Jersey , but so does dedication.

”Look, he’s won a Stanley Cup. He’s won an Olympic medal. He’s got all the money that he’s ever going to need,” Boudreau said. ”But when he came here he wanted to prove to the world that he’s still a really good player, and to me he has.”

The lanky 33-year-old with the left-handed shot has been a big reason why the Wild, despite some rough patches of the schedule and significant injury absences by several of their best skaters, have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the sixth straight season.

”You want that, especially as a player who’s in the second half of his career. You want to make sure you’re in a spot to try to win again, and coming here I felt gave me that chance,” said Staal, the second overall pick in the 2003 draft who won the Stanley Cup in 2006 at age 21 but only returned to the playoffs once more with the Hurricanes. ”We’ve still got some work to do here, but hopefully we can finish strong.”

Staal only has one goal-less stretch on his ledger longer than four games in a row, when he played six consecutive contests without scoring from Jan. 9-22. He still contributed four assists over that span. Not coincidentally, the Wild have only one losing streak larger than two. They dropped three in a row from Nov. 4-8.

”He’s a guy we’ve definitely looked to to help lead us,” said left wing Jason Zucker, one of the many linemates Staal has saddled up to this season – without, Boudreau said beamingly Womens Kareem Hunt Jersey , a single complaint.

Durability has been one crucial component of his value, of course. Staal has yet to miss a game since signing the $10.5 million deal on July 1, 2016. The emotional steadiness he has contributed can’t be overlooked, either.

”He’s been through the best of teams. He’s been through the worst of teams. He’s been the leader on all of these teams,” Boudreau said. ”He’s had to make sure he’s the steady one, because if he gets too high, maybe the rest of the group gets too high. If he was one to get too low, maybe everybody else would follow his lead.”

The Wild actually left Staal exposed in the expansion draft, banking on his age being less attractive to the Vegas Golden Knights. His salary cap hit is only the ninth-highest on the roster.

”If he was playing in Toronto, he’d be up for the MVP,” Boudreau said.

Settling in Minnesota was more than satisfying for Staal, with the perennial postseason opportunities and the relative proximity to his hometown of Thunder Bay, Manitoba, about a six-hour drive away. He and his wife, Tanya, have been able to raise sons Parker Womens Jared Goff Jersey , Levi and Finley, in a similar northern culture and climate that he was raised in, delighting in seeing the boys at 8, 6 and 3 years old take to the local hockey rinks or eagerly hop on their sleds after the latest snowfall.

”All that stuff I grew up doing and loving, and now I’m kind of living it back through them,” Staal said. ”It’s definitely made it a ton of fun.”

—


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — One of the biggest questions for the Patriots entering the season was how their defense would look following a series of offseason tweaks.

While the defense certainly had some miscues during New England’s 27-20 victory over Houston on Sunday , it may not be the unit looking to make the most improvement heading into Week 2.

That task probably belongs to special teams, which had several mistakes that allowed the Texans to stay within striking distance for most of the game.

Special teams has been one of the Patriots’ most stable area the past few seasons. But against Houston the unit showed cracks in both kickoff coverage and punt return. Improvement will be key with a tough road matchup at Jacksonville up next.

Last season, the Patriots allowed opponents just 18.9 yards per kickoff return, the third-best mark in the NFL.

That meant nothing to Houston’s Tyler Ervin, who found all kinds of seams in New England’s kickoff coverage. He finished the game with 156 kickoff return yards on five returns (31.2 avg.), including a game-long 36-yard return.

The 156 return yards are the most ever by a Texans player in a season opener.

“I thought there were a lot of areas that we did well in, a lot of areas that we need to work on and a lot of areas that we can improve,” coach Bill Belichick said when asked about the mishaps on kickoffs.

Special teams captain Matt Slater said he didn’t think the new kickoff rules aimed at improving safety were to blame for their deficiencies.

“I think it was more about what we didn’t do,” he said. “Some of the things that we’re coached to do we just didn’t go out there and do them. … It plays differently Womens Josh Norman Jersey , obviously there’s no wedges. Schemes have changed a little bit. But hopefully it’s something we can fix.”

New England’s punt team wasn’t exempt from mistakes, either.

With under five minutes left in the game, Riley McCarron fumbled a punt to set up Deshaun Watson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington that got the Texans within seven.

“I made a stupid play,” McCarron said. “I should have handled the ball; it is as simple as that. I did not make the decision on a fair catch, obviously, but I know the one I should have made now.”

McCarron was released by the team on Monday.

It wasn’t all bad for the special teams.

Before he suffered a right knee injury in the third quarter, running back Jeremy Hill partially blocked a punt by Houston’s Trevor Daniel.

And some late execution by the Patriots’ punt coverage team helped put a slight happy face on an otherwise lackluster day.

The play came via punter Ryan Allen, who dropped a 54-yard punt inside the Houston 5, which was downed by Jonathan Jones on the 1 with 43 seconds remaining. It forced the Texans to speed up on offense and they moved the ball to only their 43 by game’s end.

Slater said both Hill’s block and Allen’s punt were shown a lot in Monday’s film session. Still, there was little celebrating.

“The hits keep coming,” Slater said. “This will be a tough team this week and we gotta be on top of our game and certainly try to execute better.”

NOTES: The team placed running back Jeremy Hill on injured reserve. Hill’s 2017 season with Cincinnati ended after seven games, when he had right ankle surgery. … Hill entered the season third on the running back depth chart behind James White and Rex Burkhead and was expected to contribute primarily on special teams. … The team also released wide receiver Chad Hansen.

Authentic Womens Jaire Alexander Jersey