Counter Strike » e Colorado Avalanche struggle to generate offence f

NEWARK, N.J. -- After watching the Colorado Avalanche struggle to generate offence for more than 57 minutes, coach Patrick Roy rolled the dice and pulled goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 2:30 left in regulation against the New Jersey Devils. The gamble paid off big. PA Parenteau scored with 1:47 left in the third period and Ryan OReilly had a power-play goal 28 seconds into overtime to give the Avalanche a stunning 2-1 victory Monday night. "Why wait?" Roy said after Colorado extended its winning streak to four games and posted its 13th win in 17 games (13-3-1). "Who said we have to pull the goalie with 1 minute in the game. I thought that was the right time and I thought we started generating more offence. I thought they were tired and it was a great window of opportunity there." Once Giguere went to the bench, the Avalanche mounted constant pressure and Parenteau knotted the score by deflecting a shot by defenceman Tyson Barrie past goalie Cory Schneider. That deflated the Devils and their fans. Michael Ryder made a bad play a minute later and defenceman Andy Greene slashed Matt Duchene to prevent a breakaway with 42 seconds left in regulation. The man advantage carried into overtime and OReilly ended it by tipping Duchenes pass by Schneider for his 21st of the season. "Tonight we showed great resilience," OReilly said. "We stuck with it the whole game. That was a big play by PA Parenteau tying the game, and it gave us a ton of momentum going to OT." It marked the third straight game in which New Jersey has given up a late goal to force overtime. The Devils have lost their last two. New Jersey easily could have had a bigger lead, with three shots hitting the post and another stopping on the goal line. "Its unlucky until it keeps happening over and over and over again," coach Pete DeBoer said. "I dont know. I dont know if its unlucky." Fourth-line wing Ryan Carter scored in the first period for New Jersey, which cant afford to keep giving away points if it wants to make the playoffs. "Tonight for me the story is we have to find a way to get a second and third goal," DeBoer said. "We got a goal from our fourth line, which is a bonus goal. We had enough chances to get five. You let anybody hang around in this league long enough, bad things happen and thats the story lately." Giguere finished with 27 saves in winning for the first time since starting the season 7-0. He also had the iron working for him. "Ill take a little luck now -- I need it," Giguere said. "I did get lucky a few times tonight. We worked hard enough to get the two points at the end." Schneider, who had the NHLs second-best goals-against average (1.91) entering the game, only had to make a few good saves until the final minutes. His best stops came on a chance in close by rookie sensation Nathan MacKinnon in the first period and another in close by OReilly in the third. The Devils goalie also was a little lucky. A third-period power-play shot by Gabriel Landeskog hit off defenceman Bryce Salvador and went just wide of the net. But the Avs finally found the answers late. Carter got his fifth goal of the season on a quick counterattack after Duchene lost the puck at the blue line in the Devils zone. Stephen Gionta carried the puck into the Colorado zone and fed Steve Bernier, who found Carter coming late for a shot that beat Giguere. Given a rare start with Semyon Varlamov getting the night off, Giguere had help from the iron all night. Michael Ryder hit the post with 12:30 left in the first period and Dainius Zubrus deflected a shot by Mark Fayne off the post with 4 seconds left in the period. Zubrus also clanged one off the post on a short-handed shot late in the second period, and Jaromir Jagr had a shot that stopped on the goal line early in the third. NOTES: Devils D Anton Volchenkov missed the game with a lower-body injury sustained against Nashville on Friday night. ... New Jersey activated D Peter Harrold and he was back in the lineup after missing 25 games with a broken foot. ... The Avalanche will play the Rangers, Flyers and Islanders on the road before the Olympic break. Jamil Douglas Jersey . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. Braxton Hoyett Jersey . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. http://www.cheaptitansjerseyselite.com/?...ole-wick-jersey. LOUIS -- Russell Martin wanted a better fate for his starting pitcher and helped deliver a happier ending. Frank Herron Jersey . While Chelsea stayed two points behind leader Arsenal courtesy of Etoos hat trick, seventh-place United slipped 14 points from the summit this weekend. And the gap from the Champions League places is growing as well, with Liverpool six points ahead in fourth. Earl Campbell Jersey . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle.Vancouver Whitecaps confirmed the departure of head coach Martin Rennie on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after his second season in charge ended with the club sitting seventh in Major League Soccers Western Conference, three points outside the playoff places. In the weeks leading up to the end of the season, speculation was rife that the Scotsman would be replaced so the news comes as no surprise. Its a move that may even have happened if the Whitecaps had managed to sneak into the playoffs. Rennie has trumpeted his teams achievements loudly in recent weeks. This year, they set the clubs highest ever MLS points total, scored the most goals, won the Cascadia Cup against their rivals Seattle and Portland, and beat the Sounders, LA and New York for the first time in MLS. Brazilian sensation Camilo secured the leagues Golden Boot and the club won the MLS Player of the Week award a league high seven times. There was plenty to shout about, and on a number of occasions at BC Place this season, they played some scintillating soccer to entertain and engage the fan-base. However, those achievements mean very little without reaching the two main goals of making the playoffs and winning the Canadian Championship. The Whitecaps came close to both, but close wasnt good enough for Rennie to keep his job. Its true that the club has made progress in each of the seasons Rennie was in charge, but this year, that progress just wasnt big enough to keep up with the teams around them. The fact is, in an extremely competitive Western Conference, the Whitecaps slipped back. Their progress was much smaller than other teams such as Portland and Colorado, who took big strides forward. Its not just about the seasons record. There were other issues at play. Rennies team selections often provoked much discussion, including his desire to play Japanese defensive midfielder Jun Marques Davidson, especially at home. There was the regression of 2012 number 2 draft pick Darren Mattocks, the lack of playing time down the stretch for youngster Gershon Koffie and teenager Kekuta Mannehs thunderous impact when finally handed starts late in the season. Also at times, the Whitecaps looked as though they were trying to fit square pegs in round holes, until they finally swittched to a 4-4-2 diamond midfield system late in the year.dddddddddddd The fact the Caps lost their captain and highest paid defender Jay DeMerit just seven minutes into the new season, and were without their DP striker Kenny Miller for long stretches due to injury clearly didnt help. The Whitecaps never really had a settled side because of injuries and also the coachs choice. Did Rennie know what his best 11 was and the best way to utilize them? It seemed he was still trying to figure that out late in the year. Of course, with any team and any coach anywhere in the world, there are bound to be questions about player selections and formations, but theres little doubt these questions played into the mind of those making the decision. Although Whitecaps ownership has decided to go in a different direction, Rennie still deserves much credit for what he has achieved during his time in Vancouver. He leaves the Whitecaps in a much better position than when he arrived at the club following a dismal expansion season. Over the last couple of years, they have established themselves as an MLS club, assembled a much stronger squad and made the playoffs for the first time in 2012 after turning around one of the worst teams in the league. The Whitecaps are still missing a couple of key pieces that will need to be found in the off-season, but they have a young, dynamic squad that can be a contender for the foreseeable future. Players like Camilo, Gershon Koffie, Kekuta Manneh and Russell Teibert have the potential to be big stars in Major League Soccer, and there are more coming through the Whitecaps pipeline with the likes of Sam Adekugbe ready to step into the first team squad next year. Rennies hiring of some strong assistant coaches, Paul Ritchie, Carl Robinson and Jake DeClute assisted the development of many of the clubs younger players. They were all very shrewd hires by a thoughtful, intelligent head coach. So what now? I think starting completely from scratch would be a massive mistake. There is some momentum. The Whitecaps arent too far off with the squad they have had assembled, so whoe