SUNRISE, Fla. . -- Jeff Zatkoff was glad to get another chance to face the Florida Panthers. Evgeni Malkin scored a goal and had three assists, and Zatkoff stopped a season-high 39 shots, including 15 in the first period, to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Florida Panthers, 5-1 on Saturday night. Earlier this season, Zatkoff made his first career start for Pittsburgh in Floridas home opener, a 6-3 loss on Oct. 11. "Its nice to get a second crack at these guys," Zatkoff said. "You always want to play well, especially against a team that put up six on you the last time. I know that wasnt my best the first time around. To be able to come back and get that second opportunity is nice." Jussi Jokinen, James Neal, Chris Kunitz and Joe Vitale also scored goals for Pittsburgh, which won its third straight game. Zatkoffs play impressed Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. "I can reference his first game in this building, but its been a while between those starts," Bylsma said. "Tonight I thought he was very good, came up big for us on numerous occasions. I think our best player (was) Jeff Zatkoff." Malkin has four goals and 13 assists during an eight-game point streak. Malkin has 35 points this season, one behind Sidney Crosby, who leads the NHL. "Id love to see them both at the top at the end of the year," Bylsma said. Neal also had an assist and has 13 points in his past seven games. Scottie Upshall scored for Florida and Tim Thomas allowed four goals on 13 shots. Thomas was replaced by Scott Clemmensen to start the third period. Clemmensen made eight saves. Thomas also gave up four goals in the Panthers previous game, a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. Florida has lost four of its past five games. "Were shooting ourselves in the foot, myself included," Thomas said. "That first goal shot the big toe off, and a couple of the other goals we shot a couple of the other toes off. Thats happening on a relatively consistent basis." The goalie change didnt slow down the Penguins. Jokinen took a pass from Malkin in the slot and rifled it over the glove of Clemmensen at 6:10 of the third to make it 5-1. Trailing 3-0, the Panthers got on the board on Upshalls power-play goal in the second. Upshall brought the puck in from the left side and beat Zatkoff with a backhand at 17:53. The Penguins got it right back when Neal scored just 29 seconds later. Neals wrist shot from low in the right circle whistled past Thomas to make it 4-1. The Penguins stretched their lead to 3-0 on Malkins goal in the second. Malkin brought the puck through the Panthers zone and beat Thomas on the left side with a backhand shot at 7:23. The Panthers had a goal disallowed on review in the second. Sean Bergenheim pushed the puck to the front of the crease and it was ruled that it was kicked in by Brad Boyes. "If you get 40 shots a game, youd think that youd try to keep things close," Upshall said. "He (Zatkoff) made some great saves." The Penguins scored two goals in 32 seconds in the first period. During a power play, Neal passed from the left side to Kunitz in the slot. Thomas fell down and Kunitz found the open net at 10:45 to make it 1-0. It was the third goal in two games for Kunitz. Jayson Megna shot from the slot and Vitale slid the rebound across the goal line at 11:17 for a 2-0 lead. NOTES: Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun, on injured reserve since Sept. 30 following surgery for a blood clot, spoke with reporters between periods and said he still hopes to resume his career. ... Bergenheim played in his 400th NHL game. ... Florida C Jesse Winchester returned after missing three games with a lower body injury. . Wawrinka, who is seeded fourth, is in the top half of the draw with Serbian Novak Djokovic. The Swiss star outlasted Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal thriller last year and stunned Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final to capture his first-ever Grand Slam title. . An in-person hearing allows for Garbutt to be suspended for five games or longer as per the leagues Collective Bargaining Agreement. Garbutt delivered a high hit to Penner in the second period of Sundays game. . The White Sox said Wednesday they acquired left-handed pitching prospect Sean Bierman and infielder Ben Kline, who both played at Class A this season. The White Sox dealt Crain to Tampa Bay on July 29.ST. PETERSBURG – Brandon Morrow is back with the Blue Jays and hes a reliever right now. Its not a job he plans on getting used to. "I think I could still be effective as a starter," said Morrow. "I think thats where you get your most important innings. Id like to, going forward, be in that role next year and beyond." The problem, if thats the correct term, is two-fold. First, Morrow has been unable to remain healthy for three consecutive seasons. He made 21 starts in a brilliant 2012 (career-best 2.96 ERA) which was interrupted by a two-month summer stint on the disabled list with a strained oblique. After only 10 starts last year, during which he struggled to a 5.63 ERA and a 5.42 FIP, Morrow was sidelined by an entrapped radial nerve in his right forearm. This season wasnt much better. Morrow made six starts and went to the disabled list in early May after tearing a tendon sheath in his right index finger during a start in Pittsburgh."I guess I have been prone to injury," said Morrow. "I dont think that means anything in the future – that because Ive been prone to injury in the past that Ill be injury-prone in the future. There have been guys that have gone through issues for a couple years and come back and had five, six healthy years in a row."The other matter: Morrow has a $10-million club option on his services for 2015, a number which seems expensive for a player whos been unable to stay on the field. General manager Alex Anthopoulos insisted he hasnt made a decision on whether hell exercise Morrows option, preferring not to make any such pronouncements until seasons end. "The next month is very important. Brandon being back and being healthy is very important. You look at a guy like (Adam) Lind last year. He hit seven home runs in September and if there would have been debate in August about whether he was going to be back or not, in September he certainly cemented himself. Thats not to say its the be-all and end-all, but I always get asked at the All-Star break or in April and May, about guys for next year and I like to sit back and take the full body of work, all six months." Should the Jays decline Morrows option, it wouldnt eliminate them from bringing him back. Morrow doesnt seem hung up on a dollar figure, provided hes paid fairly, and believes that if there isnt a starting job available to him in Toronto there will be one elsewhere. As for his return in the bullpen, it has as much to do with necessity as anything else. The minor league season is over and Morrow had progressed enough to get into two games for Triple-A Buffalo. Theres no other way to stretch him out and because he missed four months, hed have needed the equivalent of aa full spring training to return to the rotation. . . "Ideally he would have had a little more time but Brandon has done it before," said Anthopoulos. "He can be effective out of the bullpen but I have no doubt he can be an effective starter as well. We didnt have enough time to get him stretched out as a starter and this was the best way he could help the team." It was the Blue Jays that made Morrow a full-time starting pitcher upon acquiring him in the 2009-2010 offseason. Previously, in Seattle, Morrow made 131 appearances over three seasons and all but 15 were in relief. He saved 16 games in that span, including 10 in 2008. The 2015 rotation figures to include Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and Drew Hutchison. J.A. Happ has a club-friendly $6.2-million option and hes pitched well enough this year to have it picked up. Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey will be there, too, unless Anthopoulos swings offseason deals to move one or both. If Daniel Norris doesnt break camp, hell be knocking on the door. A team can never have enough pitching. Morrow, when healthy, has proven he can be dominant. Whether his future is in Toronto, only time will tell. RASMUS SITS It appears Colby Rasmus final days in a Blue Jays uniform will mostly be spent on the bench. Rasmus met with manager John Gibbons and bench coach DeMarlo Hale on Tuesday, when he was told the news he was no longer in the starting lineup. "I said yesterday we want to look at some of those other guys that are up here. So, yeah," said Gibbons. Rasmus has struggled to a .225/.287/.426 line this season. Hes hit 16 home runs but also has struck out 116 times for a 32-percent strikeout rate. Corner outfielders Jose Bautista and Melky Cabrera arent going anywhere. With Anthony Gose, Kevin Pillar and Dalton Pompey vying for playing time Rasmus, an impending free agent, gets pushed to the fringes. Rasmus told TSN.ca he would be cheering on his younger teammates. Rasmus counts Gose as one of his best friends. IZTURIS DROPS BY Maicer Izturis was in the visitors dugout while the Blue Jays took batting practice before Wednesdays game. The infielder suffered a season-ending knee injury on April 13 in Baltimore. It was a freak accident; Izturis slipped descending the dugout stairs on his way to the bat rack. He tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee. Izturis used the downtime to have a surgical procedure done on his right shoulder. He called it minor, a "clean up." Five months in to his eight-month rehabilitation prognosis, Izturis ran for the first time on Wednesday morning. Barring an unforeseen setback, Izturis will be ready for spring training. ' ' '
blueberryjerry » 12 дек 2016, 11:45 
