Gästebereich » cap because of recapture

MONTREAL - After a devastating start to the season, Patrice Bernier would love to see the Montreal Impact head into the World Cup break on a high note. The Impact (2-6-4) host D.C. United tonight before a two-week respite from Major League Soccer, and Bernier says a tough defeat against third-place United (6-4-4) could hurt the teams morale, and undo much of their recent success. Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. "You want to finish on a high, with positive emotions," the Impact midfielder said after practice this week. "We want to start the second half of the season with good energy, so its important to take points from a conference rival. We havent quite reached our full potential yet. We have to use everything weve done over the last few weeks, use that intensity, and finish with something to build on before the two-week break." After stumbling out to a horrible start, the tide may be turning for the Impact. While still at the bottom of the MLS standings, with only 10 points from 12 games, Montreal has strung together a few convincing performances in the last four weeks. The team has only lost once in its last six games (3-1-2) in all competitions, has posted consecutive clean sheets, and is unbeaten at home in its last three. The Impact havent conceded at Saputo Stadium in the last 206 minutes. Whats more, the Impact are flying high after taking home the Amway Canadian Championship last week, beating their Toronto FC rivals in the second leg of the final on home soil. "Its good to walk with your chest up a little, with broad shoulders and with more confidence," Impact coach Frank Klopas said of the teams newfound optimism. "But you have to stay level-headed and continue to work. We cant let anything get to our head. The attitude and the mentality have to be right — and then we can enjoy the break." Montreal is facing a consistent D.C. United club on a good stretch of their own. Ben Olsens men have only lost twice in their last 12 contests — both defeats coming in one-goal decisions on the road. D.C. is stingy at the back. Theyve conceded an MLS third-best 14 goals on the season — only Toronto (13) and Los Angeles (11) have surrendered less. Goalie Bill Hamid has only been beaten three times in his last six games. And like the Impact, United have recorded back-to-back clean sheets. At the other end of the pitch, Fabian Espindola is playing equally well. The Argentine striker, who has scored in three consecutive contests, leads the team in almost every offensive category. He has seven goals, five assists, 34 shots, and 14 shots on target so far this season. "They have a team where if we lose our concentration or focus at any moment, it can hurt you," said Klopas. "They have a lot of talented players in the final third that can create problems. We cannot lose our focus. "Its a tricky game because you cant be thinking about the break. Weve worked so hard that we cannot relax right now. The attitude has to be the way its been in the last couple of games. If we dont, were going to make it very difficult on ourselves." Klopass men seemed to lose their focus the last time these two teams met on May 17, settling for the 1-1 draw after conceding late to DCUs Eddie Johnson. The Impact took the lead in the 56th minute courtesy of Jack McInerney, but coughed it up five minutes from time. Montreals lax defending allowed Espindola to send a cross in the penalty box to a loosely-covered Johnson, who headed it home. Wary of a similar outcome, Klopas made sure his team focused on their box defending in training on Monday. Bernier says the Impact squad that blew the lead at RFK Stadium last month is long gone. "The group is more solid in defence," he said. "We arent giving up many chances. Up front, were creating chances and were winning tight games. Were more confident and better organized now. Were working better as a team. Were giving up fewer freebies than we did at the start of the season." The Impact could be without the services of midfielder Justin Mapp, who hurt his groin in the Canadian Championship final. Mapp, who played three games with D.C. United in 2002, didnt practise with his teammates on Monday, instead doing various strength exercises along the sidelines. Officially match fit for the first time in more than six months, Spanish defender Adrian Lopez was on the pitch practising with the team. Lopez tore his right ACL in September and underwent surgery the following month. Although he is cleared by the team doctors, he will likely make his first appearance for the club after the two-week break. Notes: D.C. United are one point off the Eastern Conference lead. … Montreal and D.C. have split their six all-time meetings (2-2-2). … Newly-acquired Mamadou Danso could make his Impact debut on Wednesday. … Espindola missed a penalty kick deep into stoppage time against Columbus on Saturday. The goal would surely have given D.C. a 1-0 victory. … McInerney has four career goals versus DCU. … The two teams meet up one final time when they wrap up their MLS seasons on Oct. 25. Cheap MLB Jerseys . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. Cheap NFL Jerseys . A 23-year-old rookie, Stroman is 4-2 with a 3.44 earned run average in 12 games this season, the past seven of those being starts. He logged the first scoreless outing of his career on Friday versus Oakland in a no-decision. https://www.cheapnfljerseysjustwholesale.com/. Huntington doesnt want to help run the club unless Hurdle is in the dugout. The combination thats returned the franchise to respectability will remain intact for years to come. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . Yoenis Cespedes proved he can play through a hurting right heel, giving Scott Kazmir and the As a spark with a pair of RBIs that helped spoil the Minnesota Twins home opener with an 8-3 victory on Monday. China NFL Jerseys . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come.Finally, it appears that Roberto Luongo is getting his wish: a return to South Florida. Numbers Game looks into the deal sending Luongo back to Florida, leaving the Canucks with a decidedly different goaltending picture than they had one year ago. The Panthers Get: G Roberto Luongo and LW Steven Anthony. Luongo, 34, has been a strong starting goaltender for a long time. Even this season, as he has been dealing with a challenge for playing time from Eddie Lack, Luongo has a .917 save percentage, which ranks 16th out of 37 goaltenders to play in at least 25 games this season. Over the past four seasons, Luongos even-strength save percentage (.929) ranks sixth among goaltenders with at least 5000 minutes played. Now, that Luongo has been effective to this point is no great secret, but the question is how long he will remain an effective starter. Hes under contract, at a cap hit of $5.333M per season, through 2021-2022 and its pretty easy to forecast that Luongo wont be playing at such a high level at that point. Can he be an above-average starter through 37 or 38-years-old? That would probably be the best-case scenario. Aside from Luongos level of play, there is some value to his contract for the Panthers. Even with the Canucks picking up a portion of the contract, Florida is a team that, to this point, has faced more challenges getting to the floor than staying under the cap. If that means that five years from now their backup goaltender costs more than $5-million, then it may not be a huge issue. Where the finances get especially tricky is if Luongo retires before the end of his contract, because it is a prime candidate for the recapturing device implemented in the latest collective bargaining agreement and, according to Cap Geek, the Canucks could face a hefty cap hit if Luongo doesnt play out his entire deal. So, taking a step past the financial ramifications and getting back on the ice, the Panthers have upgraded their goaltending and for a team with improving possession numbers, an above average goaltender could be enough to put them back in the playoff hunt as soon as next season. Anthony is a 22-year-old winger who has been buried in the low minors, scoring 45 points in 108 games between the ECHL and CHL over the past three seasons. He played junior with Jonathan Huberdeau, but Anthony is too far away from the NHL to think thats going to be a factor that will increase his stature in the organization. The Canucks Get: G Jacob Markstrom and C Shawn Matthiias.dddddddddddd Markstrom is a 24-year-old who has long been considered a top prospect since he was the 31st overall pick in 2008, but there have been some bumps in the road that have put his future into question. In 43 career games, Markstrom has an .898 save percentage. Since 2005-2006, that ranks 88th out of 105 goaltenders with at least 40 games played, numbers brought down by an abysmal start (.874 SV% in 12 GP) to this season. Since he was returned to the AHL, Markstrom has posted a .918 save percentage in 29 games and has a .917 save percentage in 131 career AHL games, which is decent enough to get another look in the NHL, particularly with a new team that has an opening on the NHL roster. Markstrom currently has to be considered behind Eddie Lack on the depth chart. 26-year-old Lack, who has a .924 save percentage in 25 games this season, isnt nearly established enough in the starters role that the job wont be up for a more open competition in the future. Markstrom has the pedigree and was the starter for Brynas IF Gavle in the Swedish Elite League in 2009-2010, when Lack was his backup. Matthias, 26, is a 6-foot-4 centre who teases every so often (like scoring five points in the past two games, or tying for second on the Panthers with 14 goals last season) with occasional offensive ability, but he hasnt been terribly productive, scoring 97 points in 312 career games. His puck possession stats have been subpar even while facing lesser opposition. With the Canucks apparently heading toward rebuilding, there should be some opportunity for Matthias to play regular minutes and establish whether or not hes a legitimate top-nine forward. To this point in his career, the answer to that very much depends on the day. Matthias is under contract through next season with a cap hit of $1.75-million. In the end, the Canucks have precious little to show for what was once one of the games top goaltending tandems. A year ago, they had Cory Schneider and Luongo, now both are gone and the Canucks have Matthias and a couple of prospects (Markstrom and ninth overall pick Bo Horvat) in return. If the Canucks take a hit on the salary cap because of recapture five or six years down the road, well, thats just a bitter aftertaste to a situation that hasnt been very pleasant for the past couple seasons anyway. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '