5,000 Helton bobblehead dolls | Forum

RALEIGH, N. http://www.englandeuroshirtshop.com/adam-lallana-jersey.html .C. -- With his latest milestone within reach, Alex Ovechkin caught himself pressing and overthinking his play. All of a sudden, his path to history was clear. Ovechkin scored his 400th career goal into an empty net after the Washington Capitals had three power-play goals in the second period of a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. "I had a couple of chances to score, and they were good ones, but maybe I tried to make more moves than I usually do," Ovechkin said. "(An) empty-netter is (an) empty-netter. Of course I (thought) about it, but its over and its time to move on." Troy Brouwer, Marcus Johansson and John Carlson scored with the man advantage and Nicklas Backstrom assisted on all four goals to help the second-place Capitals win for the fifth time in their last seven games. Ovechkins empty-netter with 24.5 seconds left in his 634th career game made him the sixth-fastest player in NHL history to reach No. 400 and the seventh active player with that many. "As we all know, hes a pretty good goal-scorer," Backstrom said. "Its always fun to see a player accomplish something big and I think 400 goals in however many games he has, its great. We all know hes a great player." Jordan Staal and Riley Nash scored for Carolina while Cam Ward stopped 25 shots. The Hurricanes had earned at least a point in six of their previous seven games. But theyve dropped four of five with the loss to the Caps. "Five-on-5, we were all over them," Staal said. "We were the better team, 5-on-5. But three power-play goals, you cant let that happen. Thats not good enough, obviously, and thats how you lose games." Washingtons Philipp Grubauer matched a season high with 39 saves -- and got some help from the choppy ice after Alexander Semins shot with about 6 minutes left trickled just wide of the net. The Capitals have the leagues second-best power-play unit with a success rate of nearly 25 per cent. They converted all three of their chances in the second. "You dont want to have to rely on it, but whenever its going to power you through games, absolutely you want to rely on it," Brouwer said of the power play. A fortunate bounce helped the Capitals reclaim the lead at 3-2 with 4:31 left in the period: Mike Green broke his stick while dribbling a shot up the middle that clipped Brouwer on its way past Ward. "When it comes slower, obviously I get a better touch on it," Brouwer said. "I had my stick halfway up my body thinking it was going to be a higher shot because thats where he usually likes to shoot. Its almost a weird adjustment where you dont ever practice having to put your stick back down on the ice." That capped a big period for the Capitals power play. Johansson tied it 41 seconds into the second when he stuffed the puck between Wards left leg and the post. Carlson put the Capitals up 2-1 with 11:26 left -- and just 14 seconds into a holding minor on Tuomo Ruutu -- when his straightaway blast from just inside the blue line got past Ward. Carolina, which has the leagues third-worst power play, made it 2-all 2:42 later by scoring on the man advantage, with Nash making the most of Andrej Sekeras rebound. But it couldnt convert late after Carlson went off for hooking with 4:50 to play, despite peppering Grubauer with a barrage of shots from close range. The Hurricanes were playing for the first time since Dec. 14, when they wrapped up a four-point, four-game western swing with a win at Phoenix. Staal put the Hurricanes up 1-0 with 2:48 left in the first when he scored on a one-touch pass from Semin, who played seven years with the Capitals before signing with Carolina in July 2012. "We did a good job of getting after him and getting shots and getting opportunities," Staal said. "We just didnt bury them." NOTES: The Hurricanes scratched D Mike Komisarek (lower-body injury) after activating him from injured reserve earlier in the day. ... Semins point was his first since his Dec. 12 return from a concussion that cost him 12 games. http:///...p-soccer-jersey.html . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. http:///...cer-short-shirt.html . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. http://www.englandeuroshirtshop.com/theo-walcott-jersey.html . JOHNS, N. DENVER -- Todd Helton received a horse, hit a homer and got a hug from his two daughters as they ran out onto the field in the ninth inning. Yep, this was definitely more than the Colorado Rockies first baseman couldve asked for in his final game at Coors Field. About the only thing that didnt go Heltons way was the score as the Boston Red Sox routed the Rockies 15-5 on Wednesday night. This was certainly his evening as he homered in his first at-bat after stirring pregame tribute to him, doubled later in the game and drove in three runs. "I hoped I would go out and play well," said Helton, whos retiring after 17 years with the Rockies. "But there was so much going on before the game. My expectations werent that high. ... To be able to go out and play and be productive, that means a lot to me." For a night, he was vintage Helton again, the one with power (solo shot to right), the ability to go the opposite way (a double off the wall in left) and knack for taking what the pitchers gives him (lifting a fly to left to bring home a run). "Sometimes games pretty much sum up careers," Helton said. He chuckled. "Early in my career, that wouldve been a homer to left, instead of a double," the 40-year-old Helton said. "I hit that ball pretty good. But it was a lot of fun. It really was." The highlight was when his daughters, Tierney and Gentry Grace, ran out to kiss and hug him at first base. That was a complete surprise. So was the horse, a going away present from the Rockies. "I might have to learn to ride a little bit better," said Helton, who has a ranch up the road from the ball park. Will Middlebrooks had quite a game, hitting two homers and driving in a career-high seven RBIs. He hit his third career grand slam and a three-run homer as the Red Sox moved two games ahead of Oakland for the best record in the league and home-field advantage throughout the post-season. David Ortiz hit a two-run double to reach 100 RBIs this season. Jacoby Ellsbury didnt take long to energize the Red Sox lineup as he returned after missing 16 games with a fractured right foot -- he singled, walked and scored twice before being replaced in the fourth. Jake Peavy (12-5) settled down after a shaky start to earn his first win since Aug. 31. He allowed five runs and gave up eight hits in six innings. The Rockies staged quite a pregame show to honour Helton, complete with highlights of his playing days on thhe video screen. http://www.englandeuroshirtshop.com/blank-jersey.html. The team also mowed his number (17) into the outfield grass, along with painting a purple and white "17" along both base lines. Heltons daughter, Tierney, threw out the first pitch as his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watched from the side. Once the game started, Helton began his own show, hitting a fastball from Peavy into the right-field seats in the second. "I think Peavy just did me a favour," Helton said. "Hes a good dude." Not that generous, though. After the game, Helton and his teammates made their way around the field to say farewell to the fans. Several of the Red Sox players lingered on the field, just so they could say so long to Helton. "I just wanted him to know how much I appreciated the way he went about things," Peavy said. "Me and Todd have had many, many matchups like we had tonight, and Im not going to miss him in retirement on the baseball field. "To be the leader he has been and was to these guys, just the class he always competed with, the respect he always showed and always voiced -- I wanted to show that I appreciated that." Throughout the game, former teammates and coaches appeared on the video board to talk about Helton, who holds virtually every offensive record in team history. Cleveland slugger Jason Giambi boasted about him, so did Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle, who was in charge of the Rockies when they went to the 2007 World Series and were swept by Boston. Even Manning weighed in on Heltons career. "Thanks for retiring and making me the oldest Denver athlete," said the Broncos star quarterback, who was teammates with Helton on the football team at the University of Tennessee. Helton received plenty of ovations over the course of the night. None as boisterous as when he hit the homer. After crossing home plate, Helton tipped his cap to the crowd before going into the dugout. The roar of the fans brought him back out for another bow. "Certain players have a flair for the dramatic and seemingly that was one tonight," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. NOTES: Red Sox C Jarrod Saltalamacchia had four hits and drove in three runs. ... The Rockies handed out 35,000 Helton bobblehead dolls. ... Rockies C Yorvit Torrealba left the game in the sixth with a bruised right thumb. ... Jhoulys Chacin (14-10) was chased early, surrendering seven runs and nine hits in four innings. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '