ve, but in this transitional time at the club, they might | Forum

DETROIT -- The Washington Capitals are the latest team to take advantage of the Detroit Red Wings generosity at home. Charles Mann Redskins Jersey . Nicklas Backstrom scored the only goal of the shootout, and the Capitals rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Red Wings 4-3 on Friday night. It was the Detroits seventh consecutive home loss and its 11th straight overtime loss at Joe Louis Arena. "Very surprising. It just goes to show you how fickle the game is," said Washington coach Adam Oates, who began his Hall of Fame playing career with Detroit in the mid-1980s. "The same team could win a zillion in a row." Brooks Laich, and Alex Ovechkin added goals, and Michale Latta scored his first in the NHL for Washington. Braden Holtby made 30 saves. The Capitals rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to tie the game and send it into overtime. "Its a huge win. Thats a good team," said Ovechkin, who trimmed the led to 3-2 early in the third. "Everyone knows what they have out there and how good they are. They got a 3-1 lead, and we kept pushing." Johan Franzen had two goals and an assist, and Danny DeKeyser had a goal and an assist for Detroit. Jakub Kindl had two assists, and Jimmy Howard made 34 saves. "Same thing, same outcome but we cant get frustrated, cant get discouraged," Howard said. "Somehow, some way keep a positive mind frame in here and just continue to keep going out there and working because were doing a lot of good things. "Its tough to take over a game for a full 60 minutes. Theres going to be waves and ups and downs. Mistakes happen, were just going to have to find a way to overcome them." Latta tied it 3-3 with 8:06 left in regulation when he poked in a loose puck from just outside the slot. "Obviously nice to get it when it meant so much, and not a 7-0 game," Latta said. Ovechkin had brought Washington within 3-2 at 3:19 of the third period with his 15th goal. He beat Howard with a one-timed shot from the bottom of the left circle. DeKeysers power-play goal with 18 seconds remaining in the second period gave Detroit a 3-1 lead. He put in a one-timed shot from the right circle for his second goal. Holtby made a spectacular toe save -- with the puck right along the goal line -- on Tomas Tatars wraparound attempt with 5:50 left in the first period. Laich opened the scoring 5:50 into the game when he backhanded in his own rebound after skating in off the right wing following a turnover by DeKeyser in the neutral zone. Franzen then scored twice to put Detroit ahead. His power-play goal with 4:08 left in the first tied it at 1. He beat Holtby with a screened snap shot from the left circle. Franzen struck again with 2:18 left when he put in a one-timed shot from the bottom of the left circle for his fourth goal of the season. NOTES: Red Wings RW Daniel Alfredsson was a late scratch because of a sore groin. ... Capitals D Mike Green didnt play dues to a lower-body injury. ... Detroit D Jonathan Ericsson returned after missing 10 games with a separated shoulder. ... Washington D Steve Oleksy is from the Detroit-area suburb of Macomb. ... Red Wings RW Patrick Eaves cleared waivers on Friday and was sent to Grand Rapids of the AHL. Detroit also sent C Luke Glendening to Grand Rapids. ... Capitals rookie RW Tom Wilson and backup goalie Michal Neuvirth both played junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey leagues Plymouth Whalers, who are based in suburban Detroit. ... Red Wings C Stephen Weiss missed his third game with a sore groin. Shawn Lauvao Redskins Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Ziggy Hood Redskins Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http:///...con-redskins-jersey/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee."This is not a team to win tomorrow, its a team of kids, this is a team where the best years are to come, the best stage is not this one or the next one. More than 50 per cent of the team are aged 23 or below, this is a team to be built, which is what I have been asked to do, build, with the fantastic talent I have, a Chelsea team for the next decade." - Jose Mourinho, summer 2013. Without a ball being kicked, Mourinho knew the size of the task at Stamford Bridge. When his team came up against Manchester United at the end of August at Old Trafford, he kept it tight, bringing a new resilience to the team to help them get a point. It was an examination of his players and one they had rarely been asked to do under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez last season. Almost five months later, in the return match against United at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho put his players through a different exam, one they passed again, thumping Manchester United 3-1. This was not a game won on the training pitch, or at the blackboard tactically in the buildup; instead a deflection and two poor defensive errors handed the game to Chelsea. Mourinho had hoped something like that might have happened at Old Trafford. This time hed hoped they might create a bit more, but he will certainly take the manner in which they won. In the minds of many, the game officially ended Uniteds title challenge but, realistically, this was secured two months earlier. Instead, this game showed us more of Chelsea - a win where they finally relied upon a striker to deliver the critical blows, as Samuel Etoo scored a hat-trick inside 50 minutes, and a win where they easily defeated an arch-rival without being at the top of their game. And it is that which will please the manager most. Strikers are paid a lot of money to score goals and often these become vital, isolated moments that have no reflection on the way the game was played. When Etoos shot deflected off Michael Carrick and into the net on 17 minutes, it put an end to a period that United were in control of the match. Etoo scored again and again, both times being left to easily poke home in the penalty box to secure a rare kind of victory for Chelsea. Dont get used to it. Mourinho acknowledged this recently, saying: “We cannot just let the players hide behind the fact that we are not scoring enough goals and wait for that to happen. We cannot play for that. People need to change their brains a little bit more." Sunday was the first time all season a Chelsea striker had scored more than once in a game. Last season? It happened just once in 38 games when Fernando Torres got a brace at Sunderland (and one of those was a penalty.) Etoo handed Chelsea the three points on Sunday, but with a settled back four and an average striker playing up top for Chelsea this season, their championship-calibre credentials will be determined by the five that connects them together. This is Mourinhos most important project. The Fundamental Five Mourinho knows that these five players dictate the way his team is playing. When they lose, like they did at Sunderland in the League Cup last month, it makes Mourinho question how these five play, as he said: "We may have to take a step back in order to be more consistent at the back. Its something I dont want to do, to play more counterattacking, but Im giving it serious thought. If I want to win 1-0, I think I can, as I think its one of the easiest things in football. Its not so difficult, as you dont give players the chance to express themselves." If Mourinho is giving counterattacking more thought, it requires a more solid double pivot in central midfield, but when you ask him about this area, Mourinho would admit he isnt fully sold on the style, saying, as he also did last month, this time after a win: "We are not a very solid team, at the same time compared with last season, when this team played a big part of the season with David Luiz and [John Obi] Mikel in front of the four defenders, so at the end of the day they had five defenders plus Mikel, Ramires playing on the right side closing one side down and the team was playing with one striker and Juan Mata behind him, defending well and trying to counterattack, thats not the direction we want to go." Mourinho will only tell you publicly what he wants you to know. In truth, if Chelsea are to become the powerhouse Mourinho wants, the team needs to be able to attack better annd counter and that was shown on Sunday against United. Chris Baker Redskins Jersey. Up 3-0, he brought on Mikel to play alongside Luiz and pushed Ramires on to the right to close down the threat of Adnan Januzaj, who had moved there when Javier Hernandez came on. However, it is one thing to do this, up 3-0, but it is quite another to do it at 0-0. Yet, at 0-0 Chelsea still countered. And at Arsenal last month, a game that ended 0-0, they countered from deep positions on regular occasions.  However, in that match never, was it more evident that the playmakers didnt trust Torres, as they often would break from deep positions and not want to give the ball to the Spaniard. "It was like they were playing with 10 men," said Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville after the match and he was absolutely spot on. Ramires has been a permanent fixture in central midfield and, despite often saying Luiz wasnt a central midfielder, the Brazilian was selected there again for Sundays clash, just as he did last week at Hull and at home to Liverpool recently. Luiz is clumsy on the ball and gives away needless fouls, but, unlike Frank Lampard, he gets the best out of his midfield partner because, positionally, he is ideal. He allows Ramires to use his speed and energy, getting forward to connect with the playmakers further forward, but is also useful in counterattacks because he can often ignite them with the first pass as he thinks like a centre back when his team is not in possession of the ball. It is clear Mourinho wants to play a four-band system, which has been labeled 4-2-3-1, but is often really 4-3-2-1 with the central playmaker dropping deeper when not in possession, another reason why counterattacking can work for this team. When asked about the three behind the striker, earlier this season, Mourinho said: "We have six players for these three positions and they will give me chances as a manager to change, match to match, depending on the opponent, the game plan. It is based on these three players how we create our football." This has certainly been true. Five months after that comment, Kevin De Bruyne has been sold, Juan Mata and Andre Schurrle have sat on the bench a lot and Mourinho has found out who the three players he relies on most in those positions - Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard - and, with whoever playing as a striker continuing to be inconsistent, these playmakers certainly dictate Chelseas creativity. Hazard is the fun inside the fundamental five and has had a wonderful season, already scoring nine league goals. Of the three, he sticks to his position, on the left, more than most, but has the football intelligence to come central, to occupy the centre backs, when the striker comes deep, and even go right and attack from deep through the middle, as he did when he scored his wonderful individual goal against Liverpool. Keeping the Belgian predominantly on the left appears to be the reason Mourinho prefers Cesar Azpilicueta over Ashley Cole at left back. Mourinho rarely encourages his full backs to get forward and having a more defensive-minded full back down the left negates Hazards defensive issues, which were far too evident under both managers last season. Finding these combinations all over the pitch is what is crucial in finding the perfect balance for Chelsea going forward. Oscar is much better at combining with Ramires than Juan Mata, for example, while Willians workrate on the right has made him a perfect partner for Branislav Ivanovic. It was fitting, after a win on January 1st, that Mourinho said: "We are right in it, we have a good team but we need a few important bodies for next season, and I will say in the summer we will get it, I would say the team evolves in this direction, I can predict in the next season we will be real important contenders." For many, Chelsea are real important contenders this season, but what Mourinho means is that, by then, his team will play the way he wants them to. Nemanja Matic has arrived and 4-3-3 may well be in the future, but for that Chelsea needs a legitimate star striker and they need to continually show their manager that they are getting better when they immediately lose the ball. Transitions are the theme for Chelsea to improve, but in this transitional time at the club, they might even be surprising the manager with just how well they are doing. The team not built for tomorrow is becoming the team to win today. Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '