matches.He has probably the most gifted right arm Ive ever seen, said

The NHL schedule makers were rough on both the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes, sending the two Western Conference teams on lengthy East Coast road trips after regular-season openers at home.The Avalanche emerged with two wins from their four-game trip and got a much quicker trip south to the Valley of the Sun with a 3-3 record after losing 1-0 to Winnipeg Friday night in Denver. The Coyotes, after winning their opener, dropped the first five games of their trip back east before salvaging a win at Philadelphia on Thursday night.Between the goals going in, and fights, and things breaking and challenges, it was crazy, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said after Thursdays win But we needed a win to end the road trip and well take it and go home.I think we learned a lot on this trip about how we have to play. If the old saying that adversity makes you stronger is true, we gained some strength this trip.Still, the 1-5 start, with two points in six games, was the worst start to a season in Coyotes history. Arizona hopes to take advantage of having the next three games at home inside Gila River Arena, and the homestand starts Saturday night against Colorado.The Avalanche has only scored 16 goals in six games, near the bottom of the league at present, but has only allowed 17, which is in the top five. Goalie Semyon Varlamov has a shutout and a 2.88 goals against average.Colorados leading goal-scorers are Joe Colborne and Matt Duchene with three each.Veteran winger Jarome Iginla is 16th on the NHLs all-time goal-scoring list, but has only one this season. He missed a golden chance Friday night.The Avs will be playing their second set of back-to-back games this season. In 121 games against Arizona in franchise history, they have scored 399 goals to the Coyotes 401.The Avalanche set new season highs for shots in a game with 37 in Fridays loss, to go with shots in a period (20). The 21 shots allowed was the fewest Colorado has surrendered in a game this season, which made for a frustrating loss to the Jets.The best way to do it is just to turn the page and get right back at it tomorrow, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog told the team website. We really have to make sure we get back playing the waywe want to on the road and get a big road win tomorrow.The Coyotes have been without top goaltender Mike Smith since the second game of the season. Smith went down with a lower-body injury at Ottawa on Oct. 18 and might only resume skating again next week.In Smiths place, Louis Domingue has a 4.74 goals against average in five games, four of those starts. He got his first win of the season on Thursday with 28 saves.Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads the Coyotes with five goals, three of those in his last two games. His 81 career goals are fourth-most for a defenseman in franchise history.Forward Brad Richardson is the team leader in points with six and forward Max Domi has five assists to pace the Coyotes in that department.Five different Coyotes, including Ekman-Larsson, scored in the 5-4 win over the Flyers that featured a wild third period. Arizona took a 3-2 lead with Martin Hanzals goal that happened at the same time as a fight breaking out, and the Coyotes made that stand with a pair of two-goal leads in the final period.The second period has not been kind to Arizona, which has been outscored 10-4 in those 20 minutes this season. Tarik Cohen Youth Jersey . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. 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Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. RIO DE JANEIRO -- If youre a casual sports fan, aware of tennis only through the likes of Serena, Roger or Novak, you hear the name Steve Johnson and one word springs to mind: Who?But as the Olympic tennis tournament heads toward its final stretch here, the 26-year-old American realizes the chance a stage like Rio provides. Its a chance to make his name stand out.It just doesnt get much bigger than this for me, he said, sitting under the stands at center court here on a day when all matches were suspended because of rain, including both of Johnsons scheduled matches.The bearded right-hander with a booming serve and a hard-spinning forehand has slipped quietly under the radar here. He is suddenly a few victories away from winning medals in both singles and doubles. In the singles round of 16, he is the favorite to win against Russian Evgeny Donskoy on Thursday. In doubles, Johnson and partner Jack Sock have served their way into the semifinals. Theyre a strong enough tandem to have a solid chance at gold.To be in my first Olympics and in this spot right now, to have [two medals] an attainable goal in the next four or five days, its something truly remarkable, Johnson said.Beyond his next singles match, Johnson understands that his draw is extremely rough. His opponent in the quarterfinals would likely be Andy Murray. But having toiled first in the American college ranks before rising slowly through the unforgiving ATP World Tour, Johnson is not the type to back down. Anything can happen, said Johnson, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 21 just a few weeks back. Its mens pro tennis. Nothing is set in stone.Tennis is as top-heavy a sport as there is. All the attention goes to the top stars. The stories of the strong but not spectacular players are often skipped over. They are generally seen as early-round Grand Slam fodder for the biggies. Rio provides a real opportunity for someone like Johnson, who might have been left off the U.S. team if two higher-ranked players -- John Isner and Sam Querrey -- had not opted out of the Games.Johnson shares little with a high-tensile star such as Murray, one of the biggest names in global sports. Murrray turned professional as a teen and has won $49 million in prize money and 38 titles, three of them Grand Slams.dddddddddddd.In four full-time years on tour, Johnson has one singles title and $2.5 million to his name. But he is unbothered by his comparatively paltry résumé or his late start. I was not ready at 18, he said. If I turned pro at 18, there is no way I would be here now. I had so much to learn. I found a love for tennis and the work ethic I needed in college.Little-known fact: Johnson isnt just the rare top-100 pro tennis player who played college tennis for four years. Hes the most decorated player in mens NCAA history. At USC, he won four Division I team titles to go along with two singles championships, and he strung together what is almost certainly the longest winning streak in college tennis history: 72 matches.He has probably the most gifted right arm Ive ever seen, said his former USC coach, Peter Smith, who knows something about the subject matter. Smith was a frequent practice partner for Pete Sampras when the eventual 14-time major champion was on the rise.Johnson -- 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds -- entered the wily world of pro tennis in 2012. It took him two years to make it into the top 100. But he stayed at it. Last summer, he was No. 49. This year, he won his first tournament, on the grass at Nottingham, England. A few days later, he faced Federer in Wimbledons round of 16. It was a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 loss, but it also taught him much.OK, now I get it, Johnson said of Federer. You realize when he hits these shots and finds his way out of tricky situations with such ease, thats just what he does and why hes arguably the best ever.Can that kind of match -- a learning experience against an all-timer on the biggest stage -- translate into more success here at Rio?Hed like to think so. A perfect world means getting gold, he said.Is that realistic for a guy with his pedigree?Why not? he said.A necessary answer, and just the proper attitude for a little-known righty trying to make his name stand out. ' ' '