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CRANBERRY, Pa. -- If there is such a thing as a Stanley Cup hangover, the Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to avoid it. So they came up with their equivalent of taking an aspirin before the party.The club talked a lot about taking a certain approach -- enjoy all the ceremonies and celebrations, including the banner-raising Thursday before their season opener at PPG Paints Arena, then make a point of turning the page to the new season.So far, so good.The Penguins beat Washington 3-2 in a shootout in the season opener, and felt back in the swing of things by practice on Friday as they prepared for a visit from the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.From training camp, to the visit to the White House, to getting our rings, to (Thursday) night, when Sid (Crosby) took the Cup on the ice, to the fans, we did all that, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the winner Thursday after making 39 saves and stopping Alex Ovechkins shootout attempt to wrap up the win, said Friday. After that, today, it feels like a new season. Were ready to start over, start fresh and get back into the routine.With fellow goalie Matt Murray still recovering from a thumb injury, Fleury figures to get the start again.Its not clear who will start for the Ducks.John Gibson, a native of Whitehall, Pa., in suburban Pittsburgh, stopped 20 of 24 shots Thursday in a 4-2 loss at Dallas to open the season. The other option is Jonathan Bernier, who had a strong preseason.They had good chances, Gibson said of the Stars, according to the Los Angeles times. Some nights I make those saves, and (Thursday) I didnt seem to make them.Anaheim will be looking for its first win under new and former coach Randy Carlyle. The Ducks were 0-for-5 on the power play against Dallas, and Carlyle did not like his teams defensive effort in front of Gibson.How can you allow a team to score three from the top of the crease? Thats blowing coverage and thats missed coverage, and those are assignments we will definitely recover from, Carlyle told the Times. Well make sure those things dont happen again.Pittsburgh, meanwhile, almost surely will be playing without Crosby, their captain and the Conn Smythe Trophy winner who is out with a concussion.The team is happy with his progress -- which allowed him to skate, in uniform, onto the ice with the Cup during Thursday nights pregame banner-raising ceremony -- but Crosby skated separately from the team Friday.The Penguins other star center, Evgeni Malkin, had a goal and assist and added a shootout goal on Thursday.Obviously, Geno is an important guy for us, winger Chris Kunitz said. (Thursday) night he showed he can change a game. He and (defenseman Kris Letang) are two guys out team needs to win some games while Sids out.Most teams dont have that luxury. Were very fortunate.And, if the Penguins can help it, they are living very much in the present rather than enjoying the vapors of that Stanley Cup win.Playing a game 48 hours after their opener, and moving from a familiar rival to a Western Conference team that requires some extra homework, could help.The first shift (Thursday), when guys are coming at you, thats when you know its time for the games, Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. Preseason games are fun -- theyre good to get back in the swing of things -- but that was a real game, especially against a good team like Washington.Its weird to start off with such a familiar team as Washington. Then I dont even remember the last time we played Anaheim. Cheap Rays Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Authentic Custom Rays Jersey . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. http://www.customraysjersey.com/ .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Custom Evan Longoria Jersey . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. Custom Rays T-shirts . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. The UFC returns on Saturday with a main event featuring a pair of womens bantamweight contenders.Former champion Holly Holm and Valentina Shevchenko are both looking to get back on track after falling in their last fights.While both fighters transitioned to MMA after experiencing success in the boxing and kickboxing ring, there are key differences in their games that could make the difference in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night on Saturday.Striking volumeWhile shes best known for her thunderous knockout of Ronda Rousey, Holms usual output is as a volume striker. Coming from a boxing background, she uses a lot of jabs and straights to close the distance and then work on the inside. She also has incorporated a diverse array of kicks to the legs, body and head since making her MMA debut in 2011. For her career, Holm averages 10 significant strike attempts per minute. In her last fight against Miesha Tate, that rate fell to six attempts per minute due to the long stretches of the fight spent on the ground. To be successful, Holm needs to get back to her volume-based approach. Shevchenko likes to counter and has let her opponents dictate the pace of the contest in the UFC. She has averaged only 3.7 significant strike attempts per minute in the promotion. Holm should look to get out to an early lead by controlling distance and pace by throwing a high quantity of strikes.Significant strikes landed per minuteDespite not being the most accurate striker, Holm still lands a respectable 3.46 significant strikes per minute. Her volume approach allows her to land consistently despite missing the majority of her attempts. Shevchenko lands 54 percent of her significant strike attempts, but since she mostly waits and counters, she lands only two significant strikes pper minute.dddddddddddd. To be successful with this style, Bullet will need to load up on power strikes and hope she can hurt the former champion.Striking defenseAnother result of Holms volume approach is successful defense. Holm constantly gets off first, which leaves her opponents stuck playing defense. During her UFC career, she has avoided 67 percent of her opponents significant strike attempts, which is third best among ranked UFC bantamweights. On the other hand, Shevchenko has avoided only 47 percent of opponents attempts, which is well below the average of ranked bantamweights (56 percent). If Shevchenko tries to sit back and counter against Holm, she might find it extremely difficult to land punches.Average fight timeAs the main event, this fight is scheduled for five five-minute rounds. Neither fighter has fought the full 25 minutes in the UFC. However, both fighters often find themselves in long fights. Holm has fought 74 percent of her possible fight time, while Shevchenko has fought to the final bell in both of her three-round fights in the Octagon. Holm has been scheduled for 25 minutes twice in the UFC, so she might have an advantage in terms of preparation. Shevchenko comes from a traditional muay Thai background, where fighters are notorious for starting slowly. Against Amanda Nunes, Shevchenko had her best round by far in the final frame. She landed 17 significant strikes in the third round after landing only 11 in the first two rounds combined. Shevchenko cant afford to give away the first two rounds and will have to keep it close early and try to seal a late win over Holm just like Tate did in March. ' ' '
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