the Wild matched their second

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NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators wanted experience and a proven winner as their new head coach, and general manager David Poile believes thats what they got in hiring Peter Laviolette -- just the second coach in the franchises history. Gorgui Dieng Timberwolves Jersey . Laviolette has won nine of the 14 post-season series he has coached with the Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers. He also won the Stanley Cup in 2006 with Carolina and coached the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 2010. The Predators announced Tuesday they signed him to a multi-year contract. "Weve taken a big leap in the right direction getting our team back on the path, and that path is toward the playoffs," Poile said at a news conference. The Predators reached the Western Conference semifinals in 2011 and 2012 but missed the playoffs the past two seasons. Laviolette will take over in Nashville once he finishes coaching the United States at the 2014 World Championship. He said in a statement he .......... the Predators nucleus starting with defenceman Shea Weber and goaltender Pekka Rinne. "My challenge will be to impart a system that enables our young forwards to thrive and reach their offensive potential," Laviolette said. "Being a perennial Stanley Cup contender requires buy-in, passion and commitment from every player on the roster. I cant wait to get to Nashville and get started on our journey." Poile said hes known Laviolette for years through USA Hockey. Also general manager of the 2014 U.S. Olympic team, Poile named Laviolette one of that teams three coaches. He also interviewed Laviolette for the Predators job along with a couple others he did not name originally planning to hire his new coach in June. Openings in Florida, Carolina, Washington and Vancouver prompted Poile to move quicker to avoid losing Laviolette. Poile said he was very comfortable hiring Laviolette. "Basically in some form, I was interviewing him all year long," Poile said. Laviolette has been a head coach over 12 seasons starting with the New York Islanders between 2001 and 2003, Carolina from 2003-09 and Philadelphia from 2009 until October. He has 389 wins and 866 career points and six playoff berths, winning nine series. He helped the Islanders end a seven-year post-season drought with back-to-back berths in 2002 and 2003, and the Flyers lost the cup to Chicago in six games in 2010. Laviolette is considered an offensive-minded coach with his teams finishing in the Top 10 in six of his eight full seasons and not lower than 13th in goals scored. That helps fill a major need for the Predators who scored only 216 goals this season when they finished three points out of the final Western Conference playoff berth. Poile said he wanted a coach with a different style of play, and Laviolettes teams play more up-tempo and are more offensive oriented. Thats what Poile wants out of the Predators. The general manager said theyve been working to improve their forwards, including trading Martin Erat in March 2013 for Filip Forsberg and David Legwand to Detroit this March for Calle Jarnkrok. Forward also is likely to be the position the Predators draft with the 11th pick overall in June. Young forwards already on the roster will get a second chance with Laviolette. Mix that with what Poile believes is one of the best defences in the NHL, and he expects the Predators to be back in the playoffs next year. "With his system and different ideas if you will, I think offensively we have a chance to be a lot better under his leadership," Poile said. Forward Matt Cullen helped Laviolette win the Stanley Cup in Carolina and is looking forward to playing for him again. "Hes a great fit for our team and what we need going forward," Cullen said on a conference call. "And I just think a lot of Peter as a coach. Hes a good person, and he just has that real ability to bring out the best in all of his players." The Predators also hired Kevin McCarthy as an assistant coach. He joins assistant coaches Phil Housley and Lane Lambert. They worked with Barry Trotz, the only other coach for this franchise who the Predators announced April 14 that he would not return. Nikola Pekovic Timberwolves Jersey .C. -- Unable to get much lift off his sore right ankle, Bobcats centre Al Jefferson figured it was time to make an adjustment. Swingman Kevin Garnett Jersey . Brad Malone had the other goal for the Monsters (1-1-0), while Elliott chipped in an assist for a three-point night and the games first star. Bryan Lerg also had two assists. Corban Knight and Max Reinhart scored for the Heat (1-1-0), who opened their season Friday with a 5-2 win over the Monsters in Cleveland. http://www.officialtimberwolvesonline.com/womens-tayshaun-prince-basketball-jersey/ . -- With his team down 16 points in the second quarter and headed for another blowout loss at home, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson yelled out to his players to keep shooting and keep fighting on defence.ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Nashville Predators finished strong, even if was for naught. The Minnesota Wild are hoping this is only the start. Craig Smith had two goals and two assists, and the Predators used a second-period barrage against goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to beat the playoff-bound Wild 7-3 on Sunday. "Like the last exhibition game before the start of a season, always happy to have that one over with," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. The Wild wrapped up the first wild card spot in the Western Conference earlier in the week and had their first-round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche set before the game, so there were few motivators other than the maintenance of health and momentum and maybe a statistical milestone or two. Well, all but the momentum was accomplished. No new injuries were reported, and Jason Pominville got his 30th goal. "Obviously it wasnt pretty. It wasnt the way we want to end it and I dont want to make an excuse for it, but I think those things will happen when youre in and the other team is out, playing loose," Pominville said. For the second straight night, Nashville scored seven times. The Predators won 7-5 at Chicago on Saturday. Good way for coach Barry Trotz, the only bench boss the franchise has ever had, to go out if hes not retained. Trotz said he realized this could be his last game with the team. "If I said differently Id be lying," he said. Bryzgalov, though, didnt do himself or the Wild any good with this shaky performance, as meaningless as the game was. Bryzgalov posted back-to-back shutouts in victories over Pittsburgh and Winnipeg on April 5 and 7, but in a win over Boston he gave up three goals on 24 shots in regulation, though he was unscored upon in the shootout. Bryzgalov, acquired from Edmonton for a fourth-round draft pick, has allowed eight goals over the last 45 shots hes faced. John Curry, the fifth goalie used by the Wild this season, replaced him for the third period. Ryan Ellis, Shea Weber, Roman Josi and Smith scored consecutively in the second period to steer Bryzgalov toward the bench at the second intermission. Rich Clune had a goal in the first period, and Calle Jarnkrok and Smith scored in the final frame. Erik Haula, Jason Pominville and Zach Parise scored for the Wild,, who gave up a season-high seven goals. Ricky Rubio Jersey. One of the reasons the Wild were safely in, rather than scrambling to win their last game to qualify as they did last season, was the sturdiness shown by the 33-year-old Bryzgalov down the stretch with their top three goalies unavailable due to injury or illness. This was his first regulation loss in 11 starts — he went 7-1-3 — since arriving the day before the trade deadline. But this was ugly. Yeo didnt flinch, though. "Im not worried about him," the coach said, adding: "You look at tonight, and we were brutal in front of him." The Predators missed the playoffs for a second straight year, putting Trotzs future in question. "Thats not our decision to make. Theres nothing that we could do as players in this locker room. We played our hearts out for him. Hes a great coach and well see what happens," Weber said. Nashville went 9-1-2 in its final 12 games, including eight regulation wins, but finished in 10th place — three points below the cut. The Predators killed every penalty over their previous five games, a streak that ended when Parise scored his 29th goal — he missed 15 games earlier this season — early in the second period to give Bryzgalov and the Wild a 3-1 edge. Nashville also became the only team in the league this season to not allow a short-handed goal, stretching its streak to 99 games without one. "We stuck with it. You always want to go out on a good note," said Smith, who passed Weber for the team lead with 24 goals. Weber had 23 and Patric Hornqvist finished with 22. Weber tallied a career-high 56 points. "If he doesnt win the Norris this year its going to be an absolute crime," Trotz said. NOTES: With 98 points, the Wild matched their second-best record in franchise history. After going 5-14-5 on the road in last seasons lockout-abbreviated schedule, the Predators finished 19-15-7 away from home. ... Pominville became only the third different player in Wild history to hit the 30-goal mark. Marian Gaborik (five times) and Brian Rolston (three times) were the others. ... Clune was called for roughing and cross checking and slapped with a 10-minute misconduct. He finished with 166 penalty minutes this season, fourth-most in the NHL. NFL Jerseys China cheap jerseys ' ' '