killers. In allowing two goals on five power-play chances in a 3

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Although Rutgers is 3-0 for the first time in eight years, Steve Pikiell isnt ready to make any declarations about his team just yet.Weve got a long ways to go, the first-year coach said. Im happy weve got to a good start, but it doesnt mean a whole heck of a lot to me, honestly.Were just trying to get these guys in the mode of defending and rebounding. It helps you win basketball games.Corey Sanders had 15 points, Mike Williams added 14 and nine rebounds and the Scarlet Knights used the defense-and-rebounding formula for a 66-59 victory over DePaul in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games on Thursday night.Deshawn Freeman added nine points and nine rebounds as the Scarlet Knight built a 46-27 rebounding edge.Eli Cain had 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead DePaul.Billy Garrett had just five points for the Blue Demons (1-1) on 1-for-11 shooting before fouling out with more than eight minutes remaining.I can get a little bit concerned because its the second game in a row where hes got in foul trouble and hasnt shot the ball well, DePaul coach Dave Leitao said.You cant be talked about as one of the top seven, eight or nine best players in the (Big East) and not play well. Thats something we have to figure out.DePaul freshman Devin Gage suffered a right shoulder injury when he fell hard to the court with just under 12 minutes left. He did not return.Rutgers took control with a 12-2 run for a 31-22 lead. The Scarlet Knights had a 33-26 halftime advantage.Both teams shot poorly in the first half, but the difference for Rutgers was an 11-0 edge in second-chance points and a 29-8 first-half rebounding advantage.The Scarlet Knights continued to expand the lead at the beginning of the second half and took a 54-32 advantage (their biggest of the game) on a basket by Shaquille Doorson with 10:39 to play.I thought our guys were kind of locked in and did a really good job defensively, Pikiell said. Weve become a much improved defensive team and were a good rebounding team.DePaul made a furious late rally using pressure to pull within six points in the final minute, but dug too deep a hole.I think the beginning of the second half killed us, Cain said. We really couldnt get anything good on the offensive end.BIG PICTURERutgers: Although the Scarlet Knights are unbeaten, its way too early to tell whether the program is on the rebound. So far, the competition has been underwhelming (Molloy, Drexel and DePaul) and there was plenty not to like about this performance. Still, the defense and rebounding provide a good foundation to build upon.DePaul: The Blue Demons dont have a lot of offensive firepower to begin with, so scoring is especially difficult when Garrett has a poor shooting night. The lack of a post presence put all the pressure to provide offense on Cain, who had 21 points in the opener against Robert Morris.OLD FRIENDSPikiell and Leitao both were assistants under former Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun. Pikiell also played for Calhoun at UConn.Dave Leitao is like my hero, Pikiell said. He was my coach at UConn, I worked with him, he was mentor and I know what a great coach he is.UP NEXTRutgers looks to stay unbeaten when it hosts Niagara on Sunday.DePaul plays the second of three straight home games Sunday against Milwaukee.Air Max Saldi Outlet . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Air Max Outlet .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/scontate-air-max-90-outlet-italia-c2566.html . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Air Max Italia . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Scarpe Nike Outlet . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City.If NHL coaches want to provide goalies quality downtime during a constricted schedule, Martin Biron believes he has an ideal backup plan.Rather than split starts as teams often do when playing on consecutive days, the former netminder suggests it might be more beneficial to have the starter play both and then sit out the next game.If your goalie is going to play Friday, have Saturday off and play the Tuesday game, theres never a time to check out in that time off, said Biron, who spent 16 NHL seasons as a starter and backup. Im of the school that thinks its almost better to play your starter on Friday-Saturday and then not play him until next Friday, and then he has six days of preparation and rest.Its not as if goalies arent accustomed to playing twice in two days.Most of the guys that are young played three (games) in three (days) in the American League. They can handle that, Biron said. I cant speak for (skaters), but as a goalie, once you get your mindset into a game, if you have to extend it for another 24 hours thats fine.The goalie balancing act is never simple.And how much increased playing time backups get will be a pressing issue for a league squeezing in an 82-game schedule in a shortened calendar. The season began a week later than usual because of the World Cup of Hockey and the schedule, for the first time, features each team enjoying a five-day bye week.Capitals goalie Braden Holtby tends to agree with Biron, saying theres too much concern placed on goalies playing on consecutive nights when, in actuality, the entire team is tired.Historically, teams arent as good on back to backs in general, and goalies go hand in hand, Holtby said. Goalie stats are a lot to do with how your team performs. Thats just the way it is. Its a little bit harder, but its a little harder for everyone.And, Holtby added, its also hard on a backup goalie being thrust into action with negligible on-ice time because teams dont normally practice the morning before playing their second game.Holtbys production bears him out.Over the previous two seasons, Holtby is 12-5-2 when playing both nights, including a 6-2-1 mark on Day 2. Hes given up a combined 23 goals on each night.Kings goalie Jonathan Quicks record is even more impressive. In the 14 times hes played back to backs over the past two years, Quick has allowed 20 goals the first game and just 12 the next with a 5-1-1 record.The only straggler of the 10 goalies records analyzed by The Associated Press is Tuukka Rask. The Boston starter is 7-1-3 (plus one no decision) and allowed 18 goals in the first game. He is 2-8-2 with 29 goals allowed the following night.Whats never been up for debate is how critical the backups role is during a busy stretchh or when the starter is sidelined.ddddddddddddLast year, the Montreal Canadiens unraveled once Carey Price went down with a season-ending knee injury in late November. After opening 19-4-3, Montreal finished 38-38-6. The Canadiens addressed their backup spot this offseason by signing veteran Al Montoya in free agency.The move has already paid off. The eighth-year player is 2-0-2 after Price opened the season sidelined by the flu.On the other hand, minor leaguer Matt Murray led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship after being called up in March once starter Marc-Andre Fleury was sidelined by a concussion.This year, the Los Angeles Kings are banged-up in net with Quick and backup Jeff Zatkoff both sidelined by groin injuries. Theyre now leaning on 11-year journeyman Peter Budaj, who won his first two starts.Biron said its not uncommon for minor league call-ups to find their groove because theyre already accustomed to a starters workload as opposed to the primary backup whos had less game action.BY THE NUMBERSLast season, 85 goalies appeared in at least one game. There have already been 60 goalies who have made an appearance through the first 92 games this year.Since 2006, only two goalies have led their team to win a Stanley Cup when playing 60 or more regular-season games.Quick played 69 times when the Kings won title in 2012, and Fleury played 62 for the 2009 Cup-champion Penguins. On the low-end of the scale, Murray played only 13 regular-season games for Pittsburgh last year. Cam Ward played just 28 during his rookie year in leading the Carolina Hurricanes to the championship in `06.Of the 10 netminders who played 60 or more games last year, two missed the playoffs: Rask and Ottawas Craig Anderson. And only two reached the conference finals: Tampa Bays Ben Bishop and Martin Jones, whose Sharks lost the Cup Final to Pittsburgh.SLUMPINGThe Chicago Blackhawks penalty killers. In allowing two goals on five power-play chances in a 3-2 shootout loss to Calgary on Monday, Chicago has allowed 14 power-play goals on 24 opportunities.STREAKINGA year after opening 9-0, the Canadiens are 5-0-1 and the NHLs only team yet to lose in regulation.LEADERSGoals, Auston Matthews (Toronto) and Richard Panik (Chicago), 6; Points, Matthews, 10; Time on ice, Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg), 29:30; Wins, Cam Talbot (Edmonton), 5.GAME OF THE WEEKA showdown of the past two No. 1 draft picks takes place at Toronto on Tuesday, when Edmontons Connor McDavid faces Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews.---AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Arlington, Virginia, contributed to this report. ' ' '