Vorschau » NHL history to lose a best-of-seven series after winning

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- For a franchise with a frustrating history of post-season flops, the latest collapse sent the San Jose Sharks to a new low. The Sharks became the fourth team in NHL history to lose a best-of-seven series after winning the first three games, getting overwhelmed at home in a 5-1 loss in Game 7 on Wednesday night to start a pivotal off-season for a team looking to shed the label of playoff underachievers. "We obviously dont want to hear that kind of stuff, but what are we going to say? We were on the wrong side of history tonight," defenceman Brad Stuart said. "Its tough for us to argue with anything thats said. We let ourselves down, we let the fans down, we let everybody in our organization down. Its not a good feeling. Theres not really much else you can say about it." San Jose has the second most regular-season wins in the NHL the past 10 seasons but has never made it past the conference finals. There was the first-round loss to Anaheim in 2009 after posting the best record in the league in the regular season, second-round losses to inferior teams like Edmonton in 2006 and Dallas two years later, and three defeats in the conference final when that elusive Stanley Cup seemed so close. Yet this might have been the most bitter of all, considering it came against a fierce rival and after the Sharks looked so strong in taking a 3-0 series lead. "Every year you lose is pretty low, but this one is a type of series that will rip your heart out," forward Logan Couture said. "It hurts. Its going to be a long summer thinking about this one and what we let slip away." San Jose outscored the Kings 17-8 to win the first three games but was barely competitive in the final four contests. The Sharks were outscored 16-3 over the final 3 1/2 games to join Detroit (1942), Pittsburgh (1975) and Boston (2010) as the only teams to blow a 3-0 series lead. The only bright side might be that Detroit and Boston both won it all the year after their collapses. "Its just so disappointing that we were able to go up 3-0 and not find a way to have that killer instinct, to find a way to scrape and claw and win games like they did," Couture said. "Its tough saying it, but I think the better team won the series. They were better than us." The Sharks took the day off Thursday to regroup before going through the annual routine of exit meetings and cleanup on Friday where they will start looking for answers for why they fell short once again. Defenceman Dan Boyle might leave as a free agent and forward Marty Havlat could have the final year of his contract bought out. But the biggest questions will be about the status of coach Todd McLellan and general manager Doug Wilson. While the Sharks did a good job dealing with injuries to finish tied for the fourth-most points in the regular season, they couldnt get it done in the playoffs. "Im in charge, Im responsible for the group that performs on the ice," McLellan said. "I have to accept that responsibility. When we break down the series, Im not going to throw any individuals or group of individuals under the bus, because we lost it collectively. But Im responsible for that group." The biggest issue was the lack of production from the top players in the final four games. Captain Joe Thornton, linemate Brent Burns and Couture had no points in the final four games and Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski didnt have a goal or an assist in the last three. The power-play went 0-for-15 in the final three games, including four blown chances in the second period of Game 7 when the Sharks were either ahead or tied. It added up to a second straight Game 7 loss to the Kings. "We were a lot closer last year than we were this year," McLellan said. "Were kidding ourselves if we think we were closer this year, just because it went seven games. ... It wasnt even close. We had a core group of individuals that didnt get on the score sheet. Last year was a lot closer than it was this year." Yeezy Powerphase España . "Yes, Id like to get them in," Detroits rookie manager said. "Mother Natures going to have a say in that." Sure enough, the Tigers had their game against the Kansas City Royals postponed because of rain on Thursday. Zapatillas Yeezy Originales .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. http://www.yeezyespana.com/ . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings. Yeezy 700 Comprar . The Toronto Maple Leafs were holding a news conference, so they got curious. It didnt take long for them to find out via social media that coach Randy Carlyle was coming back — with a two-year extension — and assistants Greg Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish were being let go. Zapatillas Yeezy 500 . Redden played a total of 1,023 regular-season games with Ottawa, the New York Rangers, St. Louis and Boston. He finished with 457 points (109 goals, 348 assists) and a plus-160 rating over his career.For Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, the concern is about his back. While the Giants Eli Manning is looking to rebound after one of the worst starts of his career. Romo takes the Dallas Cowboys to New York tonight with a chance to match the win total from their .500 rut of the past three seasons. You can catch all the action starting at 8:15pm et/5:15pm pm on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5. The 34-year-old quarterback whose surgically repaired back sustained yet another injury against Washington has a chance for the most efficient season of his career. Much more importantly for him, Jason Witten and the rest of the Cowboys (7-3), theyre in position to end a four-year playoff drought in a season-ending schedule filled with NFC East opponents. The co-leaders of the division along with Philadelphia owe plenty of their lofty perch to NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray. The Cowboys future will depend on how Romos back holds up through three games in 12 days, including a Thanksgiving visit from the Eagles. We understand what we need to do to play well, Witten said. We know what our strengths are, the things that we do well look good in cold weather, being able to run the ball and the play-action game and getting everybody healthy. Philadelphias good, New Yorks good, whoever we play after that, theyre going to be good. Manning wasnt good in last weeks 16-10 loss to San Francisco, matching his career high with his second five-interception game. He had the Giants inside the 49ers 5-yard line late with four chances to take the lead. Instead, his fifth interception on a fourth-down play sent the Giants (3-7) to their fifth consecutive loss — the second straight season theyve lost at least five in a row. I have all the faith in the world in him, coach Tom Coughlin said of Manning, who had six interceptions through nine games before facing the 49ers. I think the competitor that he is, the extra focus, the extra concentration, I think that hell come out and play well. Some things to look for when the Cowboys go for a fourth straight win against the Giants, which would be their longest streak in 20 years in the series: TONY VS. ELI: This will be the 16th meeting with Romo and Manning, with Romo holding an 8-7 edge. Manning holds all the major passing records with the Giants, and Romo is closing in on Troy Aikman in yardage and completions. Romo allready has the Dallas mark for touchdowns.dddddddddddd Obviously there are only so many quarterbacks who have been in one franchise for this long, have had the ups and downs and different things, Manning said. I obviously have a brother who I chat with a little bit about that, but Tony, any time youre in the same division with a quarterback for whatever its been now, eight years together, seven years, theres definitely a little bond there. RUNNING ON: The Giants are trying to get where the Cowboys are with their running game, and they should have a better chance in Rashad Jennings second game since returning from a knee injury. The Giants could do some juggling in the offensive line with guard Geoff Schwartz expected to play after missing the first 10 games with a toe injury and tackle Justin Pugh possibly being sidelined by a thigh injury. Weve got to be able to run the ball, Coughlin said. You can talk about interceptions all you want, but theres a reason for all those things. HEALTHY COWBOYS: The Cowboys are much healthier than they were at this point the past two seasons. The only player who missed practice Thursday was undrafted rookie cornerback Tyler Patmon. Linebacker and leading tackler Rolando McClain has practiced all week after missing the Jacksonville game with knee and groin injuries. BREAKOUT ROOKIE: Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had his breakout game in the first meeting with Dallas, getting two touchdowns. He doesnt have a touchdown since, but has 357 yards receiving in three games. The No. 12 overall pick is the first rookie New York receiver with consecutive 100-yard games since Byron Williams in 1983. You can see why he was drafted so high, Dallas cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. BRENTS RETURN: Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent is eligible to play for the first time since Dec. 2, 2012, six days before his drunken-driving accident that killed teammate Jerry Brown. Brent was convicted of intoxication manslaughter, got a 150-day jail term while avoiding prison time and was suspended by the NFL for 10 games when he was reinstated. Coach Jason Garrett has said Brent is overweight, and its unclear whether he will be activated against the Giants. ___ Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ___ Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler ' ' '