Grüße und Vorstellung » and get big outs. He’s don

The Nashville Predators embraced every bit of their chase for the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy right down to captain Roman Josi grabbing hold with his left hand during their pregame ceremony.

Now it’s time to chase the hardware the Predators really want: The Stanley Cup.

”It’s definitely a good regular season for us Authentic Ryan Switzer Jersey , definitely something we can be proud of,” Josi said. ”But now the real work and the real fun starts.”

Filip Forsberg scored three goals for Nashville’s first hat trick of the season, and the Predators finished off the best regular season in franchise history by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 Saturday night.

The Predators accepted the Presidents’ Trophy before the game from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and took a moment to remember the moment with a team photo on the ice. Fans then chanted ”We want the Cup” for the defending Western Conference champs who lost the Stanley Cup in six games to Pittsburgh last June.

The Predators will begin their run for the Cup against the Colorado Avalanche.

Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said he’d never coached a team that won the Presidents’ Trophy before. This night was to remember all the personal milestones, including David Poile notching the most NHL games by a general manager.

”It was nice to take a minute just to acknowledge that,” Laviolette said. ”Our guys are proud of it. They worked really hard this year. They stayed focused for the entire year. It’s all been part of a vision of something bigger than what happened tonight.”

Nashville followed up the trophy presentation by winning its franchise-record 53rd game this season to finish with 117 points.

Goalie Pekka Rinne made 22 saves through two periods before being replaced by Juuse Saros. Rinne finished 42-13-4 this season.

Austin Watson also scored for Nashville, which goes into the postseason having won two straight.

Josh Anderson and Brandon Dubinsky scored for Columbus.

Losing helped Columbus avoid opening the playoffs against Pittsburgh for a second straight year and instead put the Blue Jackets into a first-round series with Washington.

Coach John Tortorella scratched nine Blue Jackets including captain Nick Foligno and defenseman Seth Jones, and also rested goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with Joonas Korpisalo in net. Tortorella is giving the Blue Jackets the day off Sunday.

”I’ve got some decisions to make,” Tortorella said of playing Washington. ”I have a pretty good idea of what I think the starting lineup will be in our first playoff game, but I’ve got decision to make in case we’ve got injuries.”

The Predators scored three goals in the first period with Watson starting the scoring at 7:52 of the first and Forsberg adding a pair on the power play.

Forsberg scored on a snap shot at 11:04. Then he got his 26th goal of the season just before the buzzer for a 3-0 lead with a shot from the right circle that went off the post and then Korpisalo into the net. Officials reviewed the play, which crossed at 0.4 seconds before the end of the period.

With Korpisalo pulled, Forsberg got the hat trick with an empty-net goal with 39.4 seconds left as fans celebrated by tossing the giveaway visors onto the ice.

Forsberg tied his career high with 64 points and also became Nashville’s scoring leader for the regular season with Viktor Arvidsson (61 points) scratched.

Anderson got his 19th goal at 7:55 of the second Cheap P.J. Hall Jersey , and Dubinsky pulled Columbus within 3-2 with a short-handed goal at 7:20 of the third.

”We played a pretty good game,” Dubinsky said. ”Obviously, we gave a couple power-play goals to them there in the first, got down 3-0 to a really good team.”

NOTES: Defenseman P.K. Subban played his 82nd game, the only player on the Nashville roster to play every game this season. … The Predators improved to 41-4-6 when scoring first and 23-4-4 when leading after one period. … The Predators sold out their 102nd straight game with a franchise record 17,594.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Face Washington in the first round of the playoffs.

Predators: Hosting Colorado in Game 1 likely Thursday.

—



PHOENIX — Like pitching?

The final game of the St. Louis-Arizona series Wednesday features a couple starters who have had strong seasons but also should be considered under-the-radar All-Star candidates, at least for those who have not been paying close attention.

You could look it up.

Arizona left-hander Patrick Corbin and St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas rank in the top 10 among NL qualifiers in ERA, WHIP, WAR and innings pitched. The only statistical difference is in strikeouts, where Corbin is tied for second and Mikolas is down the pack. Mikolas compensates by pitching to contact and getting the majority of his outs on the ground.

They are compatible in one more way — each has received below-average run support. Corbin has received the fourth-fewest, 3.65 per start. Mikolas’ support checks in under the league average.

Arizona used a three-run homer from Paul Goldschmidt to take a 4-2 victory Tuesday as the teams have split the first two games of the series. Arizona will conclude a 10-game homestand with a four-game set with San Diego beginning Thursday http://www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kareem-martin-jersey , when the Cardinals open a four-game series in San Francisco before finishing a nine-game trip in Chicago against the White Sox.

Mikolas, 29, has been perhaps the most pleasant surprise in the major leagues this season, signing with the Cardinals over the winter after three strong seasons for the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese Central League. He was 3-13 with a 2.18 ERA in 62 starts in Japan after being released by Texas in November 2014.

“Obviously this season he’s been fantastic,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He should be sitting on 10 wins right now. Two of the losses he had, he had us right there. He just matched up with a pitcher we couldn’t get much going against. Miles has been very good.”

Mikolas has made 11 quality starts, tied for fourth in the league. After starting the season 6-0, he has lost three of his five decisions in June despite posting five quality starts and giving up one earned run in two of his losses.

“A guy who just attacks the strike zone,” Matheny said.

“He has very good stuff. Doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. Not afraid to use his defense. He has been just an incredible surprise for us. What a great pickup for our organization and a salute to our scouts who are finding people like Miles who are out there.

“He figured something out while he was in Japan. The way he goes about his business, not just how he competes but how he prepares, you could see that being something that sticks around for awhile.”

Mikolas and Corbin are tied for second in the league in WHIP (0.99). Mikolas is sixth and Corbin ninth in ERA and innings pitched Babe Ruth Jersey , and Mikolas is seventh and Corbin ninth in WAR.

Each has one of the five shutouts thrown in the NL this season. Washington’s Max Scherzer, Pittsburgh’s Jameson Taillon and Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz have the others.

Corbin, 6-3 with a 3.14 ERA, has made two straight quality starts, giving up only one run and in 13 innings, but did not receive a decision in either game. He had extra rest the last time through the rotation after pitching seven scoreless innings while striking out 12 in a no-decision at Pittsburgh, when he threw a season-high 102 pitches. He gave up one run in six innings against San Francisco on Friday, pitching on six days’ rest.

“He (gets) into trouble, doesn’t get rattled, and continues to pound the zone and get big outs. He’s done a very good job,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.

Jeff Mathis Youth Bradley Chubb Jersey , one of two healthy catchers on the Arizona roster with Alex Avila on the disabled list, will catch Corbin for the third straight start.

“I like the way Jeff gets Patrick to do certain things at certain times and shows confidence in certain pitches, and helps him execute by showing that confidence,” Lovullo said. “Jeff has such respect from anyone on this staff that when he asks for something they listen.”

Corbin has received 3.65 runs per start, tied for the third fewest in the league. He is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts against St. Louis and is 4-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 10 starts at home this sesaon.

Mikolas, who spent previous major league seasons with San Diego and Texas, has never started against Arizona and has given one run in 4 1/3 innings in two career relief appearances, a Justin Upton homer in 2012. This will be his first appearance at Chase Field.
.