as continued to be an efficient scorer because h

OTTAWA - Maybe Jaroslav Halak just needed to feel wanted.First the goaltender was second fiddle to Carey Price in Montreal then got pushed out in St. Louis for Ryan Miller. Nothing more than a rental in Washington, Halak last June heard from a team that wanted to turn the reins over to him and invest in him for the long term.Now the New York Islanders are atop the Metropolitan Division, riding the wave of Halaks all-star-calibre play during his franchise record 11-game winning streak.This team showed interest in me and interest in signing me, Halak said. Interest was on both sides, and Im glad it worked out well.It has worked out for the first-place Islanders because general manager Garth Snow was willing to trade a fourth-round pick for Halaks rights two weeks after the regular season ended and even more willing to give him a long-term contract. Halak did his homework on the Islanders, talking to current and former players, and ultimately signed a US$18-million, four-year deal.The season is only 26 games old, but so far that looks like a bargain. At 14-4-0 with a 2.05 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, the former Canadien has stabilized the goaltending position that has gone through so much recent change and fits of inconsistency.Since Ive been here, weve gone through a lot of goalies, and theyve been quality goaltenders, coach Jack Capuano said. But to know that we have a couple guys now back there and hopefully we can stay healthy, its been a big plus for our hockey club.Capuano is referencing backup Chad Johnson, too, but the onus really has been on Halak to shoulder the load for New York. The way the schedule sets up — the Islanders only have one back-to-back for the next month — the fifth-year head coach cant help but want to keep putting Halak on the ice.On Thursday night, the 29-year-old Slovak beat the Ottawa Senators to break Billy Smiths franchise record of consecutive victories with his 11th.Its great to see him break the record and he deserves it, Capuano said. Hes working real hard and hes enjoying himself between the pipes right now.Halak has an intense demeanour on the ice, something captain John Tavares notices when Cal Clutterbuck shoots high on him early in practice. Halak doesnt take too kindly to that.I think you can just tell by his facial expressions, Tavares said.Maybe Halak doesnt smile too much, but hes loving life with the Islanders, who are a world away from where they were a year ago. Back then they were losers of 10 in a row during a season in which they didnt get great goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov, Anders Nilsson or Kevin Poulin.These Islanders underwent significant off-season changes. Snow signed former Maple Leafs forwards Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin, then a few days before opening night traded for defencemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy.Quite simply, this is a better team all over the ice.We just play a good poised game, and we have a lot of depth, so were able to come at teams with every line and all our D, Tavares said. We just want to put teams on their heels. We want to play with the puck, obviously. I think the more energy youve got to spend to try to get it back, I think it makes it tough for the other team to generate offence, generate opportunities.Tavares pointed out theres no panic in Halaks game and likewise no panic on the bench or in the locker-room in difficult situations, unlike last season. Theres little doubt the Islanders feed off their No. 1 goaltender.Everyone sort of plays like Jaro a bit, defenceman Thomas Hickey said. Hes quiet in the net and I think it rubs off on us. ... When any goalie’s playing on their game it makes it really easy on the team.Things havent exactly been easy lately, even as the Islanders have been on a roll. Just four of their past nine victories have come in regulation.That speaks to some strong play in close games but also to New Yorks slim margin for error. Halak plays a part in that because hes not prone to giving up soft goals.He makes every save he should, Hickey said. You dont see him making the 10-bell save because hes always in position, he doesnt need to.During this winning streak, which will be on the line Saturday against the St. Louis Blues, Halak has stopped 275 of the 289 shots he has faced (.952 save percentage) and put up a 1.24 GAA.Capuano said Halak was dialed in. Some athletes feel momentum building, but not this one.I dont think about it, Halak said. I go game-by-game. Im always trying to focus on the game thats ahead of me. Whatever happened in the past, happened in the past. Thats great. But back to work tomorrow.Halaks work never stops. Earlier in the season Capuano and goaltending coach Mike Dunham talked to Halak about managing his emotions, and he has done that.I just thought mentally he was a little frustrated, and right now hes in a good place, Capuano said. Hes got high expectations of himself, which is good. Thats what you want.Its no different than a quarterback or different than a starting pitcher. Youre the last line of defence back there. I like the fact that he puts that pressure on himself, but how he channelled in a different way.Halak isnt out of control. In fact, Tavares called him pretty calm.The Islanders have followed that lead.The consistency he brings in his game and the calmness he brings, of course we feed off that, Tavares said. He does such a good job of not giving up second, third chances and swallowing pucks and pushing them off to the side. Both the skaters and the goalie feed off one another, and hes been great for us.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Tug McGraw Jersey . After a 10-game skid, winning sure feels good. Atlantas third error in the last two innings allowed Jackie Bradley Jr. Mookie Wilson Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/gar...er-mets-jersey/. Colton Sissons also scored for Milwaukee (19-12-8), which went ahead with a two-goal third period. Wade MacLeod and Greg McKegg replied for Toronto (23-12-4). Tom Seaver Jersey . - Novak Djokovic beat John Isner 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open, where hell resume his longtime rivalry with Roger Federer. New York Mets Jerseys . Or take a relaxing vacation somewhere warm. Brayden Schenn and Scott Hartnell scored, Ray Emery stopped 32 shots and the Flyers beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory. The Boston Celtics are blowing up their core and sent three veterans to the Brooklyn Nets, raising expectations for the Nets next season. Numbers Game examines a deal shipping Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to Brooklyn. The Nets Get: PF Kevin Garnett, SF Paul Pierce and SG Jason Terry. Garnett, 37, is a future Hall of Famer who is the only active player with more than 25,000 points and 13,000 rebounds and hes remained effective in recent years, in part because he has spent more of his time at centre. At the same time, Garnett misses more and more time with injuries -- 85 games over the last five seasons -- and his minutes (29:44 per game) were his lowest since his rookie season. Nevertheless, Garnett had 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in 2012-2013, numbers that would be readily accepted in the Nets frontcourt next season. Garnett excelled at centre in recent seasons, where he is more athletic than many of the centres he matched up with. If hes spending more time at power forward for Brooklyn, he loses some of that quickness advantage. Garnett has two years and a little more than $23.5-million due over the next two seasons. While KG ranks second among active scorers, 35-year-old Paul Pierce sits fourth, but has continued to be an efficient scorer because he gets to the line about six times per game and shoots well enough from three-point range to have the same effective field goal percentage (.502) as he did when he was 29, while scoring 18.6 points and grabbing 6.3 rebounds per game. At this stage of his career, it would make sense for Pierce to handle a lesser workload, 28 minutes per game instead of 33, but he can still be a valuable contributor to the Nets offence. Pierce has one year left on his deal, paying a bit more than $15.3-million. Rounding out the aging trio of Celtics heading to Brooklyn, 35-year-old Jason Terry is coming off a season in which he played his fewest minutes per game (26.9) and his 10.1 points per game was his lowest since his rookie season, 1999-2000. While Terry played a lesser role and has a limited game, he can still shoot and, providing offence off the bench, can be a useful player in the Nets rotation. Terry has two years, and $10.675-million left on his deal. The Nets are obviously a better team with this trio added to the mix, but is it enough for them to compete with the best teams in the East? That still seems like its beyond their reach. The Celtics Get: SF Gerald Wallace, PF Kris Humphries, SG MarShon Brooks, SF Kris Joseph, SG Keith Bogans and first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018, with an option to flip first-round picks in 2017. Wallace, 30, has been a very effective if oft-injured player in his career, but hes coming off a season in which he scored just 7.77 points per game, shooting 39.dddddddddddd7% from the field, his lowest in both categories since 2003-2004. While Wallace is an offensive liability at this point, he can still play adequate defence but, given whats left on the Boston roster, they probably need him to be more than a one-dimensional defender if hes going to provide any value. Wallace has three years, at more than $30.3-million, left on his contract. 28-year-old Kris Humphries had been a productive player from a couple seasons with the Nets, averaging a double-double (points and rebounds) for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, but his role was reduced significantly last season and he averaged 5.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Hes a notorious black hole on offence, never averaging more than 1.5 assists per game. His expiring deal could provide future value to the Celtics and, given their needs up front, Humphries could find some playing time as part of the Celtics rotation. Humphries has one season, at $12-million, remaining on his deal. Brooks is a 24-year-old who had a pretty strong rookie season, scoring 12.6 points per game, in 2011-2012, but was a spare part last season, playing only 12:29 per game after playing 29:23 as a rookie. Hell have a chance to play a larger role in a depleted Celtics perimeter rotation. Brooks is due less than $1.3-million next season, the last year of his entry-level deal, though theres a team option for $2.3-million the following season. A second-round pick of the Celtics in 2012, Kris Joseph played 54 minutes with Boston and New Jersey last season. The 24-year-old Montreal native is still battling for a spot in the league and his contract has a team option, for $788,872 in 2013-2014. Bogans inclusion in the deal could work out really well for the 33-year-old who actually played more than Brooks for the Nets last season. As a sign-and-trade piece to this trade, to make the salaries balance, Bogans could be looking at a contract that pays him approximately $4.4-million next season, a veritable jackpot for an aging role player whose defence isnt near what it once was. He might find a spot in the Celtics rotation, or could be stuck with playing time scraps. Boston has decided to rebuild for the future but arent exactly bottoming out as they shed three core veterans. Taking on Wallaces three-year contract, in particular, isnt conducive to regenerating the roster, but the rest of the financial obligations are minimal and the Celtics can see what Jeff Green and J.J. Sullinger can provide in more significant roles alongside PG Rajon Rondo, who is unquestionably the leader of this team now. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '