There’s not much new to say about a New England Patriots team in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Dallas Stars Jerseys . Bill Belichick’s squad has made it this far in the playoffs at least, the past four years and nine of the past 11 seasons. It’ll be a familiar looking squad as well, as a lot of the featured players will be in their fourth go ‘round come Saturday. Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Dont’a Hightower, a good chunk of both the offensive and defensive lines, and of course Tom Brady have been around for all or most of the past four years. So what makes this team better? Why are they the favourites in the AFC, better than any of the four previous editions of the team? On offence, a lot of it starts with Gronk. The 25-year-old freak of nature has reclaimed his crown amongst tight ends after injuries derailed his last two seasons and opened the door for Jimmy Graham and Julius Thomas to receive all the accolades. While it wasn’t quite the all-time season he put up as a sophomore, Gronkowski finished first in just about every pass catching category for tight ends with 82 receptions for 1,124 yards and 12 Gronk-smashes. The emergence of Edelman has helped the Patriots offence the past couple years as well. Edelman went from an intriguing option the first four years of his career to pretty much Wes Welker the past two. Like Gronkowski, Edelman didn’t quite hit his career peaks this season, but finished with a very impressive 92 receptions for 972 yards. And then of course there’s Brady. While other sure-fire Hall of Famers of a certain age are having questions about their game deteriorating asked, Brady keeps humming along to the tune of, again, MVP consideration. Maybe it’s just a case of Brady getting his 2014 slump out of the way early. After struggling through a mediocre September, Brady silenced critics with a massive year the rest of the way. Brady finished with 4,109 passing yards and 33 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. It’s not his best season statistically but Brady led New England to home field advantage throughout the playoffs and is widely considered a top MVP candidate alongside Aaron Rodgers and JJ Watt. All told the Patriots finished 11th in the league in offensive yards with 365 per game but fourth in points scored with more than 29 per game. Another point for the “some things never change with the Patriots” department is the team’s shaky run game. New England finished 18th in the league running the ball and will rely on some combination of Jonas Gray, Shane Vereen, and Brandon Bolden to help take pressure off Brady and the passing game. The defence is a cast of familiar faces as well, save for a big addition in the secondary. Richard Sherman has taken any and all headlines given to cornerbacks in today’s NFL, but Darrelle Revis is still, say, Top Two in the league at his position. But even with Revis the team only finished middle of the pack against the pass, giving up more than 239 yards per game. New England has been better against the run and finished with the 13th ranked defence in terms of yards allowed but eighth in points given up. Making the Divisional Round is nothing new for the Patriots and past teams have advanced even farther into the playoffs more often than not in recent years. This team is generally considered to be even better than previous editions, so it would be an upset indeed if New England fell flat against the Baltimore Ravens – in Foxborough no less – come Saturday. Brian Bellows Jersey .ca. In Sundays Blackhawks-Penguins game, Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik laid a huge hit on Chicagos Jonathan Toews. Now in my view, Orpik can be clearly seen leaving his feet while delivering a moderately high hit. Neal Broten Jersey . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/jaromir-jagr-hockey-jersey/ . -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is being checked for a possible concussion after blowing a tire on his way to the first workout of spring training.As Canadians waited anxiously for the Team Canada Mens Hockey roster announcement Tuesday, there was constant debate. Who should be picked? Who is going to get left behind? This had been building for years. Then, when they finally got around to making the announcement, there were naturally some selections that caused some debate. Nothing off the rails -- its not like they took Petr Nedved or Henrik Tallinder -- but there were decisions made that will come under the microscope if Canada doesnt repeat with a gold medal. If they do repeat, never mind any questions, winning cures all. So, the roster has been picked, time to take stock. In goal, Roberto Luongo was automatic. He won gold in the last Olympics and has been very strong for the Vancouver Canucks -- his .922 save percentage is his second-best over the past decade. Luongo has been dealing with a few injuries lately, though it doesnt appear to be an issue for a month from now. He also has the highest save percentage among Canadian goaltenders since 2010 (minimum 100 games). Carey Price, who fits second on that list, is having the best season of his career, with a .928 save percentage. Price is 26-years-old, and if the NHL is going to send players to future Olympics (or even future World Cups), Price is at the head of the class to be Canadas goaltender of the future, if not the present. To be clear, he may already be the goaltender of the present. That leaves us with Mike Smith for the third spot. He does rank third among Canadian goaltenders in save percentage since 2010, but Smith is basically riding off his exceptional 2011-2012 season, during which he posted a .930 save percentage. If the average starting goaltender is putting up a save percentage of about .915 or so, Smith has been below average in every other season of his career, including a .911 save percentage in 69 games with the Phoenix Coyotes this year and last. Smith is also 31-years-old, so may not have future Olympic value. So who might have challenged for that spot? If we take down the minimum of games played to 50 for the link above, then we get Josh Harding, Jonathan Bernier and Braden Holtby coming in ahead of Smith. The way Harding has played this season, I would have been inclined to include him, but recent uneasiness over his MS medication, combined with a limited track record, make it easy enough to exclude him. Holtby has been pretty solid since joining the Capitals, but even he has acknowledged recently that hes lost his confidence (allowing 15 goals in his past three starts, on 83 shots, will do that) and rookie Philipp Grubauer is taking more starts for Washington. Which brings us to Bernier, who also has a limited track record, but hes posted a .928 save percentage in 30 games this year, and that includes Saturday night, when he had his worst start of the season (in terms of save percentage), allowing five goals on 32 shots (in about 37 minutes) against the Rangers. A 25-year-old who is just coming into a starting role, Bernier made more sense in the number three hole for me. If he ever did have to play, youd have to figure Bernier would appreciate a team that might be able to hold opponents under 40 shots per game. On defence, there are some automatic picks. Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo were pretty straight-forward. The lightning rod was Montreals P.K. Subban, last years Norris Trophy winner who seemed hard-pressed to get into the top six with Weber, Doughty and Pietrangelo ahead of him on the right side, and apparently Team Canada is extremely committed to left-right balance on their blueline. Subban made the squad, though projections seem to have him fitting as a seventh defenceman. Where you are are the outset isnt necessarily where you end up in an Olympic tournament, however. In 2010, Jonathan Toews was considered the 13th forward for Team Canada then, by tournaments end, he was Canadas leading scorer with eight points in seven games. So it could be with Subban, who can step into a role on the power play and move up the depth chart if Canada needs an offensive jolt. The Subban issue wasnt the only one to consider, however. On the left side -- remember, they have to shoot left! -- Jay Bouwmeester, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Dan Hamhuis are very good NHL defencemen, but are they Olympic team good? There are some that will argue Bouwmeester is a product of playing alongside Pietrangelo. Bouwmeester has size and can skate, but if hes coming along because hes Pietrangelos partner, then hes getting that treatment ahead of Brent Seabrook, who is paired with Duncan Keith in Chicago. Seabrook cant skate like Bouwmeester, but hes a physical, two-time Cup-winner, who may be having the best season of his career. Vlasic is steady, safe and reliable. Hes played a defensive role from the moment he came into the league and thats fine. Dan Hamhuis isnt a dramatically different player. He offers more offence but, like Vlasic, has handled tough matchups throughout his career, particularly this year, and has done well. Since 2010, Hamhuis is the easy leader in plus-minus among Canadian NHL defencemen. Seabrook ranks third, among those with at least 4000 minutes played. Back to Subban for a moment. Given the resumes of Bouwmeester, Vlasic and Hamhuis, its hard to imagine that there isnt an opportunity for Subban to move up the projected depth chart, unless he really is incapable of playing -- or the coaching staff if unwilling to try him on -- the left side. Aside from Seabrook, there arent any huge omissions. Dion Phaneuf is probably worthy of discussion because he faces the oppositions best night-in and night-out, while Mark Giordano and Kris Letang have been productive enough when theyve been healthy this year, but the story of Canadas defence, may be more one of how the minutes are allocated and that will keep Subban, and his usage, in the spotlight. Canada has an abundance of great forward options and yet there was still a tier of guys above the rest, who were locks from the get-go. Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron and John Tavares would fall under that banner, while Steven Stamkos only question is health as he recovers from a broken leg. That meant Stamkos had to be named now, leaving open the option of replacing him if hes not ready to play, as opposed to trying to replace someone later once its known Stamkos is healthy. Then some young guys, Jamie Benn annd Matt Duchene, jumped up and grabbed spots and they are reasonable enough for a team that wants some of the speed that comes from young legs. Dan Hamhuis Jersey. Theyre having productive seasons and should have some versatility to move around the lineup, if need be. They held the edge over other young candidates, like Taylor Hall and Logan Couture. Patrick Sharp forced his way onto the team, on pace for the best season of his career. With Stanley Cups, a solid performance in the 2012 World Championships and versatility that allows him to move about the lineup, Sharp couldnt be overlooked. Which brings us to the bubble. Veteran forwards Jeff Carter, Patrick Marleau and Rick Nash are among the more contentious inclusions, though a separate category could be left for Penguins left winger Chris Kunitz. Kunitz has 99 points in 92 games over the past two seasons and those numbers draw attention, but critics are quick to point out how Kunitzs production tails off dramatically when hes not skating on a line with the Best Player in the World. Now, maybe thats not an issue, because Kunitz will presumably get a shot at playing on Crosbys wing in the Olympics, but if Team Canada decides to split them up for whatever reason, where then would Kunitz fit in the equation? Alongside former Anaheim linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry would be an option but the point is that if Kunitz isnt with Crosby, it becomes more difficult to include him on the Team Canada roster at all. In a short tournament, there is some justification for having ready-made chemistry. If not for scoring the Golden Goal in Vancouver in 2010, Crosbys Olympic experience would be remembered far less favourably. He struggled to create offence against quality opposition, so there is some credence to the idea that giving Crosby his regular linemate could help him be more comfortable and putting your best player in the best position to succeed is a worthwhile endeavour. At the same time, if a decent player like Kunitz can go from scoring 50-60 points to scoring better than a point-per-game this year, then what might a player with a higher ceiling do with Crosby? It would seem the potential would be even greater if, say, Taylor Hall was put on Crosbys wing, but there is also the chance that it wouldnt work out and that makes the selection of Kunitz more appealing because, playing with Crosby, hes a known commodity. There are some common threads that run through the selections of Jeff Carter, Patrick Marleau and Rick Nash. They all have good size and they are all strong skaters. Theyre also three of 11 Canadian forwards to have scored at least .40 goals per game since the 2010-2011 season (or a 33-goal pace in an 82-game season). Of those 11, only two -- Pittsburghs James Neal and Bostons Jarome Iginla -- werent included on the Canadian roster. Iginlas in the twilight of his career and Neal, while amazing when healthy this year, has missed a lot of time and an argument can be made that he, too, has been propped up by his centre in Pittsburgh -- usually Evgeni Malkin, but also Crosby recently -- and if a Penguin is going to come to ride shotgun with Crosby, Kunitz is the choice. But, including these players comes at a price and that is in the form of the players that are excluded from the roster as a result. The two most notable are Tampa Bays Martin St. Louis and Philadelphias Claude Giroux. St. Louis, whose GM for the Lightning is Steve Yzerman, the GM for Team Canada, led the league in scoring last season but, with Stamkos sidelined, St. Louis has been held to his lowest points per game (0.90) since 2005-2006. Even if hes a freak of nature, its easy to look at the numbers for an undersized 38-year-old and find perceived better alternatives. Bet it was a tough phone call for Yzerman to make. Giroux got a bad rap early in the year for his lack of production, but its never accompanied with the note that he had to undergo finger surgery late in the summer. Since being held off the scoresheet in the first five games of the season, Giroux has 38 points in 37 games, re-establishing his credentials as a point-per-game scorer and it would be really easy to see Giroux on this Canadian roster, but hes currently on the outside looking in, needing either an injury or Stamkoss recovery to stall before getting a chance. Carolinas Eric Staal got off to a slow start, which may well have been due to a knee injury suffered playing for Canada at the World Championships last spring, but does have 26 points in his past 24 games, so hes rounding into form and has lots of experience at an elite level, but his name wasnt as prominently involved in speculation throughout the process, possibly due to his scoring nine points in 18 games to start the season. Beyond those veteran options, the most notable exclusions are rising young stars, players that have the talent, but not the experience of playing at such an elite level. San Joses Logan Couture might be the most notable exclusion among the young guns, but if the team was ever inclined to bypass experience and go with pure skill, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and Jeff Skinner -- three of the top seven picks in the 2010 Draft, are enjoying very productive seasons. Even so, Hockey Canada does not have a track record of going especially young in best-on-best tournaments so, right or wrong, it seemed like a reach for any of the three to get serious consideration. There is nearly a month before the Winter Olympics kick off in Sochi, Russia, so there will be more time to debate Canadas roster and talk about the calibre of the mythical second Canadian team, and it wont much matter who is on the roster if Canada wins gold. If they dont, and the left-side defence is shaky or the bubble guys dont produce, then the debate will rage. Each country has its share of quality players left home for the Olympics. Team USA had no room for Bobby Ryan and Keith Yandle; Sweden bypassed Victor Hedman, Russia said nyet to Alexander Semin and the Czech Republic wanted no part of Radim Vrbata, but was cool with 42-year-old Petr Nedved. Such is the depth of the talent in the pool, Canada is drawing a finer line between those selected and those that just miss, but its the number of quality options available that makes the task of selecting so difficult and leaves management open to be second-guessed. And winning gold will be the only way to quiet the naysayers. No pressure, eh? China Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys ' ' '