Dein erstes Forum » absence will likely be the longest. Side

Heres our weekly look at the fortunes of some of the games brightest young stars. Behold, the latest under-24 player rankings.HotMitch Marner, RW,?Toronto Maple LeafsAuston Matthews?ongoing scoring woes are dominating the conversation, but that goalless slump (now at 11 games) has been nicely counterbalanced by the play of right winger Mitch Marner, 19. Marner has four goals and four assists in his past six games and scored one of the prettiest goals youll see in Thursdays 6-1 drubbing of the Florida Panthers. Marners 16 points are second among all rookies.Damon Severson, D,?New Jersey DevilsThe surprising Devils hold down the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 9-4-3 record. But with Taylor Hall out for a month because of a knee injury, the pressure will be on the young Devils not to let their good start go to waste. One of those youngsters, Severson, 22, has been a pleasant surprise. The 60th-overall pick in 2012 had 12 points through Thursday, putting him in the top 10 among all defensemen. Hes also tied for the team lead in points. New Jersey wondered how it would fill the void created when Adam Larsson was dealt to the?Edmonton Oilers?for Hall. Severson has gone a long way toward answering that question.J.T. Miller, LW,?New York RangersEvery week its a challenge trying to determine which of the Rangers high-flying young stars to highlight. Why? Well, the 13-4-0 Rangers are arguably the best team in the NHL, top to bottom, and lead all teams with a whopping 4.24 goals per game -- almost a full goal per game ahead of their nearest competitor. Leading the way for a speedy, talented forward corps is Miller, a 23-year-old left winger who leads the team with 17 points -- and has the sixth-highest point total in the league. The 15th-overall pick in 2011 has continued to earn coach Alain Vigneaults confidence and has been a model of consistency. Miller has never gone more than one game without picking up at least a point.NotNathan MacKinnon, C,?Colorado AvalancheIts hard to think of the 2013 No. 1 overall pick as a kid because it feels like MacKinnons been around forever. But he is just 21, so periodic dry periods are to be expected. Regardless, its been a struggle for both MacKinnon and the Avalanche to achieve liftoff under rookie head coach Jared Bednar. MacKinnon, who is coming off a terrific turn at the World Cup of Hockey, did come up with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to the?Dallas Stars?Thursday, but he has just three goals on the season and two in his past 15 games for an Avalanche team that is dead last in the Central Division and in danger of missing the playoffs once again.Sam Bennett, C,?Calgary FlamesThe Flames have been trying to slowly drag themselves out of an early hole, and the struggles of young stars Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau have been well-documented as a key factor in that poor start. Now with Gaudreau is out long-term with a finger injury, that means everyone -- including Bennett, a 20-year-old center -- will have to step up. Bennett has had his struggles too. The fourth-overall pick in 2014 hasnt scored in nine straight games and has just one point over that span. The Flames, who were 7-10-1 and saddled with the NHLs worst power play, are looking for more from a lot of players, including Bennett.Anthony Duclair, LW,?Arizona CoyotesThe good news for the Coyotes is that there is light at the end of the arena tunnel. Plans were announced this week for a new home in Tempe. The bad news is that this is a young team that is playing very much like, well, a young team. The Yotes are dead last in the Western Conference, and their five wins are tied for the fewest in the league. One of the issues has been the slow start for promising young forwards such as Duclair, a 21-year-old left winger who is coming off a terrific rookie season that saw him score 20 goals and collect 44 points. This season has been a grind so far for Duclair, the 80th pick of the 2013 draft by the Rangers, as he has just one goal and three points. He has just one point, an assist, in his past six games, and the Coyotes have won two in a row just once this season.Young guns showdown of the weekZach Werenski?D, Columbus Blue Jackets?vs.?Andre Burakovsky, LW, Washington Capitals,?Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ETThis game has a lot more panache than might have been predicted at the start of the season, thanks in large part to the play of a collection of top-end young players in Columbus, led by Werenski. The sixth-overall pick in 2015, Werenski is very much in the Calder Trophy discussion for rookie of the year. And the 19-year-olds 13 points are one off the lead for all NHL defenders this season. Burakovsky, meanwhile, has a boatload of skill and is just waiting for the tide to come in. Coming off a 17-goal season in 2015-16, the 21-year-old has scored just twice thus far for the defending Presidents Trophy-winning Capitals -- and, in fact, has not scored since his two-goal effort in the season opener against the?Pittsburgh Penguins. Dave Whitsell Jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Manti Teo Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-latavius-murray-jersey-large-1892e.html . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Mike McKenzie Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Ted Ginn Jr. Jersey . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins practice began Wednesday with center Mike Pouncey ailing and absent, left tackle Branden Albert working on the side under a trainers supervision, and left guard Laremy Tunsil shaking out the kinks in a sore shoulder that forced him out of last weeks game.The Dolphins have had a hard time keeping their best blockers on the field together, and they probably wont be there Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.Its very worrisome, Albert said. When things are going good, you want to keep them going good.A healthy offensive line was a catalyst for Miamis turnaround, helping Jay Ajayi rush for 529 yards during a three-week stretch. That was part of the current five-game winning streak that has propelled the Dolphins (6-4) into the playoff hunt.But with Albert and Pouncey out last Sunday, and Tunsil missing the second half, Miami failed to convert its first 10 third-down chances and was shut out for 55 minutes before rallying past the Los Angeles Rams 14-10.Miamis left tackle in the second half was Sam Young, who replaced Tunsil, who had replaced Albert. Anthony Steen started for Pouncey, and Kraig Urbik started at left guard. The replacements might all be in the lineup again this week.It affects everyone, because you want consistency there, Ajayi said. But its next man up. Well play with whos in there.That might not be known until Sunday, coach Adam Gase said.Were still trying to figure it out, he said. Its going to take the whole week for us to know. So were going to be repping everybody and just try to take the whole time and figure out who its going to be.Albert, Pouncey and Tunsil have started only four games together, and Miami won them all. Their run blocking helped the Dolphins control the clock, keeping the defense fresher and more effective while easing thhe burden on quarterback Ryan Tannehill , who has committed only one turnover during the winning streak.ddddddddddddSan Francisco is 1-9 and ranked last in the NFL in defense, so the Dolphins might be able to get back for another week with backup blockers.Among the three who are ailing, Tunsil is the most likely to return Sunday. The rookie first-round draft pick was limited in practice Wednesday and afterward declined to discuss his status.Offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen estimated Tunsils chances of playing this week at 50-50, but said preparations will be made to go without all three first-teamers.I hope theyre all healthy, Christensen said. I hope they all make a miraculous recovery. But youve got to make your plan. Youve just kind of got to go with the knowledge youve got today, because otherwise you get your heart broken and you get projecting and making mistakes on the game plan.Albert is recovering from a dislocated left wrist that required five people to snap back into place. He has switched from a cast to a brace and said hell play Sunday if he has enough strength in his hand.Its coming along day by day, he said. I wouldnt rule me out. Ill be back sooner rather than later.Pounceys absence will likely be the longest. Sidelined by a recurring hip injury that also sidelined him for first four games of the year, hes a long shot to play Sunday.Right now its probably not going to look good for him, Gase said. Were going to be week to week.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL.---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine ' ' '