several racist and discriminatory

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Capitals hope to avoid their longest losing streak of the season when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Wednesdays Metropolitan Division battle at Verizon Center. The Capitals have dropped four in a row (0-3-1) and were handed a 4-3 regulation loss in Columbus on Tuesday night. Washingtons longest skid of 2014-15 came during an 0-4-1 stretch from Oct. 26-Nov. 2. Despite its current funk, the Capitals are currently tied with Boston for the Eastern Conferences two wild card spots and the clubs are seven points in front of Florida for that distinction. Washington also sits one point in back of the New York Rangers for third place in the Metro and is five behind second-place Pittsburgh. The Penguins entered the All-Star break on a four-game skid of their own but halted the slide with Tuesdays 5-3 home win over Winnipeg. The Capitals lost their fourth straight road game on Tuesday, but hope to get back on track at home, where they own a 12-5-5 mark this season. After a scoreless first period Tuesday in Columbus, Washington and the Blue Jackets combined for five goals in the second. However, Columbus grabbed a 2-0 lead in the stanza and never allowed the Capitals to even the score after that. Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and an assist in the loss, while Troy Brouwer and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Capitals. Braden Holtby allowed all four goals on 30 shots. We just let them take the game to us in the second and third, said Burakovsky. They took advantage of it so thats something we have to work on. Its unclear if Holtby will start again tonight or if Justin Peters will give Washingtons workhorse goaltender a rare breather. Holtby, who has started 40 games for the Caps this season, doesnt have good career numbers against the Penguins, going 1-4-0 with a 3.40 goals against average in this matchup. Peters is 2-4-2 with a 4.18 GAA in eight career outings versus Pittsburgh. The Penguins picked up their first win since Jan. 13 last night, and did so without the help of either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Patric Hornqvist did return to the lineup for Pittsburgh and scored the game- winning goal during the third period to help the Pens record the 5-3 win over the Jets. Hornqvist, who missed 11 games due to a lower-body injury, finished with two goals. Kris Letang also came back for Pittsburgh after sitting out the final game prior to the All-Star break with a concussion and tallied a career-high five assists. He became the second Penguins defenseman to record at least five helpers in a game. Ron Stackhouse tallied six on March 8, 1975 We know we dont have the skill that we usually carry with Sid and Geno, but guys played a strong game, a smart game, Letang said. We held the puck behind their D. Thats what we tried to exploit and we didnt take any risky chances. David Perron had a goal and an assist and Steve Downie and Nick Spaling also scored for the Penguins, who are three points behind the New York Islanders for first place in the division. Backup netminder Thomas Greiss made 19 saves in Tuesdays win. Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net tonight for the Pens. He boasts a 16-8-2 record and 2.44 GAA in 27 career outings against Washington. Crosby and Malkin are expected to be game-time decisions for the Penguins tonight with lower-body injuries. Both players skipped All-Star weekend to rest their ailments. In other news, after Tuesdays game the Penguins announced they had swapped veteran centers with St. Louis, sending Marcel Goc to the Blues in exchange for Maxim Lapierre. Lapierre has two goals and seven assists in 45 games this season. Goc has two goals and four assists in 43 games. Tonights test marks the second of four regular-season meetings between the Caps and Pens in 2014-15. Washington posted a 3-0 road win on Dec. 27 to halt an eight-game slide in this series. It was Washingtons first win over the Penguins since a 1-0 home victory on Jan. 11, 2012, but the Caps enter tonight having lost three in a row to Pittsburgh in D.C. Mike Palmateer Jersey .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. Bobby Baun Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. http://www.theleafshockeystore.com/Maple-Leafs-Joffrey-Lupul-Adidas-Jersey/ . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Doug Gilmour Jersey . FIFA said in a statement Friday that "several racist and discriminatory incidents were apparently perpetrated by local supporters during the match, in particular by displaying neo-Nazi banners and by making monkey noises and gestures as well as Nazi salutes. Johnny Bower Jersey .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Panthers have signed former St. Louis Rams starting safety Quintin Mikell and placed backup safety Haruki Nakamura on injured reserve with a concussion. The deal was announced Monday. Contract terms were not released. Mikell, a 10-year NFL veteran, will compete for the starting spot with strong safety Mike Mitchell, who was held out of practice Monday with an unspecified injury. The 5-fooot-10, 205-pound Mikell started all 32 games the last two seasons with the Rams and had 214 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and forced nine fumbles.dddddddddddd Mikell went to the Pro Bowl in 2009. The 32-year-old Mikell previously played for Panthers coach Ron Rivera when Rivera was an assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003. Mikell has played in 155 career games with 91 starts. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '