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ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins made a statement Saturday that the defending American Hockey League champions intend to make another long playoff run. Andrej Nestrasils three-point night helped Grand Rapids to a 7-2 win over the Abbotsford Heat and a 2-0 lead in its best-of-five first-round series. The third-year pro scored his first two career AHL playoff goals and added an assist in the blowout victory. "Hes been good," said Griffins captain Jeff Hoggan. "He was in Toledo (ECHL) last year but hes a skilled player. When we lose guys like (Tomas Tatar) and (Tomas) Jurco, guys who go up to the Red Wings, we need somebody to fill that role and hes done a fantastic job for us." The Griffins now head back home in hopes of a sweep after taking both games at the Abbotsford Centre. The Griffins won 2-1 on Friday in double overtime. "Yesterday was the first game of the playoffs, so everyone was kind of nervous," said Nestrasil. "I felt that sometimes we were trying to make plays, even if they werent there. Today we started a little more simple and it came out of that. We didnt let them shoot. They scored two first-period goals, five shots on net, so were going to try to play better defensively, because when you play well defensively you get the offensive chances after." Ryan Sproul, the Game 1 overtime hero, and Teemu Pulkkinen each had a goal and two assists for Grand Rapids while Trevor Parkes, Cody Emmerton and Hoggan also scored for the visitors, whose parent club Detroit was eliminated from the NHL playoffs and is expected to send some bodies back for Game 3 on Wednesday. "Weve got some talented young guys back there," said Hoggan of rookie defencemen like Sproul. "This is the time when you want to see what theyre all about. Playoff hockey is the toughest hockey. For them to step up, its going to be huge for us to go on and go far. We know theyre capable and theyre doing it at crunch time." Petr Mrazek had to stop just 15 shots, compared to his 55-save performance the night before. Max Reinhart had a goal and an assist for Abbotsford, which may have played its final home game after it was announced last week that the franchise will not be back in the city next season. Emile Poirier had the other goal, while Joni Ortio stopped 25-of-30 shots before being pulled. Doug Carr mopped up, making 14 saves. Though the Heat were embarrassed on home ice, and cancelled their regular post-game presser, the Griffins know that Game 3 wont be easy. "We have to make sure its hard for them to get opportunities," said Nestrasil. "Every chance, they need to earn it and make sure they have to come through us all the time." Abbotsford opened the scoring at the 7:40 mark of the first. Reinhart stepped into a shot in the high slot. Mrazek kicked it right to Poirier, who quickly brought the puck to his forehand and snapped it blocker side for his first professional playoff goal. The visitors, however, tied the game not long after. Mattias Janmark drove hard to the net and centred for Parkes, who chipped it by Ortio for his first AHL playoff goal at 10:13. The Heat regained the lead with a power-play goal at 15:32. Reinhart tried to centre for Ben Hanowski but it ricocheted off the skate of Brennan Evans. Just 35 seconds later the Griffins again drew even when Sprouls one-timer from the point was deflected by Nestrasil. Grand Rapids scored a short-handed goal late in the first to take their first lead. Emmerton made a move around one defender, then fought off another and chipped the puck past Ortio while falling to his backside, giving Detroits 2006 second-round selection his first AHL playoff goal in five years. Hoggan doubled the lead two minutes into the second period when he took a cross-ice feed from Pulkkinen and fired a wrist shot over the glove of Ortio, giving him 14 career AHL playoff goals. Nestrasil chased Ortio at 11:19 of the second, snapping a shot short side from a bad angle. "I just wanted to dump the puck in, but nobody came to me," said the Prague native. "I was basically walking into the zone. I just threw it at the net and it went through. Im glad I can score a goal like that. Im glad we scored a lot of goals because it gives the guys confidence." Sproul scored a power-play goal at 6:45 of the third and Pulkkinen added another on the power play at 12:09. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . Thaddeus Young scored seven of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Evan Turner added 22 points, and the 76ers hung on for their first road win since Nov. 1, beating the depleted Los Angeles Lakers 111-104 on Sunday night. Rod Brind Amour Jersey .C. -- Kevin Harvick won his first career pole at Darlington Raceway on Friday as he looks to chase his first Southern 500. http://www.hurricanessale.com/authentic-...ricanes-jersey/. -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend. Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . 4 jersey of former defenseman Rob Blake this coming season. The ceremony will take place prior to the Kings January 17 game against Anaheim.As Randy Carlyle watched Team Canada clinch their second consecutive Olympic gold medal early Sunday morning, it was the way in which they went about achieving success - a complete defensive domination surrendering just three goals against in six games - which piqued his interest most. "I looked at it and I hope our players understand that defense does win, thats the simplest statement you can make," said the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach on Monday. If there is a goal for the Leafs over their remaining 22 games, it should be to clamp down defensively. Throughout the season, they have routinely been outshot, allowing 40 or more shots on 16 different occasions, and a league high 2175, 146 more than the next highest team, the Ottawa Senators. Of their 32 wins, the Maple Leafs lead the NHL with 25 wins in games that they have been outshot. A large part of their success has come from excellent goaltending and their ability to outscore their defensive issues, sitting behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most goals scored in the Eastern Conference. But come playoff time, it is often the best defensive teams that emerge victorious. "We know that we can score goals as a team so if we can tighten up a little bit our defence, we feel were going to be a tough team to beat," said Jonathan Bernier, who has faced the third-most shots in the NHL this season. "I think that youve seen that over a long time, not just in that tournament, that good defensive teams have success," added captain Dion Phaneuf. "When you play good defence, it means you have the puck more and that generates more offence. Thats a fair statement when you say defence wins, its been like that for a long time." Team Canadas defence was made effective, primarily by the cohesion featured among the five playeers on the ice at any given time, and the relentless nature in which forwards back checked.dddddddddddd While that system was executed by some of the finest players in the game, strong defensive skills are not like offensive talent. When it comes to scoring goals, some players simply have more of a knack at it than others but, as Dave Bolland explained, there should be no excuse for poor defensive play. "Defence is about commitment," he said. "I know coming into the NHL, my defensive skills were terrible, and I admit that. But I learned that defence wins you games. I sort of took a hold of that and set it up as my third-line role." Bollands impending return (he, like last week, remained coy today about the potential of dressing against the New York Islanders this Thursday) should help lead the way in terms of defensive commitment. In 15 games before going down with the severed tendon in his left ankle, Bolland showed himself to be among the Leafs top defensive forwards. "I learned a lot about back checking when I got into the league," said Bolland. "When I was in juniors, you didnt even think about coming back. Once I got up to the NHL, you learn backchecking is crucial. The first guy I learned that from was Marian Hossa. You see that guy backcheck, he corrupts [sic] a lot of puck and he corrupts [sic] a lot of sticks, hes always back in the right spots." For an example of the style of play he hopes his players can work toward, Carlyle looked no further than the gold medal game itself. "In that game, it was played at a very high pace, but defence, probably on both hockey clubs, was very evident in the way they approached it and how they tried to set up their defensive schemes," he explained. 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