Off Topic » s with a 6-5 victory on Sunday. Shane Doan

The U.S. and Canada share more than the longest undefended border in the world. We share a love of contemporary music. How else can you explain the popularity of Michael Bolton on both sides of the 49th parallel? Therefore, Jay Onraits move to FOX Sports 1 will not deter him nor TSNs Dave Hodge from counting down their Top 20 Albums of the Year. DAVE HODGES TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2013 (Free of pithy commentary) 1. Kurt Vile - WAKIN ON A PRETTY DAZE (Best track - Wakin on a Pretty Day) 2. The National — TROUBLE WILL FIND ME (Dont Swallow the Cap) 3. Justin Rutledge — VALLEYHEART (Four Lean Hounds) 4. Mikal Cronin — MCII (Weight) 5. Frank Turner — TAPE DECK HEART (Recovery—SONG OF THE YEAR!) 6. The Sadies — INTERNAL SOUNDS (Starting All Over Again) 7. Phosphorescent — MUCHACHO (Song For Zula) 8. Blue Rodeo — IN OUR NATURE (New Morning Sun) 9. Avett Brothers — MAGPIE AND THE DANDELION (Another Is Waiting) 10. Superchunk — I HATE MUSIC (Me and You and Jackie Mittoo) 11. Foxygen — WE ARE THE 21ST CENTURY AMBASSADORS OF PEACE AND MAGIC 12. Pearl Jam — LIGHTNING BOLT 13. Smith Westerns — SOFT WILL 14. Shelby Earl — SWIFT ARROWS 15. Neko Case — THE WORSE THINGS GET 16. Jake Bugg — SHANGRI-LA 17. Kevin Devine — BUBBLEGUM/BULLDOZER (separate releases) 18. Dropkick Murphys — SIGNED AND SEALED IN BLOOD 19. Sarah Jarosz — BUILD ME UP FROM BONES 20. Houndmouth — FROM THE HILLS BELOW THE CITY JAY ONRAITS TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2013 1. Vampire Weekend -- "Modern Vampires in the City" ... I got this album and listened to it once and enjoyed it, and then my friend Pat Thornton of pats24hrs.com fame sent out a tweet that said it was easily their greatest album, and then I replied and said, "Yeah, I think it is a great album," and then he said, "NO, ITS THE GREATEST!" but he didnt shout because Pat is a gentle man. Bottom line: This is the greatest album this band has put out, a modern classic, and the album of the year for 2013. Pat said so. 2. Foxygen -- "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic" ... I bought it on recommendation from a friend, gave it a listen and I havent stopped listening since. Sounds like something that could have come out between "If You Believe Your Eyes and Ears" by the Mamas and the Papas and "John The Wolfking of LA" by John Phillips in the late 60s. Every track is a winner. 3. Kurt Vile -- "Wakin on a Pretty Daze" ... This is one of those guys who always sounds like he is stoned but insists in every single interview he is NOT stoned even though he cant really get his words out properly and the title of the album is kind of a giveaway. You dont need to be stoned to enjoy it. The songs are long and flowing and full of loopy guitars and ... never mind. 4. Deerhunter -- "Monomania" ... Their last album was my favourite record of 2010 ("Halcyon Digest"), and when I first heard this one I thought, "Oh crap, theyve screwed it up this time." But as usual I was wrong. Bradford Cox is a little like the Prince of the indie-rock world, recording more material than he can possibly put out and probably storing it somewhere in his purple-coloured mansion for release upon his death. And by "purple-coloured mansion," I mean his apartment because no one is making money from music anymore. 5. Superchunk -- "I Hate Music" ... These guys are OLD and they keep putting out great record after great record. Its like the opposite of The Killers. 6. Yo La Tengo -- "Fade" ... See No. 5. 7. Arcade Fire -- "Reflektor" ... I have to admit I thought they had gone a little overboard with that special after their Saturday Night Live appearance where Michael Cera was speaking Spanish, and then I thought they had gone a little overboard when they asked all their fans to put on suits and dresses for their concerts, and then I listened to the record. Its really good. James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem handles a lot of the production. I love Regine Chassagnes voice. They might be the biggest band in the world and theyre based in Montreal. I guess I can put on a suit for that. 8. Daft Punk -- "Random Access Memories" ... When I first moved to L.A., I would leave work at night and put this album on in my car and listen to the first track "Give Life Back To Music" while cruising down the 10 on the way home and it felt very "L.A." Then I would shut the song off and "Hollywood Nights" by Bob Seger would come on the radio and it felt even more L.A. Then I would get stuck in traffic. 9. Imaginary Cities -- "Fall of Romance" ... When I was living in Winnipeg, I asked a guy why so many amazing musicians come from that city -- Neil Young, The Guess Who, Weakerthans, the list goes on and on. His theory was as follows: If you are a city that is blisteringly cold and covered in snow for at least half the year, you do a lot of drugs and learn to play instruments. I think that may be over-simplifying it a bit, but these guys opened for the Pixies. 10. Neko Case -- "The Worse Things Get" ... Neko has a very interesting and vulnerable Twitter feed. She is very real and honest about her fears and hopes and loneliness. She also happens to have one of the greatest voices in music today. 11. Best Coast -- "Fade Away EP ... Speaking of great voices and great social media feeds, Best Coast lead singer and songwriter Bethany Cosentino recently sent out an Instagram pic of Peg Bundy and Kelly Bundy from "Married With Children" in which they said, "I want to do nothing. I want to be nothing," and she said, "Exactly." She is also obsessed with Seinfeld. Basically she is perfection. 12. Speedy Ortiz -- "Major Arcana" ... You had me at "sounds like early 90s indie rock." 13. Ty Segall -- "Sleeper" ... This is a pretty mellow effort from a guy who puts out an album a year. Sometimes three. Having said that (as Larry David would say), this might be his best. 14. Parquet Courts -- "Light Up Gold" ... See No. 12. 15. Mikal Cronin -- "MCII" ... This guy plays bass and sings in Ty Segalls backup band, and Ty Segall is pretty much constantly touring so it must have been tough to find the time to record this album. But thank God he did! It sounds like modern day Matthew Sweet! 16. Waxahatchee -- "Cerulean Salt" ... And this one sounds like modern day PJ Harvey! All the songs are amazing. This is the kind of album you should buy for that mysterious and somewhat standoffish girl at work youre trying to court but she clearly thinks youre an idiot. This will show her. This will show her you ARE an idiot but you have good taste in music. 17. Volcano Choir -- "Repave" ... Bon Iver guy Justin Vernons other group. If I told you this was the new Bon Iver album you would just shrug and say, "Sounds pretty good! When is he on SNL again, and is he bringing that big guy who plays the chimes and trombone?" or something to that effect. 18. Brendan Canning -- "You Gots 2 Chill" ... I saw Brendan recently and forgot to ask him this: Was the title of this album some motivational message he wrote himself on a Post-It note that he stuck on the fridge one night after he got a bit too passionate during a drunken argument with friends? Ill bet it was. Not that Im speaking from experience or anything (Im speaking from experience). Perfect Sunday morning record. Also youre supporting a hard-working Canadian artist here, so get the vinyl! 18. Tegan and Sara -- "Heartthrob" ... I remember when I was hosting The Big Breakfast in Winnipeg and our Producer had just come from The Big Breakfast in Calgary and she told us they would have Tegan and Sara on the show all the time because they were born and raised in Calgary. I really loved Tegan and Sara and hoped we might get them to appear on our show as well. That never happened because they became huge stars. I couldnt have been happier for them, but I really think they would have liked our coffee. 19. (tie) Local Natives -- "Hummingbird"/Camera Obscura -- "Desire Lines" ... Good, but I was expecting better. Like Larry Davids "Clear History" or "Man of Steel" or "Hooters Restaurant." 20. My Bloody Valentine -- "mbv" ... Like the opposite of "Chinese Democracy." Jordan Poyer Jersey . When the next inning rolled around Wednesday, though, Nationals manager Matt Williams sent Strasburg to the mound to face the top of the Dodgers order in what would become a 3-2 victory for Washington, the first time this season the No. Trent Murphy Jersey . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. http://www.thebillsgearshop.com/Bills-Zay-Jones-Draft-Jersey/ . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Andre Holmes Jersey . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. Jeremy Kerley Jersey .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins were glad to be back at Consol Energy Center after their longest road trip in three years. Recently, though, theyve felt right at home against the Washington Capitals regardless of where they play. Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, leading Pittsburgh to a 2-0 victory over Washington on Tuesday night. Jussi Jokinen and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins, who swept the teams home-and series one night after beating the Capitals 3-2 in Washington. Pittsburgh has beaten its longtime rivals a franchise-record eight straight times. "Every time we play them, its pretty intense," said Fleury, who has 28 career shutouts. "Its always a close game and a hard-fought game, so its nice to get the W." The Penguins have also won three in a row and picked up at least a point in eight of their last 10 games. Pittsburgh was at home for the second time since the end of the Olympic break, having travelled more than 6,000 miles in playing five games over three time zones the previous 10 days. Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 shots in his third start for Washington. Alexander Ovechkin was held without a point for the fourth consecutive game as the Capitals lost for the fourth time in their last five. Fleury tied his career high for shutouts in a season while winning his sixth straight start against the Capitals, whom the Penguins swept the season series from for the second year in a row. "We created a lot more chances than last game and more shots, and that was something we wanted to improve on," Crosby said. "But defensively we were pretty good." Pittsburgh widened its lead in the Eastern Conference to three points over the idle Boston Bruins and also increased its Metropolitan Division bulge to 16 points over the New York Rangers. Unlike Fleury, Halak was played both games on consecutive nights between the teams. Acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres last week, Halaks first three starts with the Capitals have come over a four-day span. Jokinen beat him at 16:41 of the first. Left unchecked by Capitals defenceman Mike Green while skating through the slot, Jokinen offered a deft re-direct of Matt Niskanens shot from the right point for his 17th goal of the season -- but first since Jan. 30. Evgeni Malkin earned the second assist on the play, extending his assists streak to five games. Crosby scored for the second straight night against Halak, this time with a low wrist shot to the stick side with 5:48 left in the game after skating swiftly down the right wing. Halak said he wass surprised by the shot -- he was expecting Crosby to pass it to Chris Kunitz.dddddddddddd. "I just tried to look to pass as long as I could," Crosby said, "just to see if hed bite and try to hold him there." Lee Stempniak had the only assist on the goal in his home debut for Penguins after he and fellow forward Marcel Goc were acquired in trade-deadline day deals last week. Eleven minutes into the second period, the Capitals came the closest to scoring when rookie Evgeny Kuznetsov flipped a shot from just to the right of Fleury that clanged off the post before deflecting off of Fleurys left pad as he sprawled out. "If we tie the game there," Ovechkin said, "maybe its a little bit different game." Largely untested and forced to make just 12 saves through two periods, Fleury faced the brunt of the Washington onslaught during the third. "The first period, they controlled the game," Ovechkin said. "The last 30 minutes, we played our game, got the puck deep, started to cycle. Maybe we were just a little bit tired, maybe we were just a little sleepy. We just werent ready for the first period. The Capitals No.2 NHL power play had two opportunities over the games final 12 minutes, plus an extended 6-on-5 with Halak pulled over the final 90 seconds. But Fleury denied chances by Mark Chimera, Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson for some of his best third-period saves. "The first and second, there werent too many shots," Fleury said. "The third was crazy -- but it was fun though. You get a good sweat and get a win." Washington dropped into 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and dropped three points out of the final playoff spot. "(The desperation level) needs to be a little more from everybody," Halak said. "Now, its do-or-die for us." NOTES: Kunitz missed a shift after crashing violently into the goal post during the third period. Bylsma said the contact was not directly to Kunitzs knee. ... Washington C Brooks Laich did not make the trip to Pittsburgh because he continues to be hampered by a groin injury. Laich has missed two of the past four games. ... Early Tuesday, the Capitals recalled C Casey Wellman and D Patrick Wey from their American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey. Wey, a native of a Pittsburgh suburb, was a healthy scratch. ... Before the game, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said that D Kris Letang has been skating and working out in Pittsburgh. Letang has not played since suffering a stroke Jan. 29. He remains out indefinitely. Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '