ame against Edmonton star Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.Matthews, who had six goals and four assists in his first six games,

PHILADELPHIA -- Long snappers are the most overlooked starters in the NFL until they mess up or get hurt. China NFL Jerseys .The Philadelphia Eagles were down to the No. 3 guy on their depth chart after Jon Dorenbos broke his wrist and backup Brent Celek suffered a stinger in a 27-22 loss to Washington last Sunday.Things got comical at that point.Linebacker Mychal Kendricks decided to try out for the job on the sideline. Defensive end Bryan Braman also attempted a few snaps.But versatile tight end Trey Burton got the call in a clutch spot in the fourth quarter. Burtons snap sailed high, punter Donnie Jones reached up to make the catch and put it down in time for Caleb Sturgis to stutter-step and kick a 41-yard field goal that gave the Eagles a short-lived lead.Donnie made an unbelievable play, Burton said. Hes obviously really good at what he does.Celeks only snap on a 50-yard field goal try was low and Jones couldnt handle it. Neither Celek nor Burton knew kicking balls arent the same as game balls. Theyre much slicker.I dont know why they do that, but it was real waxy, Celek said.The Eagles signed Rick Lovato to replace Dorenbos, who had played in 162 straight games since 2006. Celek and Burton now plan to snap a little more in practice. They may even use kicking balls.I havent done it since training camp, Burton said.Lovato played two games for the Redskins last month after Nick Sundberg was injured. Washingtons emergency long snapper is backup quarterback Colt McCoy. He doesnt fit the profile for the position, but McCoy volunteered for the job in the summer.I told them I could do it, which was a lie, McCoy said. Ive never done it before. But when I went out to do it, I was good at it. I was serviceable. Ive gotten a lot better ever since, and if they need me, Ill step in and do it.McCoy also is the backup punter and holder.We tried everybody who had shoulder pads -- everybody who was dressed, Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. Hes pretty good actually. Not much of a blocker, but hes pretty good.The Ravens once turned to star defensive tackle Haloti Ngata after Morgan Cox tore his right ACL in a game in 2014. Ngatas snap on an extra point was successful. Baltimore almost used running back Willis McGahee when Cox tore his left ACL in a game in 2010, but Cox finished the game out.Most teams have more traditional backups -- linemen, tight ends, linebackers.Travis Kelce, a 2015 Pro Bowl tight end, is one of Kansas Citys backups. His brother, Jason Kelce, is Philadelphias starting center. But snapping the ball on punts and kicks is a different, tougher task. Thats why Travis Kelce is the Chiefs No. 2 guy on punts and fullback Anthony Sherman is the backup on kicks.The idea behind using both guys is that its so hard to be a snapper, to do a long snap and then shift to a short snap so I just wanted Kelce to focus on long snapping and then Sherman is another guy that we can use in a short snapping situation, Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub said.Long snappers have to fire spirals to a punter standing 15 yards away and to a holder 7 or 8 yards deep. It requires speed and perfect placement because timing is crucial for kickers.Those guys are specialists for a reason and theyre so good and you dont realize how bad youre going to miss them until something like that happens, Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said.Tanner Purdum has been New Yorks long snapper since 2010. Jason Taylor, the six-time Pro Bowl defensive end, was Purdums backup that year. But Boyer wouldnt reveal what the team would do in an emergency now.Its a scary deal if youre in our position, said Boyer, who played with Eagles special teams coach Dave Fipp in college at Arizona. Thats a doomsday scenario, for sure.NFL teams didnt always dedicate a roster spot to a player who was only a long snapper. They used guys who also played other positions. Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews was a long snapper throughout his career for Houston/Tennessee. His son, Jake Matthews, is Atlantas starting left tackle and backup long snapper behind Josh Harris.Ive been doing it since like peewee, Jake Matthews said. My dad did it forever in the league. That was one of the first things he taught us because its definitely got a lot value. It can take you a long way.Thats why Kendricks started practicing on his own earlier this season with the Eagles after his playing time on defense was reduced.The more you can do, the longer you can stay in the league, Kendricks said.The role has become so specialized that each team has a player who serves only as a long snapper. The Denver Broncos even have two long snappers on their roster because Casey Kreiter strained a calf a month ago so they signed veteran Thomas Gafford.---AP Pro Football Writers Arnie Stapleton and Teresa M. Walker and AP Sports Writers Stephen Whyno, David Skretta, Josh Dubow, Dennis Waszak, Dave Ginsburg, Steven Wine, Charles Odum, John Wawrow and Tom Canavan contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi Cheap Hockey Jerseys . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. NHL Jerseys From China . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. http://www.chinaauthenticcheapnfljerseys.com/ . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. PITTSBURGH -- Matt Murray stood tall for the Pittsburgh Penguins during a key second-period sequence in which the short-handed Toronto Maple Leafs tried to make a push.Murray turned aside the threat and the Penguins took over from there, putting away a tired Maple Leafs team in the final 20 minutes.Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust scored in the third period to help Pittsburgh pull away for a 4-1 victory over Toronto on Saturday night.I think sometimes you give up opportunities and we kind of dodged one with some of the chances they got, Crosby said. Those were some big saves and we were able to get those go-ahead goals after that.Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz also scored and Murray stopped a career-high 35 shots as Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in nine games.Zach Hyman scored for the Maple Leafs and Frederik Andersen had 45 saves in his second start in two nights. Toronto has won just once in its last eight on the road.I thought our fatigue showed a bit in the third period, Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. Our goalie was good and we gave up two, what I think, are bad goals that are D-zone coverage.Murray kept the game tied at 1 late in the second period, denying Connor Brown and Matt Martin on a pair of point-blank, short-handed opportunities, in addition to a stop on another odd-man rush.My job is to make the save at the right time, to bail them out when they need it, and they came out hot in the third, said Murray, who has won his last 11 regular-season starts. We were pretty much unstoppable in the third.Kunitz put the Penguins ahead with 18 seconds left in the period when he flipped the puck over a sprawled Andersen.To get that goal late in the second definitely gave us a big boost, Crosby said.Rust made it 3-1 at 6:58 of the third period when he took a feed from Crosby at the faceoff dot and put a shot on Andersen. He got his own rebound and darted to the net, sweeping a shot past Andersens outstretched pad.Crosby extended the lead a little more than three minutes later, tapping in a twice-redirected shot from the top of the crease for his 10th of the season. Crosby, who missed the Penguins first six games with a concussion, has 10 goals and 133 points in his last nine. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping. The Penguins, who rebounded from their first regulation loss on home ice Thursday against Minnesota, extended their unbeaten stretch against Toronto to nine games, including seven in Pittsburgh.Everyone has been there with back-to-back games, Crosby said. Going into the third, its not easy, but I thought we did a good job of keeping our foot on the gas and applying pressure.Hyman got Toronto on the scoreboard first less than two minutes into the game with a between-the-legs deflection over Murrays shoulder from the right post. It was Hymans second goal of the season and second in two nights.Malkin scored his eighth on the power play to tie it at 3:06 of the second. Kris Letangs initial shot from between the circles ricocheted off the end boards behind the net and Malkin was near the post to tap it in.Malkin has points in nine of his last 11 games, including four straight overall and six consecutive at home. Patric Hornqvist, who had an assist on the goal, has points in 11 of 15 games this season.This was the first meeting between Crosby and Maple Leafs rookie forward Auston Matthews. Crosby faced Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, four days after his first game against Edmonton star Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.Matthews, who had six goals and four assists in his first six games, hasnt scored since Oct. 25, and has just three assists in his last nine games. He was shut out again on Saturday with one shot in nearly 17 minutes of ice timeGame notes Leafs D Matt Hunwick played for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Oct. 25. ... Penguins F Tom Kuhnhackl was in the lineup for the first time in six games. ... The Penguins wore their Pittsburgh Gold white road jerseys on home ice for the first time since Game 2 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final against Chicago.UP NEXTToronto: Hosts Nashville on Tuesday night in the opener of a stretch of three of four at home.Pittsburgh: At Washington on Wednesday night to start a stretch of five of six on the road. NFL Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Hoodies Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Discount Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 Camo China NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Discount Jerseys ' ' '