Canadiens got bigger in Sa

PHILADELPHIA -- The Montreal Canadiens got bigger in Saturdays NHL draft but couldnt resist the allure of five-foot-eight Sherbrooke centre Daniel Audette. Matt Guokas Jersey Signed . Its other five picks were all six foot or better, with three at 6-1 or above. Third-round pick Brett Lernout stands six foot four and weighs 206 pounds. "Hes a big strong strapping defenceman," Trevor Timmins, Montreals director of amateur scouting, said of Lernout. "Hes tough as nails and has a heavy shot." Timmins had talked prior to the draft about the Habs wanting to "get bigger, stronger, faster." "But at the same time if theres a player thats undersized there and hes a good hockey player, then hes hard to pass. Thats the situation here with Daniel -- similar to a Brendan Gallagher in his draft year. You simply cant go by a player with that much ability." Gallagher is five foot nine and 180 pounds but plays much larger. The 175-pound Audette had 21 goals and 55 assists in 68 games last season. Audette, the son of Habs amateur scout and former NHLer Donald Audette, went in the fifth round. Timmins said Audette Sr. had not been involved in any of the pre-draft discussion on his son. In fact, Donald was told to spend the afternoon in the stands with his wife and son until Daniel got drafted. Donald collected 260 goals and 249 assists 735 career NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Montreal and Florida Panthers. The Canadiens traded up to get Lernout, a Swift Current defenceman. They gave up their third-round pick (87th overall) and fourth-round pick (117th overall) to get Arizonas third-rounder (73rd overall). "I looked at the team picking in front of us and I thought there was a good chance that he wouldnt be there (by Montreals pick) ... We wanted to add some size on defence and he was a good fit for us there," said Timmins. Montreal took AJHL defenceman Nikolas Koberstein (125th overall) and Audette (147th overall) in the fifth round, USHL goalie Hayden Hawkey (177th overall) in the sixth round and Ontario Junior Hockey League forward Jake Evans (207th overall) in the seventh round. Montreal used its first-round pick Friday to take Russian forward Nikita Scherbak of the Saskatoon Blades 26th overall. Thanks to reaching the Eastern Conference final, the Canadiens draft position was well down this year. "If you take a look at our picks in every round, theyre pretty late. So the asset value of the picks we had wasnt near as high as last year or the year before," Timmins said. "Thats why we had to make that trade in the third (round) to move up. "We had to wait out turn pretty long in each round. Ill tell you (how we did) a few years down the road. But were happy with the guys we got. Theyre the guys we targeted and we still had guys left on the list that we wanted to draft." The Habs went "under the radar" on Koberstein, according to their scouting director. "I think this guy has good upside and long-range projection," he said. "Hes a great kid and has tons of character but hes a good hockey player too." Koberstein is committed to play at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks after one more year with the Olds Grizzlys of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Timmins sees him as a five-year player, meaning he has one year at Junior A and four at college. Hawkey, USHL goalie of the year, is committed to play collegiate hockey at Providence. "Hes like money in the bank," said Timmins. Evans is headed to Notre Dame. "Hes a skilled centre with great playmaking ability," said Timmins. Malik Allen Jersey Signed .2 million in 2012, according to tax returns the league has submitted. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . Even that couldnt slow them down against the New Orleans Hornets. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece and the Thunder overcame injuries to two key backups to beat New Orleans 101-93 Monday night for their 10th straight home win.NEW YORK -- Rick Nash scored the winning goal with 1:42 left, on New Yorks third shot of the third period, and the Rangers clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the NHL-worst Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. Drew Stafford gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the second, and Benoit Pouliot tied in in the final minute of the frame. Nash fired a one-timer off a cross-zone feed from Martin St. Louis, and sent the puck past Hacketts glove to break the 1-1 tie for his 26th goal. The Rangers then killed a late penalty against Brian Boyle, the third Sabres power play of the third period. Drew Stafford gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the second, and Benoit Pouliot tied in in the final minute of the frame. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots in the win, New Yorks last home game of the season. The Rangers final game is at Montreal on Saturday. Hackett made 28 saves for the Sabres, 2-15-1 in their last 18 games. The Rangers dominated the Sabres 18-1 in shots in the second period, yet had only a 1-1 tie to show for it. Buffalo recorded the first five shots of the game, and New York didnt record its first until Pouliots partial breakaway 7:30 in. However, the Rangers had a 27-13 edge through 40 minutes. The Sabres made the most of their only second-period shot and grabbedd a 1-0 lead on it with 10:54 left in the period. Darrell Brown Jersey Signed. Buffalo defenceman Mike Weber drifted backward with the puck from the right circle toward the blue line, and flipped a shot toward the Rangers net. Stafford, stationed in front of Lundqvist, got enough of his stick on it to deflect it into the net for his 16th goal of the season. New York did nothing with its two power plays in the first period or its next two in the second after a two-goal performance with the man advantage Tuesday against Carolina. It took until there were only 30.4 seconds left in the middle frame to get even with the Sabres. Hackett had been tough up until then, including shaking off a hard one-timer off the stick of Brad Richards that struck him flush in the forehead portion of his mask with 2:11 remaining in the period. After being briefly attended to on the ice by medical personnel, Hackett got up off his knees and stayed in the game. Pouliot took a pass across the Sabres zone in the left circle and fired a drive past Hackett to tie it. It was Pouliots 15th goal of the season and third in five games. NOTES: Lundqvist had a run of 26 minutes, 32 seconds between saves -- spanning from the first period until the third. ... Stafford and Sabres D Henrik Tallinder both returned to the lineup after missing four games each due to injury. Stafford has six goals and nine points in his past 13 games. ... The Rangers didnt record their first shot in the third period until Carl Hagelins attempt with 6:20 left. ... New York didnt take a penalty until the third period. In Tuesdays win, the Rangers were unpenalized in a full game for the first time since Jan. 10, 2012, against Phoenix. ' ' '