and now weve got to find a way.If the Oilers or Islande

OMAHA, Neb. -- Katie Ledecky, whose own extraordinary standards are her sternest competition, is a one-woman metaphor for American swimming at the upcoming Rio Games.Just as Ledecky is expected to win every time she dives in, at multiple freestyle distances, supremacy is assumed of the U.S. Olympic team. And that dominance has differed only by degree over the long haul. U.S. swimmers collected a combined 40 of the 100 gold medals available in Athens, Beijing and London, and 90 medals overall. Australia is the only nation within shouting distance, with 45 overall.The thermostat gets turned up another notch after the crucible of the Olympic trials. An audience that tunes in every four years is conditioned by success, spoiled by a long, unbroken string of personable stars.First-time Olympians will make up more than half of the Class of 2016, a slight uptick from four years ago. Of the 45 team members for the Rio Games, 30 are rookies. Several are solid medal contenders. The rest will face the usual challenge of avoiding the happy-to-be-there syndrome and racing rather than being athletic sightseers.I think theres some real strengths and there are some, I would say, significant challenges, said womens head coach David Marsh, whose SwimMAC Carolina contingent on the team includes 19-year-old Kathleen Baker in the 100-meter backstroke. Were going to be counting on [veterans] to help fast-forward the younger swimmers so that its not an Olympics of experience, but an Olympics of performance.For all the buzz about newcomers, continuity and first-name recognition also are assured. Five reigning gold medalists will be back in the blocks, and the sports longest and flashiest rivalry lived to see another day.Almost two years after bottoming out personally with a drunken driving arrest, Michael Phelps is poised to add to his record stockpile of 22 Olympic medals, qualifying for Rio 2016 in three individual events despite times that his coach -- and head Olympic mens coach -- Bob Bowman called mediocre. Phelps duel with Ryan Lochte in the 200 individual medley was the marquee race of the trials in Omaha and takes their glittery Olympic rivalry to a fourth continent.Ledecky, the 800-meter champion as a 15-year-old in 2012, is still the youngest athlete on the team but has vaulted from obscurity to international prominence and now a prohibitive favorite in three events. Four-time gold medalist Missy Franklin, battle-scarred at 21, persevered and survived a volatile week in the pool and will swim three events in Rio.Franklin said she tried her best not to measure herself against her brilliant summer of 2012, but still felt vulnerable when she arrived in Omaha. Her very public odyssey from amateur to pro, with its attendant disorientation and distraction, is one that many of her younger teammates may want to watch closely as more and more of them have a shot at extended careers.I think I thickened up my armor quite a bit this week, so moving forward, just very proud of that and excited to see where that toughness can lead me, she said.Sprinters Nathan Adrian (50 and 100 freestyle, and 400 free relay) and Dana Vollmer (100 fly and 400 free relay) will return for their third and fourth Summer Games, respectively. At age 35, Anthony Ervin sent statisticians scrambling by making the cut in the 4x100 freestyle relay and the 50 free -- 16 years after he medaled in both in Sydney.Inevitably, the trials culled senior leadership, as well. Missing from the Rio roster are 2012 backstroke gold medalists Matt Grevers (100 meter), who said hell keep swimming while pursuing opportunities outside the pool, and Tyler Clary (200 meter), who retired after his last trials swim fell short. Veteran sprinter Jessica Hardy ended her competitive career, and iconic 12-time medalist Natalie Coughlin put hers on hold.An eclectic group of rookies elbowed through the crowd to take their places, and they didnt come out of nowhere. Hardy was a formal mentor to several swimmers on the national junior team who are now Rio-bound, including Leah Smith (400 and 800 freestyle, and 800 free relay) and Olivia Smoliga (100 backstroke).It was a really hard team to make, Hardy said. That talent came to fruition a lot sooner than I expected. Its going to be cool to see.Stanford graduate Maya DiRado, dynamic in the pool and possessed of a Zen aura outside it, won both individual medley events and the 200 backstroke to head into what she insists will be her first and last Olympics at age 23. On the other end of the emotive spectrum, DiRados 20-year-old Stanford teammate Simone Manuel wept with joy on and off for 40 minutes after she qualified for the 100 freestyle.She has had the Olympics on such a pedestal, and at 19 years old you can build that up to something that maybe you dont have the emotional maturity to handle in the moment of racing, said Stanford head coach Greg Meehan, who was named to the Olympic womens team staff Sunday. Now that the pressures off, Im really excited to see her swim with some freedom.The men tasked with continuing the much-decorated U.S. tradition in backstroke include David Plummer, owner of the best 100-meter time in the world this year, a father of two with salt-and-pepper hair who at 30 is the oldest male swimmer to make an Olympic debut in nearly 100 years. Josh Prenot, part of a sizeable University of California contingent, blazed to the second-fastest 200 breaststroke of all time (2:07.17) in the trials final.Yet roughly half of the winning times in Omaha lagged behind those of four years ago. Bowman and Marsh had little explanation other than the obvious -- the scope and smothering pressure of the meet, which can be just as hard on seasoned swimmers as green ones.The times I just went arent going to cut it in Rio, and Ive gotta figure that out, said Cals Tom Shields, who qualified for the 100-meter butterfly behind Phelps in a final that was dramatic but not particularly fast. Im very aware of that, and Im sure Michael is, too.As is their practice, neither Phelps nor Bowman offered any specifics on exactly what tweaks theyll make in the training period between now and Rio -- the time swimmers refer to as a double taper. But Phelps, like all of his teammates, needs to step down briefly from the emotional and physical summit of trials before he can eye a higher destination.Marsh said he can divide the team into those who were relieved to make it and those who felt pure joy. Relief is probably easier to get ready, he said.Added Bowman: One of the things that we have always done well, better than anyone else, is improve from the trials to the Games, and Im confident were going to do that again. Anaheim Ducks Shirts . PETERSBURG, Fla. Sergei Fedorov Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. https://www.cheapducks.com/437c-paul-kariya-jersey-ducks.html . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Ondrej Kase Jersey . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Sam Carrick Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. NEW YORK -- The matchup of young superstars Connor McDavid and John Tavares will be the main attraction Saturday night at Barclays Center. But McDavids Edmonton Oilers and Tavares New York Islanders will be less concerned about individual duels and more about snapping their respective teams losing streak when the Islanders host the Oilers in the fourth game of a five-game homestand.The Oilers suffered their third straight defeat Thursday, when they blew a trio of one-goal leads and gave up the final three goals in the third period of a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers. The Islanders lost for the second straight time, and the fourth time in five games, when they blew a third-period lead before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in the shootout.The losing streaks have reminded both the Oilers (7-3-1) and Islanders (4-6-1) how narrow the line is between victory and defeat in the NHL. Edmonton fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in overtime on Tuesday.Obviously, youre never certain about anything -- youve got to play all 60 minutes, Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said.The Islanders have been reminded of that numerous times this season. New York has been tied or ahead in the third period in five of its seven losses.The Islanders inability to put games away is tied into the lack of scoring they have received from forwards. New York, which lost three of its nine 10-goal scorers from last year to free agency (Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen and Matt Martin) is tied for 12th in the league with 30 goals but has received just 19 ggoals from non-defensemen.dddddddddddd Offseason signings Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd have yet to score a goal.Thats my concern -- where are we going to get point production? Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said. Took 134 points out of our lineup that we lost and now weve got to find a way.If the Oilers or Islanders are going to steer out of their skids, theyll likely do so behind McDavid or Tavares. McDavid, who became the youngest captain in NHL history when he was bestowed the C prior to this season at age 19, leads Edmonton with five goals and eight assists. Tavares, who was a comparatively wizened 22 years old when New York named him captain prior to the 2013-14 season, has four assists and a team-high five goals.This will be the third time McDavid and Tavares oppose one another. McDavid had one goal and one assist while Tavares had a goal and two assists as the Oilers and Islanders split last seasons series.With both teams having Friday off, number one goaltenders Cam Talbot and Jaroslav Halak are likely to draw the starts. Talbot, who has started all 11 games this season for the Oilers, is 4-1-0 in seven career appearances against the Islanders. He earned the win the last time he faced New York on Feb. 28, when Talbot stopped 36 of 37 shots in a 3-1 victory at Rexall Place.Halak is 8-3-1 in 13 career appearances against the Oilers. He made 23 saves in taking the loss on Feb. 28. ' ' '