Nyassi was perhaps Montreals best player against Ch

NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers have signed free agent forwards Michael Grabner and Nathan Gerbe and defensemen Adam Clendening and Michael Paliotta.General manager Jeff Gorton announced the signings Friday as the Rangers used the opening day of free agency to improve their team speed and penalty killing and to add a little depth on defense.Grabner got a two-year contract worth $1.6 million annually while Gerbe got a one-year deal for $600,000. Clendening got a one-year, two-way contract that will pay him either $600,000 if he plays in the NHL or $300,000 in the AHL.Contract terms for Paliotta, who played last season in the AHL, were not available.Grabner played in a career-high 80 games with Toronto this past season, registering nine goals and nine assists. He ranked second among NHL forwards in short-handed ice time with 248 minutes, 29 seconds.The 28-year-old Austrian has skated in 397 career NHL games over parts of seven seasons with Vancouver, the Islanders and Toronto, registering 104 goals and 69 assists for 173 points. He is tied for fourth in the NHL in short-handed goals since the start of the 2010-11 with 12. Grabner has recorded at least 20 goals in a season twice in his career.Gerbe had three goals and four assists in 47 games with Carolina this past season. He has skated in 394 career NHL games over parts of eight seasons with Buffalo and Carolina, registering 58 goals and 80 assists. Gerbe has been on the ice for only 20 power play goals while logging 247:03 of short-handed ice time throughout his career.The Rangers finished 26th in the NHL on the penalty kill with a 78.2 percent rating.Clendening skated in 29 NHL games with Pittsburgh and Edmonton this past season with one goal and six assists. The 23-year-old has skated in 50 career NHL games over parts of two seasons (2014-15 and 2015-16) with Chicago, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, and Edmonton, registering two goals and nine assists.Paliotta, 23, skated in 68 games with the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League this past season, getting eight goals and 15 assists. He was drafted in the third round in 2011 and has played in two NHL games.Wholesale Shoes NZ . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Under Armour NZ Sale .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. http://www.discountunderarmournz.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Under Armour Shoes NZ . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Cheap Under Armour NZ From China . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match.MONTREAL -- Now comes the tough part for the Montreal Impact. After picking up only two of a possible nine points against lower-ranked teams, the MLS Eastern Conference leaders begin a series of three matches against top contenders tonight when they visit the New York Red Bulls. You can see the game on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. Montreal (9-4-4) finished the first half of the 34-game regular season with the leagues best record, but that is about to be tested. After New York, they have home games against Dallas and Kansas City, who are currently in second spot in their respective conferences. "Theyre good teams," goalkeeper Troy Perkins said this week. "Itll be a gut-check for us, to see where were really at and see how badly we really want to win in this league and how far we really want to go." The Impact have games in hand over all their closest rivals, but they let a chance to take a stranglehold on first place slip away with a 4-3 loss at home to Colorado followed by draws of 3-3 in Toronto and 1-1 at home to Chivas USA. Its hard to call a 0-1-2 skid a slump, but they will need to be better, especially on defence, to stay on top against clubs like third-place New York (8-7-4). The Red Bulls have played two more games but could tie the Impacts 31 points with a win. "In this league, its impossible to stay on a roll the whole year," added Perkins. "Youre going to have valleys. "Theres so much parity in this league that anyone can beat anyone. Its not like the EPL or the Bundesliga where theres four teams that run the show every year. So we have to find our feet and start grinding out results again." The Impact should have midfielder Justin Mapp back from a leg injury to boost an attack led by forwards Marco Di Vaio, the co-leader in MLS goal-scoring with 11, and Daniele Paponi. The Red Bulls are having troubles of their own, with one win and four losses in their last five matches. They fell 2-0 at Colorado in their last outing on July 4. This week, 37-year-old Juninho decided to return to Brazil after only 13 games with New York, but they still have a potentially lethal attack led by Thierry Henry and Fabian Espindola. And Australian international Tim Cahill looks to be back on track with four goals in his last eight games. "Its about trying to get it right this week," Cahill told his teams website. "These are the big games you want to play. A result against them would be pretty special." "Although they didnt win for a while, theyre a difficultt team to beat," added Henry, who has six goals in five career games against Montreal.dddddddddddd "They can be behind and come back in it." Thats what happened the last time they met on May 8, as the Red Bulls took a lead on two Henry goals before Montreal answered with a late strike from Di Vaio. The Italian, who turns 37 on Monday, nearly tied it at the end when he put a shot off both goalposts. The Impact defeated New York 1-0 in March at Olympic Stadium. "Our attitudes the same, the only thing I see is maybe we need to start worrying about ourselves more instead of focusing on the big picture," added Perkins. "Start worrying about what we have to do on the pitch and stop worrying about results." Coach Marco Schallibaum said the team put out a better defensive effort against Chivas while still generating most of the scoring chances against a team that elected to stay back and defend. There is more back-and-forth play when they face New York, which made for entertaining soccer in their first two meetings. "Weve been a little bit unlucky these last three games and we didnt play like we normally play, but during a season, that can happen," said midfielder Felipe Martins. "The important thing is that we get back to doing what we did before. No panic." Schallibaum does not announce his starting 11, but he is expected to go with the usual back line of Matteo Ferrari and Alessandro Nesta flanked by Jeb Brovsky and Hassoun Camara, who has two goals in his last three games. Other than Felipe and Patrice Bernier, the midfield is up in the air, as captain Davy Arnaud will likely be ready to play after being rested for a game. Arnaud recently returned from a concussion. Sanna Nyassi was perhaps Montreals best player against Chivas and may have earned another start while Mapp, Andres Romero, Andrea Pisanu and Collen Warner are available. Most of talk this week was about how well the team did in the first half of the season, but now comes the tougher job of staying on top. "Were happy with where were at, but now its time to turn on the after-burners," said Brovsky. The Impact should get a notion of what the front office is up to when team president Joey Saputo holds a news conference on Monday. There may be news on the future of injured central defender Nelson Rivas, who has yet to play this season, or of potential new signings. Sporting director Nick De Santis is looking for a creative attacking player and depth in the central defence now that the transfer window is open. ' ' '