Watch Jonathan Quick’s 5 greatest saves from Kings’ Game 3 shutout of Devils (VIDEO)

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The New Jersey Devils had their best chances of the Stanley Cup Final in Game 3. Unfortunately for them, Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick had his best game of the Final on Monday night.

He stopped all 22 shots he faced in the 4-0 win, his third shutout of the postseason and first since Game 2 against the Phoenix Coyotes. Quick now has a 1.36 GAA and a .950 save percentage. He has a shot at catching Marty Turco's 2007 record for playoff save percentage (.952) with another stellar performance in Game 4.

Quick provided nightmare fuel for the Devils in Game 3, thwarting a few chances that seemed tagged for the back of the net. Not only that, but two key saves led to Kings goals moments later.

Here are the five greatest stops from Quick's perfect Game 3 victory, which moved the Kings within a victory of their first Stanley Cup.

Clarkson made a nice move to spring the Devils on a 2-on-1. But as he was all game, Quick was there to stifle the Devils' chance before getting bowled over by Clarkson. Oh yeah; moments later, the Kings scored the game's first goal. 4. Adam Henrique, Second Period The Devils' rookie had two cracks at Quick on the power play, but Quick wouldn't crack. A cross-ice pass found him with room to Quick's left. The Kings goalie moved far outside his crease to cut down the angle. He saved a first shot, Henrique collected the rebound, shot it into Quick's chest and he covered. Moments later, Anze Kopitar made it 2-0. 3. Ryan Carter, Second Period The game was well in hand at this point, with the Kings up 4-0, but Quick still had some magic left in stopping Zajac point-blank to preserve the shutout. 1. Zach Parise, First Period The Devils were on a 5-on-3 power play thanks to Mike Richards elbow and a Jeff Carter high-sticking double minor. Patrik Elias set up Zach Parise in front of a deflection, which Quick kicked out of harm's way — with Zajac on the doorstep. Seconds later, Marek Zidlicky's tripping call short-circuited the man advantage.

Ohio runner stops in state final to aid fallen opponent

On Saturday, West Liberty-Salem (Ohio) High junior Meghan Vogel won a state title. Incredibly, that might not even be what she or anyone else remembers most about her day at the Ohio Division III track and field state meet, because she later committed one of the most selfless acts of the year on the track: She stopped running the 3,200 meter final to help along a foe who had collapsed just 20 feet from the finish line.

As first reported by the Springfield News-Sun, Vogel had already captured the state 1,600-meter title when she came upon Arlington (Ohio) High sophomore Arden McMath near the finish line of the 3,200-meter final. Both Vogel and McMath were out of contention for the medals in the event at that point, and rather than try and make a final, mad dash, Vogel decided she was better served helping ensure McMath made it to the finish line.

The result was nothing short of electrifying, as you can see from the News-Sun video above. With each step, the cheering crowd at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Stadium seemed to get louder and louder, finally reaching its zenith when McMath crossed just in front of Vogel.

In fact, even that final finishing order was Vogel's idea; after all, McMath had been ahead of her when she collapsed.

While McMath and her teammates may have been most touched by Vogel's charitable actions, the state champion insisted that she got just as much out of the charitable act.

"Helping her across the finish line was a lot more satisfying than winning the state championship," Vogel told the News-Sun.

Technically, Vogel should have been disqualified for helping McMath, as regulations call for any runners aiding another to be disqualified from their event. Yet, perhaps in line with the spirit of Vogel's touching act, Ohio officials failed to disqualify either runner, with final standings crediting McMath for a 14th place finish and showing Vogel crossing the line in 15th place.
"She could have just gone around Arden," Arlington coach Paul Hunter told the News-Sun. "But she chose to help. I've never seen that at a state meet. That's real sportsmanship."
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UK Pound Down Against US Dollar, But Higher Against Euro

UK pound is down against the US dollar today, but higher against the euro. Once again, the interesting place the UK pound finds itself in is contributing to its mixed performance. The pound is heading lower against the US dollar as risk appetite dissipates, and higher against the euro as the pound represents a European safe haven.


Even after Egan-Jones Rating Company downgraded the UK pound to AA- from AA, the sterling is still higher against the euro in Forex trading. Pound is considered more stable than the 17-nation euro right now, thanks to all the uncertainty in the eurozone regarding what’s next for various countries, and the fact that there is still no solution being presented by eurozone leaders.

Against the US dollar, pound is lower, though. Risk appetite is once again a little scarce. However, there are some hopes from the upcoming G-7 conference call. It doesn’t look as though markets will be in full retreat today, but things are tilted a little lower today with some of the general risk aversion.

At 12:03 GMT GBP/USD is at 1.5339, down from the open at 1.5384. EUR/GBP is lower at 0.8094, down from the open at 0.8125. GBP/JPY is also lower, down to 120.0315 from the open at 120.5150.

Ringgit Falls as China’s Growth & US Recovery Slows

The Russian ruble advanced today for the second day as the nation’s central bank stepped up to support the currency and crude oil, the main Russia’s export, rebounded after reaching a lowest level in more than a year.

The Bank Rossii (Russia’s central bank) boosted its sales of foreign currencies to $250 million to $300 million yesterday as a measure to support the ruble. Brent crude oil gained yesterday after reaching the lowest level since January 2011, but retreated today. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index of equities rose 0.3 percent on hopes that global economic growth will pick up momentum.

USD/RUB fell from 33.4620 to 33.1880 as of 11:12 GMT today.

Ringgit Falls as China’s Growth & US Recovery Slows

Asian currencies, the Malaysian ringgit among them, were down today as negative data from China on the weekend followed poor macroeconomic reports from the United States on Friday.

China’s Purchasing Manufacturing Index fell to 55.2 in May from 56.1 in April. The report followed Friday’s US non-farm payrolls that showed employment growing by just 69,000. The data signaled that global economic recovery is slowing and that had a negative impact on assets of emerging economies. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of stocks fell for a fourth session.

USD/MYR rose from 3.1961 to 3.2018 as of 14:18 GMT today.

Euro Rebounds, Is Rally Sustainable?

 June 04th, 2012 at 13:44  11

The rebounded today, posting the second day of gains, but sustainability of the rally is highly questionable. Earlier, the currency declined as European leaders struggled to find a solution for the debt problems of the European Union.

Concerns about the potential breakup of the eurozone grow as politicians cannot provide anything that resembles a meaningful plat to contain the crisis. Germany still objects implementation of joint euro-bonds, arguing that it would not help to resolve the issues. Such indecisiveness may cost Europe dearly as Spain is likely to request a bailout, but the sheer size its economy means that it would be much harder (compared to Greece) to rescue the country.

EUR/USD climbed from 1.2415 to 1.2484 as of 13:44 GMT today, following the earlier decline to 1.2385. EUR/JPY was up from 96.95 to 97.58.

EUR/USD Breaks 1.26 Level, Traders Running from Euro

The euro fell below the 1.26 level against the US dollar, reaching lowest level since July 2010. That level was considered to provide strong support to the shared 17-nation currency and, now that the support line is broken, traders are afraid that the currency would spiral down to even lower price.

The members of the European Union are meeting at summit today, but most analysts and traders are pessimistic about the outcome of the meeting. Germany still rejects the implementation of eurobonds even as other countries, including France, support the idea. Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, claimed that the European financial crisis will be discussed at tonight’s meeting in Brussels only “at the very end”.

The Bundesbank stated that a Greek exit “would be significant but manageable within the help of cautious crisis management”. Indeed, some experts say that both the eurozone and Greece would be better if the indebted country will leave the currency union. Others argue that an exit of any country would create a precedent, which may lead to quick dissolution of the euro-area.

EUR/USD sank from 1.2686 to 1.2562 as of 16:48 GMT today. Earlier, some technical analysts claimed that the currency pair should bounce after reaching the 1.26 level, but now it does not look likely. The daily minimum was 1.2544 — the lowest since July 13, 2010. EUR/JPY slid from 101.39 to 99.67, reaching 99.52 intraday — the low not seen since February 1.

Rand Slides to This Year’s Low as CPI Below Expectations

The South African rand slumped against the US dollar today to the lowest level this year as slower-than-expected growth of consumer prices triggered speculations that the nation’s central bank would refrain from raising interest rates.

South Africa’s inflations accelerated to 6.1 percent in April from 6 percent in March. That was the first increase in three months, which is not bad, but still below analysts’ expectations of 6.2 percent growth. The worse-than-expected data prompted speculation that the South African Reserve Bank would keep its key rate at 5.5 percent tomorrow.

USD/ZAR climbed from 8.3180 to 8.4450 as of 14:53 GMT today, while the daily high of 8.4590 was the highest since November 25.

Euro Tanks as Greece Exit Considered More Likely

Euro is tanking today, heading lower as speculation about a Greek exit of the eurozone increases. Indeed, some think that there is a real threat for Greek withdrawal — and that such a withdrawal could prompt a domino effect that includes Spain and Italy later. Worries about what’s next for the eurozone are sending the 17-nation currency down across the board.


Recently, former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos insisted that a Greek withdrawal from the eurozone is a very real threat, even as he tried to encourage Greek citizens to accept painful austerity measures. Concerns that Greece will be unable to remain in the eurozone are on the rise. Worries are triggering fears of a domino effect as well. Once the first country leaves the eurozone, it becomes easier for other countries to bail as well, and Spain and Italy are considered prime contenders for the spots as the next dominoes to fall.

For now, the main fear is a flight from deposits at banks in countries affected by the sovereign debt crisis. A fight over eurobonds, as well as other aspects of a growth package for the eurozone is being set up, as there are expected to be very big differences between the approach of new French President Francois Hollande and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

At 14:03 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2645 from the open at 1.2684. EUR/GBP is down to 0.8042 from the open at 0.8049. EUR/JPY is down to 100.4185 from the open at 101.4300.

Bank of Japan Inaction Helps Yen

The Bank of Japan decided against taking any more action to ease at this time, and that is helping the Japanese yen. Forex traders had been expecting the Bank of Japan to ease further, in an attempt to keep the yen weak, but the BOJ offered something of a surprise following the recent downgrade by Fitch.

Citing faster economic growth, Bank of Japan officials decided to forgo additional easing measures during the most recent BOJ policy meeting. Leaders insist that public investment has increased, along with private consumption. This situation has resulted in the BOJ deciding that further easing in an attempt to stimulate the economy is not needed.

Without the specter of more easing (at least for now), Forex traders feel a little more confident about buying the yen. The yen has strengthened against its major counterparts since the announcement. Even the Fitch downgrade didn’t do much to really slow the yen — especially against struggling European currencies. Now, with the yen back in the good graces of the Forex community, there is a chance that it will become popular as a safe haven currency again.

At 13:04 GMT USD/JPY is lower at 74.4760, down from the open at 1.5761. EUR/JPY is down to 100.7045 from the open at 101.4300. GBP/JPY is down to 125.0750 from the open at 126.0100.