MONTE CARLO -- Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil lost his career debut at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday, falling 6-2, 6-2 in the first round to experienced clay-court player Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain. The 29th-ranked Pospisil lacks clay-court experience and paid the price against his 45th-ranked opponent who grew up playing on the surface. "Theres a lot you can learn from every loss," said Pospisil. "This one was more about my lack of clay experience, I need to get used to the surface. Working on my movement will help a lot, its something I can improve." Eighth seed Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., had a bye in the first round and will face either Argentinas Federico Delbonis or Taiwans Lu Yen-Hsun in the second round on Wednesday. Pospisil was competing in only his seventh top-level match on clay and now stands 1-6 on the surface. His only victory came in a Davis Cup tie against Ecuador in 2011. Pospisil hasnt played much since the Australian Open due to a back injury. "Considering how little Ive played in general, this was not so bad," said Pospisil. "He played extremely well and didnt miss any balls. I played well on my forehand but obviously clay is not my natural surface. "There was really not much I could have done out there." Pospisil, who committed 18 unforced errors in the opening set, admitted he came to the court with low expectations. "I didnt have too many expectations, Ive been dealing with a couple of injuries and only played points on clay for the first time yesterday." The Canadian said that while he did not want to go into detail, his back felt fine during the match. Pospisil will move onto Bucharest and Munich over the next few weeks as the French Open buildup continues. Elsewhere, Fabio Fognini of Italy was two points away from defeat before rallying to beat Joao Sousa 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. Sousa led 5-2 and 30-0 on Fogninis serve, but the Portuguese player lost his composure and then started complaining to the chair umpire at the end of the second set and midway through the third. "Im not happy today. I was I think a bit lucky," Fognini said. "It was a really difficult match." The 10th-seeded Fognini, who lost to title-holder Novak Djokovic in last years semifinals, was the highest seeded player in action Monday in the clay-court tournament. Fognini failed to serve out the first set at 5-4 and then his game fell apart. "I was completely without energy, without power in my legs," he said. "I have no idea what happened." After Fognini had served out the second set, the crowd jeered Sousa -- who had received a warning during the first set. At 3-2 down in the third, Sousa continued to grumble, saying "its a joke, its a joke." Fognini will play Bautista Agut in the next round. Later in the day, 11th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain beat Belgian qualifier David Goffin 6-4, 6-1. In other first-round matches, there were victories for Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Czech players Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol; and Spaniards Albert Montanes, Albert Ramos and Pablo Andujar. Rosol beat Evgeny Donskoy 7-5, 6-1; Kohlschreiber won 6-3, 6-4 against Simone Bolelli; Stepanek thrashed Ivo Karlovic 6-1, 6-2; Ramos beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-5 and Andujar downed Edouard Roger-Vasselin 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5). On Tuesday, Djokovic plays Montanes in the second round. On Wednesday, eight-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain faces Gilles Simon or Teymuraz Gabashvili, and fourth-seeded Roger Federer takes on Stepanek. Wholesale Penguins Jerseys . When the next inning rolled around Wednesday, though, Nationals manager Matt Williams sent Strasburg to the mound to face the top of the Dodgers order in what would become a 3-2 victory for Washington, the first time this season the No. Penguins Jerseys 2020 . Jesus Navas bookended yet another huge home win for City by scoring after 14 seconds and again in second-half stoppage time, with Sergio Aguero also netting in each half to add to an own goal by Sandro and a brilliant strike by Alvaro Negredo. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/. The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. Pittsburgh Penguins Shirts . According to various reports, the striker is about to sign a five-and-a-half year extension with Manchester United worth a reported 300,000 pounds a week that would see him at Old Trafford until 2019. Cheap Penguins Jerseys . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday.NEW YORK, N.Y. - All the accolades and platitudes the New York Rangers received during their recent three-game California sweep were quickly transferred to the rival New York Islanders, who dismantled the Broadway Blueshirts upon their return to Madison Square Garden.Undaunted and unfazed by the positive press heaped onto the Rangers, the Islanders made yet another statement in their surprisingly successful season. They vaulted to the top of the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night with a 3-0 win over the previously surging Rangers.Frans Nielsens short-handed tally capped the Islanders three-goal second period, Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves in his fourth shutout of the season, and the Islanders stretched their winning streak to three.We have a lot of hockey left, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. This was a big game with a lot of media attention, and I thought we played well.For us, its about getting the two points. To play a team that is playing so well, and for them to come off the trip they came off, it gives the guys confidence that they can play against good hockey teams.The Islanders jumped over Tampa Bay for the top spot in the East, and maintained a one point lead in the Metropolitan Division over the Pittsburgh Penguins, whom they will host Friday.We recognize were battling for the top of the division and the conference, Islanders captain John Tavares said.The Rangers had won five straight and 13 of 14 — a run punctuated by their trek through California last week — but the Islanders finished a seven-game road trip with a flourish.They are 2-0 this season against the Rangers with three meetings remaining, and heard chants of Lets Go Islanders in the last minute of this one.Shortly after the Islanders had a goal waved off because of goalie interference, Anders Lee broke the deadlock at 8:49 of the second. Nikolay Kulemin made it 2-0 with 3:39 left, and Nielsen pushed the lead to three with the Islanders NHL-leading seventh short-handed goal of the season — but first on the road. That came with 40.9 seconds remaining to put an exclamation point on the dominant frame in which the Islanders had a 19-12 shots advantage.We kept our heads on our shoulders and played our game, Lee said. On the road you want to play a simple game and really wear them down.ddddddddddddHalak improved to 23-8 this season as he posted his 34th NHL shutout.Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers found themselves in a most unfamiliar position, trailing at all and being behind by multiple goals. They fell behind 2-0 at Los Angeles last Thursday before rallying to win. Their previous three-goal deficit was in a 6-3 home loss to Tampa Bay on Dec. 1.In the second period, there is no doubt we were a step behind in our execution, a step behind in our decision-making, and they took over, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.The short-handed goal that squeezed under Lundqvists arm was the back-breaker.I made a lot of good saves and I felt like I was playing the way I should, but that was a big goal, Lundqvist said. Weve been good lately minimizing periods like that and playing hard, but that was a tough outing.Cam Talbot took over in the third for Lundqvist, who stopped 29 of 32 shots. Talbot made 12 saves. Only four times in the previous 15 games had the Rangers allowed as many as three goals.The Islanders (29-13-1) hold a seven-point lead over the fourth-place Rangers (24-12-4), who have three games in hand.The Islanders held a 13-9 shots edge in the first period.Lundqvist squared up to most of the Islanders chances, and Halak had his moments of pressure. He denied Mats Zuccarello in tight with 8:58 left and then got bailed out by the posts in a Rangers flurry with 3:30 remaining.Rangers All-Star Rick Nash got between defenders in the slot and sent a drive off the right post. The carom came to Derick Brassard, who fired the puck so hard off the right post that it came across and struck the left post, as well.NOTES: Rangers C Derek Stepan sustained an upper-body injury and didnt play in the third period. The extent of the injury wasnt immediately known. ... Lee and Kulemin both scored for the second straight game. ... It was the third time since yielding five goals to Tampa Bay that Lundqvist allowed three goals in a game. He was 11-1 in his previous 12 appearances. ... The Islanders, who beat the Rangers 6-3 at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 14, went 5-2 on their road trip. ... The Rangers will begin a three-game trip Thursday at Boston. ' ' '