The Kings were 11-4 in March, tying the franchise record for

MADRID, Spain -- Alfredo Di Stefano, the player Real Madrid has hailed as the most important component in its mid-20th century ascent to becoming a global football powerhouse, has died. Cheap Basketball Jerseys . He was 88. Real Madrid said in a statement that Di Stefano, its honorary president, died on Monday afternoon at Gregorio Maranon hospital, two days after a heart attack. Di Stefano turned 88 on Friday. The following day, he had a heart attack on a street near Madrids Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Paramedics were able to resuscitate him after 18 minutes, but he spent the following days in a coma. Renowned for his speed, versatility and strategic grasp of the game, he helped Madrid attain five straight European Champions Cups and was voted European player of the year in 1957 and 59. In a career spanning five clubs in three countries -- Argentina, Colombia and Spain -- from 1945-1966, Di Stefano scored 789 goals in 1,090 matches. In the process he claimed top-scorer status once in the Argentine league, twice in Colombias league and five times in Spain. Only Raul Gonzalez has scored more goals for Real Madrid than Di Stefano, who is often recognized as the clubs first "galactico." However, as FIFA acknowledges on its official website, "statistics will show that Alfredo Di Stefano is one of the worlds greatest ever goal scorers, but the bare facts only tell part of the story." FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Di Stefano "was my favourite player." French great Michel Platini, now president of the footballs European governing body, said Di Stefano was "superb technically, possessed outstanding speed, and was a splendid goal scorer." "Together with his gifted teammates, he helped invent modern football." Those who Di Stefano recall a straight-talking character who believed success on the field came through physical effort and dedication. "I dont want to be idolized, I just want to play. And to do that you have to run and sweat," he said. His modesty in the face of overwhelming sporting success won him the admiration of many. "I think he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, football player ever," England great Bobby Charlton said. Born July 4, 1926, in the Barracas suburb of Buenos Aires, near the port where British sailors introduced football to Argentina, Di Stefano learned the game in what he called "the academy of the streets." "In our neighbourhood we used to hold major football sessions that went on until it got dark, with everyone playing against each other," he said. "Pope Francis and I went to the same school," Di Stefano said when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pontiff, adding the two likely played together as children. Di Stefanos father, Alfredo, the son of an immigrant from the Italian island of Capri, was a loyal fan of River Plate. De Stefanos mother, Eulalia Laulhe Gilmont, was of French and Irish ancestry. Having trialed successfully for River Plate, he turned professional in 1945, joining Colombias Millonarios six years later. He won six league titles for the two clubs. His turn of speed soon had fans chanting, "Help, here comes the jet-propelled blonde arrow," ("Saeta Rubia," in Spanish) a nickname Di Stefano retained all his life. He played in Spain for the first time in 1952 and dazzled the crowd at a tournament commemorating Real Madrids 50th anniversary, a fateful encounter. Barcelona signed Di Stefano in 1953 after agreeing a transfer with River Plate, but the move was thrown into doubt when Madrid also negotiated his transfer -- with Millonarios. Although the Spanish federation authorized Di Stefano to play half of his four-year contract with each club, Barcelona opted out, alleging pressure from the Madrid-based ruling military dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. In his first season Di Stefano helped Madrid win its second league title, ending a 21-year drought. Within three years, he helped Madrid lift the inaugural European Cup by scoring in a 4-3 win over Frances Stade Reims. The arrival at Madrid of Hungarian great Ferenc Puskas in 1958 led to an attacking partnership of dynamic effectiveness which allowed the club to retain the European title through to 1960, a record yet to be beaten. Di Stefanos last final in 1960 saw possibly his finest match. Before 127,000 spectators, he scored three times in Madrids 7-3 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt. The same year, he helped Madrid win the inaugural Intercontinental Cup between European and South American champions with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Uruguays Penarol. He topped the Spanish leagues scoring standings in five of his 11 seasons with Madrid. He scored 49 times in 58 European matches, a record in the competition that stood for more than four decades. Di Stefano left Madrid in 1964 to join Barcelona-based Espanyol for a two-year spell before retiring at age 40. "Football brought me so many beautiful moments. It built my life," said Di Stefano, who also played for Argentina and Spain. But World Cup glory eluded him. Argentina didnt play in 1950 and 54, while Spain didnt qualify in 1958. Di Stefano carried an injury to Chile in 1962 and did not play. So, his only international success was a 1947 Copa America victory with Argentina. In 1963, Di Stefano was held captive by a guerrilla group during Madrids tour of Venezuela. He was taken at gunpoint from his hotel room by the publicity-seeking National Liberation Army Front and released unhurt two days later. As a coach, he led Boca Juniors and River Plate to Argentine league titles, and won the European Cup Winners Cup, the Spanish league title and the Copa del Rey with Valencia. He also managed Madrid between 1982 and 1984. Madrid appointed Di Stefano honorary president in 2000 and erected a statue in his honour in 2008. A diabetic, Di Stefano fought ill-health in old age and underwent a quadruple bypass with a pacemaker implanted in December 2005 after a heart attack. In May 2013 his children asked a court to rule him mentally incapable after he announced plans to marry a woman 50 years his junior. "I dont care that my children are against it," Di Stefano, then 86, said of his plans to marry 36-year-old Gina Gonzalez. His interest in football never diminished. At 86 he still maintained a regular column in Spanish sports newspaper Marca. In it, he revealed that he had missed Pope Francis appointment. "I must confess that while everyone else watched the white smoke live," he wrote. "I was, as always, watching a football game." Replica Basketball Jerseys .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. Authentic Basketball Jerseys . Nothing pretty. But this is 1/4 World Cup. Usually plays out this way. https://www.fakebasketballjerseys.com/ . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night.LOS ANGELES -- The Minnesota Wild rallied twice from one-goal deficits and pulled out a victory against the Los Angeles Kings, who rarely give up late leads. Matt Moulson and Mikko Koivu scored 62 seconds apart early in the third period, and Zach Parise connected during a power play for the Wild, who snapped the Kings six-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Monday night. "You dont want to be behind, but this shows that we believe in what were doing," Koivu said. "Even though we were down, we felt we were right there and we were able to create things offensively. "It was big for our confidence, to get a win over a team like L.A., because theyre deep. They have a lot of experience." Ilya Bryzgalov made 18 saves for the Wild. It was the second time in eight games the Kings lost in regulation after leading following two periods -- something that happened only once in 138 games dating to April 4, 2009. Minnesota won for the seventh time when training after two. "Keeping the lead in the third period is usually our teams forte," Kings defenceman Drew Doughty said. "But we didnt play very well in the second, and then we had a little collapse in the third. They got two goals really quick, and we couldnt get it back. "We knew that if we let them back in the game it would be tough to win it." Alec Martinez and Justin Williams scored for Los Angeles, both capitalizing on turnovers by defenceman Jared Spurgeon in the Minnesota zone. Jonathan Quick stopped 17 shots. "Weve had a tendency this last week or so to give up leads in the third period, and thats very uncharacteristic of us," Williams said. "We need to rectify that in these last five or six games, because were a team that shuts it down once we get the lead." The Kings were 0 for 2 on the power play and have gone consecutive games without a power-play goal for the first time since a five-game drought Jan. 21-28. Minnesota is 19-9-4 when they are short-handed fewer than three times in a game. The Wild came in with the NHLs fourth worst penalty-killing percentage, but are averaging the sixth fewest penalty minutes. "Its important whenever you can limit power plays," Moulson said. "There arre a lot of skilled guys in this league that can hurt you on the power play if they get a bunch of chances. Fake Basketball Jerseys. " Moulson tied it with 16:06 remaining, using Martinez as a screen and beating Quick for his 22nd goal. Koivu made it 3-2 with his 10th on a one-timer from the top of the left circle. "We talked about making sure we were sticking to our game plan no matter what and pull out the two points," Moulson said. "We did a great job taking it to them in the third. Our goal was to make sure we got pucks in deep and get the forecheck going, and I thought we did a very good job of that." Williams put the Kings ahead 2-1 at 11:49 of the second with his 19th goal. Spurgeon had the puck behind his net and tried to clear it around the boards, but Willie Mitchell intercepted it and took a shot that struck Minnesota defenceman Ryan Suter before Marian Gaborik got control and set up Williams at the left of the crease. Martinez opened the scoring 6:30 in with his seventh goal in 15 games and 11th overall. "We were better in the third than we were in the first," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "We turned a lot of pucks over in the neutral zone. It had nothing to do with third period, it was all first period. "Its not about defence, its about checking. Its puck battles and tough parts to the game that we have to be able to control, and we werent doing that. I feel like a lot of guys werent into that." Parise tied it at 3:37 of the second period, 36 seconds into Tanner Pearsons hooking penalty. Mikael Granlund got the puck in the slot from Koivu for a one-timer that Parise redirected past Quicks glove. Minnesota left wing Dany Heatley, struggling through a 12-goal season and currently in a 14-game drought, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. NOTES: Quick was 11-2 with a 1.67 goals-against average in his previous 13 games. ... Minnesota D Jonathon Blum, born in Long Beach, Calif., played in his 100th NHL regular-season game. In 2007, he became the first player born and raised in California to be selected in the first round of the draft (No. 23 by Nashville). ... The Kings were 11-4 in March, tying the franchise record for wins in a month set in January 2002. ' ' '