NASHVILLE -- Undeterred by his scoring drought, Ryan Ellis just kept shooting
and it paid off Tuesday night.
Geferson Brazil Jersey . Ellis ended a
42-game scoring drought by notching the first of Nashvilles three third-period
goals and added an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-2 victory over the
Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. Shea Weber scored in the first period,
Craig Smith and Viktor Stalberg followed Ellis with goals in the third, and
David Legwand had three assists to help Nashville snap a three-game losing
streak. Lee Stempniak and Mikael Backlund scored for Calgary, which has lost
four of its last five. Weber opened the scoring at 15:52 of the first period.
With Nashville on a power play, Roman Josi sent a pass from above the right
faceoff circle to Weber above the left, where he blasted a one-timer over the
glove of Flames goaltender Karri Ramo. The Predators outshot Calgary 15-10 in
the first. "We turned the puck over in the first period," Calgary coach Bob
Hartley said. "We kind of gave them the first period that we didnt want to give
them. We had no intensity. If its not for Karri Ramo, we could have gone on the
plane after the first period." The Predators entered Tuesday with the leagues
seventh-ranked power play, but had not scored a goal on the man advantage in
their last four games. A night after recording his first-career NHL shutout in
Carolina, Ramo got the start Tuesday and made 30 saves. The Flames drew even
with 1:04 remaining in the first. From behind the Nashville net, Jiri Hudler
carried the puck just above the goal line on the left side and slid a pass to an
unchecked Stempniak in the lower part of the right faceoff circle. His shot beat
Nashville goaltender Carter Hutton for his seventh goal of the season.
Stempniaks goal was his first since Dec. 7, a span of 17 games. "I thought I did
a good job tonight of handling the puck and keeping the forecheck at bay,"
Hutton said. "I thought we had the edge in the first. I thought (Ramo) made a
lot of good saves and for me, I was able to make a couple of saves and handle
the puck and get in the game." Hutton saw his first game action since a
disappointing effort in Carolina on Jan. 5 that drew some criticism from
Nashville coach Barry Trotz. He recovered nicely Tuesday night, making 22 saves.
"That was a good bounce-back game for him," Trotz said. "I thought we did a
really good job of containing Calgary for the most part, especially in the first
two periods." Nashville went in front for good at 55 seconds of the third when
Ellis carried the puck in on the left side, cut to the high slot and beat Ramo
with a slap shot for his second goal of the season. "You just keep shooting, I
think thats the biggest thing," Ellis said. "Our forwards did a good job of
driving the net, and luckily it went in." Less than two minutes later, Smith
gave Nashville a 3-1 lead on another Predators power play. Seth Jones slap shot
from the centre of the blue line hit traffic in front of the Calgary net, and
Smith dug the puck out and beat Ramo with a wrist shot to the glove side.
Calgary though they had cut the Nashville lead at 4:17 of the third, but the
officials ruled that Mark Giordano had played the puck to a teammate with a high
stick. Stalberg put Nashville ahead 4-1 at 10:52 of the third when his
redirection of Ellis shot got by Ramo, but Backlund made it a two-goal game at
13:07 with a nice move off the right half wall before beating Hutton on the
stick side with a wrist shot. Backlund has a goal in each of his last three
games. "Its nice for personal confidence," Backlund said. "Thats what everybody
wants to do, and everybody tries to do. Im happy about it, but at the same time,
if we dont win games, Im not satisfied." NOTES: Hudler had two assists in the
game. He has assists in three consecutive games. ... Nashville is 17-2-4 when
scoring first this season. ... The Predators concluded a five game home stand
2-2-1. . It was the first three-assist game for Legwand this season and the
fourth of his career.
Alex Sandro Brazil Jersey . Burke is expected
to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason
game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the
point guard averaged 3.
Victor Brazil Jersey . With Parker having a
quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France
won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It
was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented
French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took
bronze in 2005.
http:///...mar-football-jersey/
.ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.OAKLAND,
Calif. -- Clippers star Blake Griffin fired off some harsh words for the Golden
State Warriors after being ejected on a Christmas night turned spirited. Coach
Doc Rivers is equally as irritated -- and believes the Warriors tried to get
Griffin thrown out. Griffin and Golden States Draymond Green were long gone
before a wild finish Wednesday night, when Klay Thompson blocked a shot by
Chris Paul with 1 second left then contested Jamal Crawfords 3-pointer that fell
short at the final buzzer to send the Warriors past Los Angeles 105-103. Griffin
was ejected for his second technical with 10:43 remaining after scuffling with
Andrew Bogut, following Green to the showers after they got into it at the end
of the third. Green was tossed for a flagrant 2 foul. "If you look at it, I
didnt do anything and I got thrown out of the game. It all boils down to they
(referees) fell for it," Griffin said. "To me, its cowardly basketball. I dont
know their intentions, but it worked. ... If I knew the answer Id probably be in
a different position. Tonight I got two technicals for nothing." Without
Griffin, the Clippers missed too many chances in the waning moments. Pauls
lay-in with 11.9 seconds left went around the rim and out, but Andre Iguodala
missed a pair of free throws with 9.3 seconds remaining. That gave the Clippers
the ball back with 8.3 seconds to go. Stephen Curry overcame a slow start to
score seven of his 15 points over the final 3:01 to go with 11 assists as Golden
State snapped the Pacific Division-leading Clippers season-best five-game
winning streak. Thompson finished with 23 points and David Lee had 23 points and
13 rebounds. When the game ended, players tangled near the tunnel to the
Clippers locker room and security personnel stepped in -- and former Warriors
swingman Stephen Jackson could be seen screaming in the middle of it all.
Whether the Warriors intended to ignite Griffin, Rivers can only guess. "I dont
know if they were but it sure looked like it. I cant accuse them of that but it
looked like it. Im not sure but thats what it looked like," Rivers said. "Its
whatever you have to do to win, I guess." This one was sure was feisty and
festive from the opening tipoff at sold-out Oracle Arena, where fans wore
"Christmas Whiteout" snowflake Warriors T-shirts for the holiday occasion. Paul
had 26 points and 11 assists as he and Curry put on a late-game show between two
of the Western Conferences top point guards. Griffin added 20 points, 14
rebounds and five assists before hiis early exit.
Fabinho Jersey. Bogut added 10 points and 14
rebounds. Neither Rivers nor Warriors coach Mark Jackson is ready to deem this a
California rivalry just yet -- not until both teams are consistent contenders
year after year, they say. Its certainly getting heated enough to be close to
such status. And they see each other twice more. The Clippers come back Jan. 30.
"We like them. Merry Christmas," Jackson said jokingly. "Its just physical
basketball, so we dont get caught up in that. ... Its good, old-fashioned
basketball between two teams that are playing for something." Griffin was held
back by teammates at the end of the third quarter while jawing with Green.
Following a review, Griffin received a technical and Green was ejected for a
flagrant foul 2 after throwing an elbow. "You have some key matchups in the game
where guys want to go at each other," Green said. "Any time you have that, youre
going to have a tough, hard-nosed game." Then, officials went to review once
more to look at a tussle between Griffin and Bogut. Griffin left the game while
Bogut was hit with a flagrant 1 and a technical. The Clippers, who never trailed
in the first half, took a 77-74 lead into the see-saw fourth. They dropped to
19-3 when leading after three quarters and 8-3 on the road. Los Angeles beat
Golden State 126-115 at home on Oct. 31 to hand the Warriors their first loss a
day after a season-opening win against the Lakers. Curry performed when it
mattered, though he is shooting just 9 for 44 in three Christmas games. Lee and
Bogut each have double digits in rebounds in 10 straight games. Golden State
grabbed its first lead at the 10:35 mark in the third on Boguts running jumper
and began the second half with an 11-6 spurt. The Warriors were 22 for 52 in the
first half -- taking more shots than the Clippers 21 of 40 -- but Lees dunk
pulled Golden State within 53-51 at halftime. Notes: Former Warriors G
Matt Barnes got some Christmas boos when he checked in for the Clippers midway
through the first, while Antawn Jamison still gets his due respect. ... The
Warriors played their 23rd Christmas game and third in four years after having
Christmas off for 26 years. They lost their previous Dec. 25 outing to the
Clippers 105-86 at Oracle -- Los Angeles last on Golden States home floor -- to
start the lockout-shortened 66-game 2011-12 season. ... The Warriors havent lost
a season series to the Clippers since 2005-06. Golden State was one of only two
teams along with the Thunder to take three of four from Los Angeles last season.
Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '