02-20-2016, 03:06 AM
(SportsNetwork. Geoff Cameron Jersey .com) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to begin December with a third consecutive victory when they visit the Minnesota Wild for Fridays Western Conference battle at Xcel Energy Center. The Ducks ended November on a brief 0-2 slide, but the Pacific Division leaders kicked off the new month with home wins over Boston and Philadelphia. Anaheim hopes to keep heading in the right direction tonight, when it begins a road-heavy portion of its schedule. The Ducks are playing two straight and seven of their next eight as the guest, beginning with Fridays tilt in St. Paul. The Ducks, who are tied with Vancouver for the division lead, have a 7-3-2 road record this season but have lost three of their four away from Orange County. After edging the Bruins 3-2 in regulation on Monday, the Ducks were pushed to the shootout phase by Philadelphia. Jakob Silfverberg and Corey Perry scored in the tiebreaker to lift Anaheim to the 5-4 win. Anaheim rallied from 3-1 down to eventually grab a 4-3 edge on Patrick Maroons goal with 5:02 left in regulation. However, the Flyers would answer back as Wayne Simmonds scored with 1.8 seconds left in the third to even the score and send the game to overtime. Maroon and Ryan Getzlaf each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who have won five of their last seven games. Frederik Andersen made 31 saves before stopping two of Philadelphias three shooters in the tiebreaker. The Flyers held their biggest lead after R.J. Umberger scored to make it 3-1 at 10:47 of the second period. Getzlaf, however, would tally just 28 seconds later to make it a one-goal game again. We werent happy with the 3-1 deficit, but we thought we were in it, said Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau. It was a good thing Getzlaf scored quickly after they made it 3-1 so we didnt get a chance to get down any further. Andersen could get the start in net. His only career appearance against the Wild came on Oct. 17, when Andersen stopped 27-of-28 shots to help Anaheim record a 2-1 regulation win on home ice. The Ducks have won seven of the last eight meetings in this series and Minnesota has lost four straight encounters as the host. The Wild won in their last trip to the ice despite playing without top defenseman Ryan Suter, who is the latest Minnesota player to contract the mumps. Suter had played in every game since joining the Wild as a free agent in the summer of 2012, but had to sit out Wednesdays 2-1 home win over Montreal due to illness. The workhorse defenseman joins Keith Ballard, Jonas Brodin, Christian Folin and Marco Scandella as Minnesota players who have missed time this season due to the mumps. Sutter, who leads the NHL with over 29 minutes of ice time per contest, is questionable for tonight. Minnesota is on a three-game point streak (2-0-1) after edging the visiting Canadiens on Wednesday. Darcy Kuemper stopped 18 shots and Jason Pominville scored the game winner in the second period to help the Wild pick up the close victory. Jason Zucker also provided a first-period tally for the Wild, who have won three of their last five. Minnesotas season-long struggles on the power play continued Wednesday, as the team won despite going 0-for-5 with the man advantage. The Wild are ranked 29th in the league in power-play efficiency, and the home crowd let the club hear it on Wednesday. It doesnt matter. We beat arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference, said a defiant Wild forward Zach Parise when asked what he thought of the home fans booing the ineffective power play. You want us to score four power-play goals and lose? Kuemper could start again tonight and is 1-2-0 with a 2.38 GAA in his career against Anaheim. The Wild are playing the third part of a four-game homestand tonight and will close the residency Tuesday against the New York Islanders. Minnesota is 8-2-1 as the home team this season. DaMarcus Beasley USA Jersey . -- Drew Smyly could finally relax on the mound Monday. Juan Bernat Jersey . Rishaug also mentions that six or seven other teams are interested in the shut-down defenceman and likely wants a four to five year deal. As of right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs are not among the teams set to meet with the Fayne camp.ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The Blue Jays remain hopeful that Jose Reyess and Casey Janssens stints on the disabled list will be brief and with that, roster decisions are looming in the next 10 to 14 days. “Ideally, we wouldnt carry three,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos of the clubs current catching situation. “Its really game-to-game right now.” Dioner Navarro is locked in as the starting catcher and Josh Thole broke camp as the back-up specifically because of his history and comfort level with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Erik Kratz, a late-camp cut, ended up beginning the season with the Blue Jays as Janssens roster replacement. If all else was equal, it would have been Kratz in Tholes spot. The prevailing opinion during spring training was that Kratz would be the backup because, while not a batting average or on-base percentage hitter, Kratz offers a power threat that Thole doesnt. Kratz hit 18 home runs in 375 at-bats playing behind Carlos Ruiz in Philadelphia over the last two seasons. In a pinch-hit at-bat on opening day, his first at-bat as a Blue Jay, Kratz launched a two-run home run over the centre field fence. Thole hit .175/.256/.242 for a .497 OPS last season. A left-handed bat, his insertion into the line-up on days when Dickey lines up against the divisions top left-handers like David Price, CC Sabathia and Jon Lester, creates a significant hole at the bottom of the order. The back-up catcher likely will have to play more this season – Navarro hasnt appeared in more than 89 games since 2009. One wonders if theres wisdom in tying another roster spot to Dickey, one pitcher who throws a specific pitch. “The thing is Josh has had some offfensive success,” said Anthopoulos. Nick Rimando Jersey. “I know he didnt have it last year and the second half of the year with the Mets in 2012 but in the past, if you look at it, hes been a .700 OPS guy, he can draw some walks, low strikeout rate, he can put the ball in play and grind out some at-bats.” Anthopoulos cautions against jumping to conclusions, reminding that rosters can be changed in a heartbeat. The Blue Jays could play an 18-inning game, necessitating the recall of a reliever in support of a tired bullpen; somebody else could get hurt. There are a number of variables, a number of possibilities. “Obviously, Josh was the guy who made the team out of spring,” said Anthopoulos. “That hasnt changed at all and well see as the year goes along.” HAPPS ROLE J.A. Happ threw a light side session on Wednesday as he works his way back from a back problem. Hes eligible to come off the disabled list on April 13 and, at the moment, there isnt a spot for Happ in the starting rotation. Anthopoulos hasnt yet approached Happ about being a reliever. “Well deal with all that,” said Anthopoulos. “Hopefully, like anything, we have five starters that are rolling and theyre winning all their games and we have too many starters. Thatd be a great problem to have. Id sign up for that right now. You deal with those things as they come. Everyday something else can happen, in the next 10 days, two weeks. You cant plan that far ahead.” ANTHOPOULOS ISNT SHOPPING FOR INFIELDER A self-explanatory headline. Anthopoulos isnt looking to swing a deal for a middle infielder to support the club while Reyes is out. “We expect Jose to be back somewhat soon,” said Anthopoulos. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap soccer jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' '