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yuguhun · 08-22-2016, 08:52 AM

NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators were happy to be back home, even if it was for just one game. Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night. Craig Smith scored a goal and added two assists for the Predators. The three-point game equaled the Madison, Wis. natives career high. Matt Cullen, Nick Spaling, Patric Hornqvist, Viktor Stalberg, Mike Fisher and Shea Weber also scored for Nashville, which ended a four-game losing streak. Patrick Kane and Brandon Pirri had the goals for Chicago, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Making his second start in as many days, Mazanec stopped seven shots in the first, 17 in the second, and 15 in the third. "Its awesome," Mazanec said. "I am really happy. We played a really good game." The 22-year-old Czech is playing his first season in North America. Nashville played its first home game since Oct. 26, having just returned from a seven-game road trip that spanned 17 days. They head back out on the road for games in Detroit and Toronto next week. "Good response by our guys today," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We looked at this game as the end of road trip, not the first home game really because of the quick turnover and obviously playing the Stanley Cup champions." Cullen scored the games first goal at 7:28 of the opening period. From the slot, Smiths slap shot was stopped by Chicago goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. The rebound fell to the right of the net, and a diving Cullen poked the rebound in for his third goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Spaling doubled the Nashville lead when his wrist shot from the right faceoff dot slipped just underneath the crossbar at 8:25. Later in the first, Khabibulin left the game with an injury after making stops on shots from Weber and Hornqvist. Corey Crawford replaced Khabibulin at 15:33. Following the game, the Blackhawks said that Khabibulin had a lower-body injury, but had no further update. "We got outworked," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "We didnt do the things we needed to. We didnt win our battles, especially in the right areas we needed to win them in." Hornqvists sixth goal of the season came at 9:02 of the second to give Nashville a 3-0 lead. With Nashville on a power play, Roman Josis slap shot from just above the left faceoff circle was tipped by Hornqvist in front and beat Crawford on the short side. Smith and Kane traded goals late in the second, with Smith connecting at 18:18 and Kane answering 26 seconds later. "We just stayed positive and erased the last couple of games," Smith said. "We just kind of refreshed for this game. Its also nice to be home. Its a good feeling." Pirri briefly cut the Nashville lead to 4-2 at 6:14 of the third, but Stalberg, the former Blackhawk, struck back at 6:29. Fisher added his at 12:19. "It was a free night for them offensively, we were very gracious," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "We know what it takes and we know theyre going to be desperate." Weber scored on the power play at 14:07. His assist earlier in the game on Hornqvists goal was his 300th career NHL point. The seven goals were a season high for Nashville. Notes: Mazanec became just the eighth goaltender in Nashville franchise history to record a victory. ... Nashville C Filip Forsberg missed the game with an upper-body injury. He is listed day to day. ... Kane has at least one point in his past six games. ... Chicago RW Marian Hossa missed the game with a lower-body injury. CLEVELAND -- Andrew Wiggins has an NBA home. Maybe a temporary one. The Cavaliers signed the No. 1 overall draft pick Thursday, a deal that prevents Wiggins from being traded for 30 days. Wiggins, from Vaughan, Ont., has been linked to a possible blockbuster trade with Minnesota for All-Star forward Kevin Love. But any deal now involving Wiggins cant be finalized for at least 30 days. The Cavs and Timberwolves have had talks about a trade involving Love for months, long before Cleveland selected Wiggins, the former Kansas standout, with the first pick in Mays draft. Those discussions have intensified lately, and the sides can still reach an agreement on a trade but nothing can be finalized until late August. Now that Wiggins is under contract, the leagues seldom-used 30-day rule is in effect. It was designed to prevent teams from circumventing salary cap rules. There have been restrictions placed on trading newly signed rookies dating back at least to the 1998-99 collective bargaining agreement. At that time, rookies were lumped in with all free agents into a rule that prevents any newly signed player from being traded for three months or before Dec. 15 of the next season -- whichever is longer. The rule was modified in the 2005 CBA, separating rookie contracts into a different category with the shorter, 30-day timeline between signing date and trade eligibility. The spirit behind the rule is that if a rookie is traded immediately after he signs, it gives the appearance that the acquiring team is the one that is in fact signing him. Clevelands decision to sign Wiggins actually makes it easier to trade him. Before his deal, he had zero value on the salary cap but his contract -- worth $5.5 million -- could allow the Cavs to clear enough room to take on a player like Love, who is sent to earn $15.7 million next season. Minnesota has received offers from other teams, including the Chicago Bulls, who reached out to the Timberwolves this week, acccording to a person with knowledge of the discussions who requested anonymity because the teams were not publicly commenting on the process.dddddddddddd With Wiggins unable to be moved by Cleveland for a month, its possible other teams may approach the Timberwolves to make a run at Love, a double-double machine and arguably the leagues top power forward. Love is entering his final year under contract in Minnesota and has said he does not intend to sign a long-term deal with the Timberwolves. Golden State has also shown interest in the 25-year-old Love. But the Warriors have refused to include guard Klay Thompson in any offer, which has been a deal-breaker for the Timberwolves. Cleveland had been reluctant to include Wiggins in a package for Love, but the team has softened its stance and may be willing to part with the 6-foot-8 forward with the 44-inch vertical leap. The Cavs are interested in bringing in Love to form a "Big 3" with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. That trio would make the Cavs an overwhelming favourite in the Eastern Conference, and potentially put them in position to win the citys first major sports championship since 1964. Cleveland also signed rookie Joe Harris, taken with the first pick (No. 33 overall) of the second round. Harris, who played at West Virginia, averaged 7.8 points in four summer league games in Las Vegas. As the Wiggins-Love situation drags on, the Cavs continue to re-shape their roster. The team is interested in signing free agent Ray Allen, who has spent the past two seasons in Miami with James. On Thursday, the agency representing Allen knocked down a report that the NBAs career 3-pointer leader was leaning toward joining the Cavaliers. Allens agent, Jim Tanner, wrote on his Tandem Sports & Entertainment twitter account that reports Allen "intends to play for the Cavs are unfounded. He has not yet decided if he will play next season or for which team." ' ' ' Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping
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