Ich suche » guarding Durant, per his own request made aft

CALGARY -- Mikael Backlund scored twice, including the winner, as the Calgary Flames edged the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in overtime on Saturday. Backlund took the puck to the net and sent a pass to Sean Monahan, whos shot was stopped by Wild netminder Darcy Kuemper. The puck, however, bounced into the air and Backlund batted it down and past Kuemper at 2:25 of extra time. Its Calgarys fifth straight victory and also completes a perfect 5-0-0 homestand. The last time the Flames swept a homestand of that length was in 1997 - Jarome Iginlas rookie season. TJ Galiardi, with his first goal in 38 games, and Dennis Wideman also scored for Calgary (21-27-7), which last won five games in a row in March 2012. Mark Giordano had two assists to extend his career-high point streak to nine games, which includes four goals and six assists. Matt Cooke, Dany Heatley and Keith Ballard scored for Minnesota (29-21-7). Trailing 3-1 halfway through the third period, the Wild drew to within one on Dany Heatleys power-play goal at 10:31. Ballard then silenced the Scotiabank Saddledome sell-out crowd of 19,289 with the tying goal at 15:55. On a Minnesota rush, Ballard got caught up with Wideman as he drove the net. With Wideman tangled up with goaltender Reto Berra, Ballard backed away just in time to one-time a centring pass from Kyle Brodziak into the top corner. It was back on Oct. 4 in the Flames second game of the season in Columbus when Galiardi, acquired in an off-season trade with San Jose, scored his first goal as a Flame. Little did the Calgary native know at the time it would take nearly four months for him to score again. However, he did make it a beauty when he finally ended the drought at 12:36 of the first period to give the Flames a 1-0 lead. After getting a pass from Kevin Westgarth, Galiardi spun and quickly sent a backhand into the top corner. Immediately, the 25-year-old looked skywards in a show of both relief and shock that he finally scored. That lead would hold up until 14:03 of the second period when Cooke tied it for the Wild while shorthanded. Cooke burst down the left wing and from just inside the top of the face-off circle blasted a slapshot over the shoulder of Berra. Berra did not start the game for the Flames. He entered with 2:28 left in the first period when Karri Ramo left with a lower-body injury. The Flames regained the lead with 1:36 left in the second on a nifty deflection from Wideman. Shortly after failing to score on a power play, Chris Butler fired a shot from the blue-line that Wideman redirected thigh-high from the high slot and past Kuemper. Calgary surged in front 3-1 one minute into the third period when Backlund finished off a three-on-one for the Flames. The shorthanded goal was the third of the season for Backlund, moving him into a tie for second in the NHL behind Bostons Brad Marchand. While most of the season has seen Calgary equally divide up the starts between Ramo and Berra, Ramo (11-10-4) had been the better of the two in recent weeks and had been getting the majority of the playing time with Saturday being his sixth start in the last seven contests. Berra had 14 saves to improve to 7-14-2. He has yet to win in regulation, with four shootout victories and Saturday being his third overtime win. Kuemper made his 10th straight start in net for the Wild. He had 28 saves to fall to 6-4-1. Notes: The Flames final three games before the Olympic break will be on the road beginning in Montreal on Tuesday... Minnesota plays twice at home before its break begins... The Flames have eight shorthanded goals, which is second in the NHL behind Carolina (9)... Flames D Kris Russell (upper body) did not play. Taking his spot was Chris Breen, who played for the first time since being recalled from Abbotsford (AHL) on Jan. 26. Nike Air Max Clearance Canada . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. Air Max Deluxe Canada . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air-max-180-canada-sale.html . INJURIES - Reds RF Jay Bruce is facing knee surgery for a torn meniscus and it could cost him a month of playing time. Chris Heisey, who has shown some pop (43 home runs, . Air Max 90 Canada Mens . In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager. Nike Air Max Zero Canada . Masahiro Tanaka has touched down in the United States and the courting of the Rakuten Golden Eagles stud pitcher has begun in earnest by a bevy of MLB teams interested in the Japanese ace.TORONTO - The Raptors locker room was unnervingly quiet Friday evening, about how you would expect it after the implausible ending that sealed the teams fate in a double-overtime disaster. In the back corner sat an inconsolable John Salmons, the elephant in the room. Facing his locker, Salmons slouched forward in his chair, his head down in his hands and a long black towel draped over him. One by one his teammates came over to comfort him, patting him on the back and offering words of encouragement. He didnt move. He remained in that position, perfectly still for over 30 minutes. They win as a team and they lose as a team, but Salmons felt the brunt of it on this night. What seemed like a sure victory late in the second overtime period began to unravel when an exceptional player made an exceptional shot. With the Raptors up by eight, 49 seconds away from an improbable victory and season-sweep of the 50-win Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant banked in a 27-foot three-point jumper. Following another Thunder three - this one courtesy veteran assassin Derek Fisher - Salmons threw away an inbounds pass on the baseline, only to break up Durants runner and get sent to the line. With less than 10 seconds remaining, now up two, Salmons clanked both free throws, paving the way for the leagues leading scorer to do what he does best. Break hearts. "Great players make great plays," Dwane Casey said of Durant, moments after his 31-foot pull-up dagger gave the Thunder a 119-118 victory. Since coming over from Sacramento in December, Salmons has been praised for his poise and veteran savvy late in games, many of which hes helped them win. This was not his finest hour. "Hes a veteran (and) in those situations youve got to believe in him, that hes going to make those free throws," Casey said of Salmons, playing in place of Terrence Ross, who left the game with a hip contusion. "We had to go with John in that situation. Hes been one of our best defenders in that situation, but its not just one guy." The Raptors, now 1-6 in OT this season, need to close out these types of games. Salmons needs to be better down the stretch, they know it and so does he. It was three months ago, almost to this day that the Raptors pulled off their most impressive win of the season, a 104-98 victory in Oklahoma City. Coming off an OT win in Dallas a couple days prior and trailing by as many as 10 in the fourth, Toronto shocked the Thunder, who were undefeated at home at the time. "It helped kick start us going forward," Casey said of that night. "It helped our chemistry, it helped our togetherness it helped blend in the old and the new guys together." It would not have happened if not for Salmons. The 12-year vet spearheaded his new teams comeback, scoring nine points in the final quarter. After the game his teammates raved about his leadership and calming effect on the floor. Kyle Lowry gave him the game ball. Like Patrick Paterson - sttill out with an injured elbow - Greivis Vasquez, who was spectacular before fouling out Friday, and Chuck Hayes, Salmons fingerprints are all over the teams resurgence and that should not be forgotten, internally or externally.dddddddddddd The Raptors proved something to themselves in OKC that night. They proved that they belonged. Three months later, clinging onto the Easts third seed and top spot in the Atlantic Division, they fell just short of proving something to everybody else. For whatever reason the franchise and its fan base has been battered by losses of the devastating variety to the point in which theyre almost immune to them. Toronto has lost 10 straight overtime games at home, an NBA record. "It does (hurt)," Casey admitted, "but we cant let it." "We cant let this game (give us a) hangover. (Its) a big learning experience for our guys. Youre playing with one of the top teams in the league, one of the top players... and you give yourself a chance to win in (double) overtime." KD the magnificent It seems impossible to fathom that Friday once started off as a slow night for Durant. The Thunder forward made just three of his 12 first-half shots but once Russell Westbrook went down in the third quarter - colliding with Lowry and spraining his surgically repaired right knee - Durant, with the help of some generous officiating, completely took over. Durant scored 51 and finished with 12 rebounds and seven assists, getting to the line 19 times and extending his streak of 25 or more points to 34 games, longest since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. Amirs memorable game Playing in his 500th career contest, Amir Johnson nearly willed his team to victory. The Raptors forward recorded a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds, connecting on 12 of his 19 shots in 50 minutes of action. He also spent the bulk of the second half guarding Durant, per his own request made after Ross exited with the hip injury. "It was tough, man," he said, asked about defending the leagues leading scorer. "Hes my height, out there shooting from half court. Theres not too much you can do but double team that." "He did a great job," Casey added. "I felt for him. Hes hurt. He was all over him, draped over him. (Durant) made a tough shot. Theres nothing Amir did wrong." The stat For the first time since Jan. 13, 2013, the Raptors had four players score 20 or more points. Along with Johnson, DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 33 points, hitting all but one of his 16 free throws, while Lowry added 25 and Vasquez scored 21 off the bench. The quote "We couldnt go another overtime," Durant said. "I had to live with whatever happened. You had to get out of there. I wasnt trying to go to another overtime. I pulled up for it, it looked good when it left my hands and God guided that thing to the basket, man. That was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of." ' ' '