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shushu
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14 Mar 2019 05:31 |
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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Six straight losses sent the Minnesota Wild into a downward spiral, the weight of the previous game carrying over into the next. Once the Wild learned how to put games behind them, good or bad, the wins started piling up. Justin Fontaine scored three goals, Niklas Backstrom stopped 39 shots and the Wild won their fourth straight game by beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 on Thursday night. "When we were losing games, we were carrying that baggage into the next game with us," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "Success can do some damage to you, too, like winning can. Weve been able to put that behind us and go on to the next one and recognize what we have to do." The Wild had been in a rut, plagued by shaky goaltending, injuries to key players and a big hit to their confidence. Once one of the top teams in the Western Conference, Minnesota plummeted down the standings with four straight road losses that led to two more at home to close out 2013. Once the calendar flipped, the Wild found their way again, starting with a 4-1 win over Buffalo. Minnesota followed a home win over Washington with a shootout road victory over the Kings and backed that up with another superb game against the Coyotes. Fontaine scored late in the first period, gave the Wild a two-goal lead on a power play after a strange bounce in the third and closed out his first career hat trick with an empty-net goal. Kyle Brodziak had a goal and an assist, Matt Cook had two assists and Backstrom was superb, winning his third straight start after allowing 17 goals the previous four. The win moved the Wild ahead of the Coyotes for the eighth spot in the Western Conference with 53 points. "We have a lot of young guys following the leadership and were playing the kind of game we need to play," Fontaine said. The Coyotes had their chances. They doubled Minnesotas shot total in the first period and had numerous good scoring chances, including one shot by Lauri Korpikoski that hit the crossbar. Mikkel Boedker was the only Phoenix player to score, doing it on a power play early in the second period, leaving the Coyotes a bit disheartened after their third loss in four games. "We had opportunities to score and didnt score," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "Give them credit that they found ways to score when they got theirs and we didnt. In a game like that, you have to put as much onus on the guys trying to score as the guys who are trying to stop them." Phoenix came out firing, outshooting Minnesota 15-7 in the first period. The Wild scored first, though, thanks to a turnover by Phoenix defenceman Keith Yandle. Trying to clear the puck under pressure in front of the crease, Yandle sent it right to the slot, where Fontaine gathered it and beat Mike Smith to the glove side late in the first period. The Coyotes kept up the pressure early in the second period and tied it on a power play when Boedker spun around and slipped a backhander under Backstrom just before he fell to the ice. Phoenix continued to generate nearly twice as many shots, but Minnesota scored the next goal early in the third period. This one came on a defensive miscue as well: Yandle was caught pinching in Minnesotas zone, Brodziak ended up with a partial breakaway and sent a wrister that went off Smith into the goal. Fontaine put Minnesota up 3-1 a few minutes later when he fought off Antoine Vermette and flicked in a one-handed shot as he was going down. Smith had circled behind the goal to play Jason Pominvilles dump-in and had no chance of getting back when the puck caromed off the boards to the front of the goal. Phoenix tried to pick up the pressure, but couldnt get anything past Backstrom and Fontaine closed it out with his empty-netter. "We had a couple little spurts here and there, but to score youve got to go hard to the net, especially when theyre playing real tight," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Their goaltender gives them a (good) game, they play tight and we couldnt do enough to get inside to get opportunities and score on our opportunities." Notes: Phoenix D Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury. ... Wild LW Zach Parise missed his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury and Mikko Koivu missed his second straight with a broken ankle. They have a combined 23 goals and 39 assists. ... Thursday was the 10-year anniversary of Coyotes G Brian Boucher setting the modern-day NHL record with his fifth consecutive shutout -- against Minnesota. Authentic Marquis Flowers Jersey . The English Football Association had charged the German right back with violent conduct after retrospectively reviewing video evidence of an incident that was missed by match officials at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Authentic Ziggy Ansah Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move another goalie. http://www.cheapdetroitlionsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-calvin-johnson-jersey . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Authentic T.J. Lang Jersey .com) - Maria Sharapova rallied for a three- set win over Ana Ivanovic on Saturday to capture the season-opening Brisbane International tennis tournament. Authentic Charles Washington Jersey . Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Tiger Woods surveyed his options from so far left of the fairway he was up to his ankles in grass in a hazard he didnt even know was there. He could take it over the trees and go sideways, but it might be tough to keep it in the fairway. "What about left gallery?" Woods asked his caddie. "Thats actually not bad," Joe LaCava replied. He wasnt trying to hit anyone -- that was just a good sight line. And it gave him the best angle to the green. But it spoke to the state of his game Thursday in the opening round of the PGA Championship. He was so wild at times that his best option was to aim at the crowd. Woods made only one birdie at Valhalla -- a chip-in from a collection area left of the 15th green -- on his way to a 3-over 74. That not only put him nine shots behind the early leaders, he was in danger of missing the cut in the PGA Championship for the second time in four years. "It wasnt very good," Woods said. "A lot of bad shots, and I never got a putt to the hole." At least he still has his health. Woods said he was a little stiff from his most recent back injury Sunday at Firestone, though he looked the same as he has since returning from March 31 back surgery that kept him out of golf for three months. But the "new normal" is nothing like the old Tiger Woods. Even before his back surgery, Woods has looked nothing like the player who won five times last year. From the middle of the 12th fairway, he came up 20 yards short of the flag on the par-4 12th and had to scramble for par. He hit a spectator in the left hip with a tee shot on the par-3 14th that was 20 yards left of his target. Woods played the back nine in 1-over 37, and then quickly went the wrong direction. He smothered his tee shot at No. 1 so far left that it was in an area marked by a hazard. He followed that with a 3-wood that was a pure hook on the par-4 second hole, and Woods knew it was in trouble. He hung his head as the ball sailed into a water hazard. He had to make a 10-foot putt just to escape with bogey. And perhaps worst of all? He even got sympathy from Phil Mickelson, his longtime foil. "I thought he played with a lot of heart,"; Mickelson said.dddddddddddd "Its not easy when your game isnt where you want it and youre hitting shots that you dont normally hit to fight hard. I thought the second hole was a great example, when he hooked it into the water. A lot of guys would just play as focused, not put it all in the next shot. He grinded out a bogey. I thought that showed a lot of heart." Woods even playing the final major of the year looked unlikely four days ago when he withdrew after eight holes at Firestone with another back injury. He hopped down into a deep bunker after playing from an awkward stance, and said it jarred his lower back. He could barely put on his shoes before leaving. Woods said it turned out to be a joint just above his sacrum, and once that was put back into place, he regained motion and was ready to go. The entire round, however, looked like a grind. Woods hit the driver nicely on the 16th and 17th, and twice more on the front nine on back-to-back scoring holes. He just didnt hit it close enough or make the putts. The best putts he made all day were for par (No. 6) and bogey (No. 2). The par-5 seventh hole summed up his day. The two fairways are divided by a water hazard, and only the confident players -- such as Rory McIlroy -- go down the left side and shorten the approach. Woods rehearsed his swing four times, aimed to the right and hit a huge slice that went over the gallery, off a cart path and through a gap in the fence toward a parking area. He originally though it was out-of-bounds. It landed in a "Phone Zone," and Woods was given line-of-sight relief from the fence. He hit 3-wood off the matted grass, through a gap in the gallery just short of the green. He played a delicate pitch-and-run to a front pin position. And he missed a 7-footer for birdie. He talked about winning the PGA Championship, ending more than six years without a major. He was still thinking that way after his round, even though only 16 players from the morning groups -- seven of them club pros -- had higher scores. "If I get under par for two rounds, that will be right in the ball game," Woods said. Based on his play Thursday -- all year, really -- thats a big "if." ' ' '
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