Post by lingzi on Sept 12, 2012 8:12:56 GMT 1
(Sports Network) - The Minnesota Wild will try to get back in the win column when they visit the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Nationwide Arena. Reggie Bush Jersey . Its a game you can see on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Wild had won three straight heading into the Christmas break but were then dealt Sundays 4-1 setback by the visiting Detroit Red Wings. It was just the third regulation loss in the last 10 games (5-3-2) for Minnesota, which is currently five points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Columbus, meanwhile, is one point ahead of the Wild in the conference standings, but the Blue Jackets have lost two straight, six of seven and 12 of their last 15 games (3-9-3). The Blue Jackets lost 7-3 against visiting Vancouver last Thursday and emerged from the break to receive a 4-1 setback in Chicago this past Sunday. Patrick Sharp scored twice and Marty Turco stopped 26 shots to lead the Blackhawks to the easy victory over Columbus. Derick Brassard had the lone goal for Columbus, while Mathieu Garon allowed all four goals on 25 shots in the loss. "I thought we did lots of good things," Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel said. "We should have been rewarded in the first and even the second (period). You cant just be close in this league. Obviously, were fragile again and we have to work our way out of this." The Blue Jackets have lost five of their last eight on home ice and are 9-9-1 this year in the Buckeye State. Minnesota fired just 17 shots on net in Sundays loss to Detroit and Jimmy Howard stopped 16 of them in his clubs 4-1 victory at Xcel Energy Center. Brent Burns scored the only goal for the Wild and Niklas Backstrom gave up four goals on 27 shots in the loss. "They really controlled the puck," said Wild center John Madden. "Its pretty hard to play against, especially with our effort tonight." The Wild come into tonight with wins in four of their last five home games. Minnesota is 8-6-2 as the guest overall this season. The Wild and Blue Jackets have split a pair of games so far this year, but the divisional rivals havent played since Minnesota notched a 3-2 road win on Nov. 6. Minnesota has won eight of 12 overall in this series, but the Blue Jackets have taken three of the last five encounters in Ohio. Reggie Wayne Jersey . The Hall of Fame coach reiterated to the Detroit Free Press on Sunday that he has no plans to leave the Red Wings, the team he has worked for since 1993-94. Jason Hill Jersey . You can watch Game 3 RIGHT NOW on TSN. The Thunder followed a nice walk in the park in Game 1 of the set by stealing Game 2 on Wednesday when Durant scored the go-ahead basket with 18.6 seconds left as OKC closed the contest on a 9-0 run to beat the Lakers 77-75. Terrell Davis Jersey . Matt Carkner and Zenon Konopka are taking full advantage as the Ottawa Senators find themselves tied 2-2 in their first-round series with New York Rangers. Rob Gronkowski Womens Jersey . The first forum for change will come next Monday, when the competition committee will discuss ways to try and eliminate flopping for the sake of drawing a foul and to consider whether to expand instant replay. Jameel McClain Jersey .C. -- Kevin McHale has been around the NBA long enough to know that not every win can be pretty.PHOENIX - In a span of 48 critical seconds late in overtime, B.J. Raymond made more three-pointers than the entire West Virginia team did all night. He went from "non-factor" to nonplussed, calmly knocking down two long-range jumpers that lifted Xavier past coach Bob Huggins Mountaineers 79-75 Thursday night in the West Region semifinals. Third-seeded Xavier (30-6) rallied from a six-point deficit in overtime. The Musketeers will seek their first Final Four appearance when they play top-seeded UCLA, which beat Western Kentucky 88-78, on Saturday. Raymond, who scored all eight of his points from overtime, hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Musketeers ahead 75-74 with 1:18 to play. He then shook loose on an inbound play, took a crosscourt bounce pass from Stanley Burrell and made a three with the shot clock expiring for a 78-74 lead with 30 seconds left. "I was kind of a non-factor for the first 40 minutes," Raymond said. "I knew when I got back in there, I had to make something happen." The second three was the dagger. "It wasnt a great play that I drew up," Xavier coach Sean Miller said. "It was a terrific pass by Stanley Burrell and an amazing shot off the bounce by B.J." Huggins said his defence clogged up the intended play but "somebody fell asleep" to allow the wide-open three. Josh Duncan scored a career-high 26 points despite foul trouble to lead Xavier. Xavier, which led by 18 early in the game, rallied from a 71-65 deficit in overtime. Joe Alexander scored 18 and had 10 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Mountaineers (26-11) before fouling out in the overtime. West Virginia missed four of six free throws in the overtime. Alexander missed one with 14.2 seconds left in regulation that would have given his team a 65-64 lead. Xavier shot 11-for-19 on threes while West Virginia was 1-for-11 from long range. The Mountaineers had only one worse performance on threes this season, going 1-for-22 in a loss to Cincinnati. "I dont know what we are shooting on the year," Alexander said, "but it is definitely better than 10 per cent. In a close game like that, if we would have shot even half of what we normally shoot, it would have made a big difference." Going into the game, West Virginia had shot 35 per cent from three-point range. Duncan was 3-of-4 on threes, Drew Lavender 3-of-6 and Raymond 2-of-4. "I shot that shot probably 100,000 times in my life," Raymond said of his late threes. "It is easy once youve shot it so many times." DaSean Butler added 16 points, 14 in the second half for West Virginia. Butler also fouled out in the overtime. Xavier has been in a regional final only once, in 2004. DDespite the loss, Huggins has had quite the comeback with the school he played for. Peyton Manning Broncos Jersey. Out of work two years ago, he barely missed taking a team to the regional final for the fourth time. Huggins got fired at Cincinnati _ a school he led to the 1992 Final Four _ after a drunken driving arrest and sat out a season before surfacing at Kansas State in 2007. He guided that team to the NIT, where it lost in the second round. Huggins and his team seemed right among basketballs elite in reaching the round of 16. "The reality is we played pretty well," he said. "We just didnt finish it." Duncan drew his fourth foul with 12 1/2 minutes left in regulation. He came out briefly, then returned and was on the court almost the entire rest of the game. When it was over, he grabbed the ball and hurled it in to the wildly cheering Xavier booster section. "We had been in so many tough situations throughout the year," Duncan said. "Instead of easily giving up or panicking, we stayed poised, stayed together." The Musketeers built a big lead at the start, but West Virginia scored the final five points of the half to cut it to 32-25. The Mountaineers took their first lead of the game at 51-50 on Butlers 8-foot bank shot with 9:41 left. There were six lead changes and four ties the remainder of regulation. Duncans three-point play with 1:56 left tied it at 62, and his two free throws with 1:28 to play in the second half put Xavier up 64-62. After that, West Virginia went cold. Alexander missed a jumper on one possession, and his teammates couldnt connect on three rebound shots. Nobody could score again until Alexanders tough 15-foot bank shot with 14.2 seconds left tied it at 64. But he missed the free throw, and Lavenders 18-footer under pressure missed to send the game into overtime. "We won the game, West Virginia lost, but you needed a little luck when it is this tight with so much at stake," Miller said, "and a couple of balls bounced our way." For a while, with the Mountaineers misfiring from everywhere, it looked like an Xavier blowout. The Musketeers made six of their first eight three-pointers and West Virginia missed its first eight shots. Lavender made two threes and assisted on another, and the Musketeers led 28-10, thanks largely to 3-for-16 shooting by the Mountaineers. But Wellington Smith brought West Virginia back, scoring the first eight in a 10-0 run that cut it to 28-20 on Jamie Smalligans unlikely, awkward 12-foot bank shot with 4:05 left in the half. West Virginia shot 33 per cent for the half and 0-for-6 on threes. Xavier made 6-of-11 on threes. Alexander, averaging 16.8 points per game, had two at the half on 1-of-4 shooting. ' ' '