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buwu
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Jan 26 2013, 12:46 PM
Post #1
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(Sports Network) - Ottawa will aim for a third straight victory tonight when its hosts the Carolina Hurricanes at Scotiabank Place, but the Senators will have to do so without a key part of their offense. Frank Gore Red Jersey . The Senators have notched recent wins over Nashville and Pittsburgh to end a two-game slide. It marks the first time Ottawa has recorded consecutive victories since a four-game winning streak from Nov. 2-9. Ottawas most recent triumph came Sunday against a visiting Penguins team, but the news from that game wasnt all good as Senators forward Jason Spezza suffered a right shoulder injury and will be sidelined indefinitely. Spezza was hurt when he was checked into the boards from behind by Penguins defenseman Kris Letang Spezza had a pair of assists in Sundays win over the Pens and he is third on the team this season with 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists). Brian Elliott was the star for the Senators in the win against Pittsburgh, as he made a career-high 44 saves to help Ottawa record a 3-1 victory. Elliott was in line to record a shutout, but with 3:22 left, Sidney Crosby scored to extend his point streak to 24 games. Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson scored twice and added an assist, while Mike Fisher also lit the lamp. Senators head coach Cory Clouston said after the game he was pleased with the play of Karlsson and Elliott, who also got the win in Thursdays 2-1 victory over Nashville. Real good play by both of them, Clouston said. Obviously Erik is getting a lot more confident as his experience is growing, and Brian, he played very good for us last game, and he was able to build on that for tonight. Ottawa is 9-9-2 as the host this year and Sundays victory was just the third win in the clubs last 10 games at Scotiabank Place. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, were able to end a three-game losing streak Tuesday evening, as they notched a close regulation win in Toronto. Patrick Dwyer deflected home a Tim Gleason shot late in the third period to lift Carolina to the 4-3 at Air Canada Centre. Eric Staal scored twice and Jeff Skinner also tallied for the Hurricanes, who have won eight of the last 10 games against Toronto. Cam Ward turned aside 34- of-37 shots to pick up the victory. Its a good win. We needed to have it, Staal said. We had a good start, second period was pretty bad. We hung in there. Cam made some good saves and we got the win. Carolina has won four of its last five road games and is 9-8-3 away from Raleigh this season. The Hurricanes and Senators have split a pair of games this season, but Ottawa was dealt a 7-1 shellacking the last time the clubs met on Nov. 17 in Raleigh. Carolina has won three of the last five matchups in the series overall, but the Hurricanes have not fared well recently in Ottawa, losing six straight and seven of their last eight in Canadas capital city. Ronnie Lott Womens Jersey . This week, they discuss Simon Whitfields grace in defeat, the pride of Oscar Pistorius, the legacy of Melissa Tancredi and the joy of competing shown by Mo Farah. Donte Whitner Womens Jersey . J.J. Barea and the Minnesota Timberwolves tried to send a message on Thursday night that a second straight trip isnt going to come easy. Playing with the tenacity that made him so important to the Mavericks run to the title two years ago, Barea scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Timberwolves snap Oklahoma Citys 12-game winning streak with a 99-93 victory over the Thunder. http://www.the49erssportsshop.com/patrick-willis-jersey/ .Y. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning have discovered a winning formula on the road -- just in time for a late-season playoff push. Kendall Hunter Super bowl Jersey . Cecil, who will make his first start at the major league level this year, went 4-11 with a 4.73 ERA in 20 starts in 2011. The lefty takes the place of Brandon Morrow, who is on the disabled list due to a strained left oblique muscle. Colin Kaepernick Red Jersey . The city voted 21-3 in favour of the plan to refurbish Frank Clair Stadium and add new retail and residential developments to the park. "Todays positive City of Ottawa council vote means a beautiful new stadium and as early as 2014, a proud new franchise that will make its community proud and our league even stronger," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in a statement.In this weeks Tweet Bag we take a look at the possibility of the Raptors starting Ed Davis, whether Dwane Casey became overrated after last season and whether fans should fear a reputation-saving move from Bryan Colangelo. As always thanks for the questions and tweet me @timpchisholm if you want me to answer one of your questions next week. @iamjcoswith davis improved play and bargs apparently on the market shouldnt he be used as bait to pick up a SF rather than Gasol? You could make that argument. However, I want to stress that while Davis is having a sort of breakout season, he isnt exactly pushing Bargnani out of the starting five. He is playing mostly against second-unit guys, which is making him look a little better than he is, hes cooled off a bit in the scoring department of late and, most importantly, he isnt as good a defender as people think. While Davis is certainly more engaged than Bargnani, hes still giving up a 21.1 PER to opposing power forwards, according to 82games.com, while Bargnani is giving up only 15.2. Also, the team is only 1.9 points per 100 possessions better defensively when Davis in on the court, which is nothing compared, say, to Amir Johnsons 7.9. The big issue is that Davis still doesnt have the greatest defensive instincts, he doesnt read the floor exceptionally well, and he still has to learn to use his body to hold position against opposing big men. Basically, for the Raptors to survive putting Ed in the starting five theyd need a killer small forward back in a trade. Theyd need a guy that could guard his position, space the floor for Lowry, DeRozan and Valanciunas and pass the ball (because this team desperately needs passers). I like Eds developments this year, but making him a regular starter would really shine a light on all of the areas where he still needs to improve. @SteeboI wonder with each passing game if we all might have over estimated D Casey just a bit. He has to take some of the blame Without a doubt Casey has to take some of the blame for the start to this season. His team looks unmotivated and unprepared on a night-to-night basis, the rotations have been a constant talking point at the end of games, and any time a team sits 12 games under .500 the coach is going to feel the weight of that on his shoulders. Of course, its the defensive slipppage that is really shocking this season, and Im not sure you can pin all of that on the coach. Aldon Smith 49ers Jersey. Bryan Colangelo rolled the dice this summer and left several questionable defenders on the roster this season because Casey seemed to possess a supernatural ability to scheme his way around their deficiencies. These days, watching Bargnani miss a defensive rotation or DeRozan lose his man on a backdoor cut or Calderon get blown by on the perimeter, you wonder how much a coach can do to cover up all those warts while also starting a rookie centre and a revolving door at small forward. The problem is, thats his job. Fair or not, he was hired to improve the defensive culture of the club and reinvent the teams personality on the court. He made strides towards that goal last year and the team has given them all back this year. Is this roster well-suited to his style? No, not on paper, but he made that work last year and thats why he has so many fans questioning him 20 games into the season. @DandyphillipsAre you nervous about BC making moves to save his rep? No, because a rep-saving move would almost, by definition, have to be a team-saving move. If Colangelo goes out and trades for an under-performing, overpaid veteran that doesnt improve the team substantially then he hasnt really improved his stock around the league. Everyone knows that he has the ability to overspend on short-term answers, and everyone knows how destructive thats been during his tenure with the Raptors. These days, for him to make a rep-saving move he would have to find pieces that fit Caseys system, fit the short- and long-term goals that the team has and not kill their cap or over-dilute their roster in the process. No one will be impressed if he does another Jermaine ONeal (for what its worth, I think Pau Gasol is a FAR better player than ONeal was in 08, lest anyone think Im dancing around that particular name), theyll only be impressed with savvy, team-saving moves, so his needs and Torontos needs nicely dovetail in that regard. @RapsfanMikeI can see it now, The lottery giving us the fourth pick. Deep down we all know it. Given the way the season has unfolded that would seem just about right (fourth is the highest the pick can be and still go to Oklahoma City as a result of the Kyle Lowry trade). ' ' '
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