VANCOUVER - With their leading scorer sidelined because of the flu, the
Vancouver Canucks turned to some unlikely sources for offence on Tuesday
night.
NMD For Sale
.Ryan Stanton scored his first goal in more than a year and Nick Bonino
and Linden Vey also broke long droughts as Vancouver downed the New
York Islanders 3-2.I think every team thats good in this league and wins
has some secondary scoring, said Santon. I think we got it tonight.
Bonino got out of a slump there, Vey got one and probably the least
likely guy to get one — me — got one.It was nice and it feels so much
better in a win.Stantons goal was the rugged defencemans first in 84
games dating back to Oct. 17, 2013, while Bonino scored his first in
eight games and Vey buried his first in the last 13.It hasnt been fun. I
think Im doing well in other areas of the ice, said Bonino, who now has
two goals in the last 24 games. I feel like Im playing good hockey, the
puck just wouldnt go in. There have been chances every night. Tonight
one went in. Hopefully it continues.Vey, who was only elevated into the
lineup after Canucks sniper Radim Vrbata and his 16 goals and 13 assists
fell ill earlier in the day, found out he would be suiting up after
arriving at Rogers Arena about 2 1/2 hours before faceoff.You need guys
to step up. Obviously (Bonino) has been snake bitten for a while and hes
had lots of chances, said Vey. Its good to see him find one. And
obviously you get a goal from Stants whos struggled in the goal
department this year.Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins reunited
Henrik and Daniel Sedin with Alexandre Burrows on the first line and had
planned to put Bonino and Chris Higgins with Vrbata before Vey was
pressed into action. While the twins werent able to click with Burrows,
Vey found chemistry on with his linemates.I think its always nice to
capitalize on an opportunity, said Vey, who was healthy scratch on
Saturday. I just wanted to bring a little more energy and create a
little bit more and I got to play with Bonino and Higgins. Those guys
are two great players and it makes the game a lot easier.Eddie Lack got
the call in place of No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller and made 21 saves for the
Canucks (23-12-3) in his first start since Dec. 17. The win improved
Vancouver to 5-1-1 over its last seven.I really felt like we played a
good team game. I feel like they made me see the puck all night, said
Lack, who turned 27 on Monday. I kind of felt it took me five, 10
minutes to get into the groove a little bit. I felt like I was chasing
the game a little bit, maybe like training camp again. After that I felt
normal.Matt Martin and Mikhail Grabovski scored and Jaroslav Halak made
17 stops for New York (26-13-1), which was coming off a 5-2 loss to the
Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night.I didnt think we were sharp. We didnt
execute, said Islanders forward Kyle Okposo. The last couple games, even
three games, we havent been ourselves, havent had that same pop and we
just have to find a way to get that back.Its not time to panic, but we
just need to be better.Vancouver grabbed a 2-1 lead at 8:01 of the
second period after New York defenceman Thomas Hickey tried to clear the
puck up the middle of the Islanders zone. It was intercepted by Kevin
Bieksa at the blue-line and he fired a shot that Bonino redirected in
front of Halak before shovelling home the rebound.Vey then stretched the
lead to two at 17:36 after Hickey turned the puck over on a rush and
Derek Dorsett fed a streaking Vey, who moved in alone and fired a shot
through Halaks pads for his sixth of the season.We played a pretty good
hockey game, but you cant manage the puck like that and expect to win.
Thats the bottom line, said Islanders head coach Jack Capuano. The whole
thing about this game is being able to execute your breakouts and for
whatever reason or defence didnt move the puck tonight and before you
know it, its in the back of our net.The Canucks nursed that 3-1 lead in
the third period and Lack was rarely threatened until Grabovski scored
his sixth of the season and first in 11 games off a pass from Okposo
after a Bieksa turnover at 14:33.Lack and the Canucks were embarrassed
by the Islanders at Rogers Arena last March in a game that saw Vancouver
blow a 3-0 third-period lead in a 7-4 loss, but the hosts would hold
off a late charge on this night.I was kind of thinking of it a little
bit before the third period, but once we started playing I was feeling
normal again, said Lack. The Islanders opened the scoring at 9:38 of the
first period after Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic moved down the
right side off the rush and threw the puck in front to Martin, who
fought off a check from Bieksa to direct home his fifth of the
season.The Canucks got that one back less than three minutes when
Vancouver forward Brad Richardson jumped on New Yorks first costly
turnover behind Halaks net and walked out front. Halak made the first
save, but the rebound squirted to Stanton and the pinching defenceman
scored his first goal in more than 14 months into the open side.It
definitely felt nice, he said. Obviously Im not a huge goal scorer, but
when you go 80 some games without scoring a goal it definitely starts to
creep in the back of your mind.Notes: The Canucks lost Richardson to a
lower-body injury in the second period, but Desjardins said he expected
him to be OK. ... Grabovskis goal was just his second in the last 22
games. ... Vancouver continues a five-game homestand on Thursday against
Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers. ... The Islanders visit the
New Jersey Devils on Friday.—Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter
NMD Clearance
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Icardi is living with the ex-wife of former teammate Maxi Lopez, and the
Sampdoria forward refused to shake Icardis hand before kickoff.
Walter Samuel and Rodrigo Palacio also scored for Inter while Lopez had a
penalty saved.
NMD On Sale
.com) - The Los Angeles Kings peppered Ryan Miller
with shot after shot.PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard made the Houston
Astros pay for pitching to him.
Howard singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the
15th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory over
Houston on Tuesday night.
The interleague matchup between teams with two of the four worst records
in the majors lasted 5 hours, 5 minutes.
Hector Neris (1-0) tossed a perfect inning to earn the win in his major
league debut.
Grady Sizemore led off the inning against Jake Buchanan (1-2) with a
hard one-hop single under second baseman Jose Altuves glove. After
Ben Revere sacrificed, Jimmy Rollins flied out and Chase Utley was
intentionally walked.
Howard then ripped a 1-2 pitch to right and Sizemore slid in safely
ahead of right fielder Robbie Grossmans throw.
"You go up there with a chip on your shoulder," Howard said. "Them
walking Chase, I wanted to get it done."
It was the fifth game of at least 14 innings for the Phillies this
season, tying a franchise-record first set in 1958.
Both starters -- Philadelphias Kyle Kendrick and Houstons Dallas Keuchel
-- allowed one run in seven innings.
Howard led off the bottom of the second with an opposite-field homer
that just cleared the wall in left-centre, giving the Phillies a 1-0
lead. The run snapped a 22-inning scoreless streak for Philadelphia,
which was shut out in Washington on Saturday and Sunday.
Howards homer was his seventh off lefties in 97 at-bats. He has only 10
against right-handers in 308 at-bats. Howard, who faces an extreme shift
to right in all of his at-bats, still hasnt pulled a homer.
The struggling slugger is batting just .217 and was benched three
straight games last month.
"You guys forget what Ive done," the former NL MVP said. "People look at
right now. Ive hit balls hard over stretches. All you can do is hit
balls hard and once it leaves the bat, its out of your hands."
Jon Singletons RBI single in the seventh tied it at 1. The Astros had
runners at first and third with no out, but couldnt get the go-ahead
run. Matt Dominguez flied out to shallow right and Jake Marisnick
grounded into a double play.
"A really touggh game," Astros manager Bo Porter said.
NMD Discount.
"We just couldnt get the offence going."
TRAINERS ROOM
Astros: Outfielder George Springer, on the disabled list since July 20
with a strained left quad, made his second rehab appearance at Single-A
Quad Cities. Springer could be called up before the series ends
Thursday.
Phillies: Cliff Lee still hasnt had an MRI on his injured left elbow.
... Left fielder Domonic Brown has an infection in his tonsils and wasnt
in the lineup for the fourth straight game. ...
UP NEXT
Astros: Right-hander Brad Peacock (3-7, 4.93) will come up from Triple-A
Oklahoma City to start Wednesday night. Hes replacing Jarred Cosart,
who was traded to Miami last week. Peacock gave up seven runs in 3 2-3
innings in his last start on July 23, a 9-7 loss at Oakland.
Phillies: Righty David Buchanan (5-5, 4.40) will be recalled from
Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Lees spot. Buchanan has allowed three
earned runs or less in his last six major-league starts
STARTING TIME
Keuchel (10-7) has allowed just two earned runs in his last three
starts, but is only 1-1 in that span. The lefty lowered his ERA to 2.89.
Kendrick remained 5-11 after giving up five hits in his first quality
start in six outings since July 3. Kendrick lowered his ERA to 4.74.
HUNTER PENCE HAUNTS
The Phillies acquired Pence, an All-Star outfielder, from the Astros on
July 29, 2011 for Singleton, Cosart, outfielder Domingo Santana and
right-hander Josh Zeid. They were 50-30 at the time and finished with a
club-record 102 wins before losing to St. Louis in the NLDS.
Pence was traded the following July to San Francisco for outfielder
Nate Schierholtz, pitcher Seth Rosin and catcher Tommy Joseph.
Clearly, the Astros and Giants were big winners in both trades with the
Phillies.
SAVE THAT BALL
Santana walked with two outs in the 10th, reaching safely for the first
time in his career on his 22nd birthday. He was 0 for 13 with 11
strikeouts before drawing a walk.
NASTY STUFF
Phillies lefty Antonio Bastardo struck out six of the seven batters he
faced in the 11th and 12th innings and the Astros fanned a season-high
17 times.
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