there to get back in charge of this series

Flames visit Preds in battle between low-scoring teams (SportsNetwork. NMD China .com) - The Calgary Flames were again involved in a game in which a team was held scoreless, only this time they came out on the winning side. For one night, continued scoring issues didnt cost the Flames and theyll aim to make it back-to-back wins on Tuesday night when they visit the Nashville Predators. Calgary went into Mondays encounter with the Carolina Hurricanes having been outscored 13-1 over a three-game slide and 26-6 over their previous eight games, a span in which it had been shut out five times while going 1-7-0. The Flames finally found a way to get around those scoring woes by keeping the Hurricanes off the board in a 2-0 win. Karri Ramo stopped all 23 shots he faced for his first NHL shutout. Ramo played 48 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2006-09 and then spent the next four seasons in Russia before the Flames took a chance on the 27- year-old Finn in the offseason. He posted 18 whitewashes for Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League. Mikael Backlund and Sean Monahan scored the goals as the Flames won despite Mike Cammalleri sitting out with a concussion suffered in Saturdays loss to Pittsburgh. "It was probably our best team effort of the season," Calgary head coach Bob Hartley said. "Its a feel-good story, thats for sure. We had an answer for their pressure. We were on our toes, had great support. Guys were going short (shifts), so we had plenty of energy. We were on a mission." Monahan tied Cammalleri for the team lead in goals with 13 as he has three tallies in his past seven games for the struggling offense. The Predators themselves failed to find any offense on Sunday night versus the Minnesota Wild, falling in defeat 4-0. They were shut out for an NHL-leading seventh time this season, but for the first time since Nov. 28. Marek Mazanec made 19 saves, yielding two goals in the first period and another two in the third as the Preds fell to 1-2-1 on a five-game homestand and 3-7-4 in their past 14. "They came out with a lot of juice and got us on our heels in the first," said Nashville coach Barry Trotz. The Predators and Flames are meeting for the first time this season and Nashville has claimed five of the past seven encounters overall. Calgary has lost four straight in Nashville. Sens, Wild collide in Minnesota (SportsNetwork.com) - There is still plenty of hockey left to be played, but that doesnt mean the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild arent keep an eye on the standings. The two clubs look to extend recent surges on Tuesday night with a meeting in Minnesota. The Senators are 5-0-1 in their last six games, climbing to within two points of the final two postseason spots in the Eastern Conference, while the Wild own a four-point lead for eighth place in the Western Conference thanks to a victory in five of their last six. Ottawa wraps a four-game road trip tonight and rebounded from an overtime loss in Colorado to beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday. Both Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored for the Sens in the tiebreaker, while Craig Anderson stopped both skaters he faced. Kyle Turris scored in regulation while Anderson stopped 32 shots through overtime. "You dont want to fall behind. We know were in a lump of a group of teams, but with the games-in-hand and the not-games-in-hand I think its too early to be looking at where you sit," said Spezza. Anderson has not lost in regulation since Dec. 19, going 6-0-2 since. However, he has allowed three goals or more in five of those eight games. Minnesota, meanwhile, has found success despite not having forwards Zach Parise (lower body) and Mikko Koivu (ankle surgery) as well as goaltender Josh Harding (illness) out of the lineup. The Wild also rebounded from a loss to Colorado, besting the hosting Nashville Predators 4-0 on Sunday. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for his first career NHL shutout, while Dany Heatley, Jason Zucker, Matt Cooke and Marco Scandella all had goals. Charlie Coyle, skating on a line with Heatley and Zucker, notched a pair of assists. "I think its also the first time weve had a couple of guys weve played steady together for more than a game or two," Heatley said. "Like I said, that chemistrys a big deal and its going good right now." Kuemper only had to make five saves in the opening period, but turned aside nine in each of the final two frames to finish off the shutout. He will get the call in net again tonight as he faces the Senators for the first time. Ottawa is 8-3-0 with a tie all-time versus Minnesota and had won six straight in the series before a 4-3 home loss on Nov. 20. Koivu had the winner, Heatley finished with a goal and an assist and Harding made 34 saves. Turris, Zibanejad and Milan Michalek scored for the Senators, while Anderson made 21 saves. Sens backup Robin Lehner is slated to get the start tonight and has never faced the Wild. He has given up five goals in each of his last two starts overall, the most recent on Dec. 27. Ottawa has won three straight on the road in this series and is 4-1-0 with a tie all-time in Minnesota. The Senators announced on Monday that general manager Bryan Murray signed a two-year contract extension and was also named the president of hockey operations. Upon the conclusion of the extension in 2016, Murray will stay on with the team in an advisory role. The 71-year-old Murray has been with the franchise since June 2004 when he was named the teams head coach, then took over the general managers duties on June 18, 2007. Oilers look to halt struggles against Stars (SportsNetwork.com) - A stunning collapse cost the Dallas Stars a chance at snapping their five-game losing streak last time out. The Edmonton Oilers couldnt capitalize on a shocking goal to beat one of the NHLs top teams. The Stars and Oilers both aim to halt their recent struggles on Tuesday night with a meeting in Dallas. The Oilers visited the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and lost a 5-3 decision despite a gift goal in the second period. During a delayed penalty call, Blackhawks goaltender Antti Raanta skated off for an extra attacker as Patrick Kane passed the puck to the point in the Oilers zone. However, there was not Blackhawk there and the puck traveled all the way into the Chicago net, with Boyd Gordon getting credited with a goal despite not even being on the ice. That strange tally tied the game at 2-2 with 8:31 left in the second period, but Chicagos Marian Hossa scored during the 5-on-3 power play just 29 seconds later and Jonathan Toews added another Blackhawks goal before the end of the period. Ales Hemsky had one goal and an assist for the Oilers, while Devan Dubnyk was beaten five times on 41 shots. "We made it pretty easy on them. Against a team like that, theyre going to make you pay," said Edmonton forward Taylor Hall, who scored his 18th goal of the season to make it 4-3 in the third period before Chicago again answered. The Stars and Oilers have split two meetings this season, with each club winning on the road. Dallas has won seven of nine and 12 of the last 15 meetings overall. Edmonton has won back-to-back road games in this series, but has still lost 10 of its last 13 in Dallas. Just minutes away from a victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday, the Stars instead watched as the Isles scored three times over the games final 4:16 to hand Dallas a 4-2 setback. It was the Stars sixth defeat in a row, all in regulation. Ray Whitney and Sergei Gonchar scored in the first period to stake Dallas to a 2-0 lead and Dan Ellis made 27 saves. "When youre struggling as a group, instead of finding ways to win you find ways to lose, and thats kind of where were at right now," said Whitney. The Stars have lost six in a row in regulation for the first time since Dec. 5-15, 1995 and have fallen eight points back of the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Dallas will now try to avoid losing seven straight for the first time since an 0-5-2 rut from March 17-30, 2009 and will do so against an Edmonton club that is 2-4-2 in its last eight games. Ilya Bryzgalov will start tonight for the Oilers and is 13-8-2 with a 2.26 goals against average in 29 games (26 starts) versus the Stars. He made 28 saves in a 3-2 shootout win in Dallas on Dec. 1. Kari Lehtonen is likely to start for the Stars and owns a 10-3-1 lifetime mark versus the Oilers with a 2.06 GAA. He shut the club out for the first time in his career with a 3-0 road decision on Nov. 13, then stopped 30 saves in the loss to Bryzgalov. Former Oilers captain and current Stars forward Shawn Horcoff faces his old club for the third time. He totaled 162 goals, 285 assists and 447 points in 796 games with Edmonton to begin his career and has no points in the two meetings this season. NMD Discount . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta. NMD Outlet . FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer refused "repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said in a statement. https://www.cheapnmdoutlet.com/ . Lowry and the Raptors officially announced a four-year US$48 million dollar deal Thursday. The deal was reported last week but couldnt be made official until Thursday, when the moratorium on signings was lifted. "They were real factors. I did my homework. INDIANAPOLIS -- When the Indiana Pacers needed a lift. Paul George stepped up. All over the court, over and over again. George had 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and the Pacers used a big second-half run to rally for a 101-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. George Hill scored each of his 15 points in the second half, helping top-seeded Indiana earn a split of the first two post-season games at home. George also had four steals and blocked a shot while helping keep Hawks point guard Jeff Teague in check. "Thats why he was in the MVP conversation early," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "He always does those types of things, guarding the best perimeter player, rebounding the ball, deflecting the ball. His hands were all over the place. It makes him one of the most complete players in the game when he plays like he did tonight."" The Pacers sure needed it. For seven weeks, Indiana heard everyone question its fortitude, team chemistry, even whether it was worthy of a No. 1 seed. The complaints grew louder after Saturdays 101-93 loss. George and his teammates spent the next 72 hours seeking solutions and defiantly insisting they would be OK. On Tuesday, they finally reverted to their early season from. Indiana limited the Hawks to 33 second-half points and dominated the third quarter. Next up is Game 3 on Thursday in Atlanta, where the Pacers have only two wins since December 2006 -- though one of those closed out last years first-round playoff series in six games. "We want to build on what weve got going," Indiana forward David West said. "We want to continue to be aggressive. We know theyre going to play better at home, but were going down there to get back in charge of this series." George was 9 for 16 from the field, including a 5-for-7 performance from 3-point range. He also went 4 for 4 at the line. Perhaps more importantly, he managed to contain Teague affter he burned Indiana for 28 points in Game 1. NMD On Sale. George wanted the responsibility of guarding Teague, who had seven points in the first quarter and seven more for the rest of the game. "I sat down and it was homework for me, just locking into his tendencies and figuring out where I will get beat or where Im vulnerable against him," George said. "Its a challenge." George was the catalyst, but he had plenty of help. Hill, who had been mired in an offensive funk, made 5 of 6 shots in the second half. Luis Scola, who kept the Pacers close when West got into early foul trouble, finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. The defence that gave up 11 3-pointers in Game 1 and eight more in the first half of Game 2, allowed just two over the final 24 minutes. "Our execution on both ends of the court wasnt at the level we need it to be," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Give them credit, they were aggressive, they made a lot of plays and our execution, particularly in the third quarter has to be better. Thats what well work on." Indiana appeared to be in trouble when it trailed 38-27 in the second quarter and was still down 52-48 at halftime. But the Pacers stormed into the lead with a 31-13 third quarter. West sparked a 25-2 run with a bank shot that made it 70-65 with 3:20 left in the third. George made a buzzer-beating 3 to make it 79-65 heading into the fourth, and the Pacers scored the first eight points of the final period. "If thats what it took for everyone to understand how close this team is, thats what it was," George said. "Weve got each others back and thats what it felt like." NOTES: Atlanta was trying to open a playoff series with two straight road wins for the first time since the St. Louis Hawks swept Baltimore 3-0 in the 1966 Western Division semifinals. ... Defending Indianapolis 500 champion Tony Kanaan attended the game. ... Atlanta outscored Indiana 30-16 in the third quarter Saturday. ' ' '