Kellermann-Strauss Forum » goals in a pair of home losses to Vancouve

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Wimbledon champion Andy Murray lost his comeback match from a three-month injury layoff in the opening round of the Mubadala Championship on Thursday. Murray lost 7-5, 6-3 to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 72 minutes. Tsonga will meet Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the exhibition event on Friday, while Rafael Nadal will take on Spanish compatriot David Ferrer in the other semi. Ferrer, who last week dumped his longtime coach Javier Piles, beat Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-5, 6-1. Murray, who hadnt played since Davis Cup in mid-September because of a back complaint, kept pace with Tsonga until 5-5. Even to that point, Murrays rustiness was obvious with accumulating unforced errors. After Tsonga broke Murray for the first time, he stayed in charge. "I was feeling fine with my body and the knee, and this win over someone like Murray is going to give me great confidence as I start the new season," Tsonga said. Murray, who will take on Wawrinka for fifth place on Friday, said: "The court was very quick and needed quick reaction. Tsonga was definitely sharper." Wholesale Nike Shoes . -- Houstons All-Star tandem of James Harden and Dwight Howard refused to let the Rockets give in to fatigue. Wholesale Air Max Free Shipping . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. http://www.wholealeairmaxshoes.com/. He also had some help Monday night.Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help Indiana beat the Utah Jazz 97-86 Monday night, ending the Pacers six-game losing streak. Nike Air Max Wholesale . The 26-year-old Regina native teamed up with Denny Morrison and Mathieu Giroux to win gold in 2010. Makowsky also was 13th in the 5,000 metres and 19th in the 1,500m in Vancouver. He also represented Canada at the 2014 Games in Sochi, helping the pursuit team finish fourth and finishing 28th in the 1,500. Cheap Air Max Shoes Store . -- Conor Casey scored two goals, his first of the season, as the Philadelphia Union beat Chivas USA 3-0 on Saturday night.After the Vancouver Canucks missed the playoffs last spring, they overhauled their front office and revamped the roster of a team that won just about everything except the Stanley Cup over the previous half-decade. So far, its going better and happening faster than just about anybody predicted. When the Canucks return from a four-day break with a game in Edmonton on Wednesday night, theyll look to improve on a 12-6-0 start that launched them into second place in the tough Pacific Division. You can catch all the action on TSN Radion 1040 at 5 pm/pt. Although theyre still getting to know their new teammates and new coach Willie Desjardins, the Canucks are hoping theyre a contender in their first season together. Weve just kind of come together with a different coach and different players, so its a work in progress, said Ryan Miller, the free-agent goalie who got off to a 10-1 start for Vancouver and is 10-0 with a 1.79 goals-against average lifetime against the Oilers. I think our attitude and our excitement has kind of gotten us through this start, Miller added. Now, we have to come together and understand what it takes to play some of the teams that are willing to play a little bit of a chess match or a smarter game. Although the Canucks are just three years removed from Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals and two years past their second straight Presidents Trophy, the club launched big changes even before finishing 25th in the 30-team NHL last spring, Vancouvers worst performance in 14 years. Longtime Canucks star Trevor Linden was named their president of hockey operations in April, replacing Mike Gillis atop the department. Linden hired general manager Jim Benning and fired coach John Tortorella, who was just one season into a five-deal. Tortorella had said the Canucks veteran core grew stale, and the clubs new brass agreed. They made several changes to shake up the roster - and so far theyre all working fairly to spectacularly well. After Roberto Luongo was traded by Gillis in March, the new regime replaced him with Miller, the U.S. Olympian eager to play for a contender. Vancouver then traded veteran center Ryan Kesler, who wasnt eager to stick around for a rebuild. The deal with Anaheim landed center Nick Bonino and defenseman Luca Sbisa, who have both jumped into regular roles for the Canucks. Bonino, the Ducks third-leading scorer last season, is the Canucks third-leading scorer with 14 points already. Veteran Czech right wing Radim Vrbata has six goals and seven assists in 16 games while fitting splendidly alongside the Sedins on Vancouvers top line. Derek Dorsett has added ttoughness, while Linden Vey leads several young players injecting new energy into the lineup.dddddddddddd But perhaps the biggest boost for Vancouver has been a bounce-back season for its twin cornerstones. Their declining contributions and changing roles were just one reason that the Canucks managed the second-fewest goals in the NHL last season after years as an offensive powerhouse. The Sedins are still killing penalties for Desjardins, but theyve combined for 33 points already this season. They credit their surge to the Canucks improved balance. Weve been able to roll four lines and score timely goals, and thats what we need to win, especially in this conference, Henrik Sedin said. We cant just be a team that thinks were going to score three or four goals every night. It comes from playing well defensively. The Canucks wont surprise any future opponents with their new chemistry, and they arent getting excited about their hot start yet. After all, they won seven straight games early in Tortorellas only season in charge. Teams are playing us like were a (winning) team, Desjardins said. Theres a difference when teams are really ready for you and when theyre not, and were getting teams that are really ready for us. ... We have to be better. You cant accept playing poorly. You have to find a way. The Oilers (6-10-2) know firsthand just how good the Canucks have been, losing all three meetings this season. Since a 5-4 shootout defeat on Oct. 11, Edmonton has totaled two goals in a pair of home losses to Vancouver. Miller has stopped 78 of 84 shots in the season series and has a 1.40 GAA in five career starts in Edmonton. Its just kind of how it has worked out, Miller said following a 3-2 victory there Nov 1. When I was out East you would face teams like them maybe every other year and a lot of the games they were on a long trip coming into our building. Its just one of the anomalies of the game. I prepare the same for any team. The conference-worst Oilers havent been doing much offensively against any opponent lately, scoring three goals or fewer in each game during a 2-6-1 slide. Devan Dubnyk stopped 33 shots against his former team in Arizonas 2-1 victory Sunday, dropping Edmonton to 0-8-1 this season against the Western Conference. It was a close game for the most part, said Taylor Hall, who has three goals and two assists during a five-game point streak. It was just one of those game where we were just a bounce away from being there, but those are the games we have to find a way to win somehow. The Oilers have scored seven goals during a four-game home skid (0-3-1). ' ' '