ST. Where to Buy Cheap Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. -- Jared Spurgeon spent a month watching the Minnesota Wild from the press box. When he returned to action Tuesday night, he didnt waste any time making an impact. Spurgeon had two assists in his return from injury, Darcy Kuemper made 34 saves and the Wild defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1. One of Minnesotas top defencemen, Spurgeon was placed on injured reserve Jan. 4 after he hurt his left foot against Buffalo. While the Wild went 8-4-2 in his absence, they were eager to get him back in the lineup -- and he was eager to get back into the flow. "I think theres lots of adrenaline that helps you," Spurgeon said. "At the start I was a little nervous being off for a month, but they threw me right out there for the opening shift and that helped me really calm down and get my feet wet for that first one." Spurgeon got started early, setting up Nino Niederreiter for his fifth goal of the season 9 seconds into a power play in the first period. Early in the third, Spurgeon helped the Wild double their lead when he fed Dany Heatley in the slot for his 11th. Spurgeon ended up playing 21:12, third-most among Minnesota defencemen. "Hes taken really good care of himself while hes been out," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "To be able to come in and play at the level that he did tonight just shows you how smart of a player he is." The Lightning pulled within a goal with just more than 6 minutes to play when Valtteri Filppula tipped in Martin St. Louis pass at the goalmouth for his 20th of the season. Tampa Bay buzzed around the net the rest of the way, but Kuemper stopped Alex Killorn and St. Louis from in close, and Tyler Johnsons shot hit the post in the final 40 seconds. Lightning coach Jon Cooper was hoping to see a little more fire out of his club at the end of a 1-3 road trip. "I dont know how much courage we had going to the net tonight, until the end," Cooper said. "Hence, its shocking where our goal was scored, standing right in front of the net." While the Lightning are still clinging to second place in the Atlantic Division, goalie Ben Bishop said theyll welcome a return home for two games before the Olympic break. "I dont know if you want to say were tired, but its been a long road trip," Bishop said. "We dont want to make excuses, but weve got to be better." Bishop, who finished with 24 saves, was tested often throughout the first two periods, stopping Zach Parise on a breakaway with 5 minutes to play in the first period and stoning Mikael Granlund on a point-blank backhand early in the second. Bishop was shaken up midway through the second when Parise fired a slap shot that hit the goalie in the head, but he remained in the game. Meanwhile, Kuemper made a nifty glove save to stop Johnson on a breakaway late in the second and stood tall all night in his 11th straight start, a franchise record for rookie goalies. The Wild are 6-3-2 in that span, but Yeo was impressed with how Kuemper rebounded from his last two starts, a loss at Colorado in which he was pulled and an overtime defeat at Calgary. "How do you come back to the rink the next day and be mentally tough enough to come in and perform at the level that you need to? Thats what was very impressive about him tonight," Yeo said. "I liked his game an awful lot." While the Wild got Spurgeon back, they had another setback on the blue line 2 minutes into the game when defenceman Marco Scandella got tangled up with Johnson. Scandella skated off the ice with assistance, favouring his right leg, and did not return. Yeo labeled him "doubtful" for Minnesotas pre-Olympics finale Thursday against Nashville. NOTES: Filppula returned after missing Saturdays game at Montreal with a lower-body injury. ... St. Louis assist gave him 966 points, moving him past former Canadiens great Maurice Richard into 85th place on the NHLs career list. What is the best Chinese web site for cheap Jerseys . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind. Where Can Buy Cheap Jerseys .com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics.Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - C.J. Miles buried six 3-pointers for 22 points off the bench and the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 94-91 on Friday night. Roy Hibbert added 18 points and Luis Scola scored 14 for the Pacers, who have won two in a row and five of their last seven. Brandon Knight had 20 points for the Bucks, who had a two-game winning streak stopped. Zaza Pachulia contributed 12 points and 14 rebounds in the loss and John Henson scored 14 with 10 boards. The Bucks snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with an 87-81 win in Indianapolis on Nov. 4. They led by as many as seven in this one and carried a 68-66 advantage into the fourth quarter, but Indiana took the lead for good on Donald Sloans 3 with 9 1/2 minutes remaining. Milwaukee was 9-of-24 from the floor in the fourth qquarter, including 1-for-7 on 3-pointers. How to Buy Cheap Jerseys. We couldnt get stops when we needed to and we missed shots we normally make, said Bucks coach Jason Kidd. The Pacers pushed their lead to seven three times in the quarter and held on down the stretch by making their free throws. Miles led all players with eight points in the first quarter and Indiana took a 23-21 edge into the second. Henson scored the first six points of a 9-0 Milwaukee run in the second quarter that gave the Bucks a 32-27 lead on a Jared Dudley 3. They pushed it to 53-46 at halftime. Game Notes The Pacers opened a four-game homestand that continues Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers ... The Bucks will put a three-game road winning streak on the line Sunday against New York. ' ' '
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DENVER - Ty Lawson scored 25 points, rookie Jusuf Nurkic provided a lift inside by blocking a career-best five shots, and the Denver Nuggets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 114-85 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. LeBron James Jersey .Arron Afflalo added 23 points and Kenneth Faried had 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Nuggets kept up their mastery of Memphis at home, improving to 32-5 all-time. Lawson also had 11 assists.Marc Gasol scored 18 points for the travel-weary Grizzlies, who were running on fumes on the second night of a back-to-back. They held off the Lakers 109-106 in Los Angeles on Friday.Memphis lost its cool in the third quarter, with coach Dave Joerger drawing two technical fouls, leading to his ejection, and Gasol receiving another.Denver outscored Memphis 34-22 in the third to turn the game into a rout. Afflalo led the way with 14 points in the quarter.Trying to spark his team in the third, Joerger argued a foul on Tony Allen, only to be sent to the locker room. Later, Gasol drew another technical and appeared frustrated with the aggressive play of Nurkic, who was throwing around his 280 pounds all evening. The 20-year-old from Bosnia Herzegovina finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.Nurkic and Gasol jawed at each other at the end of the third quarter after Gasols shot was blocked.The Grizzlies, who were missing Zach Randolph (sore right knee), had won three in a row. The team is 1-1 in 2015 after going a league-best 60-23 in the 2014 calendar year.Before the contest, Joerger gave his colleague, Brian Shaw, a vote of confidence for his work this season with a banged-up roster. Shaw is missing forward Danilo Gallinari (right knee) and centre JaVale McGee (strained lower left leg).If you took the highest two paid players off of our roster right now, Marc and Zach, wed look a lot different, Joerger said. I text Brian all the time. I think Brians doing a good job.The injuries continue to mount for the Nuggets, with backup guard Nate Robinson spraining his right wrist when he fell to the floor after a hard foul by Vince Carter midway through the second quarter.Robinson made the layup and then took his foul shot — along with another for a flagrant-1 call on Carter — by shooting left handed. He missed both and didnt play the rest of the game.TIP-INSGrizzlies: Assistant Jeff Bzdelik coached the Nuggets from 2002-05. Hes a high-character guy, a really, really good coach, Joerger said. ... Asked how close Randolph was to a return, Joerger simply responded, hard to tell. ... Memphis was 2 of 14 from 3-point range.Nuggets: After consulting with a sleep study group, Shaw is having his team practice during the afternoon before games rather than in the morning. Our attention span isnt always the greatest, Shaw said. So when we do stuff in the morning, sometimes its in one ear and out by the time we get back that night.UP NEXTGrizzlies: Host New York on Monday.Nuggets: Visit Minnesota on Monday. Aaron Rodgers Jersey . Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre. Russell Westbrook Jersey . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario.Mitchell Johnson is excited for the IPL, talks Twitter battles, and his respect for Virat Kohli in his latest column for Fox Sports... Being a cricketer in India is unlike any other job in the world.The sheer number of fans here and the passion they have for the game makes the time I spend off the field in India almost as intense as the time I spend on it. Dont get me wrong - the supporters here are amazing, its just that on occasions, things have threatened to get a little out of hand.There was a time last year when I felt a bit concerned about my safety. It wasnt that we were in serious danger - although it felt close - but the sheer number of people involved made the whole experience pretty intimidating.After having a quiet meal with a couple of my Kings XI Punjab teammates in a Dharamsala restaurant, people began to notice us, and seemingly within seconds there were people hanging off doors just to get a look at us.Things soon escalated and before I knew it I had people grabbing onto me, just trying to touch me. I had to whack their arms off me just to get into the car. Then they started shaking the car.It was a whole new experience and pretty crazy. However, I want to make it clear the people that day had no intention of hurting me - theyre just so fanatical and so excited to see cricketers and this is the way they express that fanaticism. Indias fans are some of the most passionate in the world according to Johnson At times like that youve just got to accept this is what life is like as a cricketer in India. There are times when it can all feel like its a bit much, but you need to understand where the locals are coming from. They hardly ever get to see their heroes up close in the flesh so its understandable how passionate they are when they see us.It certainly doesnt detract from the awesome experience that is playing in the IPL, and if anything some of the players - particularly the younger ones who are in awe of the big-name guys - actually enjoy the extra attention.MY TWITTER BATTLESOne man who definitely thrives on extra scrutiny and pressure is Virat Kohli.The man is a superstar and he showed why during the World Twenty20, when he almost single-handedly dragged India into the final.You might have seen that I had a little dig at Virat on Twitter before Indias match against Australia. That was just an attempt by me to throw him off his game but given he scored 82 off 51 balls, I dont think it was such a smart move! Indias Virat Kohli celebrates after victory in the World T20 clash with Australia Maybe I shouldnt have said anything but thats the beauty of Twitter - anyones opinion can be broadcast to the world. I didnt expect my comment to get the level of response that it did, and I probably didnt need to reply to the angry responses from Indian fans. Nolan Ryan Jersey . But to be honest that stuff doesnt bother me at all. In the past it would have affected me, but now that Ive got a bit more freedom to express my opinion, I can just laugh it off.I dont mind stirring the pot - I guess I just need to be careful about who Im having a go at!VIRAT AND MEYou didnt need to see my tweet to know Virat and I have a bit of a rivalry. Johnson celebrates the wicket of Kohli during 2015 World Cup semi-final Weve had our differences and most of it stems from the 2014 Adelaide Test, when a ball I threw hit Virat on the body. I was legitimately trying to run him out but he didnt like what I did. When he made some comment in the media that night about having no respect for me as a player, thats when I got really annoyed.Having said that, Virat is the kind of player youd want in your team. Hes a real fighter and to be honest hes a bit like most of us were in the Australian team. We go pretty hard on the field, and hes got that about him as well.The fact he plays the game like us is probably why weve rubbed each other the wrong way. If I sit back and digest it properly, were actually quite similar in the way we approach the game. Johnson is excited to face Kohli (left) and his RCM teammates like Chris Gayle (right) I cant wait to come up against him again and his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mates in the IPL.RETURNING TO CRICKETSince my final Test match in November last year I havent played any competitive cricket, save for one grade match in Perth.The good sign for me is Im incredibly excited for the IPL to get underway now. Thats certainly not how I was feeling this time last year when I was really flat and physically exhausted after a long Australian summer that included a World Cup. Johnson says he cant wait to put on his King XI uniform again Now Im genuinely pumped to get back onto the field, and even training with my teammates this week gave me a rush I havent felt in a while.A lot of people think the IPL is all about money but I can guarantee you it isnt. I would find it really hard to be motivated if I was just playing for money - you have to actually have your heart in it.I know I do, and I cant wait to pull on that Kings XI uniform again.For the full article, click here. Also See: WATCH: IPL is coming IPL TV times IPL in numbers Get Sky Sports ' ' '
