Forums » Off-Topic Discussions
"I think hes approached the off-season w
-
Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork. Supersonics Jerseys Throwabck .com) - Henrik Zetterberg picked up his first hat trick in almost two years as the Detroit Red Wings erased an early 3-0 deficit and topped the luckless Buffalo Sabres, 6-4, at Joe Louis Arena. Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar each posted a goal and one assist for the Red Wings, who scored five unanswered goals to win their fourth straight and sixth in seven. Drew Miller picked up a score, Danny DeKeyser added two helpers while Thomas McCollum picked up his first career win in relief by stopping 7-of-8 pucks. Petr Mrazek worked the first 13:37 before being pulled after allowing three goals on seven shots. Tyler Ennis totaled two goals and three points for the Sabres, whose franchise-record losing streak reached 11 games. Chris Stewart and Drew Stafford also provided offense with Nikita Zadorov adding two helpers in the loss. Jhonas Enroth was on the hook for all six tallies on 26 shots. Zetterberg beat Enroth at the left post during a delayed penalty call and the hosts took their first lead of the game, 4-3, at 1:59 of the final stanza. The Wings were given the games next advantage and capitalized at the 5:05 mark when Zetterberg slipped into the slot and redirected a Nyquist dish for a two- goal spread. Ennis brought the Sabres to 5-4 at 8:31 when his long turnaround shot squeezed through McCollum and trickled over the goal line, but there would be no further comeback. Zetterberg picked up his third of the night on a rush up the right wing during which he fired a shot that slipped between Enroths pads and curled inside the far post at 11:59. For the veteran Swede, it was his first three-goal effort since Feb. 1, 2013 against the Blues and capped the comeback victory. Stafford beat Mrazek on a quick shot from the outer edge of the left circle just 1:46 into the contest and Ennis threw a puck past a Matt Moulson screen from the goal line on the right wing to make it 2-0 at 10:21. Buffalo converted its first power play when Ennis shot from the right circle and the puck ticked off Stewart to make it 3-0 at 13:37. McCollum was summoned from the bench thereafter. Detroit needed a little over four minutes of the second period to get two goals back, as Nyquist chopped a puck out of the air on the power play at one minute even and Miller followed at 4:07 with a spinning shot from the high slot. The Wings tied the game just after the midway point of regulation on Tatars marker. Game Notes Zetterberg has recorded six career trifectas ... Detroits outburst tied a season high for goals in one contest, matching a 6-3 result at home against the Sabres on Dec. 23 ... Buffalo gained its first three-goal lead against Detroit since Oct. 13, 2009 (6-2 W) and also posted their its three-goal lead in the Wings home arena since Jan. 29, 1992 (4-4 T). Vladimir Radmanovic Jersey .com) - The Dallas Mavericks had a five-game winning streak snapped last time out, but theyll try to get back into the winners circle Sunday evening when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to American Airlines Center. Seattle Supersonics Store . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad.ATLANTA - B.J. Upton would like a do-over on his debut season with the Braves. The subject came up when Upton, as part of the teams winter promotional tour, made a recent visit to Redan High School in the Atlanta area. He was asked by a student if would change anything in his career. Upton didnt hesitate before answering, "Anything in baseball? Last year. The whole last season." Its an understandable wish. After signing the biggest free-agent contract in Braves history — $75.25 million for five years — Upton endured a nightmarish 2013 season. He hit only .184, struck out in more than one-third of his at-bats and was benched. The only highlights were playing beside his younger brother, Justin Upton, in the outfield and seeing the Braves advance to the playoffs. "Definitely it was tough," B.J. Upton told The Associated Press. "You know, baseball is going to throw you some curveballs, so to speak." After missing far too many curveballs — and fastballs and sliders — Upton is writing off the season as an aberration. "Maybe not to that magnitude, but at some point I think every player goes through that type of season," he said. "As long as you can learn from it so that some of the things that happened wont happen again, thats all you can ask." The new start begins with spring training. Braves pitchers and catchers report on Thursday. The full squad reports on Feb. 18, and the first full-squad workout is Feb. 19. Upton impressed his teammates and manager Fredi Gonzalez by continuing to spend extra time on his swing through his disappointing season. "Hes one of the hardest workers on the team," said third baseman Chris Johnson. "Hes always in the cage. Those two brothers are workhorses." Assistant hitting coach Scott Fletcher said Upton never changed hhis demeanour, even after losing his starting job. Sarunas Marciulionis Jersey. "He didnt pout," Fletcher said. "He just kept working. He was ready for anything that Fredi needed from him. That shows a lot of his character. I look for him to come back and do well. Thats just the type of competitor he is. Hes had a lot of great years and hes going to continue to do that. I think hes going to have some great years for us." Upton hit 28 homers and had 31 stolen bases in 2012 with Tampa Bay. He hit only nine homers with 12 steals last season. The Braves need Upton, 29, to at least approach his career .248 batting average. Upton worked on his swing at his off-season home in Tampa, Fla., where he had a visit from Braves hitting coach Greg Walker. "My reports from Greg have been positive," said Braves general manager Frank Wren. "I think hes approached the off-season well. From what Greg has seen of his work, he thinks its steps in the right direction." After last season, Wren said Upton may have tried too hard to show he deserved the big contract. "Its a deep hole that gets deeper and deeper the harder you try," Wren said. "Weve seen dozens and dozens of players go through it." Upton said he didnt expect such a difficult transition to the National League. "Its just the nature of the beast," Upton said. "You come to a new organization and a new league and its just a whole bunch of variables that I dont think you really think of affecting you as a player, and they might have the slightest bit. I dont think a lot of guys see it really hitting them that hard. It was just a totally different situation. "Obviously you dont want it to go that way. I dont regret it. Maybe it was something I needed to happen. Its not something Im going to dwell on. Its a fresh start and I get to move on." ' ' '