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WINNIPEG - It was one of those "oh no" moments for Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel. George Johnson Jersey . The Jets finally lived up to their name, roaring out of the gate at full speed Monday night and keeping the throttle full as they outskated and outshot the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. But for a few minutes in the second period, Noel admits he was worried. "Is this going to be one of these nights?" was the thought that crossed his mind. "I thought we had a good first period then OK, before you know it were down 2-1." Bryan Little had scored the only goal in the first period for the Jets (6-8-2), as they outshot Detroit 14-9. But then Henrik Zetterberg put Detroit (9-5-2) on the board at 7:09 of the second after his shot in front of the Winnipeg net glanced in off Jets defenceman Grant Clitsomes skate. Danny DeKeyser had the go-ahead goal, his NHL career first, with a slapshot from the blue-line that beat Jets goalie Al Montoyas glove when Detroit was shorthanded. Its not like it hasnt happened before to the Jets. A good game goes bad and stays that way. But not this time. "I think a big thing is we didnt get down on ourselves," said Mark Scheifele. "We knew we made some mistakes but I think on the bench we were saying, Guys, were still in this, weve still got lots of game. " In the end, Noel had little to complain about as the Jets continued to dominate, outshooting the Red Wings 47-27 and forcing turnover after turnover. "The way that we played, it would have been a really tough game to lose," he said. "We got some games from a lot of players." Matt Halishuck scored the winner and his first goal as a Jet. Michael Frolik and Andrew Ladd also scored for the Jets, who snapped a three-game losing streak The assists tell a fuller story. Devin Setoguchi had two, Scheifele had two and Little and Ladd both had assists in addition to their goals. "There was a lot of things to like in that game," said Noel. With Evander Kane out of the lineup following their last game, the line of Frolik, Scheifele and Halischuk was a solid replacement. "They played better that we did," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "I think from start to finish they were the better team on the ice. We didnt look like we had much energy, didnt skate well, didnt execute well." He said four games in six days was no excuse. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak built in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The Jets had as many shots in the first period as Edmonton managed in the entire game the Oilers lost 5-0 Saturday. One stat that wasnt so flattering for Winnipeg was 0-6 on the power play, plus one short-handed goal, but Noel said they will build on the positives. Little got the jump on defenceman Kyle Quincy, who fell and left Winnipegs leading scorer to go in alone against Jimmy Howard. It was Littles team-leading eighth goal of the season. Babcock said Howard did a good job and Detroits penalty killing was one of the few bright spots Monday night. A third Detroit goal in the second was cancelled by a net that came off its moorings. With just under three minutes to go, Scheifele slid the puck through Quinceys skates in front of the Detroit net to Frolik and he popped it in to make it 2-2. A perfectly positioned Halischuk put the Jets ahead at 4:26 of the third when he one-timed a pass from Frolik, who fed it from behind the Detroit net. Ladd backhanded a loose puck past Howard at 10:57 of the third to give the Jets some breathing room. Notes: Defenceman Mark Stuart joined the Jets injury list on the weekend and the Jets called up Zach Redmond from the IceCaps. They also claimed defenceman Keaton Ellerby off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings and Noel said he played well Monday. ... The team has been without defenceman Jacob Trouba and centre Jim Slater since Oct. 20. Paul Postma has been off since Oct. 27. It isnt known how long Kane might be out. Nick Fairley Jersey . Now Samardzija has his second win in three starts for a team trying to turn around its season. Samardzija tossed seven solid innings, Junior Lake hit two home runs and Emilio Bonifacio added a two-run shot as the Cubs extended their winning streak to five with a 5-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. C.J. Mosley Elite Jersey . Wedge will manage the final three games of this season against Oakland before the Mariners begin a search for a new manager. "Its got to the point where its painfully obvious to me that I just wasnt going to be able to move forward with this organization," Wedge said before Fridays game.ATLANTA -- Paul Millsap knows the Atlanta Hawks wont have an easy time replacing Al Horford. Even so, Millsap was proud that the Hawks held together despite the absence of their leading scorer and rebounder. "Everybodys still a little shocked about the situation," Millsap said. "You could tell. Als a big part of what we do, but once we shook it off, guys just got out there and played ball." Millsap scored a season-high 33 points, Lou Williams scored 10 of his season-best 28 points in overtime and the Hawks rallied to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 118-116 on Saturday night. Al Jefferson had 24 points and a season-high 23 rebounds, and Gerald Henderson added 22 points for Charlotte. Playing their first game since Horford suffered a torn pectoral muscle, the Hawks trailed by 14 after Henderson hit a 20-foot fadeaway jumper with 4:19 left in the third quarter. But Atlanta, which has won two straight and five of six, rallied to force overtime when backup centre Pero Antic made a one-legged 3-pointer from the right wing with 3.1 seconds left in regulation. "Its going to take some time to learn to play without Al," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We have to get everybody comfortable, to keep the ball moving, to know where the spots are. I thought our start was OK, actually." Jeff Teague finished with 20 points and nine assists for the Hawks. Mike Scott added 18 points, and Millsap pulled down 13 rebounds. The Bobcats, who have lost two straight and three of four, didnt trail again in regulation after Ben Gordons 3 from the left corner made it 86-84. Antics shot while moving away from the basket made it 101-all and the game went to overtime when Hendersons fadeaway jumper bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Jefferson bemoaned that Antic was able to get the ball in a scramble and score his only points of the game. "My guy hit a shot fake, going left, off one leg, a 3-point shot to tie the game," Jefferson said. "I mean, what can you say? Its part of the game, I guess. It hurts, though." In the final minute of OT, Millsap hit a pair of free throws to make it 108-all, Kemba Walker missed a wild shot for Charlotte and Williams hit two foul shots to give Atlanta the lead for good at 110-108. Ziggy Ansah Elite Jersey. Williams made all 10 foul shots in overtime. There were five lead changes in the first half and five in the second half. Charlottes biggest advantage before intermission was 10 on Hendersons 4-foot turnaround jumper with 4:22 left in the second quarter. Walker, who scored at least 20 in six straight games before finishing with 18 in Fridays home loss to Oklahoma City, missed his first six shots before hitting a 3-pointer that put Charlotte up 55-47 early in the third. Walker finished 4 for 20 from the field and scored 16 points. "I just told them, we have to get past the point where everybodys happy that the Bobcats arent getting beat every night," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "Because were better than that, OK? We can play better than this." It took until the final seconds of the third for Atlanta to cut the lead to six when Antic blocked three shots by Cody Zeller on the same possession and Williams followed with a 3 from the left sideline to make it 77-71. "We did a great job of getting stops there at the end," Williams said. "We made timely baskets. We made big shots in situations where we needed them. In overtime, we just battled." Notes: Atlanta G Kyle Korver hit a 3 early in the fourth to extend his NBA career record to a 99th consecutive game. ... With Horford sidelined, Millsap and G DeMarre Carroll are the only Hawks to start and play in all 30 games. Budenholzer said before the game that the team doesnt know much time Horford will miss. He tore his right pectoral muscle in Fridays OT win at Cleveland. Two years ago, Horford played in just 11 regular-season games after tearing his left pectoral muscle. ... Carroll was a game-time decision with a sprained right thumb and was scoreless after going 0 for 4 from the field. ... Charlotte dropped to 6-4 on the road against Eastern Conference opponents. ... The Bobcats dropped to 5-14 at Philips Arena. ... Horfords replacements at centre -- Elton Brand, Antic and Gustavo Ayon -- were a combined 2 for 13 from the field for six points. ' ' ' |
