Dein erstes Forum » Birds guidance, the Pacers retu

DETROIT -- Jimmy Howard certainly isnt playing like a backup goalie.Howard stopped 36 shots and the Detroit Red Wings beat the skidding Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Thursday night.Howard saves us again. Goaltending, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. I thought we had a good start, got the goal early but then we started to play a little too cute, let them back in the game. A little bit too stubborn with turnovers again. You cant do that against this team.After opening the season as the No. 2 man in net behind Petr Mrazek, Howard made his third consecutive start. He improved his goals-against average to 1.22 and his save percentage to .961.Howard is 4-2-0 in seven games, six starts.When I get in there, I just want to give the team a chance to win, he said.Dylan Larkin, Brendan Smith and Steve Ott scored for Detroit. Zetterberg, matched against Canucks captain and fellow Swede Henrik Sedin most of the game, had two assists.We came out good. I thought through large stretches of the game we werent good enough, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. I think were going to have to be better. Now with that said, they do a good job.Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver, which is 1-9-1 in its last 11 games. Ryan Miller made 24 saves.Miller made a spectacular stop after he began to leave the crease for an extra attacker. Zetterberg got a hold of the puck in the neutral zone and lobbed a shot at the almost-empty net, but Miller made a glove save while diving to his right.We played pretty well tonight, but it is the same story again, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. Were getting good chances and nothing is going in.Daniel Sedin cut it to 2-1 at 3:14 of the third period. He finished off a pretty back-and-forth passing play with twin brother Henrik by beating Howard with a shot from the bottom of the left circle. It was Daniel Sedins fifth goal.The Sedins were not matched against Zetterbergs line for the goal.Were playing our system and were creating chances. We just cant get anything to go in, Daniel Sedin said. We have to figure this out, because we cant keep saying this every night. Were playing well enough to win games, but we need to put the puck in the net.Otts first goal with the Red Wings restored Detroits two-goal lead with 4:46 left. He tipped in defenseman Jonathan Ericssons shot from the left point.Detroit led 2-0 after the first.Larkin opened the scoring 32 seconds into the game when he put in the rebound of Zetterbergs shot. It was Larkins team-leading fifth goal.Smith made it 2-0 with 1:47 left in the opening period. His slap shot from the point in the middle of the ice trickled through Miller for his second goal.Game notes Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou left after the first period with a lower-body injury. Athanasiou took a hit from Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin. Blashill did not have an update after the game. ... Vancouver sent forward Jake Virtanen to its American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets, on Wednesday. Virtanen has one assist in 10 games. ... Detroits healthy scratches were D Xavier Ouellet, D Ryan Sproul and LW Drew Miller, the brother of Vancouver G Ryan Miller. ... Canucks scratches were D Alex Biega and D Philip Larsen.UP NEXTCanucks: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.Red Wings: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Wholesale Custom Twins Shirts .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Custom Harmon Killebrew Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. http://www.customtwinsjersey.com/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Twins Jerseys China . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Authentic Custom Twins Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before.INDIANAPOLIS -- A year away from basketball has rejuvenated Larry Bird. Now he wants to win a championship. Bird, the former NBA star who left his job last season after rebuilding the Indiana Pacers and winning the leagues executive of the year award, will be reintroduced to the media Thursday morning as the president of basketball operations. Thats the same job Bird held from 2003-12. "The year off gave me a chance to reflect, to rest, to take care of some health issues and it re-charged me," Bird said in a statement issued by the team. The move is hardly a surprise. He reportedly met earlier this month with Sacramento about becoming that teams general manager and had become a regular in recent weeks as the Pacers held public draft workouts, making his imminent return one of the worst kept secrets in Indy. Following Tuesdays draft workout, general manager Kevin Pritchard even alluded to the fact that Bird appeared on the verge of making a comeback. Donnie Walsh, who preceded Bird as the Pacers top decision-maker then succeeded him last summer as president of basketball operations, will now settle in his new role -- as a team consultant. Walsh had said all along that if, or when, Bird wanted to return, he would gladly step aside. He has. "Hes ready and I couldnt be happier," Walsh said. "I had a great year last year with this team. It is a great group of guys who have the potential for some great things and to remain a part of this, with two people who I love to work with and respect greatly, is very special." Bird has a long track record of success in the NBA. As a player with Boston, he won three championships, three MVP awards, was twice the MVP of the NBA Finals and retired in 1992 as one off the greatest players in league history.dddddddddddd. In 1997, he returned to the bench this time as coach of the Pacers -- his home state team. He was the 1998 NBA coach of the year and two years later led the Pacers into the franchises only appearance in the NBA Finals. Indiana lost that year to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, and Bird retired after the season in part because of health problems. Three years later, he came back to the Pacers in a front office job. He and Walsh worked together as a team for five years before Walsh left to join the New York Knicks and Bird took over most of the day-to-day decisions with the Pacers. Under Birds guidance, the Pacers returned to the playoffs in 2011. Birds shrewd moves included a draft-day trade for Roy Hibbert and another draft-day trade for George Hill, the signing of free-agent power forward David West and the selections of Paul George and Lance Stephenson in the 2010 draft. Those five, and Danny Granger, produced the franchises first playoffs series win in seven years last season, and it was those five, without Granger, that pushed Miami to the limit in Indianas first conference finals appearance in nine years. "We are all very happy to have Larry back," team owner Herb Simon said. "Larry had a huge impact on this team and where it is now, so its fitting that he comes back at this time. Donnie has been a friend and a valuable contributor to the franchise and will continue to be both. I wanted him to agree to stay in some capacity as I believe with Larry and Kevin, it gives us three of the best basketball minds in the business." The team will hold a news conference Thursday morning to introduce Bird, who will officially take over July 1. ' ' '