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. Travis Lakins Jersey . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Josh Taylor Jersey . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. https://www.cheapredsox.com/261z-christian-vazquez-jersey-red-sox.html . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Dwight Evans Jersey . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Cheap Red Sox Jerseys . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. AMSTERDAM -- IAAF President Sebastian Coe called on athletes Thursday to follow the example of Russias Yulia Stepanova and to blow the whistle on doping.Its a golden opportunity, that is not necessarily going to present itself again, for our sport to grab this moment. This is a historic moment, Coe said of the momentum that Stepanova helped create.Theyre there, at the side of the track, theyre in the training groups. They know the coaches not doing it with integrity. They can help us and thats really important.More than a year ago, Stepanova helped to blow the Russian doping scandal wide open as she and her husband, a former Russian anti-doping official, gathered a trove of evidence on how doping has worked in Russia.On Wednesday, she competed in the European Championships as a neutral athlete, a breakthrough for athletes who might have information on doping but fear going public because of professional consequences.Unfortunately, she tore a ligament in her right foot during her 800-meter heat, further complicating her participation in the Rio de Janeiro Games next month.During her coming out over the past 1 1/2 years to expose doping, Coe said it was important that she felt she could sit down and spend time talking with anti-doping experts of the International Association of Athletics Federations. She did, and were through that process.First of all, I would like to say that I dont want this just to be the end of the story, Coe told a small group of reporters.And I make this offer to all athletes. If you think you can help us get through this pathology quicker, if you can help us understand the nature of the challenge that were dealing with, grab it with both hands and come forward.Stepanova said as much after meeting with Coe late Thursday.I hope what you did for me gives permission for more athletes, Stepanova said. IIf you want to do something right, people in the world will support you, she said.ddddddddddddRussian track and field athletes are banned by the IAAF from competing globally, including in the Rio Olympics, because of systematic doping, but Coe said 136 Russians have applied for clearances. Coe refused to address any individual cases.He said that after meeting with Olympic and track officials over the past weeks, we all coalesced around the concept of creating a level playing field for competitors, and this is a really important moment, not just for my sport but sport more broadly.Even though the IAAF and European Championships organizers have allowed her to compete, Stepanovas hopes of running in Rio are still in doubt. The IOC is holding to the principle that athletes have to compete under their national flag, and Stepanova said she would not be welcome on the Russia team after her doping admission and accusations.On Thusday, the IOC changed its position when it opened the door to the possibility of her participation as a neutral athlete. The Olympic movement said it was asking its ethics commission for advice on the issue and will then decide whether Stepanovas participation merits an exception to the rules of the Olympic Charter.Stepanova is the only Russian at the Europeans, running under a special neutral flag exemption.Coe wants others to take her lead.I dont mind athletes showing passion and being outspoken about this, but they also have a responsibility to help us and position themselves as part of the solution rather than just sitting there and saying `Well I didnt get a medal because.They do need to be in a position where theyre really prepared to stick their heads above the parapet. ' ' '