Statistiken » an interception in the Saints

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Marian Hossa, Bryan Bickell and Brad Richards all posted a goal with an assist as the Chicago Blackhawks downed the reeling Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Sunday. Johnny Oduya also lit the lamp for Chicago, which has alternated wins and losses over the last seven games. Corey Crawfords shutout bid was spoiled by Matt Cooke with 4:52 remaining in regulation, but the All-Star goaltender was otherwise stellar in a 36-save performance. Niklas Backstrom surrendered all four goals on 35 shots for Minnesota, which has fallen into last place in the Central Division with five straight losses. Theres some things that are concerning, Wild head coach Mike Yeo said. The clock is ticking here. Chicago was playing its fifth game in eight days but had plenty of burst early, scoring twice in the first 7:53. Hossa and Brandon Saad created a scoring chance despite being on a 2-on-3 break. Hossa stickhandled between the defenders and dumped it off to Saad, who bought time at the right circle and found a streaking Jonathan Toews trailing the play. Toews forced Backstrom out of the net with a nifty deke and fed Hossa in front at the 4:17 mark. Less than four minutes later, Bickell was left uncovered on the doorstep and tapped in a Patrick Kane pass for a 2-0 Chicago lead. It always feels good to find the back of the net, Bickell said. Richards scored at the 11:08 mark of the second after a Kane shot deflected off a defensemans skate in front, and two minutes after Jason Zucker shot wide on his penalty shot, Oduya made it a 4-0 game. A Hossa outlet pass started a 2-on-1 break, and even though Toews pass was stopped by Jared Spurgeon, no one other Wild player hustled back on defense. Oduya swooped in, gathered the loose puck and wristed a shot that caromed off Spurgeon and bounced past Backstrom with 1:35 remaining in the period. Game Notes The Wild have gone 2-7-4 over their last 13 games ... Toews and Kane were each credited with two assists ... Chicago is 3-0 so far in the five-game season series. Wholesale Nike Jerseys . When Reyes signed a US$106-million, six-year deal with Miami last month, there was speculation Ramirez was unhappy about being supplanted at short. But new manager Ozzie Guillen sold Ramirez on the idea. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China .com) - Ben Lovejoy tallied a goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks cruised into the All-Star break with a 6-3 victory against the Calgary Flames. http://www.discountjerseysnfl.com/. Best has been bothered by concussion problems and hasnt played since Oct. 16, when the Lions lost to San Francisco. After starting 5-0, Detroit has lost four of six, beginning with that game against the 49ers. NFL Jerseys China . Harris has played in six games since joining the Argos in 2012, completing 17-of-35 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown. Discount Nike NFL Jerseys . The Rangers announced after Thursdays 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees that they would purchase Williams contract from Triple-A Round Rock. The 32-year-old Williams was released by Houston earlier this month after going 1-4 with a 6.METAIRIE, La. - The Saints defence has made takeaways its top priority after forcing an NFC-low 19 turnovers in 2013. Near the start of a workout in late May, New Orleans rookie cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste stripped wide receiver Andy Tanner after he made a short reception. That play set the tone. Defenders have continued to punch and slap at the ball in the first two practices of minicamp. Although New Orleans finished fourth in the NFL in yards allowed under new co-ordinator Rob Ryan last season — a dramatic improvement after yielding the most yards in NFL history a year earlier — Ryan wont be happy until he sees more turnovers. Seven fumble recoveries and 12 interceptions were not enough. "That was a glaring weakness last year," he says. "We did pretty decent as a unit, but we want to be great, and to be great, you have to take the ball away." They did more than just talk about it. They signed free agent Jairus Byrd, whose 22 interceptions since his rookie season in 2009 are the most for any NFL safety, and also picked up veteran Champ Bailey, whose 52 career interceptions are the most for any active cornerback. In film sessions, Ryan has repeatedly shown cutups of Chicago safety Charles Tillman punching out the ball. In 2012, Tillman forced 10 fumbles, which is three more than the Saints managed as a whole in 2013. "Great players can be imitated, and were trying to do that here," Ryan said. "Imitation is the biggest form of flattery. We know we have to improve on that." Linebacker Curtis Loftons statistics were a perfect illustration of the Saints strengths and weaknesses last year. He made a team-high 125 tackles for the resurgent defence but had a hand in only turnover, forcing a fumble against Miami. He did not recover a fumble or pick off a pass all season. "We didnt create enough turnovers, so thats definitely an emphasis for us," he said. "Weve been working on it, and its showing up in practice. Then we are going to take what we do in practice and do it in games.ddddddddddddquot; After winning the Super Bowl in 2009, New Orleans has returned to the playoffs in three of the last four years but has come up short of the NFC Championship Game each time. Seattle was the roadblock last year, hammering the Saints 34-7 in the regular season and beating them again 23-15 in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Saints werent that far behind the Seahawks in yards allowed per game (273.6 to 305.7) and registered 49 sacks to the Seahawks 44, but Seattle had more than twice as many takeaways with 39. "If you look at all the past great defences, they forced a lot of turnovers," Bailey said. "Theres a reason Seattle won the Super Bowl. They forced a lot of turnovers. If we dont get them, we wont go very far." Ryan expects the presence of Byrd and Bailey to help close that gap. Bailey deflected a pass that turned into an interception in the Saints first open practice of the summer. Byrd is out for the summer after undergoing back surgery, but coach Sean Payton said he was on schedule to return for the beginning of training camp. In addition to his interceptions, he forced 11 fumbles in his five years with Buffalo. Thats not Tillman territory, but it beats what the Saints did last year. "You can see guys attempting to punch through the ball, almost over-exaggerating it," said linebacker Junior Galette, who had 12 sacks last year but forced only one fumble. "Charles Tillman is a beast at it, and we are motivated to make the extra effort to knock it out." NOTES: During one 11-on-11 session in Wednesdays practice, a machine on the side of the field cranked up crowd noise as the offence approached the line of scrimmage on each play. Coach Sean Payton said it was the first time he has piped in noise during minicamp. The Saints went 3-5 on the road in the regular season last year — their first losing record away from home under Payton since 2008. .Minicamp ends with another practice on Thursday. ___ AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '