ppers in Sundays Game 4, 118-97. "Its my jo

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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Roberto Luongo was a lot better in Minnesota than hed been in the past. Still, he wasnt quite good enough to extend Vancouvers seven-game winning streak. Jason Pominville slipped a shot past Luongos glove in the third round of a shootout to lift the Wild to a 3-2 victory Tuesday night, the first loss by the Canucks this month. Luongo made 30 saves, including 14 in the third period and overtime, and stopped Zach Parise to open the shootout. Mikko Koivu, who had two assists for a team-high 20 this season, hit the crossbar with his shot before Pominville scored. Ryan Keslers last-chance attempt for Vancouver sailed wide right after Josh Harding stopped shots by Mike Santorelli and Chris Higgins. "Weve got to try different people, I guess, because we stink at it," Canucks coach John Tortorella said. Harding made 29 saves to win for the fifth time in his last six starts and the Wild improved to 14-3-2 at Xcel Energy Center, where Luongo fell to 3-9-3 in his career. "I dont care about that stuff. I wasnt worried about it coming into the game. I just wanted to play," Luongo said. Parise scored early for the Wild, but Charlie Coyles late goal was what bothered Luongo, who let a snap shot go between his legs to tie the game with 11:13 left in regulation. "Its a disappointing loss. Ive got to make that save there on that second goal. Thats the bottom line. I do and we win the game 2-1," Luongo said. His last start in Minnesota was Oct. 19, 2010. Pulled from the past three games he started here, Luongo gave up a total of 16 goals on those forgettable nights. "I think we need a save on the second goal, but he made some great saves in the overtime," Tortorella said. "Ive never been here with him. Its a big story that he stinks here. But I thought he played well tonight." Jannik Hansen and David Booth each scored for the second straight game for the Canucks, who won their first seven games this month by a 24-8 combined margin. Only one of those wins went past regulation. The Wild, meanwhile, improved to 12-2-5 in one-goal games. "Confidence, and just sort of an attitude as much as anything else, that theyre going to keep fighting," coach Mike Yeo said. After ignoring the advice for most of the first two periods -- Tortorella called the game "boring" until overtime -- the Wild heeded Yeos urging to send more pucks at the net down the stretch. "Teams scramble when you shoot the puck. When you keep it on the perimeter, its pretty easy to defend," Parise said, adding: "You dont want to make a habit of it, but were confident we can come back." This was the only home game for the Wild in the middle of a grueling eight-game stretch against some of the NHLs top teams. "Down by a goal, you kind of got a sense of urgency, I think," Coyle said. "And time is winding down, so you pick it up a little bit. I think weve got to play like that for the most part the whole game." NOTES: Zenon Konopka took a penalty for tripping in the second period that the crowd loudly booed. But the Canucks wanted a major, because defenceman Ryan Stanton went feet first hard into the boards and was injured. He didnt return and was wearing a boot on his left foot afterward. ... C Mikael Granlund, who has played just one shift in the last 13 games because of a concussion, returned to practice Monday and is close to being cleared to play again. ... The Higgins-Kesler-Santorelli line has 10 goals and 14 assists between them in eight games this month. ... Parises goal was the first power-play score against the Canucks during December, ending a run of seven games and 21 opportunities without one. ... Ryan Suter had an assist for the fourth straight game and was on the ice for 32:34, the 12th time in the last 21 games that he topped 30 minutes. "When the games on the line and hes playing like that, its hard not to put him out," Yeo said. . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns. . TSNs coverage of the Third Round gets underway Sunday with Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago at 3pm et/Noon pt. TSNs broadcast schedule for the Third Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs is as follows: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings• Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago – Sunday, May 18 at 3pm et/Noon pt• Game 2: Los Angeles at Chicago – Wednesday, May 21 at 8pm et/5pm pt• Game 4: Chicago at Los Angeles – Monday, May 26 at 9pm et/6pm pt Featured in the broadcast booth for TSN are play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert and game analyst Ray Ferraro, with Farhan Lalji contributing reports from rinkside. http://www.hockeycanadiensauthority.com ... -c-19/.com) - Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 11. . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. . Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, TSN Radio 690 in Montreal, TSN Radio 1260 in Edmonton and TEAM 1410 on Friday at 3pm et/Noon pt.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Clippers will try to press on amidst the on-going controversy with owner Donald Sterling Tuesday night when their series with the Golden State Warriors returns to the Staples Center tied 2-2. After Sterling was allegedly caught on tape making hideous racially insensitive remarks, he did not attend Game 4s loss at Oracle Arena. You can see the action live on TSN2 at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Commissioner Adam Silver will have a 2 p.m. ET press conference Tuesday afternoon, where its expected he will make some announcement about Sterlings punishment. The team has taken the high road to this point, allowing head coach Doc Rivers to speak on the teams behalf. "We are all trying to figure out everything as it goes and just do our best and we hope that it is the right answer," Rivers said in a statement. "Im still going to do my best and do what I think is best for the team and for everybody in this case. It is very difficult because there are so many emotions in this. This is a very emotional subject, this is personal." The Clippers players staged a silent protest prior to tip-off Sunday by wearing their pregame shirts inside-out with the teams logo out of sight. They wore black arm or wrist bands and black socks but appeared stuck in warmup mode when the game got underway. The Warriors blew out the Clippers in Sundays Game 4, 118-97. "Its my job as a coach to get them ready and I just didnt feel like I did the right stuff," said Rivers. "I gotta do a better job. Whatever the distractions, whatever, I gotta do a better job. I didnt do my job tonight. I take that personally." Stephen Curry jumped out to a fast start in Game 4 and thhe Warriors shot 55 percent from the field in rolling to the win.ddddddddddddCurry finished with 33 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, while Andre Iguodala netted 22 points for the Warriors, who had dropped back-to-back games after stealing the opener in LA. Klay Thompson, David Lee and Harrison Barnes all finished with 15 points. Curry raced out with 17 points in the first 8:30, hitting all five of his 3- point attempts as the Warriors opened a 20-point lead in the first quarter. "We tried to come out with a sense of urgency. Thats been a big problem in the first three games," said Curry. "As a team we havent started games off well and theyve gotten a double-digit lead each first quarter. So we moved the ball well, guys set great screens and we executed at a higher pace. When we do that, were tough to guard." Warriors head coach Mark Jackson inserted Draymond Green into the starting lineup in place of Jermaine ONeal. Green only finished with four points, but Golden State got the victory. The Clippers pulled within nine in the fourth but did not climb out of the mammoth hole. Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin led the club with 26 and 21 points, respectively. Chris Paul finished with 16 points, followed by 12 from J.J. Redick and 10 out of Matt Barnes. By Tuesdays tip, the Clippers should know the fate of Sterling and hopefully will get closer to closure. Either way, the series must go on. "I just believe when the game starts, the game starts and nobody cares anymore," Rivers said following the loss. "Golden State surely didnt care." Game 6 will be Thursday night back at Oracle Arena. ' ' '