COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While the Blue Jackets remain wildly inconsistent, the Predators are rounding into form at the quarter mark of the season. Rookie goalie Marek Mazanec made 19 saves for his second shutout, and Matt Cullen and Nick Spaling each had a goal and an assist as streaking Nashville beat Columbus 4-0 on Wednesday night. Nashville coach Barry Trotz likes his teams recent level of commitment and attention to detail. "It was a pretty easy night for him," Trotz said, referring to Mazanec. "It was sort of a team win. You need to make a couple of saves when needed and he did." Mike Fisher and David Legwand also scored for Nashville, which has found its groove on the heels of a four-game losing streak. Mazanec, filling in while Pekka Rinne recovers from a hip injury, earned his fifth win -- all in the last six games. "He was very steady out there," Ryan Ellis said. "I think our team overall played very strongly." The Predators improved to 11-1-2 when scoring first and 9-0-1 when leading after the opening period. Columbus was back home after a 3-2 trip through Canada. The Blue Jackets had hoped to build on the momentum of a 6-0 victory Monday against Toronto, but instead they have alternated wins and losses for six games and still find themselves searching for the type of balanced, hard-nosed play from late last season that nearly propelled them into the playoffs. "Some of it is leadership, youth," coach Todd Richards said. "There are lots of things that add to it. Its tough to just point and say this is the reason for the inconsistency." The switch to the Eastern Conference this season didnt change Columbus fortunes against its former Central Divisional rival. Except for last season, the Predators have mostly dominated the series, and they again controlled the play in this one. "It looked like we lacked some energy, another step," Richards said. "Thats not an excuse. Youve got to find a way." Poor defence was a culprit for Columbus, while Nashville pressed the entire game. "I thought we started off really well," Trotz said. "We stayed to the game plan. We managed the puck, played smart, played fast early." Cullen made it 1-0 with his fifth goal at 9:58 of the first from the edge of the right circle, scoring on a slick pass from Ellis. "To fake the shot and hit me through the seam, not a lot of D-men will make that play," Cullen said. The Blue Jackets were outshot 14-4 in the period, with their best chance coming off Matt Calverts stick in tight. Mazanec turned it aside. On a power play that carried into the second period, Fisher beat two Blue Jackets players to a bouncing puck in the slot and smacked it past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth goal 54 seconds in. It was Nashvilles first shot of the period. Later in the period, the Predators won battles behind the net and one for a puck in the slot. This time it was Legwand scoring his fifth to make it 3-0. "We just didnt have the energy level," Columbus James Wisniewski said. "I think we worked. We just didnt have that little extra gear to win that little extra battle." The home crowd later booed the Blue Jackets on a lacklustre power play. Spaling scored his fourth goal from the hash marks on a nice feed from Cullen at 2:02 of the third. "Cullens got a great head for the game and creates a lot of offence," Spaling said. NOTES: Mazanec, who entered with a 1.61 goals-against average in the previous five games, has allowed two goals or fewer in the last six games. ... Columbus was shut out for the second time in its past five games. ... The Blue Jackets finished 0 for 2 with the man advantage. The Predators have not allowed a power-play goal in six games, killing off 16 straight chances dating to Nov. 15. ... Nashville hosts the Oilers on Thanksgiving. Edmonton then visits Columbus on Friday.
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Achraf Hakimi Jersey .J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals.
http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids ... ersey/.com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action.
Marius Wolf Jersey . Horford is out 3-to-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle for the Hawks, who have won two straight and five of six games. Atlanta improved to 2-0 on the residency with Saturdays 93-91 triumph over Minnesota, as Ivan Johnson scored his teams final four points, including the game-winning free throw with 4.
Marius Wolf Dortmund Jersey . His absence against the Celtics comes a day after he scored 43 points in the Heats 100-96 win at Cleveland.NEW YORK -- Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were elected to baseballs Hall of Fame on Wednesday, while Craig Biggio fell two votes short and tainted stars of the Steroids Era remained a long way from Cooperstown. Maddux was picked on 555 of 571 ballots by senior members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. His 97.2 percentage was the eighth-highest in the history of voting. Glavine, Madduxs longtime teammate in the Atlanta rotation, appeared on 525 ballots and received 91.9 per cent. Thomas, the first Hall of Famer who spent the majority of his career as a designated hitter, was at 478 and 83.7 per cent. Thomas said he accepts the view of many Hall of Famers that players whose accomplishments are muddied by accusations of steroid use, such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, dont belong in the Hall. "Ive got to take the right stance, too. No, they shouldnt get in," he said. "There shouldnt be cheating allowed to get into the Hall of Fame." The trio will be inducted July 27 along with managers Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa, elected last month by the expansion-era committee. Maddux and Glavine, who played under Cox for most of their careers, will become the first pair of 300-game winners to be inducted in the same year. "Its exciting for me to go in with my teammate," Maddux said. The only other time three players were elected together in their first appearances was in 1999 with Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount. Biggio received 427 votes and 74.8 per cent, matching Nellie Fox in 1985 and Pie Traynor in 1947 for the smallest margin to just miss. Traynor made it the following year, and Fox was elected by the old Veterans Committee in 1997. Biggio, who spent his entire career with the Houston Astros, appeared on 388 ballots last year in his initial appearance -- when writers failed to elect anyone -- and appears to be on track to gain election next year. "Obviously, Im disappointed to come that close," he said in a statement. "I feel for my family, the organization and the fans. Hopefully, next year." Mike Piazza was next with 62.2 per cent, up from 57.8 last year. Jack Morris was 78 votes short at 61.5 per cent in his 15th and final appearance on the writers ballot, a drop from 67.7 per cent. Morris replaces Gil Hodges (63 per cent in 1983) as the player with the highest-percentage of the vote not in the Hall. Jeff Bagwell dropped to 54.3 per cent from 59.6, and Tim Raines to 46.1 from 52.2. Controversy over how to evaluate stars tainted by the Steroids Era continued to impact the vote totals of players with stellar statistics. In their second appearances on the ballot, Roger Clemens dropped from 37.6 per cent to 35.4, Barry Bonds from 36.2 to 34.7 and Sammy Sosa from 12.5 to 7.2. Bonds, baseballs career home run leader, is the only seven-time MVP in major league history. Clemens is the lone seven-time Cy Young Award winner. "As for what they did, I dont think any of us will ever really know," Thomas said. "But I can just tell you, what I did was real and thaats why Ive got this smile on my face right now because the writers, they definitely got it right.dddddddddddd" Mark McGwire, appearing for the eighth time, fell from 16.9 to 11 per cent -- down from a peak of 25.6 in 2008. Rafael Palmeiro will be dropped from future ballots after falling to 25 votes and 4.4 per cent -- below the 5 per cent threshold necessary to remain eligible. One voter submitted a blank ballot. "I can go home and sleep at night and rest," Thomas said, "so I dont have to worry about all the nonsense that the other people are going through, because I know I wont be getting a call in the middle of the night from someone saying, oh, he did this or he did that." Deadspin.com announced Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard had turned his ballot over to the website, which allowed readers to vote on how it should be cast. "I hate all the moralizing we do in sports in general, but I especially hate the hypocrisy in this," Le Batard said in remarks posted by Deadspin. "I always like a little anarchy inside the cathedral weve made of sports." BBWAA Secretary-Treasurer Jack OConnell declined comment. Maddux reached the major leagues in 1986 and Glavine a year later. They become the first primarily starting pitchers to enter the Hall whose careers began after Bert Blyleven, who debuted in 1970. And they are the first teammates on a starting rotation to be elected together since 1946. Add in Cox, and the induction will be dominated by Braves. "Its fitting, given the influence those two guys had on my career," Glavine said. "The thing that would have disappointed me the most had it not happened would have been a lost opportunity to go in with Bobby and Greg." Eighth on the wins list with a 355-227 record and a 3.16 ERA over 23 seasons, Maddux won four consecutive Cy Young Awards from 1992-95 and a record 18 Gold Gloves with the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego. An eight-time All-Star, he won at least 13 games in 20 straight seasons. Glavine, a 10-time All-Star and a two-time Cy Young winner, was 305-203 over 22 seasons. A two-time AL MVP, Thomas hit .301 with 521 homers and 1,704 RBIs in 19 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Toronto and Oakland. Thomas becomes the sixth ex-Blue Jay to enter the Hall of Fame, following Phil Niekro, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Rickey Henderson and Roberto Alomar. Of those players, only Alomar entered the Hall as a Jay. Writers who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years at any point were eligible to consider the 36-player ballot. Next years vote will be even more crowded when Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield become eligible, five years after their retirements. The BBWAA last month formed a committee to study whether the organization should ask the Hall to change the limit of 10 players per ballot. In a sign of how some newly eligible players have taken votes from holdovers, Lee Smith dropped to 171 from 272 last year, his percentage falling to 29.9 from 47.8. ' ' '
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