Offiziersheim » s own errors. Two passed balls by backup catcher John

VANCOUVER -- A feeble power play has sucked the life out of the Vancouver Canucks at times this season. Another night of missed chances left the door open for the Nashville Predators to capitalize on a man advantage of their own. Nick Spaling scored the winner on the power play midway through the third period Thursday as the Predators defeated the Canucks 2-1. Vancouvers 25th-ranked power play finished 0 for 5, including a four-minute man advantage in the first period that could have significantly altered the games complexion. Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis had a tough game, missing chance after chance from the side of the Nashville net on that sequence. "We had some great looks on the power play early on. We had probably four backdoor opportunities that we didnt finish on," said Canucks assistant coach Mike Sullivan. "I thought our power play did everything tonight except put it in the net." Despite Sullivans positive take, Vancouver is now just 2 for 30 with the man advantage over its last eight games. "We had good chances, good looks. I thought we moved the puck well," said Daniel Sedin, who has now gone 11 games without scoring. "In the end it doesnt really matter right now. Weve got to get some goals. "Its up to us in here to make it happen. No excuses." Craig Smith had the other goal for Nashville (23-22-7), while Carter Hutton made 32 saves as the Predators picked up their fourth victory in the last five outings. Spaling also had an assist. "We got some good goaltending, Carter was really good on those backdoor plays," said Predators coach Barry Trotz, whose team improved to 1-21-2 when trailing after two periods. "They were executing that pretty well. We were having trouble trying to stop that and he got over there a couple times. "It was a good character test. That was huge for us to get through the first period." Chris Higgins had the only goal for Vancouver (26-17-9), which got 24 stops from Roberto Luongo. The Canucks, who still hold down the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, saw their modest two-game winning streak come to an end. Down 1-0 after two periods, Nashville tied it at 3:28 of the third when Smith ripped a shot upstairs past Luongo from the faceoff dot off a feed from Spaling for his team-leading 16th goal of the season. "Going into the third when youve got a lead the least you can do is bring it to overtime. Its disappointing," said Luongo. "I need to make a better play on the first one, be more patient on the wrap and read that play a bit better." The Predators kept pushing as the period wore on, with their sixth-ranked power play getting a couple of chances. The Canucks penalty kill -- which sits second in the NHL this season -- held firm until Seth Jones connected with Spaling at 12:38. Jones fired a shot from the point that Spaling tipped past Luongo with just three seconds left on the Nashville man advantage to give the Predators their first lead. Vancouver had another power-play chance late, but couldnt find a way past Hutton. "The NHL is about a lot of low scoring games," said Luongo. "Weve got to find ways to win them. Weve got to find ways to bring these games to overtime. Weve got to find ways to protect leads. When we get scored on weve got to keep playing. "Its a tough one to lose going into the third with the lead." After a scoreless first period, Higgins broke the deadlock at 9:09 of the second with his 13th of the season on a nifty deflection. Canucks forward Dale Weise floated a shot towards the Nashville net that Higgins tipped up and over a helpless Hutton for his first goal in seven games. All 13 of Higgins goals have come at even strength and Thursdays effort was just Vancouvers sixth overall in the last six contests. The Canucks power play continued to miss the mark in the second, with defenceman Jason Garrison blasting a shot from the point midway though the period that Hutton handled. "I thought this particular game, the power play had better puck movement and even though we didnt score we got some momentum off of it because at least they had some looks and they had some opportunities, which for me is progress in the right direction," said Sullivan. "The next step is we have to finish. We have to put it in the net." The Canucks were again without head coach John Tortorella, who served the second game of his 15-day suspension for attempting to get into the Calgary Flames locker-room after Saturdays line brawl. Vancouver was also missing captain Henrik Sedin and fellow forward Mike Santorelli. Thought to be nursing rib and finger injuries, Sedin saw his iron man streak of 679 straight games come to an end when he sat out Tuesdays 2-1 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Santorelli, meanwhile, missed his third in a row, also with an upper-body injury. Despite their recent run of good form, the Predators still sit eight points back of the final wild card spot in the conference behind the Canucks and Minnesota Wild. "This team has been really resilient all year," said Trotz. "Its been a little bit of an uphill battle all year. This team has got a lot of backbone, a lot of character and this group cares about each other so when things are a little bit rough they dig in and thats a great quality to have." Notes: Michael Del Zotto, acquired from the New York Rangers on Wednesday for fellow defenceman Kevin Klein, wore No. 18 for Nashville and played alongside Jones. ... Canucks defenceman Ryan Stanton returned to the lineup after missing the last 15 games with an ankle injury. Earlier in the day, the Canucks assigned forward Jordan Schroeder to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint. Hes been out since October following ankle surgery. ... The Canucks downed the Predators 3-1 in Nashville on Dec. 1. The teams play the final game of the regular season series March 19 at Rogers Arena. ... The Canucks play the second game of a four-game homestand on Sunday against the Phoenix Coyotes. ... The Predators continue a four-game road trip on Friday against the Calgary Flames. Bob Feller Jersey .C. -- The Steve Smith era in Carolina is over. Eddie Robinson Jersey . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season. http://www.indianssale.com/indians-joe-carter-jersey/. Anderson shook off some unusually poor shooting and hit two clutch 3-pointers in overtime that carried the New Orleans Pelicans to a 111-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Francisco Lindor Jersey . Eller scored the midway through the third period after Dallas scored twice to tie it, leading Canadiens to a 6-4 win over the Stars on Thursday night. Jim Thome Jersey . The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies.OAKLAND, Calif. - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. Eric Sogard drove in two runs and threw out a runner at the plate, Scott Kazmir pitched another gem and the Oakland Athletics stayed focused after a delay caused by a malfunction with the outfield lights to beat the New York Yankees 5-1 on Saturday night. "Thats the Coliseum for ya," Sogard said. "Thats why we love this place. Never know what youre gonna get." The game was stopped for 38 minutes in the middle of the fourth inning because of an outage to the panel of lights above left field. Players from both sides said that the lights never initially turned on. The As said the circuit breaker turned off and had to be manually reset. "Maybe some carry over from Friday the 13th the night before. I dont know," As manager Bob Melvin said. New Yorks four-game winning streak ended because of its own errors. Two passed balls by backup catcher John Ryan Murphy, who was inserted in the lineup after Mark Teixeira was scratched with what he called a spasm in his midback, helped Oakland score twice in the fifth. But the delay surely didnt help Hiroki Kuroda (4-5), who compared the stoppage to a rain delay. He allowed four runs and five hits in 4 2-3 innings. That included a perfect fourth after the delay before he lost his rhythm in the fifth — and so did his catcher. "The fact that I couldnt protect (the lead) was really frustrating," Kuroda said. Kazmir (8-2) allowed one unearned run and three hits in six innings for his third straight win. Dan Otero pitched two perfect innings before Sean Doolittle closed out the Yankees in the ninth. Kazmir stayed warm in the clubhouse during the delay and then threw a simulated inning in the bullpen, which wrapped up just as the lights came back on. "It worked out perfectly," Kazmir said. Brian McCann was switched from catcher to first base after the Yankees took Teiixeira out about 30 minutes before the game.dddddddddddd Murphy moved into the catchers spot. Sogard walked, advanced to second on Coco Crisps single and moved to third on Murphys first passed ball. Sogard scored on John Jasos groundout, and Crisp came home on Murphys second passed ball to put the As up 4-1. After being held out of Friday nights game to rest his sore right ankle, Sogard came through at the plate and in the field. Sogard lined a two-out, two-run single to centre to give the As a 2-0 lead in the second, and he cut down Kelly Johnson at home after fielding a grounder by Jeter in the fifth. New York scored its only run in the third when shortstop Andy Parrino sailed his throw to first on Derek Jeters grounder. Parrino got the run back when he hit an RBI double in the sixth. But the latest maintenance issue at Oaklands dual-purpose ballpark overshadowed the Kazmirs latest gem and anything else the As did on the field. The aging Coliseum, which is shared with the NFLs Oakland Raiders and is the only stadium in the country still home to teams from both leagues, has had multiple plumbing problems the past two years. The As have been trying for years to move to a new ballpark, including in San Jose, which the San Francisco Giants contend is part of their territory. The As are in the process of negotiating a new lease at the Coliseum, which opened in 1966, though its unclear what — if any — facility upgrades will be included in a potential deal. NOTES: Josh Donaldson was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Hal Gibson at the end of the seventh inning. Donaldson is in an 0-for-31 skid after going hitless in all four plate appearances. ... Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsubury had his 17-game hitting streak snapped after going 0-for-3 with a walk. ... Yankees 2B Brian Roberts (sore right knee) sat out and DH Carlos Beltran had the day off. ... The Yankees send lefty Vidal Nuno (1-4, 4.97 ERA) to the mound opposite Oaklands Jesse Chavez (5-4, 3.04 ERA) in Sundays series finale. 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