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(SportsNetwork.com) - The free-falling Vancouver Canucks will try to halt a four-game slide when they welcome the Calgary Flames for Saturdays clash at Rogers Arena. This evenings game also marks the first meeting between these clubs since their infamous encounter in Vancouver on Jan. 18. The Canucks recorded a 3-2 shootout win that night, but the game is best remembered for the antics of Vancouver head coach John Tortorella, who tried to break into the opposing teams locker room to start an altercation with Flames coach Bob Hartley during the first intermission. Tortorella was angered by Hartleys decision to start the game with his fourth line. The heated contest saw 150 penalty minutes assessed to both sides by the time the game was only 4 1/2 minutes old, owing to a second minor scrum a short time later. The meltdown cost Tortorella dearly, as he was forced to serve a 15-day suspension without pay. Despite the unpleasantness surrounding the last meeting, Vancouver should be happy to face the Flames on Saturday. Vancouver has taken five straight and seven of the last eight games in this series overall and Calgary also has lost five in a row in B.C. The Canucks have fallen on hard times over the last few months, losing 11 of 12 and 20 of their last 25 games. The clubs current 0-3-1 slide is the clubs third losing streak of four or more games since the start of the 2014 calendar year. In spite of the protracted funk, Vancouver still finds itself just four points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver suffered a rough loss in its last appearance, getting slammed 6-1 in Dallas on Thursday. Tyler Seguin fueled the rout for the Stars, recording a hat trick and two assists. Zac Dalpe supplied Vancouvers lone score and Eddie Lack conceded five goals on 17 shots. Lack is the clubs No. 1 option in net since the club dealt Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday and the rookie could get another start on Saturday. "I think were all kind of disappointed with the way it has been here lately, and I know we are not out of a playoff spot," Lack said. "We just have to battle through it. Weve got to refocus and come back on Saturday." Jacob Markstrom, who was one of the players acquired in the trade that sent Luongo to the Panthers, made his Vancouver debut at the start of the third and gave up one goal on five shots. Shawn Matthias, another player gained in the Luongo trade, failed to register a point in his first game with the Canucks, but he did fire seven shots on net. Canucks forward Zack Kassian was given a boarding major and a game misconduct for his hit on Dallas defenseman Brenden Dillon in the loss. On Friday, Kassian was handed a three-game suspension and hell serve the first part of that ban on Saturday. The Canucks will try to get something positive going while playing their next two games on home ice. Vancouver is 15-10-6 as the host this season and will cap a brief two-game stay at Rogers Arena when it welcomes the New York Islanders on Monday. The Flames, who are 13 points out of a playoff spot, were able to win a second straight game on Friday night, rallying to beat the visiting New York Islanders by a 4-3 score. Joe Colborne scored twice in a three-goal third-period burst to help Calgary down the Islanders at the Saddledome. Sean Monahan also tallied during the rally, while Markus Granlund added a first-period short-handed goal for the Flames, winners in three of four and nine of their last 13 games. Joni Ortio came up with 23 saves for the win. "As a team we were turning it over too much in the first two periods," said Calgary forward Mark Giordano. "But then we rallied in the third and it felt good to get this win." Forwards Jiri Hudler and Matt Stajan and defenseman Dennis Wideman all missed Fridays game and are questionable for Saturday. Calgary has lost of its last three road games and is just 11-16-4 as the visiting team this season. LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Naadir Tharpe finally got to stand in the middle of the court at Allen Fieldhouse, bask in the adulation of another sellout crowd and celebrate a conference championship. The junior guard, who wrapped up his first two Big 12 titles on the road, had 19 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures Monday night, and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks held off Oklahoma 83-75 to ensure a share of their 10th consecutive league crown. "Just a great feeling," Tharpe said. "To be at home, to hear the fans and all that, its a beautiful feeling. It just shows the tradition of Kansas and what it means to us." Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins added 15 points each, and Joel Embiid had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks (22-6, 13-2), who poured off the bench at the buzzer to celebrate the latest addition to their nation-leading 57 conference titles. It might be the only one for Wiggins and Embiid, the dynamic freshman duo projected to be lottery picks if they come out this season. Wiggins has already stated his intention to do so. "Winning the championship," Wiggins said, "just a great feeling on the court." Only two schools in mens Division I basketball have won more consecutive conference titles than Kansas: UCLA captured 13 straight from 1967-79 in the Pac-10, and Gonzaga won 11 straight in the West Coast Conference from 2001-11. "Its something you know," Selden said. "When you come in here, thats the standard." Cameron Clark had 18 points and Buddy Hield finished with 16 for the Sooners (20-8, 9-6), who have lost 12 of their last 13 games against the Jayhawks, including both this season. Oklahoma still has not won in the Phog since 1993, when Billy Tubbs was on its sideline. "Its so tough here for a lot of reasons," current Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. "Bill does a great job, theyre very talented, the atmosphere is great, the difference really is in the runs they make, and thats what you have to avoid. Easier said than done." The first half Monday night boiled down to an old-fashioned Big Eight tussle. The Jayhawks threw the first body punnch, picking up right where they left off in a rout of Texas by taking a 15-4 lead.dddddddddddd Oklahoma answered with a few haymakers of its own, going on a 13-2 charge and eventually pulling ahead 27-25 with 5:26 left in the half. Selden took over down the stretch, though, scoring seven straight points to give Kansas the lead back. Frank Masons three-pointer capped a 10-0 surge and made it 42-33 at halftime. "We handled the ball well, made tough plays, but two or three stretches is why Kansas is so tough," Kruger said. "We gave them moments of run that you have to try to avoid." The Jayhawks, arguably the deepest team in the Big 12, forged their lead despite playing without a handful of players due to foul trouble. Wiggins, Tharpe, Perry Ellis, who finished with 11 points, and Jamari Traylor all had two fouls, and Connor Frankamp was on the bench with three. Wiggins picked up his third on the first play of the second half, when Ryan Spangler drove to the basket for an and-one. It was the start of a 10-2 run that got the Sooners back in the game. "They made a couple shots, we made a couple shots," Clark said, "but the main thing is we didnt take care of the ball at critical times." Clarks hot shooting and a couple of timely three-pointers by Hield gave Oklahoma the lead, only for Kansas to come back once more. Wiggins scored on a putback of his own miss with 8:01 left to give the Jayhawks a 60-59 lead, and their advantage grew to 69-63 a few minutes later. The Sooners kept finding answers. When Wiggins hit a three-pointer to make it 74-66, Isaiah Cousins promptly scored in the paint. When Tharpe got a home-rim bounce on a pull-up jumper, Hield was there to hit a fall-away three-pointer to close within 76-71 with 1:30 left. Oklahoma simply ran out of time, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock, another sellout crowd at the Phog began to chant, "Ten straight! Ten straight!" "In a league this competitive, thought by many to be the toughest league in the country, to have a three-game lead with three to play is pretty special," Kansas coach Bill Self said. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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