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GLENDALE, Ariz. Cheap Todd Davis Jersey . -- Six straight losses sent the Minnesota Wild into a downward spiral, the weight of the previous game carrying over into the next. Once the Wild learned how to put games behind them, good or bad, the wins started piling up. Justin Fontaine scored three goals, Niklas Backstrom stopped 39 shots and the Wild won their fourth straight game by beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 on Thursday night. "When we were losing games, we were carrying that baggage into the next game with us," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "Success can do some damage to you, too, like winning can. Weve been able to put that behind us and go on to the next one and recognize what we have to do." The Wild had been in a rut, plagued by shaky goaltending, injuries to key players and a big hit to their confidence. Once one of the top teams in the Western Conference, Minnesota plummeted down the standings with four straight road losses that led to two more at home to close out 2013. Once the calendar flipped, the Wild found their way again, starting with a 4-1 win over Buffalo. Minnesota followed a home win over Washington with a shootout road victory over the Kings and backed that up with another superb game against the Coyotes. Fontaine scored late in the first period, gave the Wild a two-goal lead on a power play after a strange bounce in the third and closed out his first career hat trick with an empty-net goal. Kyle Brodziak had a goal and an assist, Matt Cook had two assists and Backstrom was superb, winning his third straight start after allowing 17 goals the previous four. The win moved the Wild ahead of the Coyotes for the eighth spot in the Western Conference with 53 points. "We have a lot of young guys following the leadership and were playing the kind of game we need to play," Fontaine said. The Coyotes had their chances. They doubled Minnesotas shot total in the first period and had numerous good scoring chances, including one shot by Lauri Korpikoski that hit the crossbar. Mikkel Boedker was the only Phoenix player to score, doing it on a power play early in the second period, leaving the Coyotes a bit disheartened after their third loss in four games. "We had opportunities to score and didnt score," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "Give them credit that they found ways to score when they got theirs and we didnt. In a game like that, you have to put as much onus on the guys trying to score as the guys who are trying to stop them." Phoenix came out firing, outshooting Minnesota 15-7 in the first period. The Wild scored first, though, thanks to a turnover by Phoenix defenceman Keith Yandle. Trying to clear the puck under pressure in front of the crease, Yandle sent it right to the slot, where Fontaine gathered it and beat Mike Smith to the glove side late in the first period. The Coyotes kept up the pressure early in the second period and tied it on a power play when Boedker spun around and slipped a backhander under Backstrom just before he fell to the ice. Phoenix continued to generate nearly twice as many shots, but Minnesota scored the next goal early in the third period. This one came on a defensive miscue as well: Yandle was caught pinching in Minnesotas zone, Brodziak ended up with a partial breakaway and sent a wrister that went off Smith into the goal. Fontaine put Minnesota up 3-1 a few minutes later when he fought off Antoine Vermette and flicked in a one-handed shot as he was going down. Smith had circled behind the goal to play Jason Pominvilles dump-in and had no chance of getting back when the puck caromed off the boards to the front of the goal. Phoenix tried to pick up the pressure, but couldnt get anything past Backstrom and Fontaine closed it out with his empty-netter. "We had a couple little spurts here and there, but to score youve got to go hard to the net, especially when theyre playing real tight," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Their goaltender gives them a (good) game, they play tight and we couldnt do enough to get inside to get opportunities and score on our opportunities." Notes: Phoenix D Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury. ... Wild LW Zach Parise missed his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury and Mikko Koivu missed his second straight with a broken ankle. They have a combined 23 goals and 39 assists. ... Thursday was the 10-year anniversary of Coyotes G Brian Boucher setting the modern-day NHL record with his fifth consecutive shutout -- against Minnesota. Cheap Derek Wolfe Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. Cheap Denver Broncos Jerseys . Then again, he really was at his home away from home. "It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night," Shields said after pitching Kansas City past the San Diego Padres 8-0 Wednesday.TORONTO - The Raptors knocked down 10 of their first 12 shots, two days after missing 10 of their first 12 attempts. They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Despite all the aforementioned improvements over Fridays embarrassing defeat to the Bulls, they still picked up their seventh loss in 11 games to begin the season. The culprit of their demise on Sunday afternoon was the three-point shot. "Its tough when theyre knocking down shots like that," said Rudy Gay, after the Blazers went 15-for-32 from three-point range in their 118-110 overtime victory. "No matter how much we rotated, moved around and switched, its tough to [beat] that, when a team has it going like that." Portland entered the game fifth in three-point shooting at 41 per cent and its shooters were red-hot from start to finish. Four Blazers hit three or more treys and they outscored the Raptors, who shot 3-of-17, by 36 from beyond the arc. As a result, Portland extended its lead to as many as 17 before the home team cracked down on defence and Gay took over. Gay, who scored 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the game, engineered a 19-6 Raptors run to close out the fourth quarter. Gay had 10 points in that stretch, including the buzzer-beating lay-up that tied the game at 102 and forced overtime. It was his sixth go-ahead or game-tying basket in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in the past four seasons, passing Carmelo Anthony for most in the league. "It was go-time," Gay said of the comeback that ultimately fell short in extra time. "Of course, the whole game you have to play like its go-time but when youre backs against the wall, you have to pick it up and find a way to get the win." In overtime, the three broke Torontos back again as Portland hit three of five attempts and held the Raptors to 2-of-12 shooting overall. Cheap Von Miller Jersey. Ball movement, or lack thereof Gay and DeMar DeRozan attempted 54 of Torontos 94 field goals - 27 each - but they combined for just three assists. Despite his game-high 30 points, Gay was held without an assist and despite Kyle Lowrys 10 dimes - to go along with 10 points - only three Raptors registered a helper. "We definitely want there to be movement," Casey acknowledged after the game. "We have out limitations from that standpoint but we want to move the ball, set screens [and] move the ball from side-to-side. Again, weve got to do a better job of that; thats where weve got to find ourselves offensively." Treading water A year ago, the Raptors dug themselves an insurmountable hole after a tumultuous early-season schedule got the best of them. By the time the schedule eased up and their fortunes began to turn, it was too late. Now, as they navigate through a similarly challenging start to the campaign, they thrive to avoid making that same mistake. "We want to make sure were at sea level when the schedule does balance out and not be so far behind that we cant catch up," Casey said Saturday following an afternoon practice. "We want to make sure were treading water and not get so far behind the eight ball while were trying to find out who we are." Fortunately for the Raptors, theyre not the only ones trying to find their identity early in the season. Heading into Sundays action, only four teams in the East (Indiana, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta) boasted records above .500, and at 4-7, Toronto finds itself in the thick of the Eastern Conference and just one game out of first in its division, where the Nets and Knicks are also struggling. "The league hasnt gone anywhere and thats what I tell our players," said Casey. "We still want to have a sense a urgency of finding out who we are offensively and defensively and make sure we find out pretty quick." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '

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