Rockets closed the fit flop gap and trailed

Once again, the Rockets closed the fit flop gap and trailed 78-72 heading into the fourth quarter."Louis scored second-period goals with assists from Nate Thompson to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 edge.Looking to avoid their first nine-game road slide since one of the same duration spanned the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, the Predators have dropped 14 of 15 1-10-4 away from home.Mat Latos pitched seven scoreless innings and Todd Frazier blasted his sixth home run as Cincinnati took two of three from visiting Chicago.Chicago goalie Ray Emery started and played about 10 minutes before skating to the bench and pulling himself from the game.Three of the last four losses - including Tuesdays 5-2 defeat at Philadelphia - have come against teams already eliminated from playoff contention.A sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Justin Turner pulled the Mets to 3-2 in the sixth.
"The Rockets tested that belief Wednesday in Game 2 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.Hanrahan should be active, if not by Saturday, then certainly, by the time the team starts a road trip in Toronto Tuesday.Koivu, Parise and rookie Charlie Coyle were all over the ice on the first line.And BCS/College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock Wednesday opined thusly: "This will be the most prestigious sports committee in the college sports structure.NOTES: Toronto goalie James Reimer, who stopped 49 of 50 shots at Ottawa on Saturday, allowed four goals among half as many shots Wednesday."
"The Blues announced that they have reached a three-year affiliation agreement with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.Its one little item checked off our list, captain David Backes said.Green hit a 3-pointer to give the Pacers a 43-34 lead with about seven minutes left in the first half, but Atlanta hung tough.Durant and Kevin Martin, both in the top 5 in the league in free-throw percentage, both went 1 for 2 at the foul line in the final 12 seconds to give the Rockets one last chance.
He gave up three hits -- all singles -- while striking out 11.The scoreboard updated the NHL scoring race after St."Our execution with the puck has to get better," coach Randy Carlyle said.We definitely had a chance to score more runs, but we didn t do it, Manuel said.The games overlords got yet another taste of unintended consequences Wednesday.
"We still have it in our own hands," said captain Henrik Zetterberg, who has five assists in two games."To me, thats a reflection of guys not being ready to play.The Rockets made up for a 40 percent shooting mark with a 57-40 advantage on the boards and a 50-30 scoring edge in the paint, engineering a massive turnaround after getting blown out 120-91 in Game 1.Threw some good fastballs in on the hands, kept them off the plate a little bit and threw strikes when he needed to.They have lost back-to-back games in regulation just twice.The Bruins have scored two or fewer goals in five of the last six games, though Jagr did chip in an assist in the loss to the Flyers.Theyve only lost back-to-back games in regulation twice this season en route to the second Presidents Trophy.