VANCOUVER -- A feeble power play has sucked the life out of the Vancouver Canucks at times this season. Matt Harvey Jersey . 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. Jose Peraza Jersey . Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Barry Larkin Jersey . The No. 5 Aztecs held Burton, the Mountain Wests leading scorer, to 11 points, 10 below his average, in beating the Wolf Pack 73-58 on Saturday night. http://www.redsgearshop.com/Reds-Reggie-Sanders-Kids-Jersey/ . New York Red Bulls. TSN primes Vancouver fans for the start of the 2014 season with MLS on TSN: Season Preview Special airing tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN2 (encore Friday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt on TSN2).BOSTON -- Golden State didnt need another winning, last-second basket this time. The Warriors led by at least 20 points throughout the second half and beat the Boston Celtics 108-88 on Wednesday night, showing no letdown one day after edging the Indiana Pacers on a field goal with 0.6 seconds left. Klay Thompson hit that 12-foot turnaround to beat one of the NBAs best teams, 98-96. Against one of the worst, Thompson and David Lee scored 18 points each as the Warriors ended their road trip with a 4-2 record. "This win validates last night," Thompson said. The Warriors were determined not to ease up against much weaker competition than they faced at Indiana, which has the leagues best home record. "It was big for us," Lee said. "The starters really wanted to come out and set the tone tonight and not give the Celtics team any life." That plan worked. The Warriors scored the first six points and led 12-2 with just over five minutes gone as they moved a season-high 14 games over .500 with a 38-24 record. "I read where if we lost this game then that takes away (Tuesdays win). You cannot forget how tough it is to win games in this league," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "Fortunately, we did not fall in love with what we did in Indy." The Celtics (20-41) provided little resistance and lost for the seventh time in eight games. "It was a struggle for us," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "Id like to find something that I could say we were better in, but there wasnt anything." Former Celtic Jordan Crawford had 15 points and Stephen Curry added 14 for the Warriors, who won for the seventh time in nine games. Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points for Boston. "We dont want to keep embarrassing ourselves and that is the mentality we are going to have," Jeff Green said. Lee started the scoring with an 18-footer and Andre Iguodala ffollowed with a layup and a dunk for a 6-0 lead. Pete Rose Jersey. Jerryd Bayless then hit a fadeaway jumper for Boston, but Golden State got the next six points on dunks by Curry and Thompson and a layup by Lee. The game was still competitive when Bayless two free throws cut Golden States lead to 42-33 with 5:55 left in the first half. Then Thompsons 3-pointer began a 19-7 run that gave the Warriors a 61-40 lead at halftime. Baskets by Lee and Andrew Bogut made it 49-33 before Rajon Rondo sank a free throw and Jared Sullinger made two for Boston. But then Golden State scored the next six points on a short jumper by Lee, a dunk by Iguodala and a 16-footer by Curry. A 3-pointer by Green cut the margin to 55-38, but Curry followed with a 3-point play. Rondo answered with a layup before Iguodala finished the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining. The sloppy Celtics committed 12 turnovers in the first half, leading to 15 points, while the Warriors turned the ball over just twice, leading to two points. "What hurt us more than maybe anything were the turnovers in the first half that led to the dunks that got those guys going," Stevens said. "I didnt think our effort was great." The Warriors took their biggest lead, 31 points, when two straight baskets by Thompson made it 80-49 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. "Theyre hitting their stride a little bit," Stevens said. Now the Warriors head home for 13 of their remaining 20 games. "We took care of business on the road," Lee said. "Our thought is we shouldnt lose any more games at home." NOTES: Golden State has 20 road wins, tied with Oklahoma City for second most in the NBA. ... Jackson rested his starters in the fourth quarter. ... Rondo had 14 points and seven assists, but also had seven turnovers. ... Lee had a game-high 10 rebounds, while Bogut blocked three shots. Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Flames Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Stars Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Oilers Jerseys Cheap Florida Panthers Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Cheap Wild Jerseys ' ' '