Black- and Whitelist » a backhander past Nabokov

NEW ORLEANS - Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers proved they can still summon the type of competent, passionate and feisty football associated with teams pushing for post-season berths.After six straight mistake-filled losses, Carolina could not afford to wait any longer than its trip to the Big Easy to make piling up yards and points look — well — easy again.Newton passed for three touchdowns, incited a scuffle after soaring over the pile for another score and let running back Jonathan Stewart do the rest in a 41-10 rout of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.When you execute like that, its fun to watch. And when you dont, its hard to watch, said Newton, who was an efficient 21-of-33 for 226 yards with no interceptions and no sacks.The victory pulled Carolina (4-8-1) closer to NFC South Division leader Atlanta (5-7), which plays Monday night at Green Bay.Newton also scrambled for 83 yards and Stewart rushed for 155 yards on 20 carries, highlighted by his 69-yard run that made it 31-3 early in the third quarter.When the offensive line is playing as well as they did today, and our running backs are running like they were, and our guys are catching the ball like they were, its hard to lose, Newton said.For Saints coach Sean Payton, it was hard to watch as New Orleans (5-8) lost its fourth straight home game to fall a half-game behind the Falcons.Obviously, thats embarrassing — how we played, how we coached. You pick an area, you pick a phase and it was awful, Payton said. It couldnt have started any worse and couldnt have finished any worse.The Panthers scored an NFL-low 30 first-quarter points during their first 12 games combined. Against New Orleans, Carolina scored on its opening series for only the second time on Kelvin Benjamins 9-yard touchdown catch. The Panthers wound up scoring 17 points before 9 minutes had elapsed, thanks in no small part to Saints turnovers.Mark Ingrams fumble on the New Orleans 25 led to a field goal. Bene Benwikeres interception of Drew Brees led to Newtons rushing TD, which in turn led to a brief melee behind the end zone.Newton was jawing with defensive end Cam Jordan, then linebacker Curtis Lofton shoved Newton just as the quarterback broke into his Superman celebration. The scrum that ensued burst through a closed gate behind the goal post and spilled into a tunnel.Tight end Brandon Williams was ejected for punching Jordan.Newton said the scuffle resulted from a lot of testosterone on that field at one time.Lofton, who was penalized but not ejected, said he didnt regret his shove and was not going to stand for what he viewed as Newton was taunting Jordan.Some more things to know about Carolinas demolition of the Saints:NEWTONS TURNAROUND: During Carolinas six-game skid, Newton threw nine interceptions and just six touchdown passes, and was sacked 25 times. Against the Saints, he had his fourth career game with at least 200 yards passing, multiple touchdown passes, 80-plus yards rushing and a touchdown run. Only two other players have done that multiple times. Michael Vick and Russell Wilson each have done it twice.STAGNANT SAINTS: Saints quarterback Drew Brees 235 yards passing and completion rate of 59.2 per cent were both season lows. The Saints were also held under 100 yards rushing for only the third time this season.BIG GAINS: Carolina gained 271 yards rushing and its 497 total yards were a season high, as were its 41 points. Newtons other touchdown passes went for 16 yards to tight end Greg Olsen and 26 yards to running back Fozzy Whittaker.We have got to keep this formula going. This is who we are and this is what we are good at, Olsen said. We had good rhythm and a good mix of pass and run.DISHEARTENED Defence: The Saints entered the game second-to-last in the NFL in yards allowed, only to see their average yards allowed ruse from 390.5 to 398.7 — still slightly better than Atlantas average of 403.2.PLAYOFF PICTURE: Despite losing four of five games, the Saints will remain tied for first place in the NFC South if Atlanta losses to the Packers on Monday night. Carolina, meanwhile, would sit a half game behind both the Saints and Falcons. If the Falcons upset Green Bay, theyll take a one-game lead, but still must play in New Orleans on Dec. 21.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Adidas NMD Naiset . -- Jerome Verrier scored once and set up two more as the Drummondville Voltigeurs downed the visiting Chicoutimi Sagueneens 5-1 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play. Adidas Deerupt Suomi . -- Chad Labelle scored the winner 17:36 into the third period to give Medicine Hat a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday and lift the Tigers into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-eqt-halvalla.html. LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p. Adidas NMD Suomi . Harrison Barnes had 15 points and Reggie Bullock scored 11 for the Tar Heels (17-3, 4-1 ACC), who took the court for the first time without starter Dexter Strickland. The junior guard tore his right ACL last Thursday at Virginia Tech and will miss the rest of the season. Adidas NMD R1 Naiset . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- With John Tavares and the rest of the Islanders offence clicking, it hardly mattered who was protecting New Yorks net at the other end. The Islanders captain scored three goals and added two assists, prized rookie Ryan Strome scored the first goal of his NHL career, and Kevin Poulin won in relief of injured starter Evgeni Nabokov in New Yorks 7-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. After falling behind 2-0, the Islanders scored four times in the second period and carried a 4-3 lead into the third. "It was great, the intensity and pace we came out with in the second period," Tavares said. "Great to see not just a few guys get it going, but everyone really fed off the energy." Tavares scored his first at 7:29 of the second period off a terrific pass from Thomas Vanek. He added two more in the third, netting a power-play goal with 3:07 remaining to push the lead to 7-3. It was the captains 20th goal of the season. "A lot of people dream of those nights," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "Anytime (Tavares) has a night like that, its nice to win the hockey game." But the comeback victory came at a cost as starting goalie Evgeni Nabokov left with what appeared to be a groin injury. He was put on the injured list shortly after the game. The 38-year-old Nabokov returned to action on Dec. 14 after he missed 11 games because of a groin injury sustained against Detroit on Nov. 16. New York recalled goalie Anders Nilsson from Bridgeport of the AHL later Monday night. With the Islanders on the power play early in the second period and trailing 2-0, Strome got New York on the board by putting a wrist shot past goalie Kari Lehtonen. It took the 20-year-old Strome 11 NHL games to finally break the ice. He said it might have been the longest scoring drought he had endured, and he was starting to feel the pressure. "Its nice to get it out of the way," Strome said. "Hopefully, I can just start playing now. (It was) starting to bug me a little bit. I had a couple of great chances. Its a tough league to score. Youve got to take advantage of the opportunities." Peter Regin, Brock Nelson, and Brian Strait also added goals for the Islanders, who scored six timees in a span of 24:38 and won for the fourth time in five games.dddddddddddd New York won in regulation at home for the first time since Nov. 12. The Islanders were 2-6-4 in their previous 12 games at Nassau Coliseum. Poulin stopped 13 of 15 shots after replacing Nabokov at 12:54 of the first. Nabokov made seven saves on eight shots. Poulin will likely be back in the net Tuesday night when the Islanders begin a six-game trip at Toronto. Dallas built its 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Jamie Benn and Erik Cole, but Lehtonen couldnt make the margin stick. He allowed seven goals on 43 shots. "Thats probably the most disappointing (game) of the whole year," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "We were outskated. We couldnt win one-on-one battles. They basically looked how we usually look. Their legs were better. Their energy level was better. Their puck management was better. That might have been our worst game of the year. "It was a team giveaway." After Strome opened the scoring for the Islanders, New York tied it on a goal by Tavares 7:29 into the second. The Islanders took a 3-2 lead just two minutes later on Regins second of the season. Valeri Nichushkin then tied it for Dallas by scoring on a power play. But Brock Nelson capped off a frenetic second period by scoring with 28 seconds left to put the Islanders back on top 4-3. Tavares completed his hat trick by scoring at the 6:19 and 16:53 of the third period. Jamie Benn opened the scoring for Dallas 5:01 in, putting a backhander past Nabokov, but shortly after, Nabokov was forced to leave the game, and Poulin yielded the Stars second tally almost instantly when Cole coaxed a soft backhander in from just shy of the blue line. The Stars will remain in the tri-state area this week, visiting the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, and the New York Rangers on Friday before hosting the Islanders on Sunday. NOTES: New York forward Kyle Okposo missed the game due to the birth of his first child. ... Vanek had two assists to extend his point streak to nine games. ... The Stars activated defencemen Trevor Daley and Sergei Gonchar from the injured list before the game. Daley had missed 14 games with a lower body injury. Gonchar sat out five because of concussion symptoms. ' ' '