situation," defender Oriol Lozarano said.

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Blackhawks have struggled with inconsistency at the start of the new year but they hope to regain some momentum in Sundays home clash against the sliding Minnesota Wild. Chicago is 2-3-0 in January, alternating losses and wins since the start of the month. The rough patch began with a loss in the Winter Classic at Washingtons Nationals Park on New Years Day, and, after Chicago managed to win two out of three, it continued with Fridays 5-2 setback in Edmonton. Of the Blackhawks two wins in January, however, the most recent one came against tonights opponent. Chicago recorded a 4-2 win Thursday in Minnesota despite being outshot by a wide margin. Corey Crawford stole two points for the Blackhawks in St. Paul, making 42 saves to anchor the win. Minnesota outshot Chicago 37-10 after the first period and 44-20 for the game. Chicago received a pair of goals from Bryan Bickell in the third period to pull away. Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane also scored in the win. It was the Blackhawks third straight win over the Wild, as they improved to 2-0 in the five-game season series between the Central Division rivals. Chicago has won two straight and five of the past seven encounters in the Windy City. Chicago was unable to win the other tilt on its recent two-game road trip, as it fell Friday night to the Oilers. The Blackhawks entered the game with 29 more points than lowly Edmonton, but Derek Roy finished with a goal and two assists to help the hosts pull off the surprising 5-2 victory at Rexall Place. The Blackhawks had won the three previous meetings in Edmonton by a 16-3 margin, including a 7-1 rout at Rexall on Nov. 22. Brandon Saad scored both goals for Chicago, while Antti Raanta stopped 17 shots in the loss. We had enough chances tonight. We didnt give up a ton, said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. Chicago, which is four points behind Nashville for first place in the Central, begins a four-game homestand tonight. The Hawks are 14-5-1 at United Center this season and wont play the second tilt of the residency until Friday against Winnipeg. The Wild are mired in a four-game losing streak and have posted just two wins over their last 12 games (2-6-4). The rough stretch has Minnesota seven points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference as it kicks off a three-game road trip with Sundays clash in Chicago. Minnesota lost a 3-1 decision Saturday against the visiting Nashville Predators. The Wild fired 37 shots on net, but Pekka Rinne made the difference for the Preds with 36 saves. Charlie Coyle potted the lone goal for the Wild, while Niklas Backstrom made 24 stops in the loss. When youre losing games the way we are, everything is an issue, said embattled Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo. Its been something different every game. Were just spinning our tires. Minnesotas Zach Parise returned after a two-game absence to deal with the death of his father, former NHLer J.P. Parise, who died Wednesday at the age of 73 from cancer. Another loss tonight would give Minnesota its second five-game skid of the season. The Wild set a season-high losing streak with a 0-2-3 drought from Dec. 16-27. The Wild, who will play seven of their next nine away from home, are 8-11-0 as the road club this season. Crawford will start for Chicago and owns a 6-3-2 record and 2.35 goals against average in 12 career games against the Wild. Backstrom is 6-11-1 with a 2.90 GAA in 19 career games against Chicago, while backup John Curry has never faced the Blackhawks. Curley Culp Jersey .J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No. Earl Campbell Jersey .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Ryan-tannehill-titans-jersey/ . -- Jonas Hiller is cautiously confident he has kicked his vertigo. Marcus Mariota Titans Jersey .com) - The surging Montreal Canadiens will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Florida Panthers for Saturdays clash at BB&T Center. Nate Davis Jersey . James Harden wasnt worried and told his coach as much. "He was fired up but I told him: Its OK. Were going to be all right," Harden said. And they were. Houston scored 17 straight points after that timeout, led by 10 from Harden, to take the lead and roll to an easy 129-106 win. SANTANDER, Spain -- Racing Santander made good on its threat to boycott its Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Real Sociedad over unpaid wages, refusing to play on Thursday because the clubs president did not resign. Sociedad held a 3-1 first-leg lead going into the match at El Sardinero Stadium, but players from third-tier Santander said they had no intention of playing if Angel Lavin and his board did not step down. Both teams took to the field but Santanders players immediately lined up near the half after kickoff and refused to play, with the referee suspending the game after one minute. Sociedad kicked the ball around before shooting it into the stands where spectators showed their support for the players by chanting "dont play!" "What we did today was in respect of football, a sport that we love," coach Paco Fernandez said. "Today was the most important game of our lives, but our dignity took precedence." International players union, FIFPRO, and Spanish union AFE both supported the move, which comes after the lower-tier clubs players had not been paid in four months despite promises by Lavin. Santanders actions could see the club fined or even banned from the Copa del Rey next season. "Its very difficult to deccide to do this, especially in a quarterfinal.dddddddddddd Its an extreme situation," defender Oriol Lozarano said. "We know what the consequences could be, that we can be kicked out of the competition, but we knew we had the support of the fans to do what we did." Its not the first time that Santander has used the domestic cup competition to bring awareness to its situation, with the players standing idly for 30 seconds to start a last-16 game against Almeria before eventually playing. That match also saw Santander ultras invade the presidents box, sparking off violent scenes. Fans were allowed to enter El Sardinero for free on Thursday. Santander has slipped down to the third division in just two seasons following the exit of former owner Ahsan Ali Syed, who left the club in crisis, relegated from the top-flight in 2012 and needing a cash injection just to stay afloat. Santander is not the first team to refuse to play a Copa del Rey game, with Barcelona boycotting a return leg against Atletico Madrid during the 1999-2000 season. But in that case, Barcelona boycotted because of scheduling with the international calendar leaving it with just nine outfield players available. Sociedad will play Barcelona in the semifinals. ' ' '