VANCOUVER -- A feeble power play has sucked the life out of the Vancouver Canucks at times this season. 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. . The Sharks centre scored twice in the second period as San Jose defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1. The 33-year-old from Aneroid, Sask., has scored 30 or more goals in four consecutive seasons and has six overall in his career. [url=http://www.airmax90verkaufch.com/air-max-90-herren.html]nike air max 90 herren günstig . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.airmax90verkaufch.com/ . On The Attack - Newton instantly became one of the most exciting players at his position early in 2011. Nike Air Max 90 Damen . Michael Turner ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Ryan scored the tie-breaking TD with 7 minutes remaining, and Corey Peters came up with a huge interception that helped the Falcons seal a 31-17 victory over Newton and the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Nike Air Max 90 Damen Sale . The seventh-seeded Romanian had six aces and broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set of the clay-court final. She fought off two break points in the last game before closing out the match with two forehand winners to win the first of four career finals. DENVER -- Maxime Talbot was simply looking to help kill a penalty. That he scored a short-handed goal in the process, well, the Colorado Avalanche certainly wont argue. Talbot broke a second-period tie, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots to lead the Avalanche to a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. "Every time you get a goal on a PK its always huge," said Talbot, who has scored 16 short-handed goals. Tyson Barrie, Ryan OReilly and Matt Duchene also scored for the Avalanche, who bounced back from an 8-2 loss to the Oilers two weeks ago in Edmonton. That lopsided loss was on their mind. "We knew what happened last time when we played there. We came ready," Talbot said. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had goals for the Oilers, who finished their road swing 0-4 and were outscored 14-4. They also were without Sam Gagner after he was ejected in the first period when he knocked down Paul Stastny with a stick to the face. That was a sensitive subject after the game. Oilers coach Dallas Eakins really didnt think Gagner did anything that warranted an ejection. "I thought it was by accident when that stick came up," Eakins said. "I thought you could see it immediately, when the guy went down, Gags was concerned. When you mean to do it, you skate away with a smirk on your face. "All I was looking for from the official was the explanation. ... Suddenly, everything changed after the Jumbotron showed it." Edmonton pulled goalie Devan Dubnyk for an extra skater with 1:53 remaining, but couldnt score the equalizer. Duchene added an empty-net goal with 1.1 seconds remaining. He also had two assists. Talbot scored the winner with 1:32 remaining in the second period with the Oilers on the power play. Edmonton turned over the puck, Marc-Andre Cliche carried it up the ice, and then fed it to Talbot, who slid a backhanded shot past Dubnyk. "The short-handed goal, its frustrating," Eakins said. "Youve been waiting the whole game for a power play. The power play not only goes out and gives them a 2-on-1, the next unit goes out and gives them a breakaway. The whole bench is shaking their head. Its disgusting." Varlamov made it hoold up throughout the third period, and in the process vanquished some demons against Edmonton after being rocked for eight goals on Dec.dddddddddddd5 at Rexall Place. "Oh yeah. It was a nightmare, especially for me," Varlamov said of his last encounter with the Oilers. Edmonton took a 2-1 lead at 12:10 of the second period when Nugent-Hopkins sent a wrist shot past Varlamov. It didnt last long as OReilly tied it by tapping in a pass from rookie Nathan MacKinnon. Duchene also had an assist on the play, his second of the night. He has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in five games. Asked before the game about his recent scoring spree, Duchene shrugged and said, "I just got back to doing what I was doing before I got hurt." Duchene missed a few games with an oblique injury in late November and then had a virus that zapped his strength. He finally feels back at full strength, he said. "When it goes in, it goes in," Duchene said. "When it doesnt, it doesnt, and thats hockey. You just want to keep it going." Barrie scored on a 5-on-3 power play early in the second period, courtesy of Gagners crosscheck and an unsportsmanlike penalty against Hall. Gagner and Stastny were battling after a faceoff when Gagner used both hands to shove his stick into Stastnys face. Stastny stayed down on the ice for a moment before heading over to the bench, where the trainers appeared to examine his nose. Gagner was assessed a major penalty and sent to the locker room. Hall drew an unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the period. "Taylor Hall did not say one thing to that referee," Eakins said. "Another player said it that was going down the hallway, and it was nothing terrible. "To light up a guy, to put you down 5-on-3, I came out at the start of the period, after a cooling off period, as were supposed to do as coaches, and was basically told by the ref to ... I cant say what he said to me. Just looking for simple explanations but couldnt get them." NOTES: Oilers D Corey Potter finished his two-game suspension for boarding Anaheim F Nick Bonino over the weekend. He is eligible to play Saturday against St. Louis. ... 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