came one play after his prettiest pass of the night -- a 35

ST. LOUIS -- Coach Ken Hitchcock hopes the combination of a lopsided loss, a day off and a good practice on Monday will result in a better performance when the St. Louis Blues host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.Theres building times and this is it, Hitchcock told NHL.com. Weve got a real opportunity right now.The Blues have lost three games in a row and five of their last seven, including a 3-1 defeat at Nashville and an embarrassing 8-4 loss at Columbus on Saturday night, a game in which they trailed 7-1 at one point.Three of those recent losses came in games in which the Blues allowed five or more goals.Theres spots in games where were doing everything we want to do, then all of the sudden, things turn the other way and its going negative, said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Its got to come from within this room. Nobodys going to help us. Everythings getting magnified. Were not being as assertive as we usually are. You identify a check, you know thats youre guy and youre going to play him hard. If someone makes a mistake, youre there to help your teammate out right away.Were getting spread out in our end, were not communicating the way we need to communicate, and thats resulting in glaring opportunities, whereas in the past, if those were there, it didnt seem like they were obvious opportunities. I think when we get more assertive and play teams harder, be tougher to play against, its going to work in a positive direction.Jake Allen, who was pulled in the second period against the Blue Jackets after allowing four goals, will get the start in net against Buffalo.As a team, the Sabres can relate to what the Blues are going through. They are winless in their last four games, including both a shootout and an overtime loss. They have scored a combined four goals in those games.Just like the Blues, the Sabres have had a problem staying out of the penalty box. They have been called for five or more penalties in four of their last five games. The Blues have been called for the most minor penalties in the league (76) while Buffalo ranks 11th with 58 minor penalties.Weve got to stay out of the box, Sabres right winger Kyle Okposo told NHL.com. Thats something that needs to be addressed and needs to be executed. There are some penalties that you have to take and other ones that are just undisciplined penalties. Weve got to stay away from the undisciplined ones.Center Ryan OReilly, who has missed two of the last three games, could play against the Blues, according to coach Dan Bylsma. Buffalo still is expected to recall at least one forward and a defenseman from the minor leagues before Tuesday nights game.The Sabres have fallen to last in the NHL with an average of 1.93 goals per game.Maybe the biggest surprise is we havent got to the power play as much as we need to to get opportunities to score, Bylsma told the Buffalo News. We should be playing the way where teams have to take penalties against us. Given the lineup we have, we need to manufacture goals in a hard and difficult way. Anthony Mantha Red Wings Jersey . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Curtis Joseph Jersey .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/alex-delvecchio-jersey/ . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Mike Green Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Darren Helm Red Wings Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. DURHAM, N.C. -- Daniel Jones looked like hes played quarterback at Duke for years.The redshirt freshman threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his first college start, and Duke routed North Carolina Central 49-6 on Saturday night.Jela Duncan set the tone with a 50-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage, added a 3-yard TD run and matched a career high with 115 yards.Daniel Jones was out there dropping dimes, like I knew he could, Duncan said.The Blue Devils (1-0) once again had an easy time against their lower-level crosstown opponent, building a three-touchdown lead before the Eagles (0-1) ran a play inside Duke territory and leading 49-0 at halftime after scoring TDs on seven of their 10 first-half possessions.It was a lot of fun out there tonight, and I think everyone enjoyed it, Jones said.A year after rolling up 655 total yards against Central, Duke gained 535 yards, gave up just 112 and improved to 5-0 in the series.Jones certainly didnt look like he was playing his first college game. He finished 10 of 15 for 189 yards with touchdown passes of 55 yards to Johnathan Lloyd and 20 yards to Erich Schneider, and added a 17-yard scoring run.Hes smart, and hes talented, and I told you all he could run -- hes really fast, coach David Cutcliffe said. There are a lot of things he can do well. He will learn a lot from that first taste. Its going to get a lot tougher before it gets easier.Brandon McLaren kicked field goals of 48 and 34 yards for Central.The first half was not what we wanted it to be, by any stretch of the imagination, Central coach Jerry Mack said.THE TAKEAWAYN.C. Central: Since making the jump from Division II to the Championship Subdivision roughly a decade ago, the Eagles have now played seven FBS opponents and lost them all by an average of 44 points with three shutouts. Those results sure havent hurt them once they start playing schools at their level: Theyve won shares of tthe past two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles, and figure to contend for another.ddddddddddddDuke: All eyes were on Jones in his starting debut two weeks after returning starter Thomas Sirk was lost for the season when he re-injured the Achilles tendon he tore in February. The QB nicknamed The Future said earlier in the week that he thought he could both run and pass effectively.He spent the first half proving it, starting with his first carry -- a 21-yard gain on a read option before he threw his first pass.I guess that got me comfortable, to get his the first time, Jones said. It got me rolling, I guess.His touchdown run came one play after his prettiest pass of the night -- a 35-yard throw that he dropped over receiver T.J. Rahmings right shoulder near the sideline. Rahming played a big role in Jones first TD pass, throwing the key downfield block that sprung Lloyds catch-and-run.KEY NUMBERSN.C. Central had just four first downs and Duke held a 308-38 advantage in yards rushing. ... This surely would have been even more lopsided had Duke not turned the ball over five times -- three of those coming in the second half when most of the playing time went to the third- and fourth-stringers. ... Duke DT A.J. Wolf had three sacks -- the first time a Duke player accomplished that since 2003.UP NEXTN.C. Central: The Eagles get another crack at an FBS school next week when they visit Western Michigan -- which knocked off Northwestern in Week 1.Duke: The Blue Devils dive into Atlantic Coast Conference play with a visit from Wake Forest. Duke has won four straight in the series with its instate league rival.---Follow Joedy McCreary at http://twitter.com/joedyap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joedy-mccreary---AP college football site: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '