opted for expanding the International Series to four

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild found some relief and satisfaction after their first game of the new year. The Buffalo Sabres were the perfect tonic. Jason Pominville scored against his old team, and the Wild beat the Sabres 4-1 on Thursday night to stop a franchise-record streak of six straight losses in regulation. Re-establishing their style and regaining the ground they lost will take some time, but for the Wild this was a strong start. "I cant express how good it feels to get that monkey off our back," defenceman Clayton Stoner said. Marco Scandella scored, just 106 seconds before Pominville. Jason Zucker had the third goal in the second period against Ryan Miller, one of the three goalies recently picked for the U.S. Olympic team. "Ryans been playing really good, and we didnt give him an effort in front of him," captain Steve Ott said. The Wild sure werent feeling sorry for anyone. They won for the first time since Dec. 17, and Niklas Backstrom picked up a victory for the first time in his last nine starts since Nov. 23. With Josh Harding sitting out with an illness, Backstrom stopped 19 shots. "Thats something we have to build on," Backstrom said. "I think thats the first step." Miller made 28 saves, not nearly enough for a Sabres team with by far the worst record and fewest goals in the NHL. They were nearly shut out for the second straight game, following a 3-0 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday, but Matt Ellis knocked in a loose puck in front of the net with 1:12 left. "I think teams see what we have to offer, adjust, and we dont make any adjustments," Miller said. "We have to be adaptable." The Wild entered the night with the second-lowest scoring average in the league, so naturally the first goal came more than 24 1/2 minutes into the game. Scandella flashed a big smile after he beat defenceman Christian Ehrhoff to the slot and turned a pass from Matt Cooke into his first goal in 13 games. Then Pominville, who had the game-winner in October when these teams met in Buffalo, scored against his former teammate by using a snap shot to sneak the puck between Millers glove and the post. Zucker, playing on an all-21-year-old second line with Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund, stretched the lead to 3-0 with his first goal of the season. He was recalled on Wednesday from Iowa of the AHL for the fourth time since Nov. 20. "We didnt do anything special, but we did all the little things right," Pominville said. Ten Wild players had points, including two assists each for Ryan Suter and Mikko Koivu, after coach Mike Yeo shook up his lineup yet again. Suter and Jonas Brodin were split up on defence, too. Even Kyle Brodziak scored, for the first time in 31 games since Oct. 26. He was awarded the goal with 26 seconds left when he was tripped just past the blue line with an empty net in front of him. Yeo praised Koivu, Pominville and new linemate Dany Heatley for their leadership. "If they had a tough shift, they got right back to it, got it right the next shift," Yeo said. "They play an important role on our team. We need them to continue to go out and perform." Yeos job has been put in jeopardy by the skid that began around Thanksgiving and kept up all the way through New Years Eve. The Wild improved to 6-12-1 in their last 19 games with their first regulation win in 11 games since Dec. 8. The Sabres already fired their coach, replacing Ron Rolston with Ted Nolan on Nov. 13. The results havent been much better, though. They fell to 0-9-2 in their last 11 road games and have only one regulation win away from Buffalo all season. This mightve been their worst game under Nolan. "If it wasnt it had to be pretty close. Its just one of those things where when were bad, were bad," Nolan said. NOTES: The Sabres lost here for the first time in four games since Dec. 13, 2003. Theyre 5-2 at Xcel Energy Center since it opened. ... Wild D Keith Ballard was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. ... Sabres RW Drew Stafford left the game with an upper-body injury. LW Ville Leino was scratched because of a lower-body injury. ... The Sabres have not gone without a goal in consecutive games since Oct. 9 and 11, 2003. Penguins Jerseys China . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Stitched Penguins Jerseys . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Pittsburgh Penguins Gear . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night. Cheap Penguins Jerseys . 17.A string of English Premier League teams, most in the lower end of the standings, has been linked to the 32-year-old forward but most have seemingly balked at the cost given his wages and transfer fee.LONDON - An NFL franchise in London could generate more than $250 million a year for Britain, according to a study released Wednesday.The study by accountancy firm Deloitte, commissioned by the NFL and a London marketing agency, also casts doubt on the feasibility of a Super Bowl in the British capital and warns of a negative reaction from the United States.The prospect of a team being permanently based in London has been growing since the NFL first brought regular-season games to the city in 2007. With three games at Wembley Stadium this season, the British government recently offered its backing to persuade a franchise to base itself overseas.The feasibility study forecasts the city enjoying an annual economic boost of 102 million pounds ($165 million) from hosting eight home games, largely driven by fan spending.Including spending outside of the capital linked directly or indirectly to a franchise, Deloitte says a London teams total potential gross output in Britain is estimated to be 158 million pounds ($255 million) per season. Deloitte is assuming players and staff would play two games on four visits each season, rather than being based in London.The report will be discussed at the next owners meeting in 2015, said Mark Waller, the NFLs executive vice-president of international who is hoping the obstacles to a London franchise can be overcome.There is no value to anybody putting a team here and finding the rigours of the season do not allow it to compete at the highest level, Waller said. So thats the work we are going to do. Thats probably a five-year piece of work.While the 30-page report paints a positive picture, there are reservations about Wembley hosting the Super Bowl.A major hurdle to overcome with a Super Bowl in London would be selecting a suitable the kick-off time. Starting at 4 p.ddddddddddddm. EST would be 9 p.m. in London and make transport away from Wembley challenging on a Sunday night. Deloitte says a 6 p.m. local time kickoff may be unlikely to attract the desired television audience in the U.S., where it would be 10 a.m. on the West Coast.Predicting that fewer die-hard fans and season-ticket holders would be able to cross the Atlantic, Deloitte cautions that the atmosphere inside the stadium and on television could be affected and impact on the wider global brand presence.The reaction from the NFLs core U.S. market could focus on the negative implications of moving a definitively American event overseas for reasons that may be perceived as solely financial or commercial, the Deloitte report says.If the NFL instead opted for expanding the International Series to four games in London, the city would still enjoy an annual financial boost of 58 million pounds ($94 million), Deloitte predicts.The firm estimated that the two games in 2013 directly generated 32 million pounds ($52 million) for London, with league spending accounting for a quarter of that. Renting and securing Wembley cost 2.1 million pounds ($3.4 million) for the two matches.The Wembley contract runs until 2016, but the NFL has not talked to West Ham about potentially using the revamped Olympic Stadium in east London.When we looked at that venue before West Ham took it on it wasnt clear to us how it was going to end up as a venue, Waller said.Sajid Javid, the British cabinet minister with responsibility for sports, said the appetite for the NFL is growing and the report shows the cynics are wrong.The NFL has a huge fan base here, the culture secretary said. I hope it will become a second home for American football.___Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '