The Vancouver Canucks have had the misfortune of a lethargic stretch on offense overlapping the absence of their starting goaltender. ZaDarius Smith Jersey . Ryan Millers illness seems to have subsided before the scoring issues, and he expects to start Thursday night in Philadelphia as the Canucks try to avoid a four-game skid. Miller missed two games with the ailment, though its unlikely that more would have come from having him in goal. After beginning a five-game trip with Tuesdays 5-1 loss in Nashville, Vancouver (23-15-3) has scored twice over three straight regulation losses. You can listen to coverage on TSN 1040 Radio Vancouver starting at 2pm pt. Coach Willie Desjardins doesnt think that tells the whole story. The last two games, we played good, we just lost, he said. Its a tough trip and its going to be a battle. Every game is going to be tough. Theyre not going to be any easier. That might not be true with Philadelphia (17-20-7) and Carolina up next, but the Canucks have been more on a level with those teams while going 5-8-2 since Dec. 6. In their last 13 contests, theyve been held to a goal or less seven times. Miller has risen to the occasion more often than not with a 1.86 goals-against average during a 4-2-1 stretch and said he cant recall missing any previous time due to illness. I just try and push through it usually, he said. This one I just thought - given the circumstances - I just thought I didnt have the energy to give the boys. Recent trips to Philadelphia havent followed his recent form with a 0-4-0 record and 3.35 GAA in five games, but this will be his first stop there with the Canucks. The Flyers can somewhat relate to Vancouvers struggles with a one-goal effort and a shutout loss over their last three, though the other game was a 7-3 win over Tampa Bay on Monday. Wednesdays 1-0 loss to Washington dropped Philadelphia to 3-6-1 since Dec. 27. We played well, but we dont deserve a point, coach Craig Berube said. We missed some opportunities offensively. Theyve likely been overly dependent on power-play production in those 10 games. Philadelphia has just 12 even-strength goals in that span while going 9 of 37 (24.3 percent) with the advantage. Whats worse is the Flyers havent even had a special-teams edge in those games, going just 22 of 32 (68.7 percent) on the penalty kill. The good news for Philadelphia is it plays six of its next eight at home after the loss to the Capitals marked its sixth straight on the road. The Flyers are 11-6-3 at home with 3.05 goals per game and a league-leading 30.1 percent clip on the power play. With Steve Mason sidelined for two weeks with a lower-body injury, Rob Zepp was deployed for his third NHL start and lost for the first time despite a 25-save effort in possibly his best performance yet. Philadelphia could turn to Ray Emery, who has lost his last three appearances with a 4.15 GAA. Defensively, the team has been terrible in the second game of back-to-back sets, allowing an average of 4.38 goals while going 2-5-1. These clubs split two games last season with the home team winning each. Henrik Sedin has 17 points on a nine-game streak against Philadelphia, while Daniel Sedin has 13 points in those contests. Claude Giroux has seven points in his last four against the Canucks and Wayne Simmonds has one point over 14 career meetings. Ty Summers Jersey . Sweeting scored two in the first and three in the second before Strong (4-4) got two back in the fourth. Sweeting then scored three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to grab a commanding 9-2 lead. Max McGee Jersey . - Mathew Barzal scored 3:47 into overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds downed the visiting Everett Silvertips 4-3 on Tuesday in Western Hockey League playoff action. https://www.packersjerseysale.com/2144j-ibraheim-campbell-jersey-packers.html .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch.CLEVELAND - The Houston Rockets played again without Dwight Howard. Unfortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden was in the building. Harden scored 37 points, including 17 in the third quarter, and the Rockets led from wire-to-wire in a 118-111 victory on Saturday night. With Howard out for a third straight game because of a sore left ankle, Harden provided a boost. He was 9 of 15 from the field, hit five 3-pointers, made all 14 of his free throws and had 11 assists without playing the fourth quarter after Houston built a 29-point lead late in the third. "Great players do that, they get going," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "Ive seen James do it countless times, but thats what separates him from a lot of players. He has the ability to do that." Harden dominated in just about every aspect of the game. He drove to the basket, buried shots from well beyond the 3-point line, converted free throws and found open teammates. "I just tried to be aggressive and be in attack mode to get to the rim," he said. "If the drive is there, I take it. If its not, Ill do something else. I just use my basketball instincts." Cleveland has lost four straight and played again without point guard Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined for three games with a strained left biceps. Houston made its first four shots and took a quick lead in snapping a three-game road losing streak. The Rockets also strengthened their hold on the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. Chandler Parsons scored 16 points for Houston while Patrick Beverly added 15. Dion Waiters led Cleveland with 26 points. Tyler Zeller added a career-high 23 points for the Cavaliers, who also played without forward Luol Deng (sprained left ankle). The Rockets played their reserves for most of the fourth and Cleveland cut into the margin. Harden had eight points and eight assists in the first quarter, which saw Cleveland coach Mike Brown call timeout twice in the first four minutes as Houston took a 17-4 lead. The margin reached 15 points in the second period and Houston shot 59 per cent in the first half. Cleveland scored the first seven points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 67-62, but Hardens five free throws sparked a 9-0 run and the Rockets regained control. His four-point play pushed the lead to 87-70. Harden hhit a 3-pointer from the top of the key moments later, then added a dunk and another 3-pointer as the lead reached 101-72. Billy Howton Jersey. "Obviously, Harden had a monster game," Brown said. Howard returned to practice Friday and participated in Saturday mornings shootaround, but didnt dress for the game. He played in each of Houstons first 66 games, but was a late scratch Monday, had a cyst removed from the ankle the following day and didnt play Thursday. "I dont think he feels quite good enough to play, but he feels much better," McHale said before the game. Houston is undefeated in the eight-time All-Stars absence. Howard scored 26 points and had six rebounds in the Rockets 106-92 win over Cleveland on Feb. 1. He averages 18.6 points and 12.4 rebounds for the season. Injuries and a brutal schedule have dropped Cleveland out of playoff contention. The Cavaliers are 2-8 in March and trail Atlanta by 6 1/2 games for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland, which has also dropped games to the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami and Oklahoma City in the streak, has lost eight of 10 and has dropped five straight at home. The Cavaliers fell behind by 24 points in Thursdays loss to the Thunder, a trend Brown is displeased with. "Thats two games in a row that weve come out and our first group has just been flat," he said. "Theyve been flat offensively, flat defensively. So its been an uphill battle, especially being short-handed." The difficult schedule continues Sunday when the Cavaliers travel to New York, which has won eight in a row. Cleveland was routed 113-86 on Jan. 30 at Madison Square Garden. The Rockets have won four straight and six of their last seven against the Cavaliers. Seth Curry, signed by Cleveland to a 10-day contract Friday, scored three points in eight minutes. Hes the younger brother of Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry. NOTES: Rockets guard Francisco Garcia isnt with the team because of personal reasons. ... In addition to missing Irving and Deng, the Cavaliers played without guard C.J. Miles (sprained left ankle) and forwards Anthony Bennett (strained left patellar) and Sergey Karasev (sore right knee). ... Seth Curry appeared in one game earlier this season for Memphis, playing four scoreless minutes. ... Houston plays at Charlotte on Monday. ' ' '