injury, its likely that the third- round pick from tiny Pitts

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Shane Doan stood in front of his stall scowling, the crimson in his cheeks as much from the anger inside as the physical toll from 60 minutes of give-it-all-you-got hockey. His answers were terse, key words repeated for emphasis. Once he was done with the short interview session, Doan put his head down and marched toward the back locker room in quick, purposeful steps, the rage seeming to build as he went along. Faced with a must-win game in a season that was starting to slip away, the Phoenix Coyotes fell flat, losing to the team with the NHLs worst record — at home, no less. It was more than the Coyotes captain could take. "I dont even know what our level is because were barely above average right now, if average," Doan said after the Coyotes lost 3-2 to Buffalo on Thursday night. "Its not acceptable. Not even close." The loss continued a downward spiral for the Coyotes. Playing with an owner for the first time in four years, Phoenix opened 14-4-3 for the second-best start for a franchise that started in Winnipeg in 1979. Since then, inconsistency has reigned. Once a team that relied on its grittiness and defence-first mindset, Phoenix has instead become a team that has been caught in a back-and-forth struggle, winning some games by outscoring opponents, others by occasionally getting back to its stay-at-home roots. Phoenix had a stretch with one win in six games at the start of 2014 and has lost four of six after the setback against the last-place Sabres Thursday night in the second game of a critical five-game homestand. Once in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, the Coyotes are ninth in the West with 60 points, three behind Vancouver. "It is frustrating," said Coyotes forward Antoine Vermette, who has eight goals in eight games and a six-game points streak. "You dont want to look too far (ahead) in your schedule, but we know our situation." What made the loss to Buffalo harder to swallow was that the Coyotes had seemed to get back into their defence-and-counter groove Tuesday night against Los Angeles. Playing arguably its best game of the season, Phoenix limited most of the rival Kings chances to the outside, generated numerous good scoring chances and went on to win 3-0 behind backup goalie Thomas Greiss second shutout in three starts. To keep climbing up the standings, or at least maintain their positioning, all the Coyotes had to do was knock off the Sabres, who came into the game with the fewest wins (14), points (36) and goals (101) in the NHL. Phoenix got off to a solid start, out-shooting Buffalo 21-12 in the first period. The Sabres ended up scoring first, but the Coyotes rallied with two goals in a span of 18 seconds of the second period to go up 2-1. After that, the Coyotes sat back, almost as if they were waiting out the win instead of going to get it. A series of turnovers led to two goals for the Sabres, putting them up 3-2. A big push by the Coyotes in the third period led nowhere, leading to perhaps the most disheartening loss of the season and one very angry captain. "Were up 2-1 to start the second and we do absolutely nothing, nothing as a group. Absolutely nothing," Doan said. "We have a chance to put a team away when youre up 2-1 at home, and I dont think we got a shot for 12 minutes. Its embarrassing. Its embarrassing." The Coyotes still have time to turn it around. After facing a tough game against Pittsburgh on Saturday night, Phoenix plays its final three games before the Olympic break against teams still in the Western Conference playoff hunt: Chicago and Dallas twice. Once they return, the Coyotes will have 24 games left to make a push. Theyve done it in the past, including a late-season run to the conference finals in 2012. To do it again, they will have to play much better than they have lately. Soccer Jerseys China . The triple gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics tweeted on Tuesday: "Woke up with a virus yesterday. Timing couldnt be much worse. Not the ideal prep for the . Stitched Soccer Jerseys .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. https://www.fakesoccerjerseys.com/ . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Custom Soccer Jerseys .Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have been neck and neck all season, with 17 points separating the rivals and double points on offer for the race.Tensions between them have spilled over during the campaign and the pairs fragile relationship was evident during Thursdays pre-race news conference, when Rosberg goaded Hamilton by advising him to race cleanly. Soccer Jerseys Black Friday . The win puts the final playoff berth in Group A in question. If the Czechs beat Slovakia on Tuesday, they will go through. If they lose, Germany will get the last quarter-final berth.(SportsNetwork.com) - All of a sudden, its become crisis time in Kansas City. Coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs were riding high on a five-game win streak - including a defeat of the defending Super Bowl champions - as they reached late November, but the arrival of the holiday season has meant particularly bad tidings when it comes to a would-be AFC playoff list. First came an embarrassing loss to previously winless Oakland on a primetime Thursday night, which was followed up by another national television misstep, this time to the Denver Broncos last Sunday. The result: Kansas City has dropped from first to third in the AFC West and now finds itself among a gaggle of conference teams - six, to be precise - with 7-5 records and postseason dreams. We didnt finish the third quarter (of the season) the way that we wanted to. Weve got to go back to it and get that part fixed, Reid said. Weve stalled the last two weeks, so weve got to get this thing turned around and get us straightened up. The Chiefs were in a 14-point hole against the Raiders before ultimately dropping a four-point decision, then were down, 17-0, to the Broncos last week. The offense generated just 120 yards in the opening 30 minutes in the Oakland game and only 59 in that same timeframe against Denver. Running back Jamaal Charles carried 10 times for 35 yards and caught four passes for 24 yards last week, while quarterback Alex Smith was intercepted for the first time since Week 5. Our defense was out on the field the majority of that first half. Couldnt help them out, Smith said. To start off the game with those three-and-outs like that, youre just not helping the team, and not getting into any rhythm hurt us. Kansas City matched up reasonably well with Denvers prolific passing attack thanks to an aerial defense thats the best in the league with an average of 196.8 yards allowed, but the Chiefs had few answers when the Broncos switched gears and pounded them for 214 yards on the ground. In fact, the team has allowed 4.93 yards per run, worst in the league. This weeks opponent, Arizona, throws the ball on more than 60 percent of its snaps and averages a league-worst 3.08 yards per attempt. The Cardinals ran just 11 times last week against Atlanta. Its disappointing, Kansas City defensive tackle Dontari Poe said. But we have a couple more games to play. Its not like (the Denver game) was the last one. We still have some stuff to fix. Well come out this next game and play better. Arizona is trying to brandish the same confidence amid a raft of injuries. Quarterback Carson Palmer was lost for the season with a knee injury during a Week 10 victory over St. Louis, and his replacement, Drew Stanton, has lost two of three starts as the Cardinals have tumbled from 9-1 and a clear No. 1 seed in the NFC to 9-3 with just a one-game division lead. Safety Tyrann Mathieu will miss significant time, too, after fracturing his left thumb. He was part of a ball-hawking defense that had forced eight turnovers in a three-game stretch against Philadelphia, Dallas and St.dddddddddddd Louis, but that same unit has generated only two takeaways in the last three games. Its a sense of urgency, because we have to play lights-out football, cornerback Patrick Peterson said. We have all the confidence in the world in (Stanton), but we are still playing with a backup quarterback and that changes the dynamics of everything. As a defense, we have to do what got us here, which was taking the ball away, and as an offense, protecting the ball. Stanton has thrown three touchdown passes and five interceptions since becoming the starter, though he was without No. 1 receiver Larry Fitzgerald for the losses to Seattle and Atlanta. Arizona now leads the Seahawks by one game in the NFC West. When you stink, you stink. You point out how you stunk and get it corrected, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. I dont throw chairs and holler and do all that stuff thats non-productive. Thats not teaching. You have to teach in order to get things corrected. Theres two pictures - the two-game losing streak and being 9-3. We have to get back to the things that got us to this point. The next one is huge to maintain where were at. The sky has not fallen yet. Were still No. 1, and we need to stay there this week. Fitzgerald is labeled probable to face the Chiefs and help Arizona try to maintain an unbeaten record at its University of Phoenix home. The Cardinals have lost just once there in their last 11 games. Weve played well at home, and this is a great opponent, Arians said. Jamaal Charles is playing as well as any running back has in a while. Hes always an unbelievable challenge. WHAT TO WATCH FOR What Can Brown Do? Rookie wide receiver John Brown has been a home-field phenomenon for the Cardinals in 2014, making 25 of his 39 receptions and scoring all five of his touchdowns there. Considering that Arizonas leading rusher, Andre Ellington, is listed as doubtful with a lingering hip injury, its likely that the third- round pick from tiny Pittsburg State will become a go-to as Stanton continues to seek offensive comfort. Go Wide, Young Man Its a pretty remarkable stat that a quality team like the Chiefs - even after 12 games - has still not generated a single touchdown catch from a wide receiver. Indeed, Smiths 15 TD throws have been divvied up among tight ends (eight) and running backs (seven), though Dwayne Bowe leads the team with 46 catches. Arizona is just 27th in the league is pass defense, so the drought could soon end. OVERALL ANALYSIS His teammates have said all the right things and his coach still insists that teaching is the way to end the recent doldrums, but the reality is that the Cardinals with Stanton at the helm are simply different than theyd been with Palmer. Hes got to play nearly mistake-free to win football games, and against a near-elite team like Kansas City, thats a tough task to complete. In fact, it says here that he wont. Sports Network predicted outcome: Chiefs 24, Cardinals 14 ' ' '