The Vancouver Canucks ended a lengthy losing streak in their first appearance after the Olympics. Theyll shoot for another positive result when they host the Minnesota Wild in tonights clash at Rogers Arena. The Canucks went into the NHLs Olympic break mired in an 0-7-0 slump, but halted that slide with Wednesdays 1-0 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues. It had been Vancouvers longest stretch of regulation losses since the 1998-99 season, but goaltender Eddie Lack helped snap the skid with a 20-save shutout performance. "Lack was outstanding," Vancouver head coach John Tortorella said of his rookie goaltender. "Key saves at key times. He calms this team down." Jannik Hansen provided the offense needed for Vancouvers recent win, scoring the games only goal late in the third period. After outshooting St. Louis 28-17 over the first 40 minutes, Vancouver finally broke the scoreless deadlock late in the third when Tom Sestito picked up the puck along the right midboards in his own zone and backhanded a beautiful outlet pass to Hansen. Hansen corralled the disc near the red line and split two defenders near the blue line before skating into the inner half of the right circle and rifling a wrister under the right arm of Jaroslav Halak to make it 1-0 at the 11:13 mark. The Canucks played Wednesdays game without forward Ryan Kesler, who is dealing with a bruised right hand. The American Olympian has been the subject of trade rumours ahead of next weeks deadline and returns to the lineup for tonights tilt. Despite the win on Wednesday, Vancouver was knocked out of a playoff position while idle on Thursday as Dallas moved into the eighth spot in the West with a win over Carolina. The Canucks are tied with Phoenix and one point back of the Stars. Lack will get another start tonight while Roberto Luongo sits this one out. Luongo won his second gold medal with Team Canada in Sochi after playing a backup role to Carey Price. Tonights test marks the final test for Vancouver before hosting Ottawa in Sundays outdoor battle at BC Place. The Wild posted a third straight win when they came back from the break to post Thursdays 3-0 victory in Edmonton. Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves for his second shutout of the season to anchor the win. Mikael Granlund, Stephane Veilleux and Dany Heatley scored for the Wild, who will aim for their first four-game winning streak since Jan. 2-9. "I thought that our guys had a real good focus on defending tonight and doing it the right way," Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo said. Kuemper is expected to get the start again tonight. Niklas Backstrom is dealing with an abdominal problem at the moment, but he was able to dress as the backup on Thursday. The Wild, who are seventh in the West and six points ahead of the Canucks, are completing a two-game road trip tonight. Minnesota is 11-14-5 as the away team this season. Minnesota beat the a visiting Canucks team 3-2 in a shootout on Dec. 17, giving the Wild wins in three straight and four of the last six meetings in this series. Vancouver, however, has dominated the Wild in B.C. in recent seasons, winning 11 straight at Rogers Arena in this series before Minnesota halted that streak with a 3-1 win on March 18 of last season. Nike Air Max Outlet Canada .Those stars, most notably the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and must be better as the Leafs look ahead to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers this weekend. Air Max Thea Canada . The best round belonged to Pat Perez. Tiger Woods didnt come close to claiming either Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where the seven-time champion failed to break par in the opening round for first time in his career. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air...a-sale.html.com) - Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Air Force played spoiler with a 27-24 win over 21st- ranked Colorado State on Friday. Nike Air Max Motion Canada . On Thursday, they signed former Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Nike Air Max Uptempo Canada . Didnt need any help this time. Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night.For the first time in more than 60 years, the British Open is headed across the Irish Sea. The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. That was the only time it was held outside Scotland or England since the Open began in 1860. "We have every confidence Royal Portrush will prove to be an excellent venue in every way," R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said. "There is passionate support in Northern Ireland and we expect there will be huge interest." Dawson said it was the "worst-kept secret," although one mystery remains -- the year. To bring the links course up to modern standards of a major championship, the R&A has recommended using the golf architecture firm Mackenzie & Ebert to create new 17th and 18th holes. Royal Portrush club members would have to sign off on the proposal, though that is likely to be a formality. The next available date is 2019. Dawson said it could be "a year or two longer than that." "It has been more than 60 years since the Open was played here, and its been too long," Dawson said. "And were very excited to be coming back." For years, there has been a quiet push to bring the Open back to Portrush and the movement picked up momentum with the success of three players from Northern Ireland. Graeme McDowell won the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Darren Clarke captured the British Open a year later at Royal St. Georges. Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open in 2011 and then the PGA Championship in 2012. Throw in Padraig Harrinngton, and Irish golfers won seven of 22 majors during one stretch.dddddddddddd What really caught Dawsons attention was when Royal Portrush staged a wildly successful Irish Open in 2012, which attracted some 130,000 fans for the week. And then Martin Ebert suggested the right changes to the links course to make it all work. More than just a golf course, the Open now requires room for such amenities as a television compound and a tented village. Dawson said the R&A would be investing several million pounds (dollars), without giving a more detailed estimate. "No Open venue is immune from the march of time," he said. "They all move and they all have to keep up. This isnt any different from that, except that it hasnt had an Open for a long time." Portrush also has held the Senior British Open six times, and is hosting the British Amateur this week. The British Open this year is being played at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, which had gone 39 years until it returned to the rotation in 2006 with a popular win by Tiger Woods. Turnberry off the Ayrshire coast in Scotland went 17 years without an Open, despite a history that include the famous "Duel in the Sun" between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. That required work on the roads to alleviate traffic. Dawson said the work involved to get Royal Portrush in shape for an Open "is a little bit more." "That perhaps reflects the time gap," he said. "Its over 60 years since the championship has been here. The requirements of a modern championship are very different from what they were then. But its something thats manageable." ' ' '