News & Neuigkeiten » Pirates after a brief return to Triple-A Indiana

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Kesler says he turned his October goal-scoring drought into a November bonanza with the same determination and a little more luck.There was nothing lucky about his hard work on another game-winning goal for the Anaheim Ducks.Kesler scored the tiebreaking goal on a rush to the net with 3:40 to play, and Anaheim snapped the New Jersey Devils five-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.You get chances in a game, and its nice when you can bury them, Kesler said with a shrug. Im going to keep riding this wave for as long as I can.After struggling for long stretches of the first 50 minutes against the tough, disciplined Devils, the Ducks took the lead with determination. Jakob Silfverberg controlled the puck behind the net and centered it to Kesler, who outmuscled Travis Zajac in the slot and forced home a backhand for his team-leading eighth goal -- including six in the last six games.Hes strong, Silfverberg said of Kesler. The goal he scored tonight, I dont know how many battles he won in front of the net before he put the puck in.Rickard Rakell and Silfverberg scored 16 seconds apart in the second period to tie it for the Ducks, who took sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division standings with their fifth victory in six games. Jonathan Bernier made 27 saves for the Ducks, who have won the first two on a five-game homestand.Its tough to play against that team, said Silfverberg, who has seven points in the last four games on his line with Kesler and Andrew Cogliano. They play super-aggressive hockey and you dont get a lot of scoring chances. They controlled the first period, but we got going.The Ducks have won four straight at home overall, and theyve beaten New Jersey three straight times at Honda Center for the first time since 1995-97.Kyle Quincey had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who had been on their longest streak since February 2013. Devante Smith-Pelly also scored against his former team, and Cory Schneider stopped 20 shots in New Jerseys second stop on a four-game road trip.It was a chippy game, Schneider said. We did a lot of things we wanted to do, but a couple of breakdowns against that team, and they find a way to make you pay.While the Devils largely felt good about another road effort, they failed to earn a point for just the second time in 12 games, and their power-play drought stretched to 0 for 25 over the past two weeks.The way we played tonight we shouldve at least gotten one (point), but we didnt, Schneider said.The Devils played their second game without leading scorer Taylor Hall, who will be out for at least three weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.Smith-Pelly put New Jersey ahead with a deflection of Quinceys point shot for his second goal of a quiet season. Quincey put another long shot cleanly past Bernier 3 1/2 minutes later for his second goal of the season and his first multipoint game since Oct. 13, 2015.But moments after Rakells fifth goal in nine games trickled over the line, Silfverberg beat Schneider with a nasty wrist shot for the tying goal, his sixth of the season.Yohann Auvitu, the Devils surprising French rookie defenseman, missed his first game of the season due to an upper-body injury. New Jersey had used the same six defensemen in every game this season before Jon Merrill stepped in for Auvitu.Game notes Three Devils were recently Ducks: D Ben Lovejoy, F Kyle Palmieri and Smith-Pelly. ... Devils RW Beau Bennett is a Gardena, California, native who attended Valley Christian High School, 15 miles from Honda Center. ... Ducks F Joseph Cramarossa went to the dressing room late in the first period after colliding harshly with Rakell. Cramarossa didnt return.UP NEXTDevils: After a day off in LA, they face the Kings on Saturday afternoon.Ducks: The homestand continues Sunday when the Los Angeles Kings visit for the second Freeway Faceoff of the season. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Carolina Hurricanes Shirts .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Fake Hurricanes Jerseys . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. MILWAUKEE -- After taking three of four from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Milwaukee Brewers will look to keep their momentum going Friday when they open a three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park.The Brewers home park has been a house of horrors for the Pirates, who have dropped 61 of 78 games there since 2007. The Brewers have had their way with Pittsburgh in general, posting a 100-56 mark against the Pirates during that same stretch -- the second-highest winning percentage by one team over a divisional foe during that span.Itll be up to Junior Guerra to keep it going. The 31-year-old rookie will take the mound Friday for his 16th start of the season but in search of his first victory since July 4.Guerra pitched well in his three starts since, holding opponents to five runs with 13 strikeouts in 18 innings of work, but the Brewers have managed just eight runs in those contests.He held the Cubs to just one unearned run over 6 1/3 innings in his last start, dropping his season ERA to 2.85.I thought he was great, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. He did more of the same from him. I thought kind of early in the game he got some three-ball counts on some guys and some deeper counts on some guys. But he still really recovered from them. The four walks today was a little high for him. Maybe his stuff wasnt quite as crisp as its been in the paast, and still, he did everything he possibly needed to do to have a good game.ddddddddddddGuerra faced the Pirates twice in his brief career, including his only start against them on July 18, when he took no decision after allowing two runs on three hits and struck out six over six innings.Pittsburgh will hand the ball to rookie left-hander Steven Brault, who will return to the Pirates after a brief return to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he turned in back-to-back scoreless six-inning outings.Brault made his major league debut on July 5, allowing two runs -- one earned -- on four hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks over four innings of work. A Gregory Polanco error smeared his line score a bit and likely made his debut outing a little bit shorter than planned.I was less nervous at first than I thought. When I got into trouble, then it hit me a little bit, but overall I reacted well, Brault said after the game. I tried to keep doing what Ive been doing. With all the guys around me, its easy to feel comfortable on the mound and let my defense do the work. I tried to be myself and had a lot of fun.After the game, he was optioned back to Indianapolis, where he had gone 2/3 with a 2.31 ERA in nine starts to open the season. ' ' '