Streaking Blue Jackets top Red Wings in shootout

DETROIT — The Columbus Blue Jackets are on a roll at the expense of the Detroit Red Wings.

Ryan Johansen and Matt Calvert scored in the shootout, and the streaking Blue Jackets beat the Red Wings 3-2 on Sunday to complete a home-and-home sweep.

Derick Brassard and R.J. Umberger had goals in regulation, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves through overtime for Columbus, which has won five straight. The Blue Jackets topped the Red Wings 3-0 in Columbus on Saturday.

The Blue Jackets are 5-0-2 in their last seven games after getting only 12 points in their first 19.

“Guys are working really hard,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “They earned all the points that we’ve gotten over the past six, seven games or whatever it is.”

Four of the five wins in their streak have come either in overtime or a shootout.

Columbus went 4-0-1 in the season series with Detroit.

“They’ve been giving it to us. It’s great to come back strong,” Brassard said.

It will likely be the last divisional game between the teams because of the NHL’s proposed realignment plan that could be in effect next season. Both the Blue Jackets and Red Wings would move to the Eastern Conference but to different divisions.

Jakub Kindl and Johan Franzen scored for Detroit in regulation, and Jimmy Howard stopped 19 shots. Pavel Datsyuk scored the Red Wings’ only goal in the shootout.

“It definitely is frustrating we couldn’t pick up the second point there, but on the bright side we still got one,” Howard said. “They’re tough. They play a tough style. They dump the puck in and then they all fall back in their own zone. All five of them are just standing there in front of the net, and it’s tough to get pucks through.”

Franzen tied it 2-2 with a 5-on-3, power-play goal 25 seconds into the third period. Franzen fired a one-timer from the inside edge of the right circle off a pass from Damien Brunner for his fifth goal.

Johansen was already in the penalty box for slashing when on the ensuing faceoff, Umberger handled the puck with his hand in the final minute of the second period.

“If you give them, with their skill players, that much time on a 5-on-3, they’re going to capitalize,” Johansen said.

The first three goals of the game were scored in a 1:15 span early in the second period, and the Blue Jackets held a 2-1 lead after the flurry.

Brassard opened the scoring 3:10 into the second when he beat Howard with a slap shot from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal. Kindl tied it with his third goal 30 seconds later when he beat Bobrovsky from just above the high slot with a slap shot.

Umberger capitalized on Zetterberg’s turnover and ripped a slap shot past Howard from the top of the right circle to give Columbus the lead. It was Umberger’s fifth goal.

Columbus outshot Detroit 6-4 in the first period. The Blue Jackets also continued to effectively forecheck the Red Wings as they did Saturday.

“It’s pretty hard to play here, especially back-to-back,” Brassard said. “We just had to find a way to get off to a good start. That was the key to the game, the first 10 minutes.”

NOTES: Detroit D Ian White returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous six games. He replaced rookie Brian Lashoff, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday. … Columbus C Artem Anisimov missed his second game because of a lower body injury. … Detroit forward Valtteri Filppula missed his seventh game due to a shoulder injury.

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Source: Giants, DL Jenkins agree to $8M deal

Updated: March 10, 2013, 7:40 PM ET

ESPN.com news services

The New York Giants and veteran defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins have agreed to a three-year contract worth $8 million, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

NFL Free Agency

NFLThe NFL’s free-agent frenzy officially begins Tuesday, March 12 and ESPN.com will keep you updated with all the twists and turns of the signing period.

• NFL Nation: Bloggers’ analysis
• Updated free-agent tracker
• Rumor Central: The latest buzz Insider
• Polian: Insider Top available | Team needs
• Pro Football Focus: Top 50 FAs Insider

The deal includes a $2 million signing bonus and $3 million in guaranteed money, according to the source.

Jenkins joined the Giants less than two weeks after being cut by the rival Eagles, who parted ways with the nine-year veteran following two sub-par seasons in Philadelphia.

Jenkins was part of the Eagles’ free-agent spending spree in 2011 when he left the Green Bay Packers to join Philadelphia on a five-year, $25 million deal.

The 32-year-old Jenkins started all 32 games after signing with the Eagles and had 9.5 sacks in his two seasons for Philadelphia, including four last season. Jenkins, who spent his first seven NFL seasons in Green Bay, has 38.5 sacks in 125 career games.

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Struggling Canucks head to Minnesota for Wild date

(Sports Network) – The Vancouver Canucks will try to avoid their longest losing streak in over two years when they visit the Minnesota Wild in Sunday’s battle at Xcel Energy Center.

The Canucks have lost three straight games (0-1-2), matching their longest skid of this shortened season. Vancouver hasn’t gone four straight without a win in the regular season since an 0-1-3 funk from Jan. 16-22, 2011.

Vancouver suffered its two most recent setbacks after regulation and the club dropped a 2-1 overtime decision Thursday night at Columbus. Matt Calvert‘s goal with 57 seconds left in overtime lifted the Blue Jackets to the win at Nationwide Arena.

Henrik Sedin provided the lone goal for the Canucks, losers in five of their last six tilts. Cory Schneider stopped 25 of the 27 shots he saw in the setback.

“There were some chances (to score) at the end there, maybe they may not have been the quality looks you need in this league,” Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault said. “We need to do a better job getting the goaltender’s eyes away so he doesn’t see the puck. We had some shots and we had a few opportunities, but maybe not the quality we needed to score.”

The Canucks have scored five goals during its three-game slide and Vancouver is 0-for-8 on the power play over that span.

Vancouver has played the last three games without defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who is questionable for Sunday with a groin injury. Bieksa leads all Canucks’ defenseman with five goals this season and is third on the team in ice time.

The Canucks are 5-3-3 on the road this season and are playing the middle portion of a three-game swing on Sunday. Vancouver will close the trip Tuesday with another game in Columbus.

Minnesota won for the second time in three games Saturday, beating the Nashville Predators in a shootout at Bridgestone Arena.

Matt Cullen posted the winner in the final round of the shootout, lifting the Wild to a 2-1 road win. Cullen began the third round with a successful wrister after using several quick stick moves to fool Pekka Rinne, and the Wild escaped with a victory after David Legwand rang his backhander off the right post.

“We need all the points we can get right now and this extra one is big,” said Cullen. “At the end of the season these shootout points will mean the difference between making or not making the playoffs.”

Zach Parise scored in regulation and Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild, winners in four of their last six games.

Minnesota enters Sunday in ninth place in the West, but the Wild are just one point behind San Jose and Phoenix for the conference’s last two playoff spots. The Coyotes are idle on Sunday, while the Sharks play in Colorado.

The Canucks are 2-0 against Minnesota this season, winning regulation games in Vancouver and St. Paul. Vancouver has claimed five of six and nine of the past 11 encounters in this series overall and the Wild have dropped two of three on home ice.

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Siegel: Reimer shoulders burden of Leafs’ shootout loss

TORONTO – Hunched back in his dressing room stall James Reimer appeared as you would rarely see him. Shoulders slumped. Arms folded. A piercing stare of anger gripping his face.

“Just feeling like you let down the team,” he told TSN.ca on Saturday evening, following a 5-4 shootout loss to the Penguins at the Air Canada Centre, a defeat which snapped a personal six-game win streak.

Reimer had a difficult night in the Toronto crease, four goals escaping him on the first 25 shots, three of which were direct consequences of his struggles with the puck. He battled in spirited fashion though, stopping all 13 shots in the third frame as his team rallied to knot the score at four, the 24-year-old adding three more crucial stops in overtime. But faced with his first shootout of the season and one last shot at self-perceived redemption, Reimer could not get the job done. James Neal and Sidney Crosby scored to ice the Pittsburgh victory.

“There’s games where you don’t play well,” he continued, his emotions raw after the loss, “and sometimes you don’t get a chance to be the difference and it’s frustrating and it sucks, but you move on and you be better the next day. And tonight’s double because you had a chance to redeem yourself and you didn’t. It’s like a double letdown I guess you could say.”

And while he took note of a valiant effort in the third period and overtime – including a memorable stop on Crosby in the final minute – it was clear the disappointment of not finishing the job stung.

“That’s what I pride myself on,” he said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way, but you’re able to battle and battle back and give them a chance to win or give them a chance to get a point. And then when you get that chance to give them the win I’d like to think or expect myself to be that guy that can step up and make those saves in the shootout and try and get a win. I gave them a chance to get back in the game and get a point, but I had a chance to win it in the shootout. That’s what’s so frustrating.”

Five Points

1. Reimer’s fight

Reimer had strung together six consecutive wins before he was defeated on Saturday.
“I think that James Reimer fought the puck in a few situations where the puck was bouncing away from him,” Randy Carlyle said. “He wasn’t catching the puck effectively early in the game and I thought he got a lot better, made some big stops late in the hockey game for us.”

Three of the four goals he allowed were of his own making; markers from Crosby and Paul Martin the result of poor rebound control, the fourth goal from Pascal Dupuis a misplay on a back-hand from behind the goal. Neal then squeaked a puck five-hole in the shootout followed by Crosby’s winner.

“Our goalie didn’t look comfortable in the shootout either,” Carlyle added.

2. Incomplete efforts

Even though his team fell in Boston two nights earlier, Carlyle was quite proud of the effort his group managed to give opposite a member of the Eastern elite.

“Our goal and our challenge right now is to get this hockey club to play similar to the way we did in Boston,” said Carlyle before the shootout loss to Pittsburgh. “We lost that hockey game, but we played very well … No excuse not having that tonight.”

And while they finished strong against the Penguins, Saturday evening was not a complete effort. The Leafs were on their heels for the near-entirety of the opening period, Pittsburgh outshooting the home side 13-5 and emerging with a 3-1 lead.

“I think our team decided we were going to change the way we were playing because it was going to be a real long night if we didn’t,” said Carlyle, noting his team’s struggles at even-strength.

“Twenty minutes we weren’t playing the way that we need to play and for 40 minutes we pushed the pace and we played that up-tempo game that we have to play,” Dion Phaneuf told TSN.ca after a 29-minute, three assist performance. “And you could see the totally different results. The biggest thing is we just didn’t start well enough.”

It’s a common refrain to search for the 60-minute effort, but the Leafs have eked out victories – Ottawa and New Jersey most recently – in spite of it, a habit Carlyle would like eliminated as best possible. “In the NHL you have to play 60 minutes to win and we’ve been fortunate to only have to 40 or 20 or whatever number you want to describe,” added Carlyle. “And that has to change for us.”

3. Matchup issues

No team in the National Hockey League offers the matchup challenge the Penguins impose with the one-two combination of Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Carlyle’s early strategy looked as follows:

Matchup 1: Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Dion Phaneuf, Korbinian Holzer versus Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis.

Matchup 2: Mikhail Grabovski, Nik Kulemin, Jay McClement/Leo Komarov, Carl Gunnarsson, Mike Kostka versus Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Beau Bennett.

The matchups didn’t work. Crosby’s line scored twice in the first period, Malkin’s adding the other as the Penguins went ahead 3-1.Carlyle explained his strategy for the initial matchups as more or less “Russian against Russian”. “Crazy as it seems that’s what I do,” he said of the Grabovski taking on Malkin. “They usually have a lot of pride in competing against one another so that was my theory, but it didn’t work very good early so I changed.”

Over the final 40 minutes, Carlyle shifted the Grabovski unit – joined by Phaneuf and Cody Franson, who replaced Holzer – opposite Crosby’s line, moving the Kessel unit – joined by Gunnarsson and Kostka – against Malkin’s equally imposing trio. A shaky goal from Dupuis was all that followed.

4. Franson/Holzer flip

Sensing the rising pressure his 25-year-old rookie defender was under, Carlyle removed Holzer from the top pairing after the first frame, replacing him with Franson.

“He looked a little bit overwhelmed by the speed tonight,” Carlyle said of Holzer, who played slightly less than 15 minutes. “Any young player’s first exposure to those type of players, when you’re up against Crosby and Malkin, there’s a few wide-eyed people out there when they see them coming at them.”

Holzer had played only 15 minutes in the previous game against Boston, rejoining Mark Fraser – his partner with the Marlies – over the final two periods against Pittsburgh. With Jake Gardiner at or near the top of his game in the American League, it’s worth wondering if and when a move is made.

5. Gunnarsson health update

Gunnarsson continues to make due with an ongoing hip issue, one he expects to linger all season.

“It’s good,” he told TSN.ca before Saturday’s game. “It’s tough playing back-to-backs and all that, [but] it’s actually been better than I thought. It’s going in the right direction every day here. It’s getting better actually.”

Gunnarsson missed eight games with the injury earlier this year, returning to the lineup in mid-February. Offered the metaphor of a bothersome pebble in the shoe as a comparison to his injury, the 26-year-old agreed, noting some nights where the pebble (or injury) is more like a big rock and thus more painful and other nights where the pebble is barely noticeable at all.

“Against Boston I didn’t think about it,” he said. Gunnarsson logged 24-plus minutes against the Penguins.

Quote of the Night

“I gave them a chance to get back in the game and get a point, but I had a chance to win it in the shootout. That’s what’s so frustrating.”

-James Reimer, on his performance against the Penguins.
 
Stat Watch

2-4-0: Reimer’s record when facing 30 shots or more.

7-0-0: Reimer’s record when facing 29 shots or fewer.

3: Assists for Dion Phaneuf, his highest total in a single game this season.

47-51 or 92%: Toronto penalty kill over the past 16 games, perfect in three chances against the Penguins.

84.3%: Toronto penalty kill this season, now tied for seventh overall.

7: Points for Phil Kessel over the past four games, including a three-point night (one goal, two assists) versus Pittsburgh.

12: Points for Clarke MacArthur in the past 11 games, including a two-point effort on Saturday.

14: Goals for James van Riemsdyk this season, tied for fifth best overall.

Minute Watch

28:50: Dion Phaneuf, his second highest total of the season.

Up Next

The Leafs head to Winnipeg for a Tuesday matchup with the Jets at MTS Centre.

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Oladipo, Olynyk headline list of Wooden finalists

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Updated: March 9, 2013, 11:42 AM ET

By Andy Katz | ESPN.com

The race for the Wooden Player of the Year award is probably as wide open as it has ever been heading into the final weekend of the regular season and conference tournaments.

Wooden Award Candidates

The Wooden Award committee released its final 15 players on Saturday. The winner will be announced at the Final Four in Atlanta.

Name Yr. Pos. School
Trey Burke So. G Michigan
Erick Green Sr. G Virginia Tech
Shane Larkin So. G Miami (FL)
Doug McDermott* Jr. F Creighton
Ben McLemore Fr. G Kansas
Victor Oladipo Jr. G Indiana
Kelly Olynyk Jr. F Gonzaga
Mason Plumlee Sr. F Duke
Otto Porter, Jr. So. F G’town
Marcus Smart Fr. G Okla. St.
Deshaun Thomas Jr. F Ohio St.
Jeff Withey Sr. C Kansas
Nate Wolters Sr. G South Dakota St.
Cody Zeller So. F Indiana
* — Player was 2012 Wooden All-American

The Wooden Award committee released its final 15 players, with a few players who didn’t make the midseason list but are sure to be finalists for first-team Wooden All-American spots (announced on Katz Korner on ESPNU at 4 p.m. ET on April 1).

Indiana junior Victor Oladipo and Gonzaga junior Kelly Olynyk weren’t listed on the midseason list but are both contenders for the National Player of the Year award and should be first-team All-Americans. Olynyk already won the WCC Player of the Year award. Oladipo is in a tight battle for Big Ten Player of the Year with Michigan sophomore guard Trey Burke and Indiana teammate, sophomore forward Cody Zeller. Burke is considered a top-three finalist for the Wooden award while Zeller probably won’t finish in the top five due to Oladipo and Burke canceling him out coming out of the Big Ten.

Creighton junior Doug McDermott, who is the Missouri Valley Player of the Year, is a leading contender to finish in the top three in the Wooden Award as well. McDermott is the only repeat Wooden Award All-American from 2012.

Georgetown sophomore Otto Porter, Jr., has become a clear favorite for Big East Player of the Year and a likely first-team Wooden Award All-American. Porter has the potential to make a late surge to win the National Player of the Year award, as Oladipo and Burke could split Big Ten voting.

The other potential first-team All-Americans come out of the Big 12, where Kansas’ Ben McLemore and Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart will compete for the Player of the Year award in the conference with fellow Wooden Award top-15 finalist Jeff Withey of Kansas. The one other Big 12 candidate for Player of the Year in the conference who was omitted from the final 15 was Kansas State’s Rodney McGruder.

Smart and McLemore are the likely finalists for the national freshman of the year with UNLV’s Anthony Bennett, who also made the Wooden Award top 15 out of the Mountain West. One omission from the MWC was a possible conference player of the year in New Mexico’s Kendall Williams.

The ACC is well represented on the final 15 with three players, one of which will push for a spot on the Wooden Award all-American list. Miami’s Shane Larkin is likely going to be the ACC Player of the Year for his impact on the Hurricanes. Duke’s Mason Plumlee was an early-season leader but hasn’t taken on as much of a role lately with the play of Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly. And Virginia Tech’s Erick Green has been a consistent scorer but is unlikely to win the award since he is playing on a losing team.

The final two spots on the list went to Ohio State’s DeShaun Thomas and South Dakota State guard Nate Wolters. Thomas and Wolters have been instrumental in their teams’ chances of an NCAA berth or, in the case of the Buckeyes, a number of key conference wins.

The Wooden Player of the Year will be announced at the Final Four in Atlanta.

Andy Katz | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com

  • Senior college basketball writer for ESPN.com
  • 22 years covering college basketball, including on TV
  • Former president of U.S. Basketball Writers Association

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Nicholls three points, Makarov 41 saves as the Blades double up the Tigers

SASKATOON – Josh Nicholls had two goals and an assist and Andrey Makarov stopped 41 shots as the Saskatoon Blades doubled up the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3 on Friday in Western Hockey League play.

Darren Dietz, Brett Stovin and Nick Zajac each had a goal and an assist for the Blades (42-22-4), who won for the first time since having their 18-game win streak snapped on Mar. 3rd by the Moose Jaw Warriors, and Brenden Walker added a single goal.

Boston Leier scored twice for the Tigers (34-31-3) and Curtis Valk had the other.

Cam Lanigan turned away 28-of-34 shots in a losing cause.

Both clubs went 1 for 4 on the power play.

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Iles posts 26 saves as Cornell opens ECAC playoffs with 4-0 win vs. Princeton

Image ryan_mhk_3813.jpg

Ryan

PRINCETON, N.J. – Junior goalie Andy Iles made 26 saves for his first career playoff shutout, and sophomore defenseman Joakim Ryan paced the offense with a goal and an assist in Cornell’s 4-0 victory against Princeton on Friday night at Hobey Baker Rink.

The victory gives ninth-seeded Cornell (13-14-3) a 1-0 lead versus eighth-seeded Princeton (10-15-5) in the best-of-three first-round series of the ECAC Hockey Championship. The Big Red can clinch the series with a victory in Game 2.

It was Iles’ second shutout of the season and first since a season-opening blanking of Colorado College on Oct. 26, 2012. Iles has a 5-1-1 record, 1.42 goals-against average and .950 save percentage in the past seven games.

The first period roared by in just 26 minutes with both teams generating only a couple of decent chances with no goals to show for it. Each squad had the advantage of one abbreivated power play — Cornell’s best chance came when Nick D’Agostino found Greg Miller cutting down the slot for a quick shot that was saved at the 8:18 mark, then Princeton’s best threat was when Rob Kleebaum’s whirling backhander from short range was foiled by Andy Iles a little more than a minute later.

The Big Red made a more concerted push toward the end of the frame, but Condon kicked out his left pad to thwart Vince Mihalek after a turnover deep in Tigers’ territory at 17:55, then flashed his catching glove to turn away Brian Ferlin’s shot from an angle about 30 seconds later.

The second period featured a similar chess match with tons of hitting and tactical maneuvers characteristic of playoff series. Cornell tightened defensively, surrendering just three shots in the middle frame, but it was also able to score a pair of goals to take an all-important lead into the third.

One of just two New Jersey natives playing in the game — Cornell sophomore defenseman Joakim Ryan — got the scoring started. Classmate Joel Lowry started the play with a rush up the left wing that was stopped. But he was able to regain possession behind the net before passing to linemate Brian Ferlin. He was then able to make a diagonal pass across the zone back to Ryan at the top of the right circle, with his wrist shot beating Princeton goalie Mike Condon at the 8:51 mark.

Iles kept the lead safe a couple of minutes later on Princeton’s best opportunity of the period, when defenseman Jeremy Goodwin joined a line rush and had a clean shot from the slot,  but Iles was equal to it, snapping the puck with his catching glove.

The Big Red then doubled its lead with just 27 seconds remaining before the intermission. Freshman defenseman Reece Willcox hit senior John Esposito with a breakaway pass up the middle. Esposito drifted a bit to the left before ripping a shot back the other way and below Condon’s glove for his 11th goal of the season.

Freshman Christian Hilbrich added a little insurance in the third period with his second collegiate goal. A deflected puck at the Cornell blue line bounced into the neutral zone, with Hilbrich sprinting away on a breakaway. He made a couple of moves before vaulting a shot over Condon’s blocker at the 5:59 mark to push the lead to 3-0.

Sophomore forward John McCarron iced the game with an unassisted empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining.

The victory improved Cornell’s all-time postseason record against Princeton to 6-2-1, but it was the program’s first playoff win at Hobey Baker Rink (1-1-1). The Big Red is now 14-2-2 under head coach Mike Schafer in its postseason openers.

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TradeCentre: Friday’s rumours from around the NHL

With the NHL Trade Deadline less than a month away, teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell. Check out today’s trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat, and follow TSN.ca each day until Deadline Day for all the updates.

Bruins getting reinforcements?

On TSN’s Insider Trading on Thursday night, Darren Dreger stated that the Boston Bruins could soon be adding Carl Soderberg from the Swedish Elite League once his current club Linkoping is out of the playoffs.

“He is 6’3″, 225 pounds and they believe he can play as a second line centre, second line winger or at worst case in their top nine,” Dreger said. “He’s the real deal.”

Blues looking for Blueline help?

According to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, the St. Louis Blues are in the market for a top-four, left-handed defenceman that can be paired with either Alex Pietrangelo or Kevin Shattenkirk. LeBron goes on to say that if the Blues can’t fill that need by the deadline, it will be something that GM Doug Armstrong will try to accomplish in the off-season.

Looking at the Rent-a-player Market

Craig Custance of ESPN.com listed the top 20 players who have expiring contracts at the end of the season that could help out teams trying to make a push. Anaheim Ducks forward Cory Perry, Ottawa Senators winger Daniel Alfredsson, New Jersey Devils forward David Clarkson, Calgary Flames winger Jarome Iginla and Washington Capitals centre Mike Ribeiro top the list.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Clarke MacArthur, Senators defenceman Sergei Gonchar and Winnipeg Jets forward Nik Antropov are other players mentioned on the list that play for a Canadian team.

Leaving the Island?

A report on NESN.com states that Islanders could move a lot of players at the deadline with forward Brad Boyes, defencemen Mark Streit and Lubomir Visnovsky and goaltender Evgeni Nabokov all being free-agents at the end of the season.

White Seeing Red

Ansar Khan of mlive.com states that while defenceman Ian White is unhappy with being scratched for the club’s last five games, that he hasn’t asked the club to trade him.

“We’re not there yet,” White said. “This is Game 5 (being scratched), you play so many games in a condensed period, it can get away from you pretty quick. All the sudden you look, after the weekend that’s seven straight games, if you don’t play.

“You just try to get a determination of where (Babcock) thinks you fit and where [GM Ken Holland] thinks you fit, now and going forward.”

The 28-year-old White is in the final year of a two-year, $5.75 million contract and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

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Jagielka ruled out of Everton clash

Image int_130308_Everybody_wants_to_get_to_Wembley_-_Fellaini.jpg

Everybody wants to get to Wembley – Marouane Fellaini

Everton’s Marouane Fellaini looks ahead to his side’s clash with Wigan in the sixth round of the FA Cup

Everybody wants to get to Wembley – Marouane Fellaini

Phil Jagielka will miss Everton’s FA Cup quarter-final against Wigan on Saturday, but manager David Moyes hopes the defender’s absence will be a short one.

Everton reportedly turned down Arsenal's previous bid for Phil Jagielka

GettyImagesEverton defender Phil Jagielka faces a spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury

• Blog: Quarter-final looming

The 30-year-old suffered a badly gashed ankle in the opening minutes of last weekend’s 3-1 Premier League victory over Reading after a challenge by Adam Le Fondre.

Moyes confirmed immediately after that match that Jagielka would need surgery to stitch up the wound, and he will not risk him against Wigan. John Heitinga is likely to line up alongside Sylvain Distin in central defence.

The Toffees boss refused to put a timescale on when Jagielka might return, but he would appear to be in contention for the home game against Manchester City next weekend.

“We think it’ll be not too long before he’s back. We hope we’ll get him back quite quickly,” he said.

Moyes added that he would make a late call on whether to restore goalkeeper Tim Howard, who missed the Reading match with a back injury – the first Premier League game he had missed since September 2007.

Former Slovakia international Jan Mucha, who replaced Howard last Saturday, will continue in goal if needed.

“Tim’s doing OK,” Moyes said. “We’ve not made a decision on him yet.”

Moyes is hoping for FA Cup success as he bids to win his first trophy as Everton manager, with the club seeking to end a wait for silverware stretching back to 1995.

“The cup’s important for us. It’s important for everybody. No matter what anybody says, they want to get to the final. But we’ve got a few hard games if we’re going to achieve that,” Moyes said.

Midfielder Marouane Fellaini, meanwhile, has vowed to do all he can to steer clear of disciplinary trouble as he bids to play a full part in Everton’s push for cup glory.

Fellaini missed the FA Cup fifth-round replay win over Oldham with an ankle injury, but returned against Reading to head his 12th goal of the season.

The Belgium international is aware that he has to watch his step with referees, having collected eight bookings this season. If he were to collect two more yellow cards before April 14, he would incur a two-match suspension.

Fellaini has already served two suspensions this season, having missed the 1-1 draw at home to Norwich on November 24 after picking up five bookings, then collecting a three-match ban over Christmas when television evidence showed he headbutted Ryan Shawcross off the ball as Everton were held 1-1 at Stoke on December 15.

“I will try not to get any yellow cards until April, but it might happen because this is football,” Fellaini told Everton’s official website.

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Marty Mornhinweg: New York Jets will be aggressive

The flavorless Jets offense of a year ago won’t be returning to New York this season, according to Marty Mornhinweg.

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The team’s new offensive coordinator is anxious to install his West Coast scheme in hopes of reviving an attack that crumbled to 30th in the league in 2012.

“We’re gonna go after people,” Mornhinweg told the team’s official site. “There’s different ways to go after people, but we’re going to go after ‘em and we’re going to play to our players’ strengths rather than concerning ourselves too much about their weaknesses. If a man can’t do that, then we’ll get another player that can for that particular play.”

These words sound brilliant in March, but the Jets currently employ the same trio of quarterbacks — Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow and Greg McElroy — they went into battle with last season.

No matter what the Jets say, Tebow is gone, but Sanchez lingers. Pro Football Focus graded him as the second-worst passer in the league for the second year running in 2012. Over his career, Sanchez has never completed more than 40 percent of his passes under pressure, something he saw plenty of last season.

Mornhinweg has inherited a grisly mess, but waxed optimistic this week about his stable of quarterbacks.

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“Some of the great ones have really not thrown for such great accuracy,” Mornhinweg said. “Steve Young was astronomical accuracy-wise. Brett Favre wasn’t. They all come in different shapes and sizes. Those guys that throw for a little bit less accuracy typically generating a little bit bigger plays on occasion. There’s a little bit of a tradeoff there.”

Young and Favre are memories and the Jets have nothing close. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the team go on a hunt for new blood. Matt Moore is off the market — he would have been better than anything New York has at the moment — but there’s also the draft. Bottom line: Four years after rolling the dice on Sanchez, it’s time for the Jets to rethink the equation.

Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.

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