TCU coaches insist Hill is competing with strong-arm sophomore Foster Sawyer

DETROIT -- Jimmy Howard certainly isnt playing like a backup goalie.Howard stopped 36 shots and the Detroit Red Wings beat the skidding Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Thursday night.Howard saves us again. Goaltending, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. I thought we had a good start, got the goal early but then we started to play a little too cute, let them back in the game. A little bit too stubborn with turnovers again. You cant do that against this team.After opening the season as the No. 2 man in net behind Petr Mrazek, Howard made his third consecutive start. He improved his goals-against average to 1.22 and his save percentage to .961.Howard is 4-2-0 in seven games, six starts.When I get in there, I just want to give the team a chance to win, he said.Dylan Larkin, Brendan Smith and Steve Ott scored for Detroit. Zetterberg, matched against Canucks captain and fellow Swede Henrik Sedin most of the game, had two assists.We came out good. I thought through large stretches of the game we werent good enough, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. I think were going to have to be better. Now with that said, they do a good job.Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver, which is 1-9-1 in its last 11 games. Ryan Miller made 24 saves.Miller made a spectacular stop after he began to leave the crease for an extra attacker. Zetterberg got a hold of the puck in the neutral zone and lobbed a shot at the almost-empty net, but Miller made a glove save while diving to his right.We played pretty well tonight, but it is the same story again, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. Were getting good chances and nothing is going in.Daniel Sedin cut it to 2-1 at 3:14 of the third period. He finished off a pretty back-and-forth passing play with twin brother Henrik by beating Howard with a shot from the bottom of the left circle. It was Daniel Sedins fifth goal.The Sedins were not matched against Zetterbergs line for the goal.Were playing our system and were creating chances. We just cant get anything to go in, Daniel Sedin said. We have to figure this out, because we cant keep saying this every night. Were playing well enough to win games, but we need to put the puck in the net.Otts first goal with the Red Wings restored Detroits two-goal lead with 4:46 left. He tipped in defenseman Jonathan Ericssons shot from the left point.Detroit led 2-0 after the first.Larkin opened the scoring 32 seconds into the game when he put in the rebound of Zetterbergs shot. It was Larkins team-leading fifth goal.Smith made it 2-0 with 1:47 left in the opening period. His slap shot from the point in the middle of the ice trickled through Miller for his second goal.Game notes Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou left after the first period with a lower-body injury. Athanasiou took a hit from Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin. Blashill did not have an update after the game. ... Vancouver sent forward Jake Virtanen to its American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets, on Wednesday. Virtanen has one assist in 10 games. ... Detroits healthy scratches were D Xavier Ouellet, D Ryan Sproul and LW Drew Miller, the brother of Vancouver G Ryan Miller. ... Canucks scratches were D Alex Biega and D Philip Larsen.UP NEXTCanucks: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.Red Wings: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Uk Stockists . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Cheap Yeezy Boost Uk . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. http://www.yeezytrainersuk.com/stan-smith-uk-stores.html .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Yeezy Boost Uk Shop . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Cheap Adidas Gazelle Trainers Womens . PAUL, Minn. FORT WORTH, Texas -- With the Big 12 considering expansion, TCU coach Gary Patterson knows what he believes should be expected of potential additions.Its not the conferences job to make that university better, Patterson said. Its the universitys job to make the conference better, whether its in football, academics or whatever it is.Much like what Patterson feels the Horned Frogs have done, proving themselves a good choice since TCU and West Virginia were brought into the Big 12 four years ago when Missouri and Texas A&M bolted for the SEC.When left out of the original Big 12 lineup in 1996, TCU went on to win championships in the WAC, Conference USA and Mountain West. Now transitioned into the Power Five conference, the Frogs are 23-3 the past two seasons with a share of the 2014 Big 12 title.I thought TCU was a great addition. Because we already had enough vision, Patterson said. We were building a new stadium, we were changing our facilities already, and not when we came into the new conference. We were changing everything we were doing academically.Dual-threat quarterback Trevone Boykin is gone after two record-setting seasons in TCUs potent offense, but the Frogs have 13 returning starters (seven defensive, six offensive) from last years 11-2 team. They also get back six more starters (four defensive, two offensive) who suffered season-ending injuries last year.Some things to watch at TCU in 2016:HILLS HOME: Kenny Hill gets a fresh start near home after being TCUs scout team quarterback last fall. The playmaker started his college career as the successor to Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M, but left after two seasons and spent the 2015 spring semester in junior college before enrolling at TCU. TCU coaches insist Hill is competing with strong-arm sophomore Foster Sawyer to be the starting quarterback.ddddddddddddFROM BOTH SIDES: Defensive end Josh Carraway was one of the leagues top pass-rushers with nine sacks last season when right end James McFarland was out because of a broken toe. McFarland, now back at left end, had a team-high seven sacks in 2014.HERE TO STAY: Patterson is signed through the 2021 season after a recent one-year extension. He is the schools winningest head coach with 143 wins going into his 16th season. Patterson has 10 seasons of at least 10 wins -- TCU had only four 10-win seasons before that.KEY GAMES: TCU gets a tough non-conference test at home Sept. 10 against Arkansas, whose coach was at Wisconsin when the Frogs ended their undefeated 2010 season with a Rose Bowl win over the Badgers. Big 12 favorite Oklahoma visits Oct. 1, and Oklahoma State also crosses the Red River to play TCU on Nov. 19. The Frogs go to Baylor on Nov. 5, their first trip there since that epic 61-58 loss in 2014 -- TCU won at home in double overtime over the Bears to end the 2015 regular season.PREDICTION: With all the returning experience, the Frogs should be able to reach at least 10 wins again and be near the top of the Big 12 standings in position for a possible New Years Six spot. Beat Oklahoma to start October, and TCU would have early momentum to make a push for the conference title.SEASON OPENER: Sept. 3 vs. South Dakota State. Pattersons only loss to a lower-division team was in overtime to Northwestern State of Louisiana in his first home game as TCUs coach in 2001. The Jackrabbits, a top-10 FCS team, opened last season with a 41-38 win at winless Big 12 team Kansas.---Online: AP College football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '