Aron Baynes to put San Antonio up 81-71 entering the fou

The Chicago Blackhawks filled their hole at second-line centre by securing the services of a veteran at a cut-rate price. Numbers Game looks at the Blackhawks signing Brad Richards. The Blackhawks Get: C Brad Richards. Richards, 34, has been a productive scorer throughout his career, but that productivity has waned as he approaches his mid-thirties. While he finished with a respectable 51 points in 82 games last season, that 0.62 points per game represented a career low and the second-lowest rate of his career was in 2012-2013, when he had 0.74 points per game. The downward trend is pretty clear at this point. He played 18:40 per game last season, his lowest average time on ice since his rookie season in 2000-2001. Given the massive contract that Richards had with the New York Rangers (nine years, $60-million), and the new recapture penalties that were imposed in the latest collective bargaining agreement, the Rangers had little choice but to buy out Richards, after paying him $33-million for the first three years of his deal. A long and productive career leaves Richards with few needs financially, so he went into his newfound free agency looking for a good fit and settled on joining the Blackhawks, a Stanley Cup contender who could use an upgrade at their second-line centre spot. In the past couple years, even as his point production has started to fall, Richards has had his zone starts tilted towards the offensive zone, with more than 65% of his shifts starting in the offensive zone. As a result, hes had strong possession stats, which may be enough to suggest that, even in decline, in a sheltered role, Richards would be an upgrade on Michal Handzus as Chicagos number two centre. In Chicago, there is a good opportunity for Richards to have a productive year. Any combination of the Blackhawks top scoring wingers includes Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad, so playing with two of them ought to give Richards a chance to have decent even-strength production. Whether Richards can match last seasons scoring totals, however, probably will have some dependence on power play production and, over the past couple seasons, Richards has really struggled to produce with the man advantage. Furthermore, Richards presence likely means that top Blackhawks prospect Teuvo Teravainen wont be starting the season in Chicago and that may be fine for his overall development, but if Teravainen shows that hes ready, it would be easy enough to see Richards bumped down the depth chart, as has happened from time to time with the Rangers over the past couple seasons. There is a benefit to the contract that Richards signed with Chicago -- a one-year, $2-million deal -- in that his declining production in New York was frequently contrasted with how much money the Rangers had tied up to get him. Now, Richards is a bargain signing and if he gives Chicago decent second-line production, he would bring a positive return on investment. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Bob Lilly Jersey . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Taco Charlton Womens Jersey . He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo. https://www.cowboyssportsgoods.com/Womens-Terrell-Owens-Inverted-Jersey/ . The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back. Michael Irvin Youth Jersey . The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes. Michael Gallup Youth Jersey . First, the Red Wings scored the tying goal after officials missed the puck hitting the protective netting, then the Kings wound up losing in a shootout. That could affect playoff positioning in the Eastern and Western Conferences, and thats a concern for everyone.SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, and the San Antonio Spurs held off the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-86 on Sunday night for their fourth straight win. Tim Duncan had 15 points and Tony Parker added 14 points and 10 assists for Western Conference-leading San Antonio. Matt Bonner also scored 14 points -- including 4-for-5 shooting on 3-pointers -- and Marco Belinelli had 13 points and Patty Mills added 10. Nikola Pekovic scored 22 points to lead Minnesota. Kevin Love had 14 points and Alexey Shved added 11. Already without Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter, the Spurs lost Danny Green early in the second quarter to a sprained finger. Minus two of their top wings, Leonard took over in the second half. He had nine points in the third quarter, continually cutting to the basket to escape his defender for a series of dunks and layups. Leonards final basket of the quarter was a layup off an assist from Aron Baynes to put San Antonio up 81-71 entering the fourth. Leonard finished 6 for 9 from the field in the second half. Duuncan was assessed a technical foul with 4:11 left in the third quarter while awaiting the first of two free throws by Love.dddddddddddd Official Karl Lane made the call after Duncan continued protesting a non-call on his missed field-goal attempt on the previous possession. NOTES: Ginobili missed his second straight game with tightness in his left hamstring despite a four-game break between games. ... Green did not return after spraining his left index finger early in the second quarter. Making his second consecutive start after coming off the bench in 11 straight, Green missed his only field-goal attempt and had three rebounds in 9 minutes prior to the injury. ... The Timberwolves have alternated wins and losses in their past eight games. They next play at home Wednesday against Sacramento. ... Splitter (sprained right shoulder) missed his third straight game. Splitter is expected to miss another two to four weeks with the injury, which occurred early in the fourth quarter of San Antonios home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 4. ' ' '