(SportsNetwork. Paul Millsap Jersey .com) - Ryan Kesler should already be motivated on Thursday night given that his Anaheim Ducks have lost six of their last seven games. However, a pending reaction from the Vancouver crowd could give him some extra juice. Kesler makes his return to Vancouver on Thursday night as the Ducks try to get on track against the Canucks. The 30-year-old was a key contributor for the Canucks after they selected him 23rd overall in the 2003 draft. In 655 career games with the franchise, he had 182 goals and 211 assists while also winning the Selke Trophy in 2011. The center also impressed with seven goals and 19 points in 25 playoff games in 2011, when Vancouver made a run to the Cup Finals and lost to Boston in seven games. After Vancouver failed to make the playoffs last season following two straight first-round exits, Kesler was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks on June 27 along with a third-round pick in 2015 for forward Nick Bonino, defenseman Luca Sbisa and a first and third-round selection in 2014. Talking with (general manager) Jim (Benning) and (president of hockey operations) Trevor (Linden) over the summer, I just think we decided that it was time to move on, Kesler said. As hard of a decision that it was to waive my no-trade clause, it was something that had to be done. While Kesler is visiting Vancouver for the first time, it wont be the first time he faces the Canucks. Anaheim played host to Vancouver on Nov. 9 and lost 2-1 in a shootout, with Bonino scoring the lone tally of the tiebreaker. Kesler had a chance to extend the shootout, but his shot rang off the post, a turn of events that probably would have delighted the Vancouver crowd had the game taken place at Rogers Arena. Hopefully they appreciated the 11 years that I played here, and remember the good times. Im hoping for a warm reception, but if not, its part of the game, Kesler said of his return. Its going to be an emotional night for me, but if they boo me, itll probably jack me up even more. Its going to be fun (Thursday). Its going to be an intense night, and Im looking forward to it. Keslers Ducks are just 1-1-5 in their last seven games and struggled in Tuesdays 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames. The Flames scored three straight third-period goals to take a lead, but Kyle Palmieri tied the game in regulation on a power-play tally. Sean Monahan scored for the Flames to give his club a 2-1 edge in the shootout and Corey Perry misfired in the Ducks last attempt. Sami Vatanen had a goal with two assists and Frederik Andersen stopped 16 shots. Its inexcusable. We all need to get in there and have a couple of good shifts to start the third, said Palmieri. We knew they were going to come hard. We need to be ready to start the third period. Anaheim is expected to get a pair of players back in the lineup tonight. Defenseman Francois Beauchemin is set to return from a five-game absence caused by the mumps, while forward Devante Smith-Pelly will play for the first time in four games due to a shoulder issue. The Canucks, meanwhile, have won five of seven and nine of their last 12 games after posting a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Yannick Weber had the go-ahead goal with 8:28 left in the game, while Radim Vrbata scored twice. Ryan Miller allowed four goals on 32 shots and also saw the Oilers have a would-be tying goal waived off in the final seconds after it was ruled that David Perron kicked it in with his skate. Thats a game that the coaches probably didnt like, but we got two points, Vrbata said. Eddie Lack could get the start for the Canucks tonight and is 1-4-1 with a 3.24 goals against average and .885 save percentage lifetime versus the Ducks. Andersen is 3-0-1 with a 0.98 GAA and .970 save percentage against the Canucks. Vancouvers victory earlier this month over Anaheim snapped a six-game series losing streak and the club has dropped four straight and six of the past seven at home versus the Ducks. Gary Harris Nuggets Jersey . But its also a smart game. Theres more to the Kings than banging bodies. They take a toll mentally on their opponents. Thomas Welsh Jersey . Goldeyes third baseman Ryan Pineda drove in three runs and the pitching staff didnt allow an earned run, as Winnipeg downed Kansas City 6-3 in American Association exhibition action at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas. http://www.authenticnuggetsproshop.com/Will-Barton-Jersey/ . -- Athletics manager Bob Melvin is already starting to run out of superlatives to describe Scott Kazmir.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- On a night when each goalie was at the top of his game, it took a video review to decide the winner. Ryan Johansen scored in the fourth round of the shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. Johansens shot initially was ruled a rebound, but a video review showed that Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper did not touch the puck, making it a legal shootout goal. "Good job, Toronto," Johansen said, referring to the video review team in the NHL offices. "I knew I scored. I just didnt know what they were talking about at first." The shootout capped a night of brilliant goaltending from the Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky and Minnesotas Kuemper. Bobrovsky, last years Vezina Trophy winner, stopped 32 of 33 shots through overtime, while Kuemper finished with 28 saves. In three games at the Xcel Energy Center, Bobrovsky is 3-0 and has allowed just four goals on 90 shots. "I dont know what it is," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "I dont know if its being in Minnesota, or if theres something in this building, (but it) certainly looks like hes comfortable playing in this building, and hes the main reason why we got two points tonight." In the shootout, Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu put Minnesota ahead 2-0, but Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu rallied the Blue Jackets with goals and Bobrovsky shut down the Wild the rest of the way to set up Johansens clincher. The Wild wrapped up a four-game homestand with a 1-0-3 record. Losing three shootouts in a week could have left a sour taste in their mouths, but coach Mike Yeo chose to focus on the positives after the game. "You lose in a shootout and it paints an ugly picture. Im actually happy with the way our guys battled in this game," said Yeo, whose team increased its lead over Dallas to five points in the race for seventh place in the Western Conference. "I thought we generated some great quality chances tonight. I thought we defended hard." On a night that featured just two regulation goals and one penalty, it took almost 40 minutes ffor somebody to score. Custom Denver Nuggets Jerseys. Columbus finally broke through on a goal by Dalton Prout with 21.6 seconds to play in the second period. Prout took a pass from Jack Johnson at the top of the slot and fired a slap shot that deflected off Wild defenceman Jonas Brodins knee and past Kuemper. The Wild tied it 3:12 into the third period on Jason Pominvilles team-leading 25th goal. Parise chased down a loose puck behind Columbus net and slipped a pass out front to Pominville, who beat Bobrovsky on his glove side to make it 1-1. Bobrovsky kept it tied with a pair of sterling saves on Charlie Coyle and Kyle Brodziak midway through the third. Coyle jumped on a funny hop off the end boards for a clear shot that Bobrovsky turned away, and later in the same shift Brodziak deflected a blast from the point that the Columbus goalie smothered. Meanwhile, the Wilds rookie goalie kept them in the game. Kuemper denied Derek MacKenzie from point-blank range and steered away or swallowed up anything the Blue Jackets sent his way. "When youre seeing the goalie down there making saves, you dont want that to be the difference," Kuemper said. "You want to do your job as well. So you just try to go with him, stop for stop." Bobrovskys biggest save of the night might have been one that didnt even count. With just under 2 minutes left in regulation, Parise centred the puck from the left boards. Blue Jackets forward Nathan Horton broke up the pass but almost inadvertently tipped it past Bobrovsky, who had to scramble to get his right skate on the puck and keep it out of the net. NOTES: Columbus D Fedor Tyutin played after returning from the injured reserve list on Friday. He injured his ankle playing for Russia in the Olympics. ... With Tyutin back in the lineup, Blue Jackets D Nick Schultz was a healthy scratch. Schultz played for Minnesota from 2001-12 and still holds Minnesotas franchise record for games with 743. ... Parise, Pominville and Mikael Granland have 35 points in 12 games for since being put on the same line. ... The Wild are 7-0-3 in their last 10 home games. ' ' '