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CALGARY - Injuries have forced the Calgary Flames to turn to a number of reinforcements ahead of Fridays homestand-closing matchup with the Nashville Predators. The Flames hope the fresh bodies can get their offence on track before they hit the road for five in a row. Calgary has placed Mason Raymond (upper body), Matt Stajan (strained right knee) and Mikael Backlund (abdominal) on injured reserve over the past few days, while Joe Colborne, who leads the club with eight assists, also is unlikely to play tonight due to an upper-body injury. Both Colborne and Stajan were hurt in Tuesdays 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens, while Raymond landed on IR prior to that game. Backlund, meanwhile, has been battling his abdominal issue all season. Following the rash of injuries, forwards Devin Setoguchi and Brian McGrattan are expected to return to the lineup after serving as recent healthy scratches, while Markus Granlund and Michael Ferland have been recalled from the Adirondack Flames of the American Hockey League. Ferland was leading Adirondack with nine points on four goals and five assists, while Granlund had three goals and five points in eight games. The fresh faces will try to spark the offense in the finale of this homestand, one that has produced a 1-1-2 record. Calgary has scored just one goal in each loss while picking up a 5-0 win over Carolina as well. Defenseman Mark Giordano had the lone goal in Tuesdays shootout loss, while Jonas Hiller made 18 saves through overtime. We won the puck. We just couldnt capitalize on a couple of good scoring chances, said Flames coach Bob Hartley. This was one of our fastest games weve played all year. The pace was just unbelievable. From the bench I thought it was a great game to watch. Hiller will start over Karri Ramo tonight, marking the first time this season either of the two will make back-to-back starts. Hiller has allowed just three goals on 120 shots over his past four starts, but is only 4-9-4 lifetime versus the Predators with a 2.91 goals against average and .910 save percentage. Nashville resumes its six-game road trip tonight having opened the swing with Wednesdays 4-1 triumph over Edmonton. Pekka Rinne made 26 saves and Craig Smith scored a pair of goals. Taylor Beck and Shea Weber added tallies and Roman Josi chipped in a pair of assists in Nashvilles third victory in four games. Thats a hot team. They had won four in a row. We knew we had to be ready, Weber said of the Oilers. Rinne has gotten off to a 6-1-1 start this season, posting a 1.71 GAA and .936 save percentage through eight starts. He is 5-5-3 lifetime versus the Flames with a 2.77 GAA and .903 save percentage. Rinne made 26 saves and Smith had two assists in a 3-2 shootout loss to the visiting Flames on Oct. 14. Filip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro had the goals. Colborne had the shootout winner, while Giordano and fellow defenseman T.J. Brodie scored in regulation. Ramo posted 19 saves. The Predators are 6-1-2 in their past nine versus the Flames, but have lost five of their last seven trips to Calgary. . In an interview with La Presse this week, the five-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time NHL scoring leader specifically took aim at wingers Thomas Vanek and Max Pacioretty, saying they cant show up in a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final and come up empty in Game 6. . Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Nowitzki was another of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-104 Tuesday night. http://www.shoeswholesale.us/.com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers made it official Tuesday and signed pitcher Brandon McCarthy to a four-year contract. . Pearce had a career-high four hits and drove in two runs, and Wei-Yin Chen shut down Texas again as the Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night. . -- San Francisco 49ers offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman is a finalist to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State, his agent said Monday. CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-79 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night. CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving didnt need any reminders he was closing in on his first career triple double Friday night. He got plenty of help anyway. "I was trying to not think about it too much, but my teammates were hollering at me to get one more rebound, Coach (Mike) Brown was telling to get one more rebound, a couple of fans were yelling at me that I need one more," Irving said. "I said, I got you guys, dont worry. " The All-Star Game MVP had 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-79 win over the Utah Jazz. Two rebounds shy of the mark going into the fourth quarter, Irving grabbed his ninth rebound early in the period and pulled down his 10th with 4:12 to go to become the first Cleveland player with a triple double since LeBron James on March 16, 2010, at Detroit. Irving gave credit for his last rebound to centre Spencer Hawes, who joked he pulled back a bit on a missed shot by Marvin Williams. "Luckily, Spence alligator-armed that one, like he said, to let me get that last one," Irving said. Irving received standing ovations when he reached the milestone and when he was pulled from the game a few seconds later. That support went a step too far earlier in the quarter when a young fan wearing a stocking cap raced on the floor and patted Irving on the shoulder. The fan was wrestled to the floor by several policemen and security guards and led away in handcuffs. Irving joked that the fan was a long-time friend and suggested it might have been better if he had waited until after the game. "He told me loved me and I told him I loved him back," said Irving, who also had a fan enter the court at Quicken Loans Arena last season to congratulate him. "My teammates said I was scared. I dont think I looked scared. I flinched a little bit. I was surprised." Cleveland dominated the second half to earn the win and gain ground in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers trail Atlanta by 3 1/2 games for the eighth position. The final game of February capped quite a month for Irving and the team. An embarrassing loss to the depleted Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 6 stretched Clevelands losing streak to six games and general manager Chris Grant was fired the following day. Just when it looked like the season was a lost cause, the Cavaliers won six in a row and Irrving took over the All-Star Game with 31 points and 14 assists.dddddddddddd With 22 games remaining, Cleveland has a chance to reach the playoffs in Irvings third season in the NBA. "Kyrie has got so much talent, so much ability, I think the numbers are always going to be there for him," Utah forward Richard Jefferson said. "But no one is going to judge his career on numbers. The next thing for him is about winning. Thats what everyone expects to happen." Luol Deng scored 16 points as the Cavaliers placed five players in double figures. Gordon Hayward scored 18 points for Utah on the first stop of a six-game road trip. Irving scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Cavaliers turned a three-point deficit into a 63-51 lead. The margin reached 23 late in the fourth quarter. Clevelands long injury list grew when Anthony Bennett, the top pick in the draft last year, missed the game with a sore right knee. Center Anderson Varejao (sore back) and guards Dion Waiters (hyperextended left knee) and C.J. Miles (sprained left ankle) were also sidelined. Utah has lost nine of 11 on the road. The Jazz missed only one 3-pointer in seven attempts in the first quarter and built a nine-point lead. Utah maintained the lead until early in the third quarter when Irving took over. He hit a 3-pointer, scored on a twisting drive to the basket, knocked down two jumpers and hit two free throws. Irving also assisted on Alonzo Gees buzzer-beating jumper from the corner that gave Cleveland a 69-60 lead. Jefferson scored 13 points and Alec Burks added 11 for Utah. "Its the road," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "Youve got to find out how to be ready every night. Thats another thing were still learning as we try to bring this young bunch along." Rookie Trey Burke, a native of Columbus, Ohio, played his first NBA game in his home state and was held to four points on 2-of-9 shooting. Tristan Thompson had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Cleveland, and Hawes added 13 points and 16 rebounds. Hawes was given a technical foul in the third quarter, his second in five games since joining the team last week. NOTES: Bennett will be a game-time decision Saturday in Memphis. ... Jazz G John Lucas III didnt play until the final 2:46 with what the team called "gastric distress." ... Varejao missed his ninth straight game, Waiters was out for the sixth contest in a row and Miles was unavailable for the fifth consecutive game. ... All six games on Utahs trip are against Eastern Conference teams. ' ' '