Vorstellung » Johnson reeled off five consecutive championshi

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Nikita Zadorov scored his first NHL game-winner Saturday night to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 overtime win over the Florida Panthers.I probably never had that big a goal in my life, the 19-year-old defenceman said. Its a great feeling and Im going to try to do it again.Zadorov took a crossing pass from Tyler Ennis and scored 29 seconds into overtime to cap the comeback victory, Buffalos third in a row and ninth in the past 12 games.Brian Gionta scored the tying goal with 14:33 left in regulation for the Sabres, who have overcome third period deficits in four of their last five wins.Marcus Foligno and Cody Hodgson also had goals for Buffalo and Jhonas Enroth made 25 saves.The team feels good about themselves, coach Ted Nolan said. Theyre playing hard for one another and when you do that good things happen. So right now, knock on wood, things are going good for us.Jussi Jokinen, Sean Bergenheim and Jimmy Hayes scored goals for Florida (12-8-8), which had won its last five meetings with Buffalo.Backup goaltender Al Montoya stopped 28 shots for the Panthers, who picked up three points on a three-game road trip after losing Monday in St. Louis and winning in a shootout Friday in Detroit.Overall we got three points in three tough buildings, Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. Not happy, but, I guess, satisfied going home.With the Panthers playing on short rest, the Sabres were the aggressors early, firing off the first four shots of the game and taking the lead on Hodgsons goal 2:06 into the first period.Zadorov had the secondary assist on Hodgsons goal, giving him his first career multi-point game. Pat Kaleta set up the goal with a backhand pass from the boards. It was Kaletas first point of the season and his first assist since March 7, 2012.Foligno scored to make it 2-0 with 6:55 left in the first period. It was the sixth time in seven games the Panthers have fallen behind in the first period.We have to be better in the first period, Florida defenceman Brian Campbell said.Campbell brushed off the suggestion that playing on the second night of a back-to-back contributed to the Panthers poor start.I dont think good teams use that excuse, he said.Florida was better in the second period, scoring on its first two shots to tie the game less than five minutes in.Bergenheim knocked the puck in off Zadorovs skate 1:08 into the period, then sent a pass across the crease to set up Hayes tying goal at the 4:51 mark.Zadorov was on the ice for both of the Panthers second-period goals.That was just a bad couple of shifts, bad couple bounces, bad couple goals, Zadorov said. I just forgot about that, stepped on the ice and did my job.Jokinen gave Florida its first lead 57 seconds into the third period, scoring on a slap shot from the right circle off a crossing pass from Dave Bolland.Gionta took a long pass from Tyler Myers and scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to tie the game 3-3 with 14:33 left in the third period.NOTES: The Sabres were down to four healthy defencemen by the end of regulation. Andrej Meszaros left the game in the second period after he was hit in the face by a deflected shot. Josh Gorges, Buffalos alternate captain, was injured while blocking a shot in the third period. Nolan said both players will miss Mondays game against Ottawa. . Sabres D Mike Weber underwent surgery on his left knee Friday and will miss about two weeks, coach Ted Nolan said. . Florida has gone to overtime in 11 of its 28 games, tying Anaheim for the most in the league. Cheap Vans Shoes Online . Chelsea ripped apart Hull inside 25 minutes at Stamford Bridge, with the early goals from Oscar and Frank Lampard securing a 2-0 victory. While Lampard had earlier missed a penalty, Roberto Soldado had no such trouble from the spot for Tottenham, scoring on his debut to clinch a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Vans Shoes Discount Online . According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, the Maple Leafs have trade offers on the table for the 26-year-old, but none have been deemed acceptable by the team. http://www.vanscheap.net/ . Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist and Martin Jones made just 17 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season as the Kings snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the lowly Oilers on Thursday. Vans Shoes Clearance Sale . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. Vans Shoes Clearance Outlet . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A 16-driver championship field that would be whittled down to create a winner-take-all season finale is among radical changes reportedly being considered by NASCAR. NASCAR chairman Brian France has repeatedly said he wants to place a greater emphasis on winning, and hes never ruled out tinkering with the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format in an effort to create the "Game 7 moments" he covets. The Charlotte Observer first reported Friday night a possible overhaul to the Chase format that France first introduced in 2004 and has made periodic changes to several times since. Citing anonymous sources, The Observer outlined three major changes beginning with expanding the field from 12 drivers to 16 -- meaning a win during the "regular season" would virtually guarantee a driver a spot in the field. Once the field is set, The Observer said NASCAR is considering eliminations during the 10-race Chase. The field would be cut after the third, sixth and ninth races. The proposed eliminations would drop the lowest four drivers from title contention after the third, sixth and ninth races, leaving four drivers eligible for a "winner-take-all" race in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The four remaining drivers would go into Homestead with their points reset and tied in the standings, The Observer said. A statement from NASCAR chief communications officer Brett Jewkes was non-committal on The Observer report. "NASCAR has begun the process of briefing key industry stakeholders on potential concepts to evolve its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship format," Jewkes said. "This dialogue is the final phase of a multi-year process that has included the review of extensive fan research, partner and industry feedback and other data-driven insights. NASCAR has no plans to comment further until the stakeholder discussions are complete. We hope to announce any potential changes for the 2014 season to our media and fans very soon." But driver Denny Hamlin posted a series of Tweets on Saturday afternoon that supported the format if NASCAR ultimately moves forward with the changes. NASCAR is expected to officially outline any changes later this month. "This points system change is going to be a really good thing. Trust in it and watch how exciting each chase race is going to be," Hamlin posted. Hamlin also Tweeted that every Chase race will now be as exciting as the September race at Richmond, which is the final race to set the Chase field. He also responded to two fans who criticized the format. One arggued it was "artificially construed excitement" instead of the traditional consistency that NASCAR used for decades in crowning its champion.dddddddddddd "Consistency will keep you up top," Hamlin replied. Hamlin received support from 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who replied on Twitter to him that he also liked the reported new format. "Guess we may be in the minority here," Keselowski said. NASCAR has been working feverishly behind the scenes to improve its on-track product, particularly at 1.5-mile tracks, and at least some changes are expected to the points system to meet Frances desire to put a greater emphasis on winning. France was thrilled with the finish of the March race at California, where feuding drivers Hamlin and Joey Logano relentlessly raced for the win. The two ended up wrecking -- Hamlin ended up with a broken bone in his back that sidelined him for more than a month -- and Kyle Busch slid through the carnage for the victory as a furious Tony Stewart nearly came to blows with Logano on pit road. Its that kind of competitiveness, compelling action and drama that France seeks every week. Despite introducing The Chase in 2004, NASCAR has failed to create many of those breathtaking "Game 7" moments in the finale. The debut was successful as Kurt Busch beat Jimmie Johnson for the title by eight points, and five drivers went into the 2005 finale mathematically eligible to win the championship. Then Jimmie Johnson reeled off five consecutive championships, snapped only by Tony Stewarts race-winning, championship-deciding showing in the 2011 finale. Keselowski won easily in 2012 when Johnson was felled by mechanical problems, and it was Johnson, again, in an easy Sunday drive for win No. 6 in November. So a shake up to the system wouldnt be unexpected. But it may not necessarily look like what The Observer reported -- the newspaper was clear the format is only being considered -- because its not unlike NASCAR to float ideas to gauge reaction. For example, NASCAR officials met in October with drivers to discuss an overhaul to qualifying procedures. Among the "potential" changes discussed that day was road course-style qualifying everywhere but Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR said it was considering a 60-minute drafting session for Daytona and Talladega qualifying. In reality, cars will qualify as usual next month at Daytona while NASCAR is now apparently considering three rounds of "knockout style" qualifying -- similar to what Formula One and IndyCar use -- everywhere else but Talladega. ' ' '