s is in great form having reached the third round of Wimbledon but skipped the clay-court season altogether and said last week that he been trying to persuade Sm

BOSTON -- After securing three of a possible four points on a tough two-game road trip, the Boston Bruins return home Thursday night trying to overcome three trends.The Bruins, who host the Anaheim Ducks to start a three-game homestand, are just 7-7-0 at home, where poor play caused them to miss the playoffs for the second straight year in 2015-16.They are also just 1-4-0 on the back end of back-to-back games, and a hard-fought, 4-3 overtime loss in Pittsburgh on Wednesday could make the Thursday night turnaround that much tougher.Boston also lost its past five meetings with the Ducks, getting only one of a possible 10 points in those games, over the past three seasons.Before falling in Pittsburgh, the Bruins earned a 2-1 overtime win at Montreal on Monday.We played two really tough teams the past two games and we got three points, so we have to be happy with that, said Brad Marchand, who scored in Wednesdays loss, but we have a big game (Thursday) again and we have to be prepared to have another good game.The Ducks opened a six-game road trip by playing a solid two periods at Dallas on Tuesday before the struggling Stars came through with five straight goals, four in the third period, for a 6-2 victory.I thought we played a pretty good road game up until the third period, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. We did a lot of things right, but we werent sharp in our execution because we had lots of chances to score in this hockey game. It takes 60 minutes to win a hockey game in the NHL, and we didnt play 60 minutes. We only played 40.The Ducks came into that game 6-1-1 in their previous eight games and winners of three straight but fell to 5-6-4 (three straight losses) on the road in their attempt to stay at or near the top of the Pacific Division despite losing as many games as they have won (15-10-5).The Bruins, who went into overtime in six of their past nine games, have lost four of their last five, going 1-3-1. Boston (16-12-3) scored two goals or less in 21 of its 31 games, including all five back ends of back-to-backs.We have a lot of moving pieces right now, guys are in and out of the lineup -- and when we have our whole team, we have a pretty good team and we can compete with anybody, and we know that, said Marchand, who had 10 shots on goal Wednesday but also was called for two penalties -- both leading to power-play goals.Defenseman Kevan Miller, who missed the first 19 games of the season because of a broken hand, left Wednesdays game with an upper-body injury. His status for Thursday was unknown.Julien doesnt announce his upcoming goaltender, but with Tuukka Rask playing both Monday and Wednesday, it is a good bet backup Anton Khudobin will get the start. Khudobin is 1-4 with a 3.02 goals-against average, and the team is just 1-7-0 when Rask doesnt start.Anaheim goalie John Gibson, in goal for the late blitz Tuesday, has never faced the Bruins, while Jonathan Bernier is 3-5-0 with a 3.41 GAA and a .901 save percentage against Boston.Khudobin is 0-0-1 against Anaheim, Rask an unimpressive 1-4-1 with a 3.48 GAA and a .873 save percentage. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Cheap NHL Jerseys China . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. http://www.cheapnhljerseysusa.com/ . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Wholesale Adidas Hockey Jerseys . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Leon Smith is hopeful Andy Murray will play in Great Britains Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia next weekend.The world No.2 was named in the team on Tuesday for the trip to Belgrade along with Kyle Edmund, Dan Evans, Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot.That will be cut to four ahead of the draw next Thursday, and captain Smith will fervently hope the missing member is not Murray as Britain look to continue their bid for a second successive title.The Scot has said he will play if fit after what he hopes will be a run to finals weekend at Wimbledon but it would make an already demanding schedule exceptionally gruelling.Murray would have to make a quick transition from grass to clay, and then adjust again to hard courts ahead of the defence of his Olympic title and the US Open next month.Smith said: Hes named in the team, which is already a show of his commitment, like hes always had for us. I cant say how anyones going to feel, depending on what happens this week. Hes said himself if hes fit and healthy then hell play, and thats certainly what were all hoping for.I know from the years gone by that Davis Cup is really important to him. Its one of the things he really likes playing in. Its clearly one of the events that motivates him.He enjoys being part of the team, he enjoys the people that are involved in it, the atmosphere is amazing. So theres all those elements that means it remains an important part of his schedule.Edmund is nailed on to be second singles player but it was a little bit of a surprise that Evans was named as back-up rather than James Ward.Evans is in great form having reached the third round of Wimbledon but skipped the clay-court season altogether and said last week that he been trying to persuade Smith to select Ward.Smith said: Although clay is not the surface that he would choose to play on, hes playing very, veryy well.dddddddddddd Hes just made the third round here.Ive got a lot of confidence in him when it comes to Davis Cup. I think he deserves to be there. And in Kyle Edmund weve got someone whos very, very dangerous on clay as well.Playing Serbia away on clay is an extremely tough task on paper but the hosts will field a weakened side at the Tasmajdan Stadium.Novak Djokovic finally confirmed after his loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon what has long been suspected, that he will not be playing, and Serbian No.2 Viktor Troicki is also skipping the tie.But they still have another top-100 player in Dusan Lajovic, a former top-10 player coming back from a long injury absence in Janko Tipsarevic and highly experienced doubles campaigner Nenad Zimonjic.Smith is not totally counting out Djokovic, and he said: Im not saying its a bluff but people can change their mind. You can change two players up to an hour before the draw so its still possible.We go to Belgrade and, whoever turns out for them, they are going to be tough. Its going to be very, very hot, 35 degrees plus, its on clay, its their chosen surface, their home fans.Theyll be lifted by everything, theyre playing against the defending champions. Its going to be very difficult.Smith, meanwhile, revealed the Lawn Tennis Association is still hopeful British No.2 two Aljaz Bedene will one day be allowed to play for his adopted country.The 26-year-old, who played three ties for his native country Slovenia and is therefore ineligible, lost his latest appeal in March.Smith said: Theres a lot on just now since the last decision for us to look at and start preparing again and figure out the best strategy, but its definitely something that were continuing to look into. ' ' '