supporting skier Larisa Yurkiw for flag-bearer that has over 3,500 likes

VANCOUVER -- John Tortorella was shocked by what he had witnessed, but he wasnt the only one. The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. "This is a kick in the teeth," said Tortorella "Its certainly going to take a little bit more than normal coachs speak (to get) by this game." Matt Martins goal at 10:04 of the third proved to be the winner as the Islanders rallied with seven third period goals, including four in the first 6:22. New Yorks first three goals came on power plays and its fourth came one second after another Vancouver penalty had expired. "A 3-0 deficit going into the third period, we were pretty deflated," said Martin. "The coaches came in and made it clear we didnt do enough in the second period and we didnt play for one another, and if we didnt pick up our game in the third period theyd have no problem taking guys out of the lineup and not dressing everybody." Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome, Calvin de Haan, Frans Nielsen, Anders Lee and Cal Clutterbuck also scored for the Islanders (25-33-9). "Ive never been in a game like that as far as seeing a period like that, because we were playing so well going in," said Tortorella. "In between periods, we talked about the things we needed to do to nail that game down, but we really put ourselves in a jam with some bad penalties and they gained momentum a" His voice trailed off and then he continued: "What could happen, happened. And, its been going on for a little while here, since eternity. But, somehow, weve gotta try and put it behind us." Chris Higgins, Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler and Chris Tanev scored for the Canucks (29-28-10), who suffered their 12th loss in the past 14 games. "We just took some bad penalties and they had some seeing-eye shots that went in and got the momentum," said Higgins. "We battled back to tie it up and they scored that fifth goal." Rookie Nicklas Jensen was in the box for New Yorks first two goals. The first penalty, a slashing infraction late in the second period, prevented a goal. But the second one was a holding call in the offensive zone. The penalties spoiled what could have been an extremely memorable night for Jensen as he recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Sedins goal. New York converted four of eight man-advantage opportunities while Vancouver was good on two of four. Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves for the win as Eddie Lack stopped 21 shots for the Canucks. "Its was a very weird third period," said Lack. "Its not only the (penalty killers) fault, its my fault, too. I need to stop the puck and I didnt tonight." After Bailey put the Isles on the scoreboard 1:13 into the third, Strome, on a five-on-three, and de Haan scored seconds apart to create a 3-3 tie. Nielsen put the Islanders ahead 4-3 just under three minutes later as he put in a shot from the wing. The crowd let out a huge roar of relief after Tanev brought the Canucks even at 9:54 of the third. Martin, however, gave the Isles the lead only 10 seconds later on a backhand from the slot, and Lee padded New Yorks lead just a minute and 44 seconds later. A disappointed Kesler said the Canucks have to start playing like they still want to make the playoffs. "Being up 3-0 and the blowing it like that, its embarrassing," he said. Notes-Alex Burrows drew an assist on Keslers goal, earning his 300th NHL career point. a The Islanders had seven rookies in their lineup.a The Isles lost Michael Grabner, a former Canuck, to an upper-body injury late in the second period following a collision with Vancouver defenceman Tanev. a Canucks winger Zack Kassian served the second of a three-game suspensiona The game was rare in that it featured three Denmark natives - Jensen and Jannik Hansen of the Canucks and Nielsen of the Islanders. All three of them earned points. Only seven Danish players have suited up in the NHL this season. a Monday marked the ninth anniversary of the Aquilini Investment Groups purchase of the Canucks from former owner John McCaw. a Islanders defenceman Thomas Hickey is the only player to suit up for all 67 of their games this season. wholesale nfl jerseys paypal . Vonn punctuated her near-perfect season in perfect fashion Friday, earning her fourth overall World Cup title with a dominating giant slalom victory. Cheap Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . And yet as they left TD Garden amid the slush and snow of a winter storm on Thursday evening, there was a sense among the Leafs that they had finally stood toe to toe with their long-time bully, only to fall just short. http://www.wholesalenfljerseyschina.net/?tag=cheap-carolina-panthers-jerseys .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. Cheap Washington Redskins Jerseys . The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers. Cheap Seattle Seahawks Jerseys .ca. In addition to the game being aired in its entirety on CTV Two Vancouver Island and TSN.ca, TSN2 will also have coverage of Whitecaps FC immediately following NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400.Alexandre Bilodeau captured Canadas first gold medal at the 2010 Olympics, while Charles Hamelin was the Canadian teams only multi gold medallist in Vancouver. Erik Guay narrowly missed the Olympic podium four years ago, but hes Canadas most decorated World Cup alpine skier. The next honour one of them could add to an already illustrious career is Canadas flag-bearer for the Sochi Olympics. On Thursday in Ottawa, the Canadian Olympic Committee will announce who will carry the Maple Leaf into the Sochi opening ceremonies, and Bilodeau, Hamelin and Guay, all leaders in their respective sports, are all strong candidates. "Just being among those, its a great honour for me because those are great athletes and there are many more athletes that deserve to carry the flag and deserve to be in the front row when it comes to Canada and to be role models," Bilodeau told The Canadian Press in Montreal on Wednesday. "It would be a tremendous honour to do that for my country and well see (Thursday), but its definitely something very special to be flag-bearer and whomever its going to be, were going to be proud." When asked if hed been tipped to be in Ottawa, Bilodeau laughed and said "I havent been contacted yet, so if its already decided, Im not the one." Bilodeau won moguls gold on the second day of the Games, and the image of the freestyle skier celebrating with his brother Frederic is one of the most enduring of Vancouver. Hamelin claimed two of Canadas record-setting 14 gold medals, but even more remarkable is the fact the short-track speedskater, whos also an eight-time world champion, won them within half an hour of each other, winning the 500 metres before returning to the track as part of the victorious 5,000-metre relay. Guay posted a pair of fifth-place finishes in Vancouver, in the downhill and super-G, missing a medal in super-G by just three hundredths of a second. In December, he won his 21st World Cup medal, breaking the Canadian record for podium performances held by Steve Podborski. Guay will be in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on Thursday, where hes racing in a World Cup. Canadas flag-bearer traditionally generates plenty of conversation, and this time is no different, with Canadian hockey stars Sidney Crosby and Hayley Wickenheiser garnering much support. Crosby, who created one of Vancouvers golden moments when he scored the winner in the final versus the U.S., isnt expected to be in Sochi for the opening ceremonies as his Pittsburgh Penguins have a game that night versus the New York Rangers. While Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara is missing two of Bostons NHL games to carry the flag for Slovakia, when asked about the possibility of carrying Canadas flag, Crosby said last weekend "It hasnt been brought up (by the Canadian Olympic Committee).dddddddddddd." Wickenheiser, meanwhile, is Canadas biggest womens star and a pioneer of the game who will make her fifth Olympic appearance. According to Hockey Canada, the womens team will march in the Feb. 7 opening ceremonies, despite playing their opening game the following night versus Switzerland. Wickenheiser, however, was a participant in the 2010 opening ceremonies -- she read the athletes oath. Plus, womens hockey player Danielle Goyette carried the flag into the opening ceremonies in 2006 in Turin, Italy. Long-track speedskater Clara Hughes carried the flag in the 2010 opening ceremonies while figure skater Joannie Rochette, who captured bronze just days after the death of her mom, was chosen to carry it out. Other favourites for Sochi include figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won Canadas first ice dance gold medal in Vancouver, and three-time world champion Patrick Chan. With the new team event starting the day before the opening ceremonies, however, Virtue and Moir have said they wont march. Two-time world champion Kaillie Humphries, who teamed up with Heather Moyse in Vancouver to win Canadas first ever womens bobsled medal, is another favourite. She and Moyse will be gunning for gold again in Sochi. And long-track speedskater Christine Nesbitt also won gold in Vancouver, and is a seven-time world champion and has won a whopping 39 World Cup titles. Theres a Facebook pace supporting skier Larisa Yurkiw for flag-bearer that has over 3,500 likes. Yurkiw missed the Vancouver Games after suffering a bad knee injury in 2009, and then was forced to go pounding on doors for financial support after she was cut from the national team program. Yurkiw bounced back to qualify for Canadas Sochi-bound team. Each sport nominates an athlete as a candidate for flag-bearer. But some athletes see the responsibility as a distraction. Diver Alexandre Despatie told reporters before the 2012 London Games that he would decline any offer to carry the flag. "Its a great distraction, although it is the greatest honour an athlete can receive," the two-time Olympic silver medallist said. Moguls skier Jean-Luc Brassard finished fourth at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and blamed his disappointing performance on the fact hed carried the flag a day earlier. Among other recent flag-bearers named recently: Japan selected womens curler Ayumi Ogasawara, Italy chose two-time Olympic mens luge champion Armin Zoeggeler, and Spain will hand its flag to figure skater Javier Fernandez. ' ' '