Biete - Kristall » awks 2-1 victory over the Sabres, by posin

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Ned Colletti thought back to last winter, when people kept pestering him. "Youve got eight starting pitchers. What are you going to do with all eight?" the Los Angeles Dodgers general manager recalled everyone asking. "And three weeks in, were on No. 9." Pitching is at a premium already, with teams looking to increase depth for the long season ahead. Pretty much all free agents are going for top dollar this early in baseballs off-season. Tim Lincecum got a $35 million, two-year contract to stay with the San Francisco Giants, who didnt want him going on the open market. Outfielder Marlon Byrd agreed to a $16 million, two-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies this week, a huge increase from the agreement he signed with the New York Mets last winter that wound up earning him $800,000 -- including bonuses. "Its definitely a little scary," Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said Wednesday after hearing some of the asking prices. Several agents were on hand for baseballs meetings this week, which included sessions with GMs for the first three days and a full owners gathering on Thursday morning. The courtship process will build heading toward the winter meetings in nearby Lake Buena Vista from Dec. 9-12. Agent Scott Boras, who wants to goad teams into spending more on free agents, criticized the Mets, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for not spending enough and playfully suggested the Tampa Bay Rays seek a more financially beneficial home. "I think theres a lot of cities that may attract them," he said. "Maybe New Jersey would like that winning percentage." After missing the playoffs for only the second time in 19 years, the New York Yankees are in a shopping mode. In addition to trying to retain second baseman Robinson Cano, theyre interested in catcher Brian McCann and outfielder Carlos Beltran, among others. They need pitching, too. But there arent any aces on the free-agent market, so teams could bid up the prices of pitchers projected as a No. 2 or No. 3 on a staff. "I dont think theres any question about that," Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik said. "The market sets itself." Only one agreement was announced Wednesday, with infielder Nick Punto leaving the Dodgers for a $3 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics. For the premier players, deals will take more time. How long is unclear. "Theres a certain amount of hesitation on really agent side as well as club side in terms of what the market is and whats going to happen next," Mets GM Sandy Alderson said. "Im sure theres some clubs that are looking to jump in and get something done right away and are prepared to do it under any circumstances, and so thats why I think you may see something over the next week or two. I dont think necessarily you have to wait til the winter meetings. I dont know what effect a late Thanksgiving will have." 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Cilic also lifted his career record in Zagreb to 22-4, winning 20 of his last 21 matches at the event. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night. Then, Kane stuck around an hour after the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 victory over the Sabres, by posing for pictures and signing autographs in the stands. As homecomings go, Kanes was nearly complete except that his beloved grandfather Donald Kane was not around to see it after passing away last month. "No matter what, youre going to miss him," Kane said, following only his fourth NHL game at Buffalo. "But life goes on, and I think more importantly, I have a lot of family here at the game that came and supported me." Coach Joel Quenneville saw a jump during a performance in which Kane snapped a five-game goal drought that began after his grandfathers death. "I thought Kane was special," Quenneville said. "He was a threat and had the puck on his stick tonight: very dangerous and nice to see him play well here at home." Kane opened the scoring 3:12 in, by capping a breath-taking rush. Bursting past defenceman Christian Ehrhoff, Kane snapped a shot through the legs of defenceman Chad Ruhwedel that beat goalie Jhonas Enroth over the left shoulder. Kane nearly made it 2-1 with 8 minutes left in the second period, when he got in alone behind the Sabres defence only to have his backhander stopped by Enroth. He also scored into an empty net, but a second after the final horn sounded. Captain Jonathan Toews secured the win by scoring the go-ahead goal 1:34 into the third period. Corey Crawford stopped 20 shots, and the Blackhawks (38-13-14) snapped a two-game road skid. Drew Stafford scored for the league-worst Sabres (19-37-8), who had a three-game home winning streak snapped. Stafford capped a nifty three-way passing play to tie the game midway through the first period. Tyler Ennis started it by finding trailing forward Cory Conacher driving up the left wing. Conacher drew Crawford from out of the net and slipped a pass into the crease where Stafford jammed it in after his first chance was blocked by Brent Seabrook. The assist for Ennis made up for a goal he had disallowed a few minutes earlier, when he was called for hooking Crawford. "I didnt tthink it was a penalty, and frustrated that I had the goal taken away," Ennis said.dddddddddddd "But I dont think that was the turning point." The difference was the Sabres ongoing difficulties on offence, which has managed a league-low 122 goals. Buffalos power play went 0-for-5 on Sunday, and is 0-for-10 over its past four games. "What do we take out of that one?" Ennis said. "One: Jhonys playing great. Two: Weve got to stay out of the box. And, three: Our power plays got to be better." Enroth stopped 29 shots and had little chance on either of the two goals he gave up. With the game tied at 1 and the Sabres mounting a threat in Chicagos end to open the third period, Toews answered by capping a 3-on-2 rush the other way. Andrew Shaw crossed Buffalos blue line and found Brandon Saad breaking up the right wing. Saad drew Enroth his way before steering a pass through the crease to Toews, who then snapped it in the open side. It was Toews 25th goal of the season and sixth in four games. Toews has shown little sign of a post-Olympic hangover after he helped Canada win a gold medal at Sochi. "I think hes returned from the Olympics in great shape, very confident," Quenneville said. "He just seems to have the knack, has good pace with it, has the puck a lot as well. And when hes around the net, hes getting rewarded." The Blackhawks extended their win streak to five games against the Sabres. And with 90 points, they jumped into third place in the Western Conference standings, a point ahead of idle San Jose. NOTES: Kane was the last Chicago player off the ice following pregame warmups and got a big cheer after flipping a puck into a large crowd of Blackhawks jersey-wearing fans behind the teams bench. ... Sabres C Conacher made his debut with Buffalo since being claimed Wednesday, a day after being waived by Ottawa. Conacher played college at Buffalos Canisius and is from nearby Burlington, Ontario. ... The Sabres suspended D Rostislav Klesla for failing to report to the teams AHL affiliate in Rochester. Acquired in a trade with Washington on Wednesday, Klesla told Canadian broadcaster TSN that he intended to not finish the NHL season, and instead planned to continue his career in Europe. ' ' '