ame 2 turns the line into this: 18IP, 2ER (1.00 ERA), 13H, 1BB, 18K, 0HR, 0.7

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks acquired a new top-tier goaltender Tuesday, signing free agent Ryan Miller to a three-year deal worth US$18 million. The Canucks needed a proven netminder after trading Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo in the past 13 months and missing the playoffs this season. Miller was seen as the best goalie on the free-agent market. "I felt it was important to get a goalie with experience," said Canucks general manager Jim Benning. "Over the years hes played a lot of games. He gives us that experience that we need." Benning is familiar with the 33-year-old Miller, having worked in Buffalos scouting department when the Sabres drafted the player in 1999. "Hes intense and focused," said Benning. "Our younger players are going to see the way he works in practice, how hard be practises. Its going to make them better players." The St. Louis Blues acquired Miller from Buffalo in February, hoping he could lead them deep into the playoffs. But the club was eliminated by the Blackhawks in the first round after Miller allowed 19 goals and posted a lacklustre .897 save percentage. He posted a 25-30-4 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and .918 save percentage this season. He has 294 wins, a 2.59 GAA with a .915 save percentage in 559 career NHL games. Despite his experience, Miller said he always sees himself as a work in progress. "I think Im still developing into the best player I can be," he said. "I take that part of hockey seriously, finding new things to add my game and taking consideration and coaching from other people." Miller said he has a fondness for Vancouver, especially after playing for the U.S. during the 2010 Winter Games. Sidney Crosby scored on Miller in overtime to lead Canada to victory in the Olympic gold-medal game at Rogers Arena. "Ive had a chance to experience Vancouver over the years and have always been blown away by the amount of support the fans the fans bring out and how great the crowds have been, also how kind the people have treated me over the years, especially during the Olympics," he said. "Its a great city for hockey, a great city to live in," he added. Benning has been busy over the past few days after trading forward Ryan Kesler just prior to the NHL draft. Its all part of a major rebuild for the Canucks, who have a new president in Trevor Linden, a new GM in Benning and a new coach in Willie Desjardins. Chicago Cubs Jerseys . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team. Billy Williams Jersey . "You hate when they score," he said with some distaste at the thought. "You take pride in it. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Brandon-Kintzler-Kids-Jersey/ . -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home. Sammy Sosa Cubs Jersey ." One game is checked off, 15 remain and the next one to get crossed out could come Tuesday night when the defending champion Heat host the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series. Albert Almora Jr Jersey .J. -- All those records, all for naught.DETROIT – Anibal Sanchez and Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, John Lackey and Justin Verlander, take a bow. You can, too, Clay Buchholz, if we ignore the sixth inning of Game 2. Doug Fister and Jake Peavy, youre up next in Game 4 and theres a lot to live up to. The starting pitching in this American League Championship Series has been brilliant, the efforts of Sanchez and Lester and Scherzer we thought would be hard to top. Yet, there was Lackey and Verlander duking it out, pitch for pitch, and not even a 17-minute power outage delay in the middle of the second inning could slow them down. Verlander whipped through the Red Sox with an eight-pitch first inning, walked David Ortiz in a grueling at-bat to start the second but then struck out the side. Then, he struck out the side in the third. Six consecutive strikeouts and after five innings, Boston had a measly infield single from Jonny Gomes to account for its offence. Lackey, the forgotten man in this duel, was equal to the task. He stranded two Tigers in the first and went on a stretch of 10 straight retired, which included a span of four straight strikeouts in the second and third innings. Those two first inning singles would be all Lackey would allow until the fifth, when Jhonny Peralta led off with a double. Hed get to third with one out but Lackey, true to form in this series, got a big strikeout of Omar Infante before getting Andy Dirks to ground out. Inning over, potential crisis (a run against) averted. The games lone mistake came with one out in the top of the seventh. Verlander, at that point working on a two-hitter, left a 3-2 fastball in Mike Napolis wheelhouse. Napoli, struggling to a 2-for-24 (.083) playoffs at the time, belted the pitch over the left centerfield fence. "I knew he wasnt seeing the fastball that great," said Verlander. "I decided to challenge him and thats, I made a little bit of a mistake. It was a little bit up and over the middle. You have to give him credit." The Napoli home run would be all the Red SSox could get.dddddddddddd It would be all the Red Sox would need. Lackey was pulled after 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. He didnt like manager John Farrells decision and made it clear as he gave his skipper the ball before departing. Afterward, Farrell didnt feel hed been shown up. "You never want a pitcher to come out of the game," said Farrell. "If something is made of that, we dont want John to change who he is as a person and certainly who he is as a competitor." "Its definitely probably the biggest game Ive pitched (for Boston,)" said Lackey. "And probably a pretty big one, I guess." Through three games, two of which have finished with 1-0 scores (each team has won one of those), the Red Sox and Tigers have combined to allow eight earned runs in 39 2/3 innings for a 1.82 ERA. Of the 159 outs recorded in the series, 53 have been via the strikeout, exactly one-third. Imagine how the numbers would look if Buchholz hadnt hit a wall in Game 2. Individually, the numbers break down like this: Tigers starters: 21IP, 2ER (0.86 ERA), 6H, 9BB, 35K, 1HR, 0.714 WHIP. Red Sox starters: 18.2IP, 6ER (2.89), 18H, 1BB, 18K, 2HR, 1.018 WHIP. Just for fun, eliminating Buchholzs sixth inning in Game 2 turns the line into this: 18IP, 2ER (1.00 ERA), 13H, 1BB, 18K, 0HR, 0.778 WHIP. Including the National League Championship Series, each of Verlander, Lester, Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke and Adam Wainwright has taken a loss despite pitching at least six innings. In that group, only Wainwright has allowed as many as two earned runs in his start. The Tigers also lost Scherzers start (seven innings, one earned run) but he wasnt tagged with the loss. Its happened to all of those great - not good but great - pitchers in the last 96 hours. This, as the Cardinals get great efforts from Joe Kelly and Michael Wacha, the Dodgers from Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Red Sox from the veteran Lackey and the Tigers from Sanchez. These playoffs are about pitching. Brilliant pitching. ' ' '