(SportsNetwork.com) - Despite an extended break between games, the New Jersey Devils will still be shorthanded when they head out west on Wednesday to battle the Los Angeles Kings. The Devils begin a three-game swing through California as they visit Anaheim on Friday before a clash with San Jose the following Monday. However, theyll be minus a pair of skaters for their trip to Los Angeles as neither Jaromir Jagr or Tuomo Ruutu traveled with the team due to illness. Jagr is New Jerseys leading scorer with 25 points in 43 games, having posted nine goals with 16 assists, and has missed just one game this season. Ruutu has five goals and three assists in 43 games. The Devils are in action for the first time since Fridays 3-2 overtime loss at home to the New York Islanders. John Tavares tied the game late in the third period for the visitors and then won it in the extra session on an impressive sequence. Tavares lifted the stick of Devils defenseman Adam Larsson below the goal line to acquire the puck, moved in on net and finished the play with a wrister past the blocker of Keith Kinkaid for the win. Travis Zajac and Scott Gomez lit the lamp for the Devils, who have lost 12 of their past 16 games. Kinkaid turned aside 28 shots in defeat. I gotta find a way in the third period to keep them off the board, Kinkaid said. Cory Schneider will get the call at the start of this road trip and is a solid 3-1-0 in his career versus the Kings with a 1.00 goals against average and .962 save percentage. That span includes one shutout. The Kings, meanwhile, are looking to get on a roll after losing the first three contests of a seven-game homestand (0-1-2) prior to Mondays 2-0 blanking of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Martin Jones made his first start in net since Dec. 12 and halted 19 shots for his third shutout of the season and seventh of his career. He reached that mark in just 29 career games, surpassing Steve Mason (32 games in 2008-09) as the fastest goaltender in the modern era (1967-68) to record seven shutouts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. We did a good job of checking a pretty high octane offensive team, Jones said following his first start since Dec. 12. Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, picking up the winning goal just 37 seconds in on a shot that hit off the in-goal camera and out. Play carried on for about a minute until a stoppage, with the officials finally awarding Kopitar a goal following a review. Marian Gaborik had an empty-net goal to give him 10 goals and 15 points in his past 12 games, while Kopitar has amassed four goals and 16 helpers in his past 12. Jeff Carter assisted on both goals. Despite Jones success on Monday, Jonathan Quick is likely to start tonight and he is 3-1-1 lifetime versus the Devils with a 1.97 GAA and .937 save percentage. Still, New Jersey has won three of the past four meetings overall and two straight in L.A. Phil Simms Jersey . Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist as the New York Islanders earned a 2-1 win over Ottawa Wednesday, leaving the Senators five points out of a playoff spot with just five games to play and four teams ahead of them. Dexter Lawrence Giants Jersey . -- Jack Del Rio only wanted to talk about the Cowboys, not the Trojans. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Odell-Beckham-Jr-Jersey/ . Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., fell in the middle of her routine and placed fifth in the ladies free skate at Iceberg Skating Palace (110.73 points), but that was all the Canadians needed after a strong performance by Kevin Reynolds in the mens free earlier Sunday. Doug Kotar Womens Jersey .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. Phil McConkey Giants Jersey . The Opening Day starter played 53 games this season hitting .192 with nine home runs and 25 RBI. Red Sox manager John Farrell has decided to start Jose Iglesias at third base as of late instead of Middlebrooks.In a franchise that has no time for spotlights, with a roster that has no interest in headlines, R.C. Buford may be the very embodiment of the all-for-one San Antonio Spurs. For more than two decades he has toiled in the shadows, happy to let the attention fall on coach Gregg Popovich and the team that Buford has played such a pivotal role in assembling. He quietly -- happily -- lives in the back channels and has built a reputation as one of the most respected executives in the NBA. Yet for all his impressive work over the previous 11 years as a general manager and architect of the most enduring success story in modern American sports, Buford had never been honoured by his peers as the leagues executive of the year. Until now. Buford won the award Wednesday, and as is the custom in the Alamo City, did as much as he could to downplay his significant contributions to a team that posted the best record in the NBA. "I think its not why we do what we do," Buford said. "I think its a great honour for the group of people that have been here and have been through here that have built and an ownership group thats allowed a continuity to build a program that were proud of so to be recognized as a program that people respect by your peers, thats rewarding." That Buford had never won the award before while helping to put together a team that won four championships and has posted a staggering 15 straight 50-win seasons has been one of the great mysteries in league annals. Hes helped put the Spurs at the forefront of the international invasion, implemented a system that demands commitment and humility over recognition and individual achievement, and has been partly responsible for so many teams pilfering his staff to run front offices or teams across the league. Yet he may have finally earned the award in his 12th season as GM because of what he didnt do. In the wake of a devastating loss to Miami in the NBA Finals last season, Buford didnt panic. He didnt give up on an aging Manu Ginobili. He didnt let Tiago Splitter get lured away by big money elsewhere. He followed the Spurs creed: Stay the course. Believe in the system. Never give in to outside influence. While other teams chased huge stars and made big splashes, Buford quietly re-signed Ginobili and Splitter and added second-tier free agent Marco Belinelli. The moves werent flashy, but were exactly what the Spurs, who enter Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday night leadding Portland 1-0, needed to recover from that bitter defeat.dddddddddddd. "Its pretty cool," Popovich said. "Were all excited for him; long overdue. Hes done a great job for a very long time. Were giving him the requisite amount of you-know-what all over the offices. He walks down the halls we hit the walls we hit the sides to make room for him." Buford received nine first-place votes and 58 total points to win the award. Phoenixs Ryan McDonough (47) finished second for his superb job in turning the Suns from an afterthought into a 48-win team that just missed the playoffs. Neil Olshey, who added Robin Lopez, Dorell Wright and Thomas Robinson to bolster the Trail Blazers depth and get them into the playoffs, finished third in the voting with 34 points. Torontos Masai Ujiri and Miamis Pat Riley rounded out the top five. Popovich and Buford have made the Spurs the envy of the league, assembling one of the most uniquely stable systems in professional sports built around Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili, a trio that has won three championships together and keep coming back for more. "Weve been working with each other for a long time," Popovich said. "We participate in everything. Its been a great relationship in that regard. We share everything its benefited both of us and the organization without a doubt. Just having that ability to communicate and having an owner that allows us to do that." Popovich gets more of the credit for making the Spurs machine go, and thats just fine with Buford. But most around the league, and certainly everyone in San Antonio, recognizes what a big role Buford has played in helping the Spurs avoid the teardowns that almost every franchise has endured since he and Pop took over. "You recognize how difficult that is and how fortunate weve been that an ownership group has allowed us to stay together and have the opportunity to survive through the growing pains," Buford said. "To have a group of players that have wanted to be a part of what this community of San Antonio and what our fans mean to them. To have wanted to stay with an ownership group the sacrifices that theyve made to make this a unique environment and then how theyve handled themselves that presents a platform that other players want to come join. "Again, were not in this to win an award. Were in this to try to win a championship. Thats the reward were all hoping for." ' ' '