ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Two teams whose seasons are heading in opposite directions will meet Tuesday night when the Anaheim Ducks play the New York Islanders at the Honda Center.The Ducks share first place in the Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings and the surprising Edmonton Oilers. The Islanders, meanwhile, own the worst record in the Eastern Conference following a frustrating November. New York has lost four consecutive games this month and seven of eight. Two losses took place during overtime, another two in shootouts.Scoring has been such a big problem for the Islanders that first-line center John Tavares has seen a constant rotation of different wingers all season. So has left winger Andrew Ladd, who signed a seven-year contract worth $38.5 million as a free agent but has just two goals, one assist and a minus-4 rating after 17 games.Nevertheless, general manager Garth Snow expressed public confidence in Ladd, who scored 24 goals and amassed a career-high 62 points for the Winnipeg Jets two years ago.Andrew Ladd is not defined as a hockey player by scoring goals, Snow told New York Newsday. Its a lot of different things he does, whether its being a tough SOB to play against or his leadership. He didnt have many goals last year around Christmas and then he turned it on. Hes a winner. Hes a big part of our club.Snows confidence extends to the rest of the Islanders.I have a lot of belief in everyone in that room, Snow told Newsday. The great part about facing adversity is that you see who rises to the top. When you face adversity, its a great challenge, and I look forward to seeing who rises to that challenge.Two defensemen, Dennis Seidenberg and Ryan Pulock, will remain unavailable for the Islanders lone trip to California. Seidenberg has a broken jaw and is not eating solid food. Pulock will accompany the team but only to continue his conditioning as he recovers from a broken right foot he suffered Oct. 21 against the Arizona Coyotes.After playing the Ducks, New York will face the Kings on Wednesday night, then travel to San Jose to play the Sharks on Friday night.The Islanders will begin their trip facing a team in search of itself. Despite winning five of the past eight games, the Ducks have yet two win more than two in a row. Anaheim sabotaged its chance for a third successive victory Sunday night with two listless opening periods in a 3-2 loss to the Kings.We didnt play anywhere near where were capable of, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. They outworked us for two periods. Pucks were going through our sticks. We couldnt execute a tape-to-tape pass. They basically manhandled us against the wall, and we didnt get involved physically until the third period.Carlyle believes the Ducks performance against their cross-town rivals illustrates a bigger problem.I think were a hockey club that is still trying to find its way, Carlyle told the Los Angeles Times. We havent really created our identity yet. Consistency, in everybodys mind, is going to be a challenge well beyond the 20-game mark. Nike SB Schuhe Günstig . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Nike SB Schuhe Schweiz Online . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. http://www.nikesbschweiz.ch/ . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Nike SB Schuhe Shop . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Nike SB Schweiz Store . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. MILWAUKEE -- With the Cincinnati Reds reeling, Mike Leake knew he had to pitch a strong game. After a shaky start, the right-hander delivered for his team. Leake scattered four hits over 8 1-3 innings and Brandon Phillips had three RBI, lifting the Reds to a 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. Cincinnati put the leadoff runner on base in each of the first seven innings. The Reds snapped a three-game losing streak that had dropped them five games behind St. Louis in the NL Central. "It would have been a graveyard in here if we didnt pull this one out," Leake said. Leake (8-4) bounced back from a rare rough start in his last outing and seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. He allowed four walks while striking out two. "It wasnt the best game Ive pitched," he said. "They made me work and they were aggressive towards me. That was one thing that worked to my advantage. I made some pitches when I needed to, to get out of jams. They put some pressure on me." Milwaukee starter Johnny Hellweg (0-3) had trouble throwing strikes, was battered for his fourth consecutive appearance and sent back to the minor leagues after the game. The right-hander, who made his major-league debut on June 28, allowed four runs on four hits and five walks in 4 1-3 innings in his third start. "I think theres improvement there from the other two starts, but still some things he needs to work on," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. Leake allowed four runs in just five innings during his last start July 5 in a 7-4 loss to Seattle, and gave up a first-inning run to Milwaukee. "I didnt think he was going to make it, because they were hitting the ball hard off him," Reds manager Dusty Manager said. He then settled down, giving up Sean Haltons first major-league home run and a walk to Jeff Bianchi in the fifth. "I thought I had a hundred pitches because I had walked four guys," Leake said. Leake then retired the next 13 batters. "I just kind of attacked them and mixed it up a little bit more," he said. Jonathan Lucroy reached on a one-out single in the ninth against Leake, and Baker turned to closer Aroldis Chhapman to finish the game in a non-save situation.dddddddddddd Shin-Soo Choo had two singles, a double and a walk. Phillips had two hits and drove in runs in the first, third and seventh innings. Jay Bruce went 2-for-4 with a walk, driving in a run in the fifth and seventh innings. The Reds could have scored more runs, but were 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. "We have to cash in on a couple of those opportunities," Baker said. "I know it sounds greedy right now, but we want all the runs we can get. You try not to keep them in the game." Acquired in the 2012 trade that sent Zack Greinke to the Los Angeles Angels, Hellweg has struggled in three starts and one relief appearance. In 10 2-3 innings, he has given up 20 runs on 19 hits and 12 walks while striking out three batters. He was optioned to Class A Wisconsin in the Midwest League after the game to keep him pitching every fifth day, Roenicke said. Other Brewers affiliates have off days that would have gotten Hellweg off schedule, Roenicke said. The Reds made it 1-0 in the first on Choos leadoff double and a two-out single by Phillips. Milwaukee tied it in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Gomez. Cincinnati got a sacrifice fly from Devin Mesoraco in the second and added another run in the third when Zack Cozart scored from third on Phillips groundout. Cozart scored again to make it 4-1 in the fifth on a groundout by Bruce. Haltons made it 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Cincinnati scored twice in the seventh off Hand to make it 6-2 on RBI singles from Phillips and Bruce. Notes: Brewers OFs Ryan Braun (sore left thumb) and Norichika Aoki (left elbow tightness) were out of the lineup. They are expected to start Thursday at Arizona. ... Reds LHP Sean Marshall, on the DL with shoulder soreness, threw a 42-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and said he felt no soreness on Wednesday. He said there is no timetable to begin a minor-league rehab assignment. ... Reds OF Chris Heisey was wearing a compression sleeve on his left arm Wednesday after being hit by a fastball from RHP Wily Peralta on Tuesday night. He was out of the Reds lineup. ' ' '