VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks had a December to remember. Air Max 270 Just Do It White . Since the calendar flipped to 2014, its been a very unhappy new year. After compiling a 10-1-2 mark last month that put some distance between the teams chasing them in the Western Conference wildcard race, the Canucks have lost five in a row, including four straight to start January. The latest setback came Tuesday, when the Pittsburgh Penguins scored twice in the final 1:11 of regulation with their goalie pulled to tie the game before winning 5-4 in a shootout. All told, the Canucks have given up six goals in five games this season when opponents have their goalie on the bench for an extra attacker. "Late in games, I always talk about situational play," Canucks head coach John Tortorella said after Thursdays practice at Rogers Arena. "Situational play is a mindset and we have not totally grasped that. Thats a mental toughness, to me. I believe you can develop that type of mental toughness -- to play in the (hard) areas at certain times, at certain (moments) of games. "I think at times weve done it this year, and obviously of late here, we havent." Tortorella said the only way to deal with blown leads is to get back on the horse. "You hope youre leading again 3-2 in the third period ... and you find a way to get it done," he said. "You need to grasp something." Tortorella said that for him, the most fascinating part of coaching is the mind, adding that its his job to make sure players learn how to be tough mentally game in and game out. "I tell the players theyre screwed -- if I see it once, I know its there," said Tortorella. "When you show signs you can do it, then you need to demand yourself to do it more consistently. Thats a big part of our responsibility. Ive seen us play stiff enough to handle situations. "When youre developing an identity of a hockey club, it falls on the coach to demand it and keep it there. Im in it with them as far this little slump here." Vancouvers current losing streak includes road defeats to the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. The Canucks currently sit in the first wildcard position, but they host the powerhouse St. Louis Blues on Friday before travelling back to Los Angeles and Anaheim as part of a three-game roadtrip. "The schedules not getting any easier," said Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa. "Weve got a lot teams that are ahead of us in the standings that were playing. These are the teams we have to beat if we want to catch them." Bieksa said the players arent dwelling on the late-game collapses, but are instead trying to learn from the mistakes. "Sometimes maybe we clench up a bit towards the end of the game with the lead because weve lost it so many times and its in the back of guys head," he said. "You still have to go out there and make a play. Its not just going back and just hammering pucks around the boards and shooting it out and then they come right back on you. "Somebodys got to make a play. Somebodys got to make a tape-to-tape pass. Somebodys got to hold onto a puck down low and kill some time. Someones got to beat a guy and get a shot on net. Its just a mindset of continuing to play the same way." Apart from blowing leads, the Canucks have also had a miserable time in the shootout this season. Vancouver has a meagre 2-6 record and is a combined 4-for-32 on shootout attempts. Tortorella had the Canucks practice the shootout for nearly 15 minutes at the end of practice on Thursday, with fourth-liner Zac Dalpe and defenceman Jason Garrison finding a measure of success. Tortorella downplayed the exercise, saying its impossible to mimic game shootout conditions in practice, before sharing what he thought of NHL games being decided by a skills competition. "It should be out of the league," he said. "That gimmick should be out of the league." Note: Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows and defenceman Alexander Edler were both full participants at Thursdays practice, but Tortorella said neither has been cleared to play. Burrows has been out with a broken jaw, while Edler has been sidelined by a knee injury. Air Max 270 Black And White Cheap . The appointment of Boullier continues the behind-the-scenes restructuring at McLaren, who recently brought back former team principal Ron Dennis as its new chief executive. Air Max 270 Off White For Sale . - Joao Plata scored twice in the final 24 minutes, including the winner in stoppage time, to help Real Salt Lake remain unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the winless Chicago Fire on Saturday night. http://www.max270cheap.com/nike-men-s-air-max-270-react-black-varsity-grey-ao4971-001.html .Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his 3-pointers as the Hawks went 16 for 28 from behind the arc.Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Danica Patrick has a two-year-old photo of her in the car at Daytona, on the receiving end of two thumbs up from Richard Petty. "Its a back shot of his butt sticking out," Patrick said, smiling. It had been the extent of the interaction between the pair -- just a playful sign of encouragement from the Hall of Famer to one of NASCARs most popular drivers after she won the pole at the 2012 Nationwide Series race at Daytona. On Thursday, Patrick spent most of her appearance at the Daytona 500 media day brushing off criticism from The King that the only way she could win a Sprint Cup race was "if everybody else stayed home." She refused to fire back at Petty, a seven-time champion, politely stating that he was entitled to his opinion. Patrick handled the comments much in the same way she dismissed Kyle Pettys remarks last year that "shes not a race car driver." "It has nothing to do with where it comes from," she said. "The people that matter the most to me are my team, my sponsors and those little 3-year-old kids that run up to you and want a great big hug and say they want to grow up to be like you. Thats the stuff I really focus on." Patrick talked at length about almost every topic but racing for the second straight year to kick off Daytona. She spent her 20-minute session last year answering questions about her new relationship with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This year, Stenhouse again was a hot topic, with people wanting to know: What are their Valentines Day plans? "I did say to him yesterday, Hey babe, I feel like I shouldnt be thinking about this because it should be your job, but would you like me to ask someone to make reservations at a restaurant?" she said. Odds are, the famous pair wont be asking the Pettys to join them for a bite to eat. Petty gave NASCAR plenty to chew on last week when he said Patrick only gets attention because shes a woman, but added that publicity is good for NASCAR. "If shed have been a male, nobody would ever know if shed showed up at a racetrack," Petty said. "This is a female deal thats driving her. Theres nothing wrong with that, because thats good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport." Stenhouse said he was proud of the way Patrick handled the media glare. "I would not be happy if it was about me like that," he said. "But I think shes proved she can drive these race cars. Shes got a lot to learn. Heck, Ive got a lot to learn." Maybe theyll figure out why the Petttys have been so petty toward Patrick. Nike Air Max 270 React Bauhaus Cheap. "I dont know what their problem is," Stenhouse said. "But, hey, they have opinions and they like to talk." Dale Earnhardt Jr., long NASCARs most popular driver, said Petty was a "little rough" on Patrick. "Danica deals with more criticism than anybody else has ever faced in the sport," Earnhardt said. "She goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and thats unfortunate. It seems like shes always having to answer to something like that, and thats a pain in her butt. "And frankly its just got to get old." Patrick drew national headlines to NASCAR in her Daytona Cup debut last season when she became the first woman to win the pole and raced up front for much of "The Great American Race." She led five laps and finished eighth. She never came close to duplicating that Daytona success the rest of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. Daytona marked Patricks best finish during a rough rookie year in which she averaged a 26th-place finish. Patrick was 27th in the final Sprint Cup standings. Her learning curve figures to be steep one. Six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said Patrick would need at least five years to really get a feel for handling a stock car. Even Patrick, who had one win in her IndyCar career, knows she has plenty to learn. Shes winless with one top-10 in 46 career Cup starts and had only one top-five in 60 career Nationwide starts. Shell run the Nationwide race at Daytona the night before the 500. "Stock cars are not my background," she said. "Ive done two full years. One in Nationwide. One in Cup. I still feel like Im figuring stock cars out, and will for a long time." Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, said he respected Pettys stance on Patrick and added his comments to the mix. "But I think its a long ways to go out there and say someone will never win a race," he said. "I wouldnt want my name behind that comment. So I think I would probably give a little more time and see how that one plays out because there are races where I think she can win." Like Daytona. Or Talladega. Restrictor plate races where just about anything can happen and often lead to unlikely winners. But at any other track? "I havent seen any indications that would make me think anything different than that," Keselowski said. Enough about The King, lets get back to the boyfriend. "Thats so much more fun," Patrick said. "I havent really done anything on the race track. What would you ask me if there was no fun things like there are today?" ' ' '