MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins have acquired left-hander Kris Johnson from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-hander Duke Welker in a swap of minor league pitchers. Curley Culp Jersey . Johnson went 0-2 with a 6.10 ERA in four appearances with the Pirates last season. He made one start for the Pirates and went 10-4 with a 2.39 ERA in 21 starts for Triple-A Indianapolis last year. He is a former first-round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox. Welker never played for the Twins. On Oct. 5, he was the player to be named later to complete the trade that sent Justin Morneau from Minnesota to Pittsburgh. Welker went 3-4 with a 3.57 ERA and nine saves in 48 appearances for Indianapolis last season. Avery Williamson Jersey . Damian Lillard added 21 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of clinching free throws with 2.1 seconds left for Portland, which beat Oklahoma City for the second time in December. Portland (25-7) snapped a two-game losing streak but still trails Oklahoma City (25-6) by a half-game in the Northwest Division standings. Chance Warmack Jersey . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1.Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is set to extend a memorable season by joining Canada for the IIHF World Hockey Championship. The Edmonton Oilers rookie accepted an invitation Tuesday after receiving medical clearance from the Oilers. Nugent-Hopkins missed time this season with a shoulder injury, but was eager for the opportunity to represent his country. "Its always something I wanted to do," he said. "Getting asked is a big honour for me." The 18-year-old will be joined by Oilers teammate Devan Dubnyk, who has agreed to return to the event for a third straight year. Dubnyk didnt see much action in the last two tournaments but should be used more this time around in a goaltending tandem with Cam Ward. In all, Hockey Canada has received commitments from 10 forwards, four defencemen and two goaltenders. The NHLs top goal-scorer, Steven Stamkos, will not be among the players who travel to Europe at the end of the month. Even though an MRI on his injured left shoulder revealed no structural damage, the Tampa Bay Lightning star elected to pass on his invitation Tuesday. "Im going to rest the shoulder," Stamkos told the Tampa Tribune. There should still be plenty of scooring to go around, with four 30-goal scorers (Corey Perry, John Tavares, Jordan Eberle, Evander Kane) from this season and a strong supporting cast that includes Jeff Skinner and Nugent-Hopkins, who put up 52 points in 62 games. Nate Palmer Titans Jersey. The No. 1 pick from last years draft was never given the chance to represent Canada at the world junior tournament. He was cut at age 17 and wasnt made available by the Oilers this year. Hes heading to the world championship at a crucial time for Canada, which has dipped to fourth in the world rankings after consecutive quarter-final exits. The groupings for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia will be set once the tournament wraps up next month. "At every level when you put on the Canadian jersey its important, but this year at the mens worlds its very important," Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said Tuesday. "We want to win a gold." General manager Kevin Lowe will continue to fill out his roster before the team travels to Zurich at the end of the month for a pair of exhibition games. It opens the world championship in Helsinki on May 4 against Slovakia. Canada last captured gold at the event in 2007. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '