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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Even with his best round of the year, Phil Mickelson knew it wouldnt be enough for him to stay in the lead Saturday at the Wells Fargo Championship. That was OK with Lefty. All he wanted was a chance at Quail Hollow, and Mickelson hasnt had a better chance to win all year. Mickelson roared into contention by playing a six-hole stretch in 7-under par on the front nine, and keeping bogeys off his card with a wedge that danced around the cup on the 18th for a 9-under 63. He was leading when he finished and wound up two shots behind J.B. Holmes, who overtook Martin Flores for the lead on the last hole. "I dont think Ill be leading at the end of the day because I think there are some birdies out there," Mickelson said. "But just to be in contention, and to have a chance at a golf course that Ive become so close to over the years, Im excited about tomorrows round." Holmes, pounding tee shots and gaining confidence along the way, had a 9-iron left on the 490-yard closing hole and made a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe. That gave him a 6-under 66, and it made him the outright leader when Flores made his only big mistake of the round. Flores pulled his tee shot into the stream that winds along the left side of the 18th fairway. He at least gave himself a chance to save par, but missed a 20-foot putt and had to settle for a 69. Holmes goes into the final round with a shot at coming back from injuries, one of them far more noteworthy than the others. He had brain surgery in 2011 to remove a piece of his skull. Then, he broke his ankle in 2013, and time off allowed him to have surgery on his left elbow. And now he takes a one-shot lead into the final round at 13-under 203. "Ive worked really hard to get there and it would be a great accomplishment to come back and get a win in the bag," Holmes said. Flores feels the same way. His best finish in four seasons on the PGA Tour was a tie for fourth in the John Deere Classic last year, when he closed with a 63 and finished one shot out of a three-way playoff won by fellow Dallas resident Jordan Spieth. Flores describes himself as a flat-liner, and he played the part Saturday, the first time he ever played in the final group on the weekend. He never looked at a leaderboard because he figured it didnt matter on a Saturday. He didnt let adrenaline get the best of him when he rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from just off the 12th green for his third straight birdie and a two-shot lead. He never came seriously close to a bogey until the 18th hole. And not even that bothered him. So when asked if he could be the winner Sunday, Flores shrugged and said, "Why not me?" "Ive been working really hard, feeling great about my game," he said. "Im going to go out there and attack. If I win, I win. If I dont, I dont. Im going to keep working until I do." Kevin Kisner had a 68 and was three shots behind. Justin Rose bogeyed his last hole for a 71 and was four shots back, along with Jason Bohn, who made three birdies over his last four holes for a 67. Former PGA champion Martin Kaymer bogeyed his last two holes for a 70 and was five behind. The last 54-hole leader to win at Quail Hollow was Anthony Kim in 2008. That could bode well for Mickelson, off to his worst start to a season in 11 years. Not since 2003 -- the last year he went winless on the PGA Tour -- has Mickelson gone this deep into a year without winning. Worse yet, he doesnt even have a top 10. He had to deal with a back injury in San Diego and an oblique muscle strain in Texas. He missed the cut at the Masters last month for the first time in 17 years. "I had a good round today, and it feels good because its been a rough year for me this year," Mickelson said. "I havent been healthy early on and I havent put it together. And to have a good round today, good round the first round, this is a good start." Mickelson said he didnt feel far off after his 75 on Friday, and he was right. He was helped by a couple of long birdie putts on the fourth and sixth holes, and by a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 seventh hole that revved up the crowd on a gorgeous day of sunshine. Rory McIlroy set the pace early for a day of low scoring with a 65 that brought back memories of 2010, when he made the cut on the number and went 66-62 to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. He was four shots behind that year going into Sunday. But with Holmes and Flores finishing strong, McIlroy goes into the last round seven shots behind. Pirates Jerseys 2020 .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Stitched Pirates Jerseys . Lineup news, Fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/. -- The Chiefs have signed seven players to reserve/future contracts, including running back Joe McKnight, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets. Pittsburgh Pirates Pro Shop .com) - Even on the day his New Hampshire football team became the nations top-ranked team two weeks ago, coach Sean McDonnell conceded something about the team they replaced at No. Fake Pirates Jerseys .com) - Its fair to call Mike McCarthy one of the best coaches in the NFL but its also more than objective to point out that the veteran mentor bookended the Green Bay Packers season with two, truly awful game plans in Seattle.TORONTO -- James Reimer wanted to keep things simple. It had been a while since he started a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his return came against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the potent Pittsburgh Penguins. "Maybe there was some circumstances surrounding the game, but honestly I didnt really pay much attention to them or think about them much," Reimer said. "It was just the Toronto Maple Leafs playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I was trying to get in the way of pucks." Reimer got in the way of a lot of pucks Saturday night as he was the backbone of the Leafs 4-1 victory over the Penguins at Air Canada Centre. The 26-year-old made 37 saves to give Nazem Kadri the chance to score the game winner, and many of his stops came when the majority of the action was in the Leafs zone. "You dont win in this league without goaltending that gives you a chance, and Reims gives us a chance," coach Randy Carlyle said. Reimer hadnt started since Oct. 17 when he left 32 seconds into Torontos game against the Carolina Hurricanes after a collision with winger Josh Leivo. The long layoff didnt bother him. "I felt normal right from the get-go," Reimer said. "I didnt feel any uneasiness or uncertainty, really. The puck dropped, and I was ready to stop it." Reimer gave up a power-play goal to Kris Letang, the Penguins defencemans first of the season, 6:52 in but shut the door from there. One of his more memorable saves came on Malkin a few minutes later, and Dave Bolland went right down the ice and tied it up for the Leafs shorthanded. But Reimer was really tested in the second period when the Penguins turned up the heat on him and outshot the Leafs 16-4. He made a couple of stops on two-on-one rushes, denied Crosby of a one-timer goal at the side of the net and flashed his glove against Matt DAgostini to the delight of many of the 19,539 fans in attendance. "I thought he was outstanding," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "There was flurries and pucks around his net he was strong on. ... He certainly was the difference in the second period." Had Reimer cracked even once, the Penguins mightve been able to ride some momentum and cruise past the Leafs. Instead, Toronto still had hope at the second intermission. "I think thats been the story of our season, for the most part," said James van Riemsdyk, who assisted on Kadris goal and Phil Kessels later in the third. "Theres been stretches where we get outshot, but our goaltending is making big saves for us. Theyve gave us a chance allmost every night.dddddddddddd Thats all you can ask for out of your goalies." All Reimer and Jonathan Bernier seemingly need is a little goal support. Reimer got it Saturday night in the form of a strong third period led by the new-look first line. Kadri replaced Tyler Bozak between van Riemsdyk and Kessel, and Carlyle said after the victory that Bozak would miss at least 7-10 days with a lower-body injury. Kadri beat Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 1:26 into the third after smart passes from van Riemsdyk and Kessel but took more pride in stopping Malkins line. "Were all on the same page offensively. It was great," Kadri said. "Its not just the offensive side of things, we took care of the D-zone. We were able to shut down a few of their key players." Bolland, David Clarkson and Mason Raymond also did a good job against Crosby, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. Malkin finished the night with a minus-3 rating, while Crosby was a minus-2. As much credit as captain Dion Phaneuf and those forwards got for their defensive play, it eventually came down to Reimer, who didnt fold under a lot of pressure. "James played great. Both tenders all season have been unbelievable," Clarkson said. "Its always good when you can have that confidence in your goaltending. No matter who goes in net there we have confidence that if were getting outshot or outplayed, then we know what we can do." Reimer frustrated the Penguins all night and improved to 4-0-2 in his career against Pittsburgh. But he wasnt crowing about that success. "They have arguably the best players in the world, and they bring it every time they come and play," Reimer said. "Im just lucky enough to have teammates step up and play big games. I dont know if it has much to do with me more than the guys in front of me working their butts off. Again tonight I thought they worked as hard as they could, and they really earned it." Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at (at)SWhyno NOTES -- A CT scan revealed Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul did not have a fracture in his right foot and he will travel with the team on their Western Canadian road trip, according to Carlyle. The team hopes Lupul, who has missed two games after taking a shot off the foot in practice Thursday, will be able to play Tuesday at the Edmonton Oilers. ... Penguins defenceman Rob Scuderi left the game with a lower-body injury late in the first period after taking a hit from Clarkson along the boards. Bylsma did not have an update, saying only that Scuderi would be re-evaluated Sunday. ' ' '