OTTAWA ¡ª Two teams coming off impressive wins will be looking
to start the week off on the right note when the Dallas Stars visit the Ottawa
Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.The Senators (2-2-1) jumped into an
early three-goal lead then cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings
on Saturday afternoon. It was a solid bounce back from a mistake-filled
three-goal loss to the Philadelphia Flyers which didn¡¯t rattle a young group
that ¡ª while expected to spend the season dwelling near the conference and
division cellars ¡ª has adopted a
tight
Youth
John Tavares Jersey , family-like bond.¡°I think we¡¯ve made a conscientious
effort that we¡¯re going to have each other¡¯s backs,¡± said defenseman Chris
Wideman, who scored two goals against the Kings in 8:05 of ice time. ¡°Win, lose
or draw, were going to work as hard as we possibly can, and give an honest
effort. There¡¯s a lot of enjoyment in that.¡±Article continues below ...Nine of
the players on the Senators roster Saturday weren¡¯t with the team for Game 82
last season. Coach Guy Boucher says the new group is ¡°gelling fast¡± both on and
off the ice.¡°The young guys have been developing, not just because they¡¯re being
coached or just getting experience on ice.¡± Boucher told reporters after
Sunday¡¯s brief practice. ¡°A big part is because they¡¯re well surrounded every
moment of the day. Even the guys who don¡¯t have anybody in particular are
getting help here every day, making sure everybody is incorporated as fast they
can and feeling good about being here and feeling part of it.¡°It¡¯s not just at
the rink. The other day we had the Justin Timberlake concert and I think every
single player was here. They don¡¯t want to leave anybody out and thats a great
thing.?While the Senators built a 3-0 lead on Saturday, the Stars (3-1-0)
recovered from one bad game for a 5-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Dallas scored
four goals during a 6:32 span of a second period in which it outshot the Anaheim
Ducks by a 30-4 count.Of that middle 20-minute
segment
Nazem
Kadri Jersey , Stars goalie Anton Khudobin said, per NHL.com: ¡°If I could
have a pillow I would probably fall asleep.¡±The explosive potential of the Stars
is going to be something opponents will have to do their best to guard against
all season.¡°We do have that ability, we proved it already,¡± Khudobin said. ¡°I
think we just need to play like this all 60 minutes. That would be better.¡±The
Stars are determined to qualify for the post-season tournament after falling
short the last two seasons. Building on a fast start would help.¡°You can¡¯t make
the playoffs the first 20 games, but you certainly can make it really difficult
in the NHL if you don¡¯t keep pace,¡± Dallas defenseman Connor Carrick, who has a
goal and three assists in the first four games, told NHL.com. ¡°We want to
establish ourselves with some of the marquee teams in the league, and it¡¯s going
to take more than a four-game effort. But if you¡¯re taking four game chunks and
go three and
one
Danton
Heinen Jersey Kids , you look pretty good after 82.¡± COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ¡ª
Ryan O¡¯Reilly believes good things are ahead for the rested and focused St.
Louis Blues.Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists, and the Blues beat
the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Saturday night.O¡¯Reilly added a goal
and an assist, Oskar Sundqvist also scored and Brayden Schenn had three assists
for St. Louis, playing its first game in 10 days due to the All-Star game and
the team¡¯s bye week.¡°Coming off the break we had the mentality to be heavy and
play a simple game,¡± O¡¯Reilly said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a perfect game by any means. We
still had some breakdowns but guys showed up and we were ready to work.¡±The
Blues jumped ahead 2-0 early as rookie Jordan Binnington took a shutout into the
third period, finishing with 18 saves to improve to 6-1-1.Oliver Bjorkstrand and
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored and Artemi Panarin had two assists for the Blue
Jackets, who have dropped a season worst five in a row and cling to the last
playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Joonas Korpisalo had 29 saves.¡°It can¡¯t
go like it did tonight,¡± Columbus coach John Tortorella said. ¡°It¡¯s not one
particular
person
Authentic
Mitchell Marner Jersey , it¡¯s a team thing.¡±The Blues, eyeing the last
Western Conference playoff spot, didn¡¯t show any rust making crisp passes and
winning most of the board battles.¡°You can feel it,¡± O¡¯Reilly said. ¡°We¡¯re
making our push. I believe we¡¯re going to get in (to the playoffs). We¡¯re just
going to take it one game at a time.¡±They even got a bit fortunate on the first
goal as Alex Pietrangelo¡¯s long shot trickled between Korpisalo¡¯s legs to
O¡¯Reilly for an easy tap in at 8:28 of the first. It was his team-leading 19th
of the season, extending his point streak to seven games.Later in the period,
the Blues pinned Columbus deep with Schenn slotting a pass to Gunnarsson, who
redirected the puck for his third with 45 seconds remaining.¡°I felt the legs
were there and we were pretty dialed in,¡± St. Louis interim coach Craig Berube
said.Columbus cut the lead in half early in the third on a one-timer by
Bjorkstrand for his ninth from Panarin in the corner. But just 31 seconds later
Tarasenko made it 3-1 at 6:49 on his 18th, jamming in another puck in the crease
that squeaked through Korpisalo.¡°Great
response
http://www.officialmapleleafsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-mo rgan-rielly-jersey ,¡±
Berube said of the Tarasenko, O¡¯Reilly and Schenn trio. ¡°That line was really
good tonight. Just getting after it right away and attacking.¡±Korpisalo
desperately wanted a different outcome on the play.¡°I kind of had it but it goes
through and they score,¡± he said. ¡°Huge points here and it cost us the
game.¡±Dubois got Columbus to 3-2 on a wrist shot from the left circle for his
19th with 2:37 left with Korpisalo pulled for an extra attacker. Sundqvist ended
the Blue Jackets¡¯ comeback bid, scoring into the empty net with 30 seconds
remaining.NOTES: The Blues are 9-4-1 on the road since Nov. 30. ¡ O¡¯Reilly has
three goals and seven assists in his last seven games. ¡ Schenn and O¡¯Reilly
picked up their 200th and 300th career assists, respectively. ¡ Tarasenko has 10
goals and nine assists in 16 games against Columbus. ¡ The 20 shots for Columbus
matched their second lowest output of the season.UP NEXTBlues: At Florida on
Tuesday night.Blue Jackets: At Colorado on Tuesday night.