Tyler Seguin thought the Dallas Stars couldve been a contender. [url=http://www.indiansteamproshop.com/Indians-Jose-Ramirez-Kids-Jersey/ ]Jose Ramirez Jersey[/url] . They still might be, but itll take some work.More than a quarter of the way through the regular season, the Stars are 11th in the compet

Tyler Seguin thought the Dallas Stars couldve been a contender. Jose Ramirez Jersey . They still might be, but itll take some work.More than a quarter of the way through the regular season, the Stars are 11th in the competitive Western Conference and five points back of a playoff spot. Along with the successes of the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens, the Stars struggles have been among the biggest surprises in the NHL so far.Weve lost games we probably shouldve won, general manager Jim Nill said recently. But its that old analogy: When you dig a hole, it takes more dirt to fill it in. Were finding more dirt right now.Seguin said before training camp that Dallas was ready to contend with the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, the top teams in the West. A trip to the playoffs last season, even though it ended in the first round at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, infused plenty of belief in the Stars, and off-season additions of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky added to that.(Being a contender is) something earned more than just given, and I think we did that last year, Seguin said in September. But thats one year. We want to be a consistent team.Consistent, the Stars have not been. Coming into Tuesday nights game at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas is 3-4-1 in its past eight games.Starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen (.905 save percentage) hasnt played well, and backup Anders Lindback — whose struggles in replacing Ben Bishop for the Tampa Bay Lightning last spring all but handed a first-round victory to the Canadiens — has been worse with a goals-against average of 4.63 and save percentage of .861.A young, unproven defence hasnt helped, so Nill changed up his blue-line by trading veteran Sergei Gonchar to Montreal for forward Travis Moen and Brenden Dillon to San Jose for Jason Demers. Kevin Connauton was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and call-up John Klingberg (three goals and five assists in 10 games) has been better than advertised.Up front, the Stars are without winger Valeri Nichushkin until March after he had hip surgery. And Hemsky still hasnt panned out with just a goal and five assists in 23 games.Weve had a lot of guys on our team (who) just havent clicked, Nill said.The opposite is true for the Predators, whose 34 points through 23 games were tied for tops in the league pending the Lightnings game Monday night at the New York Rangers. Nashville has gotten superb goaltending from Pekka Rinne, who leads all starters with a 1.82 GAA and .933 save percentage.Theres no question that psychologically you probably play a little bit different with Pekka in net than we did last year for 51 games that he wasnt there, GM David Poile said. Its a good difference and its a big difference and its one of the huge factors of why were winning more games than were losing right now.Rinne missed much of last season with a hip injury and an infection. He returned for the end of 2013-14 and starred for Finland at the world championships.Now that hes in a groove again on a winning team, Rinne said, Its great to be back.The Predators are back in contention under new coach Peter Laviolette thanks in large part to some new additions. Twenty-year-old Filip Forsberg is Nashvilles leading scorer, and his linemates — free-agent signee Mike Ribeiro and trade acquisition James Neal — have produced plenty, as well.We believe that we have a good team here and we can compete against any team, Ribeiro said. Obviously we have one of the top goalies, the defence corps, and if we can play well defensively and be able to score two to three goals, it gives you a chance to win with the goalie that we have.Goaltending has been crucial to the early success of three Canadian teams: Ryan Millers Canucks, Jonas Hillers Flames and Carey Prices Canadiens.Miller (2.42, .911) has stabilized the position in Vancouver after a few years of drama surrounding Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo. After shutting out Columbus last week, Miller said hes still building the right kind of game to play with this team.So is Hiller, signed to be the Flames starter after getting pushed out by younger depth in Anaheim. He and Karri Ramo have been excellent in Calgary, and defensive scoring has gotten GM Brad Trelivings team into a playoff spot in the early going.Early on it was our goaltender making a bunch of saves and our defence scoring, Treliving said. We needed more than that to have sustained success. Weve got a lot of season. Were encouraged of how were playing and where we are, but we theres a lot to clean up and a lot to get better in. For me its encouraging that were having some success.Coach Bob Hartley is up there with Laviolette among early Jack Adams Award candidates, but Treliving didnt want to comment on a possible extension. This was supposed to be another rebuilding year for the Flames, which also means they wont be hard-core buyers at the trade deadline, even if this kind of winning continues.Were still looking at this as taking a long-term view, Treliving said. Were not going to give up young assets, long-term assets for something thats going to help us for two weeks.Montreal GM Marc Bergevin has already been making moves, specifically to add depth on defence and free up cap space in 2015-16. In addition to turning two more years of Moen into one of Gonchar, Bergevin sent Rene Bourque and his contract to Anaheim for Bryan Allen and his expiring one.Second in the Atlantic Division to the Lightning going into Mondays action, the Canadiens have relied on Price (2.34, .922) in a major way.Obviously goaltendings been very good, Bergevin said. Overall I think our compete levels been there most of the year, and when you compete and you have good goaltending, youll win your share of games.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Larry Doby Jersey . -- Each time the Utah Jazz threatened Memphis lead, the Grizzlies responded with defensive stops. Manny Ramirez Jersey . The CFL unveiled its 2014 schedule Wednesday and the Redblacks will play their first-ever regular-season game in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers on July 3. http://www.indiansteamproshop.com/Indians-Kenny-Lofton-Kids-Jersey/ .com) - The Atlanta Hawks have stepped up to every challenge during their 14-game winning streak and will face another daunting task Friday with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in town. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Jaime Garcias 40th win in the majors will always be special. It took a lot of hard work and more than a year to get it. The left-hander took another step in his comeback from shoulder surgery by getting a win on Saturday night, and Yadier Molina homered again in the city where hes always booed, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals evened their series at a game apiece. St. Louis has won nine of the last 10 series between the NL Central rivals. Garcia (1-0) made his second start since recovering from surgery on his labrum and rotator cuff last May. He gave up six hits and a pair of runs in 5 2-3 innings, fanning seven and retiring 12 batters in a row over one span. Although he would have liked to have stayed in the game longer, it was encouraging to get a long-awaited victory behind his name. "I didnt go as deep as I wanted to," said Garcia, who threw 55 strikes out of 75 pitches. "But its a big win for me, for the team. Obviously Im excited to go out there and feel healthy." His first five innings were very encouraging. "He had exactly what we were hoping to have, right from the top," manager Mike Matheny said. "He just couldnt stay in the game longer." Ryan Ludwick homered in the ninth off Jason Motte. Trevor Rosenthal came on with two outs and fanned Todd Frazier with two runners aboard for his 15th save in 17 chances. Molina hit a solo shot off left-hander Tony Cingrani (2-4), who has lost both of his starts since returning from the disabled list. Cingrani, who had shoulder tendinitis, has given up eight runs and 14 hits in 12 innings his last two times out. Molina also homered off Johnny Cueto for a 1-0 win on opening day in Cincinnati. Two of his five homers have come at Great American Ball Park, where he is booed by fans who remember his 2010 brawl at home plate with second baseman Brandon Phillips. "I tell them to keep booing -- just to myself," Matheny said. "It seems the louder they get, the better he gets." Jon JJay, a late addition to the Cardinals lineup, had three hits and drove in a pair of runs. Francisco Lindor Jersey. St. Louis was forced to change its bullpen and its lineup before the game. Left-handed reliever Kevin Siegrist went on the 15-day disabled list with strained pitching forearm. Left-hander Sam Freeman was called up from Triple-A to take his spot. Centre fielder Peter Bourjos was scratched from the lineup less than half an hour before the first pitch because of a stomach virus, prompting Matheny to change three spots in the batting order. Jay, who wasnt in the original lineup, took Bourjos place in centre. The sixth inning proved pivotal, with second baseman Mark Ellis playing a role in both halves. The Cardinals loaded the bases with a single and a pair of walks, and Ellis hit a sacrifice fly to the wall in centre. Jay singled home another run for a 4-1 lead. Phillips doubled home a run in the bottom of the inning, leaving runners on second and third. Ellis jumped and caught Devin Mesoracos liner, helping Garcia hold the lead and stay on course for his first victory since May 17 last year. "An unbelievable play," Garcia said. "A game-changer right there." The Cardinals dugout couldnt believe Ellis got the ball. "The way I saw it, it looked like he had no chance when the ball left the bat," Matheny said. "Im still surprised. It looked like he jumped twice his height." NOTES: Adam Wainwright (7-2) tries to become the NLs first eight-game winner in the series finale. Hes 6-9 with a 4.75 career ERA against Cincinnati. Mike Leake (2-3) starts for the Reds. ... 3B Matt Carpenter extended his hitting streak to six games. ... Reds RHP Mat Latos is expected to make his first rehab start at Triple-A Louisville on Sunday. He hasnt pitched all season because of torn knee cartilage and a strained forearm. The Reds want him to make at least three rehab starts before theyll consider activating him. ... RF Jay Bruce has gone 1 for 8 with four strikeouts in two games since returning from surgery to repair knee cartilage. 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