Unser Chat » his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. The Stars not only made their dads happy Tuesday night, they secured a key victory that improved their playoff chances. Antoine Roussel scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Kari Lehtonen stopped 26 shots and the Stars beat the sluggish Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 in front of 27 dads who took advantage of the franchises father road trip. "This is a little extra bonus," Lehtonen said of having his pop in the stands. "Its nice to have him here." Shawn Horcoff also scored and Ryan Garbutt added an empty-netter for the Stars, who won their second straight game and moved within one point of Phoenix and two of Vancouver, which holds the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Not bad for a team that less than a month ago was mired in a six-game losing streak. "It was a big win for us tonight," Garbutt said. "We had the dads in town and it was a fun game for the guys to play. Its kind of nice for the guys to be on a roll right now." Antoine Vermette scored his eighth goal in nine games and Mike Smith made 37 saves for the Coyotes, who were thoroughly outplayed in the final two periods despite the games importance. "It was really disappointing," Vermette said. "We have to find a way to win these games." Tied at 1 entering the third period despite a 31-18 edge in shots, the Stars took advantage of a bad line change and Kyle Chipchuras turnover at centre ice. The sequence ended with Roussels wrist shot from between the circles that beat Smith on the glove side at 3:25 for his ninth goal. "We turned over a lot of pucks and in the 1-on-1 battles just didnt do enough to give ourselves a better chance to win," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. It was another solid defensive effort for the Stars, three nights after blanking NHL-leading Anaheim 2-0 at the beginning of a three-game trip. When they arrived in Phoenix, so did most of the players fathers. They watched the Super Bowl together Sunday and visited a dude ranch Monday. The fathers then had great seats for Dallas fifth win in seven games and a big victory against another team jockeying for a playoff spot. Phoenix entered the night in ninth place in the West with 62 points, while Dallas was 10th with 59. With eight teams going to the playoffs and Vancouver losing at Boston earlier in the evening, Tuesdays meeting and Saturdays rematch in Dallas meant an opportunity to create space and clinch the season series. "We talked about this morning that two teams that are pretty similar and tight, somebodys going to take advantage of an opportunity and win a game," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "And I thought we were able to push through." Perhaps not surprisingly, there was little to separate the teams in the first period. And while the Stars had better chances early in the second, it was Vermette who continued his hot streak with a breakaway goal midway through the period to put Phoenix ahead. Vermette won the puck along the boards at centre ice and skated in alone, sending a backhander past Lehtonen at 9:18 to make it 1-0. It was Vermettes team-best 21st goal. Shortly after Vermette nearly scored another breakaway goal while short-handed, and with the Phoenix crowd booing what it felt should have been a Dallas penalty, the Stars tied it. Horcoffs no-look backhander from the slot on the power play slipped past Smith with 7:28 left in the second period. Dallas controlled the final period, with Garbutts empty-net goal with 26.7 seconds left putting it away and setting up a happy postgame reunion with the dads. "I think the ones whose sons scored are especially proud of them," Ruff said. "And they get to see it live. That part is good." NOTES: The Stars improved to 12-2-2 against Pacific Division opponents. ... Vermettes career-best, eight-game point streak matches Shane Doans for the longest of the season for the Coyotes. ... Vermette (367) and teammate Keith Yandle (359) extended the third- and fourth-longest active consecutive games played streaks in the NHL. ... The Coyotes have won consecutive games just once since mid-December. Air Force 1 Scontate . - Buffalo Bills running back C. Nike Sb Scarpe Sconti . He had spent 16 days on the disabled list before being activated Thursday. He was batting just .203 when he came to bat in the 11th inning on Sunday. http://www.airforce1justdoit.it/ . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest. Nike Air Force Just Do It Fake . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together. Nike Sb Zalando . The Cavs announced the move Saturday, one day after LeBron James said hes returning to Cleveland. A 12-year veteran, Haywood has played in 794 NBA games, averaging 6.CLEVELAND -- Trevor Smith and Jerry DAmigo scored in the shootout as the Toronto Marlies edged the Lake Erie Monsters 4-3 on Wednesday in American Hockey League action. Smith had a power-play goal in the second period for Toronto (37-19-5), which tied the game 3-3 on Korbinian Holzers goal at the 17:30 mark of the third period. Josh Leivo also scored for the Marlies, while Garret Sparks made 30 saves and turned aside four skaters in the shootout to earn the win in net.dddddddddddd Michael Schumacher, Stefan Elliott and Brett Clark supplied the offence for Lake Erie (26-28-7), while Calvin Pickard stopped 30 shots. Smiths power-play goal was the only score on Torontos three man advantages. The Monsters went 0 for 4 on the power play. The Marlies are on a five game point streak, having won four and lost once in the shootout. ' ' '