PHILADELPHIA -- Things are going so well for the Philadelphia Flyers right now that they dont even need to be at their best to come out on top. Calvin Johnson Lions Jersey . Wayne Simmonds scored two goals and the Flyers beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 Thursday night for their fourth straight win. Mark Streit and Michael Raffl also scored for Philadelphia, which improved to 11-2-1 in its last 14 games while maintaining its hold on second place in the Metropolitan Division. Despite the victory, head coach Craig Berube was concerned with the teams "sloppy" play, particularly the second period when Philadelphia allowed 17 shots and three power plays. "Tonight wasnt as good, for sure," Berube said. "We were sloppy tonight, at times. Overall our team is competing hard, working hard and playing like a team, and thats what you have to do. They know it wasnt good enough tonight, but we won." Jamie Benn scored twice for Dallas, which lost its fourth straight. The Stars began the day two points behind Phoenix for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Stars coach Lindy Ruff actually saw positives in the defeat. "If we play like that night after night, well win," Ruff said. "We didnt give up a lot in the game. We gave up four goals but we didnt give up four goals on a lot of opportunities and zone time. Our puck movement was good. The margin of victory, that game couldve went either way real fast." Simmonds scored his second of the game with 7:39 left to put Philadelphia ahead 3-1. After skating across the blue line, Simmonds fired a wrist shot that beat Tim Thomas to the stick side. "Thats a save I should make," Thomas said. "The team really needed it at the time, and I really feel bad for the guys for the game they played. Thats hockey. But I can guarantee Im going to be better for the guys from here on out." Just 30 seconds later, Benn scored his second of the contest by finishing a rebound from in front of the crease after Tyler Seguins shot followed a poor Philadelphia turnover in its own end. It was the 29th goal of the season for Benn, who has points in eight of his last nine games. Raffl provided some insurance for Philadelphia by beating Thomas with a backhander on a breakaway with 3:12 to play. The Flyers took a 2-0 lead after one period. Streit opened the scoring with 9:37 left in the first when he beat Thomas to the glove side with a one-timed slap shot from the top of the left circle. Thomas, Dallas backup, got the start because he entered 14-4-2 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in his career against Philadelphia. The Stars starting goalie, Kari Lehtonen, is 0-10-2 with a 3.50 goals-against and .891 save percentage lifetime against the Flyers. Simmonds scored on a rebound on the power play just under three minutes later to put Philadelphia in front 2-0. Jakub Voraceks shot from the blue line first hit the right post, then the back of Thomas leg and then the left post before deflecting in front to a wide-open Simmonds, who easily finished from lose range. After Steve Mason stopped Alex Chiasson and Benn on a 5-on-3 power play with 8 minutes remaining in the second period, Benn got the Stars on the board with 7:12 left in the period on a 5-on-4 advantage by beating Mason through the five-hole from right in front of the goal to pull Dallas within 2-1. It was the first power-play goal allowed by the Flyers in their last 20 penalty kills. And despite dominating the period, Dallas entered the third down one goal. "We got on our toes and skated well," Ruff said of the second period. "You have to give Mason a lot of credit. We couldve built some momentum and he made a couple timely saves." Tyler Seguin finished with two assists, giving him 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his last eight games while extending his career-high total to 72 points. NOTES: Dallas lost for the fourth straight time in Philadelphia, with the Stars last victory a 4-1 win on Dec. 1, 2007. ... Mason returned to the goal after getting a break in Tuesdays 3-2 overtime win over Chicago when backup Ray Emery made 23 saves. Mason had started eight straight games prior to Tuesday. ... The Stars won the only other matchup this season when Seguin got a natural hat trick in a 5-1 win on Dec. 7 in Dallas. Calvin Johnson Two Tone Jersey . Its the fourth meeting of the season between these teams with each game being decided by a single goal. Barry Sanders Jersey. The Londoner was set to meet Fury in Manchester to contest the European belt and the vacant British title on Saturday night but the fight will now be rescheduled with a new date to be announced shortly. ST. LOUIS -- Jonathan Toews caught the St. Louis Blues defence napping after the Chicago Blackhawks got a lucky carom. Just like that, the puck was in the net and the defending Stanley Cup champions were in command of the first-round series. "I wasnt even sure where their D-men were," Toews said after scoring at 7:36 of overtime to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 victory Friday night and a 3-2 series lead. "Just got going as fast as I could. Take advantage of a chance." Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford stopped a shot by David Backes, defenceman Duncan Keith cleared the puck and the rebound deflected off Andrew Shaws shin pad all the way to the Chicago captain alone at centre ice off a change. Toews sped in with two defencemen in futile pursuit and threw a few fakes at goalie Ryan Miller before slipping a backhander into the net. "I was just saying to some of the guys in the other room, Im trying to get the puck out of the zone and all of a sudden it lands on his stick," Keith said. "Couldnt believe it. So, I was pretty happy seeing that." St. Louis defenceman Roman Polak saw Toews coming off the bench but reasoned that the Blues had control, so he left the ice about the same time Backes was shooting. Replacement Jay Bouwmeester never had a chance and Toews also got behind Jordan Leopold. "It was a lucky bounce or something," Polak said. "It was just a lucky bounce." Marian Hossa and Ben Smith also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won three in a row and can wrap up the first-round series at home Sunday. Four of the first five games in the series have gone to overtime. "I think we got lucky on that winning goal, but I dont think that at the end of the day we win because of luck," Keith said. "I think both teams have a lot of fire and grit and a lot of determination, and its a fine line between winning and losing. "Like Ive said a few times, were going to need our best game of the year our next game." T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues. "Whats pouting going to do?" St. Louis forward Alexander Steen said. "You just get back on the horse. Its a game. You have to win four. Theyy have three, we have two. Alex Carter Jersey. Off to Chicago we go. See you there." All three of the Blues home games went to overtime and St. Louis won the first two. Before Toews scored, the top offensive threats in the series had been neutralized in Game 5. Patrick Kane and Toews combined for one assist in regulation and the Blues Vladimir Tarasenko, who entered with an NHL-leading four goals in the playoffs, was held to two shots. The first four goals came from players scoring for the first time in the series. Pietrangelo entered averaging more than 31 minutes in the series, most on either team, but has been a reluctant shooter with five shots in the first four games. His second career playoff goal came on a 2-on-1 break with Jaden Schwartz with the teams at 4-on-4 to tie it at 2 early in the third. Backes returned for the Blues while Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook finished a three-game suspension from the illegal hit that knocked the St. Louis captain woozy in Game 2. But the Blues didnt make the most of that emotional lift early, getting their first scoring chance at about the 12-minute mark, totalling one shot on two early power plays and trailing 1-0 after the first. The Blackhawks started the scoring for the third straight game, capitalizing when Polak got caught pinching at the blue line. Bryan Bickell led a 2-on-1 break and Hossa tapped his own rebound into a wide open net at 16:11 of the first period. On his knees, Oshie lifted a backhander over Crawfords stick to tie it at 11:04 of the second period. Six minutes later, Smith tapped in a backhander after a St. Louis defender stopped Sheldon Brookbanks slap shot from the point. NOTES: All three games in St. Louis have attracted standing room crowds, with 19,796 showing up on a busy sports night downtown with the defending National League champion Cardinals playing the Pirates a few blocks east. ... Oshie totalled three shots and was minus-3 his first three games back from an illegal check to the head late in the regular season from Minnesotas Brian Rupp, who was suspended four games. Oshie said Thursday he might have returned a game too soon. ... Hossa entered second in the playoffs with 21 shots but was held to one assist the first four games. Cheap JerseysWholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
