Tips & Tricks » "Hopefully we can just keep it going."

DALLAS -- Floridas Aleksander Barkov enjoyed his debut a little more than all the new faces for the Dallas Stars. The 18-year-old player from Finland scored the tying goal, veteran Marcel Goc followed with the first of his two in the third period, and the Panthers spoiled Lindy Ruffs first game as Dallas coach with a 4-2 victory over the Stars on Thursday night. "It had a lot of aspects to it," said Panthers coach Kevin Dineen, whose team had the worst record in the lockout-shortened season after a division-winning campaign. "Our young players coming through and making a difference, a really nice goal. Our veteran guys stepping up when they needed to." The Panthers erased a 2-1 deficit with goals about 4 1/2 minutes apart. Barkov, the No. 2 pick in this years draft, scored as bodies piled up around Kari Lehtonen in front of the Dallas net. The teenager found the loose puck, spun and shot it inside the left post to make it 2-2. "He had a big game," Panthers forward Kris Versteeg said. "He ended up playing well. He played great for us." Goc put Florida in front when he took a centring pass from Tomas Fleischmann and beat Lehtonen with 4:55 remaining. He scored again into an empty net in the final 2 minutes. "We didnt win enough battles," said Ruff, who spent 15 seasons with Buffalo before getting fired by the Sabres in the middle of last season. "When it was 2-2 and they walked in through the neutral zone to score, that wasnt a good play for our team." Three minutes before Barkovs goal, Brenden Dillon gave Dallas a 2-1 lead with a short-handed goal. He trailed a play that was started near centre ice by Vernon Fiddler and put the puck in an open net after Tim Thomas stopped Antoine Roussel. The Stars couldnt hold the lead in the regular-season debut of "Victory Green" jerseys, carrying a shade closer to what the franchise had in Minnesota before moving south two decades ago. They also had a bevy of new faces, but all the scoring for Dallas was by holdovers. Center Tyler Seguin had the biggest contribution among the newcomers with two shots in 16-plus minutes. "They played the same way all night," Dillon said. "They worked up and down the ice, and just came back on us. We cant take anything for granted. No lead is safe." Barkov wasnt the only teenager taken in the top 10 this year to make his debut on Dallas ice. But Valeri Nichushkin, an 18-year-old Russian taken at No. 10 by the Stars, had a much quieter night. Nichushkin had one shot in more than 17 minutes of ice time. Barkov ended up with four shots in 13:19. The Stars pulled even at 1 in the second period when Alex Chiasson went behind the net and stuffed the puck past Thomas, Tom Gilbert and Brian Campbell as they converged. The Panthers trio knocked the net loose just as Chiassons shot crossed the goal line. Dallas Ryan Garbutt and Floridas Dmitry Kulikov were ejected in the first period when they started fighting a few moments after Panthers defenceman Mike Weaver and Roussel fought. The sequence started when Weaver shoved Roussel after the Stars forward kept poking at the puck in Thomas pads. Roussel received a 10-minute misconduct, but wasnt ejected, and was given an extra 2-minute penalty for instigating. Scott Gomez, a 14-year veteran in his first season with the Panthers, opened the scoring with a backhand shot from the crease after a pass from behind the net by Scottie Upshall. "This is a new day for him," Thomas said of Gomez. "I know hes going to score a lot this year. The monkey is off his back." NOTES: The second intermission came with 25 seconds left in the second period. A problem with the netting above the boards led to a delay, and officials decided to send players to the dressing rooms instead of waiting out the repair. After playing the final seconds of the second, the teams switched ends and started the third. ... Ruff was on the Panthers original coaching staff in 1993. He stayed until the Sabres hired him in 1997. ... Chiasson has seven goals and eight points in his first eight NHL games, dating to last season. Wholesale Air Max 270 Australia . The Marlies centre set up three goals, including the game-winner, as Toronto cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons in American Hockey League action. Air Max 270 Clearance Australia . Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the womens final. After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots. http://www.cheapaustraliaairmax270.com/ . Not that he was complaining. Davis had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocks, and the New Orleans Pelicans emphatically snapped a three-game skid with a 135-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. Air Max 270 Clearance . Team spokesman Donald Beauchamp said there was no new information on the 80-year-old Hall of Famers condition. The family has requested privacy. Nike Air Max 270 Australia . He reps the 4-1-6The insecurity of Canadian basketball fans is not what it once was with the home grown talent making its way to the big leagues, but it is still nice to see the local kids remembering where they come from once they make their way south.ST. LOUIS -- For four straight starts, Michael Wacha has been all but untouchable and appeared totally oblivious to the stakes. The St. Louis Cardinals need one more just like that from the pressure-proof rookie to get to the World Series for the second time in three years. Wacha outpitched NL Cy Young front-runner Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 and the Cardinals won 1-0 on an unearned run to take a 2-0 series lead. Theyre matched again in Game 6 Friday night, the precocious right-hander and the lefty whod be at the top of anyones list to work a must-win. This time, the Cardinals lead the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2. "I just expect Michael to go out and do what hes done, just like the rest of our guys," manager Mike Matheny said. "Stick with what youve done all along the way, and dont ignore and dont deny the excitement." The Dodgers brought the series back to St. Louis by muscling up on offence, with Adrian Gonzalez hitting two of their four homers in a 6-4 Game 5 victory Wednesday. Runs figure to be hard to come by in Game 6, although pitchers wont have shadows as an ally with a 7:37 p.m. CDT start. Game 2 had a late afternoon start with shadows creeping across Busch Stadium especially in the early innings and lights providing no real help, plus there was fatigue from the Cardinals 13-inning win to open the series. "I think youll see both clubs get better at-bats just from the standpoint of vision," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. Mattingly was hopeful both Hanley Ramirez (ribs) and Andre Ethier (ankle) would benefit from a travel day Thursday and be in the lineup. "Andre, I expect to play. He just seems to get a little stronger," Mattingly said. As for Ramirez, who was hit by a pitch in Game 1, "We dont feel like hes getting any worse. Its just a matter of how the game goes for him." The Cardinals didnt work out either, taking a bit of a mental break. "Weve had a lot of these lately," Matheny said. "Going back and forth I can feel a little jet lag. The guys arent going to forget how to hit, forget how tto throw.dddddddddddd" Kershaw is the major league ERA leader three years running and worked the Dodgers division clincher against Atlanta on three days rest. He gave up just two hits in six innings of Game 1 and was ready to go long before the Dodgers bats came alive. "I dont really think about the what-ifs," Kershaw said. "I always assumed I was going to pitch Game 6." Kershaw has a career 1-2 post-season record despite an impressive 2.88 post-season ERA. "All we have to do," Gonzalez said, "is score for him." Wacha is 2-0 with a microscopic 0.64 ERA in the post-season, allowing just six hits in 14 innings with 17 strikeouts. Counting his last start of the regular season, when he was one out shy of a no-hitter, make it 3-0 with an 0.42 ERA. Slim leads have been of no concern, with the Cardinals totalling five runs in those games. "Just this whole post-season ride has been amazing," Wacha said. "Hopefully we can just keep it going." He knows how tough the opposing pitcher is, but says that cant be factor. "Kershaws a tough pitcher, obviously, and you saw that in his last start," Wacha said. "But I try not to worry too much about who Im facing. "Just try to approach it like any other start and just worry about myself, really." Both are hard throwers from Texas who got to the majors fast. Kershaw was 20 when he made his debut in 2008 and Wacha was 21 and hadnt been in the system a year when he opened with seven strong innings against the Royals in May. "He obviously handles himself pretty well," Kershaw said. "I dont think nerves is going to be the issue for him." The Dodgers are trying to become the 12th team to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The Cardinals squandered a 3-1 series last fall against the Giants. Game 7 would be Saturday night, and another rematch. The Dodgers Hyun-Jim Ryu worked seven innings of three-hit ball in Game 3 to outpitch Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, who got no help from a shaky defence. ' ' '