Marktplatz » open our shooters," Dragic said. "Its much easier

After winning the Stanley Cup in June, the Chicago Blackhawks remain the top-ranked team in the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings to open the 2013-2014 NHL season, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins -- the usual suspects. What really works in the Blackhawks favour this time around, as opposed to following their 2010 Stanley Cup, is that, even with a decreasing salary cap, they didnt have to gut the roster. Sure, there are some tweaks, but its very much the same cast from last season, with a few prospects making the jump from the farm and veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin returning to Chicago, giving Corey Crawford an accomplished backup. Its not as though maintaining close to the status quo automatically grants the Blackhawks the number one ranking, but even with their questions -- that number two centre spot still looks like it needs to be addressed -- they are in the best position entering the season. The second-ranked Penguins arent far off, especially with a healthy Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to start the year, but defenceman Kris Letang has a leg injury and goaltender Tomas Vokoun is sidelined after blood clots, so while the Penguins are still loaded, their back end isnt quite at full power and these rankings always take injuries into account. Which players are available to play matters. Last season, the Los Angeles Kings were the dominant possession team in the league, even though their results didnt indicate such proficiency. That was largely due to the play of goaltender Jonathan Quick, who struggled in his return from back surgery, but Quick was tremendous in the playoffs, so health shouldnt be an issue going forward. If the Kings are still a dominant possession team and get even average goaltending, they will hold their high ranking. Last years Stanley Cup finalists, the Boston Bruins didnt sit still in the offseason, shuffling out right wingers Tyler Seguin, Jaromir Jagr and Nathan Horton most notably, bringing in Loui Eriksson, Jarome Iginla and Reilly Smith the look up front. Otherwise, theres a lot of continuity in Boston -- the core is the core that has one Cup win and one Final appearance in the last three seasons. The top-ranked Canadian team, the Ottawa Senators, sits sixth, with a healthy Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza, along with newcomer Bobby Ryan, expected to upgrade the skill on last seasons surprise playoff team. Next in line, the Montreal Canadiens rank 10th, the Vancouver Canucks are 12th and the Toronto Maple Leafs sit 16th. Western Canada gets some tougher rankings to start the year. The Winnipeg Jets open at 23rd, the Edmonton Oilers -- minus centres Sam Gagner and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- 24th and the Calgary Flames 28th. There will undoubtedly be movers and shakers in the rankings throughout the season. Even in the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign, the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders were all ranked in the 20s prior to the season starting, yet all three ended up making the playoffs, while the Philadelphia Flyers, ranked in the Top 10, missed the playoffs. Playing the percentages is not to be confused with any kind of guarantee. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Robyn Regehr Jersey . -- Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after having an operation on a groin muscle. Butch Goring Kings Jersey . Jacob Jacques, Andrew Ryan and Jonathan Drouin also scored for Halifax (37-18-3), who outshot the Islanders 40-26. Kevin Darveau stopped 25 shots. Bradley Kennedy had the lone goal for Charlottetown (18-33-5), which has nine losses in its last 10 games. http://www.kingsauthentic.com/authentic-luc-robitaille-kings-jersey/ . Hes had three top-10 results this season and feels ready to put it all together and finally hoist a trophy at the top level. Jonathan Quick Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move another goalie. Tyler Toffoli Kings Jersey . Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel also accused Pistorius of tailoring his testimony to fit the evidence at the scene. Pistorius denied the accusations. Nel alleged that the Olympic runner changed his aim with his 9 mm pistol to ensure that he hit Steenkamp as she fell back against a magazine rack in a toilet cubicle.DENVER -- Markieff Morris found himself on the bench after he didnt hustle back and allowed a dunk in the second quarter. That certainly got his attention. Next time in, Morris played with way more determination. Same with the rest of the Phoenix Suns. It was the only way to erase an early 21-point deficit. Morris scored 25 points and Gerald Green added 19, helping the Suns rally for a 103-99 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. "We never quit. We came out and fought all the way to the end," Morris said. "Its a great feeling, man." It was hardly one player, either, and the reserves played a big hand, too, outscoring the starters, 64-39. "That just goes to show you what type of team we have," said Green, who tied a career-high with six 3-pointers. "Some nights are not going to be everybodys night. Any given night, somebody can step up on this team and help us win. Thats what it takes. "That shows a lot about our character." First, Green got hot, hitting 3-pointer after 3-pointer. And once the Nuggets spread out their defence in order to stop the long-range shooting, Goran Dragic went to work by driving the lane. He finished with 17 points, including two big layups down the stretch. Steadily, the Suns worked their way back into a contest that looked all but over, especially with the Nuggets up 79-62 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. But Suns coach Jeff Hornacek kept them on course, kept their confidence high. That did the trick. "Ive got to give coach the credit, he never panicked. He never yelled at us," Green said. "He just kept with it, kept telling us to stick with the plan and its going to work." Wilson Chandler had 15 points for the Nuggets, while J.J. Hickson added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Ty Lawson was in the lineup despite coming down with a stomach bug on Thursday. He was slightly off his game, going 3 of 11 from the floor and finishing with 13 points. "They were down 21 points but they kept fighting," Denver forward Darrell Arthur said. Phoenix tied it 88-all on a layup from Ish Smith -- his only basket of the game -- with 8:21 remaining. Soon after, the Suns took their first lead since scoring the opening bucket when Dragic dribbled past Denver defenders for a layup.dddddddddddd. From there, it was back and forth until a pair of free throws and a layup from Dragic gave the Suns a four-point lead. With a 102-99 advantage, Phoenix allowed Randy Foye to get a good look at a 3-point attempt, but Foye was off target with 5.9 seconds remaining. Morris sealed the win by making a free throw. A character-building win for the Suns. A demoralizing loss for the Nuggets as they lost their second straight game at Pepsi Center to drop to 7-5 at home on the season. They were a franchise-best 38-3 last season. "Im not very happy, and Ill take the hit for tonights game, for allowing some things in practice to carry over into the game," coach Brian Shaw said. "When it was going good for us in the first half, we were all smiles and played as if the game was over and didnt have a second half to play." Dragic and fellow guard Eric Bledsoe entered the game averaging more than 18 points apiece. They combined for 27, with Dragics biggest buckets arriving down the stretch. For that, he credits Green. "We were hitting those 3s. Then, their players, they were afraid to be in the paint, to leave open our shooters," Dragic said. "Its much easier when you have more space in the paint -- you can create. We did that." At 15-10, the Suns may just be ahead of schedule in terms of turning around a team that had the worst record in the Western Conference last season. "Were winning some games against some good teams and thats giving them confidence and helping to speed up the process a little bit," Hornacek said. NOTES: Both teams return to the court Saturday night. Phoenix hosts the Dallas Mavericks while the Nuggets play the Clippers in Los Angeles. ... The fourth quarter turned into quite a show Markieff Morris and twin Marcus as they combined for 16 points. ... Jordan Hamilton served his one-game suspension for throwing a punch at Oklahoma City centre Steven Adams on Tuesday. ... Nate Robinson picked up a technical foul in the second quarter. ... According to the Nuggets, the 21 points was their largest blown lead at home since Nov. 29, 2002, against Golden State. ' ' '