LAS VEGAS (AP) — A season after their surprising run to the Stanley

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A season after their surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final Ryan Getzlaf Jersey , the Vegas Golden Knights are finally starting to look like an expansion team.The Knights were in sixth place in the Pacific Division on Monday after a slow start to a season that finally saw them make progress after a five-game home stand capped by Sunday night’s 4-3 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators.“Somebody just said in the dressing room we had a five-game home stand and we’re 3-1-1,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “And it doesn’t feel like that because (we started) off 1-4 when we got back home. So, we had a good home stand but it doesn’t feel like that.”Perhaps it’s because last season the Golden Knights were 8-3 through their first 11 games and just three points out of the division lead. They had outscored the opposition 41-31 as they got their inaugural season off to a rapid start. Vegas also allowed three or more goals just four times in that span. The season, of course, ended with them falling short of the Stanley Cup.This season so far, Vegas has been outscored 30-26 and the Knights have allowed three or more goals seven times.Noticeably missing from the second line are James Neal, who at this time last year led the team with seven goals and 10 points, and David Perron, who had contributed four goals, four assists. Neal is now in Calgary and Perron is in St. Louis and their presumed replacements — Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny — are on the shelf.Stastny has missed the last eight games and isn’t expected to return until December, while Pacioretty came off the ice Friday after being drilled by Tampa Bay’s Braydon Coburn. He didn’t play Sunday. Cody Eakin did, and left the game in the first period after being leveled by Mark Borowiecki.The team is also still without lead defenseman Nate Schmidt, who is serving a 20-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, while defenseman Deryk Engelland recently returned from an injury.“Everybody has injuries Womens Ryan Kesler Jersey , you have to come out to play our game and do the best you can when you’re in the lineup. … We’ve done that from last year, and I think most teams do that,” Gallant said. “You do the best you can with what you’ve got.”The top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith has combined to score 25 points. And while the second and third lines have been plagued by lineup changes due to the injuries and have yet to find the right chemistry, the fourth line of Ryan Reaves, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and William Carrier have produced several quality shifts.Reaves, who arrived in February with a reputation for being an enforcer, has hardly looked like the bruiser who has had more than 60 fights in his career. His mere presence has provided a consistent energy the Golden Knights can count on for a spark. Of his three goals this season, two were game-tying shots and the other was a game-winner.“Ryan Reaves is a fan favorite, he is a tough guy and it definitely energizes our group,” Gallant said. “He is a popular player and he puts the work in and does a lot of work for the physical side of it, but he is also playing real good hockey for us.”He is part of the team’s power-play package that needs immediate improvement. After going 1-for-5 on Sunday, they’re now 4-for-37 (10.8 percent) on the power play, ranking 29th in the NHL. They have scored four in their last five games Ryan Miller Jersey , however.“It’s not only the shots that we have, it’s also the quality of shots that we have,” said Marchessault, who leads the team with 11 points, including Sunday’s game-winner in overtime with a penalty shot. “The quality needs to be better. We need to cash in on all of our chances. We just need to come back to our bases. It’s about playing well defensively and we definitely need to get better from everybody, especially facing the injuries we have right now.”Vegas heads to Nashville on Tuesday and St. Louis on Thursday, before returning Saturday to host Carolina.“We want to win, we want to play better, and we want to make sure things are going,” Gallant said. NEW YORK — The New York Rangers are on a roll at home ice while the Dallas Stars are surging on the road.One of those hot streaks will take a momentary hiatus Monday night when the Stars visit the Rangers.The Rangers are on a five-game home winning streak since a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Oct. 21 and are 7-3-0 at Madison Square Garden. During their home winning streak, the Rangers are outscoring opponents by a 19-9 margin and it is the NHL’s longest win streak of the season.Article continues below ...Dallas is 4-4-1 on the road but 4-1-1 in its last six road games.New York extended its home win streak with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers when Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves and recorded his 438th career win. Lundqvist moved past Jacques Plante for seventh all-time on the wins list and is seven behind Terry Sawchuk.Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal and Vladimir Namestikov netted the game-winner late in the second period as the Rangers reached four goals for the eighth time in 10 games (including shootouts) and rebounded from an ugly 7-5 loss to the New York Islanders. “I think we’re growing up,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “As we’ve talked about our late-game struggles here in the last few weeks, we’ve managed to manage the game well later in the game over the last few games we’ve had leads.” Besides their home success of late, the Rangers are 7-1-1 in their last nine games overall and 9-4-2 in their last 15.Kreider is a key reason for New York’s recent success. He leads New York with 11 goals and 18 points and seven are during the last nine games.Less than 24 hours after New York’s latest home win http://www.coyotesproshop.com/authentic-alex-goligoski-jersey , the Stars kept their good times rolling outside of Dallas with a 6-2 victory over the Islanders on Sunday afternoon.Esa Lindell scored twice in a four-goal second period and Alexander Radulov tallied twice and recorded a three-point night in his third game since returning from injured reserve for the Stars, who began a stretch of seven out of eight games on the road.“We’re in a tough stretch in the schedule,” Dallas center Jason Spezza said after getting his 900th career point. “When you have games like this, have contributions from up and down the lineup everybody feels a part of that and it’s a good springboard going into some tough games coming up.”Even of more importance for Dallas was a return to normal for its top line of Radulov, Jaime Benn, and Tyler Seguin. Seguin recorded a goal and two assists, Benn added three assists for his first three-point game of the season and the trio combined for nine points.“We’ve been waiting for them to get hot again since the fourth game of the year,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “And it’s a great time, with all those games.”The big day by the Stars occurred after Lundqvist rebounded from allowing five goals Thursday against the Islanders. Lundqvist originally was going to get Saturday off but instead wound up starting and improving to 5-1-1 in his last seven starts.“I didn’t want him to wait too long to get back in there, so we put him back in tonight and he did what he’s been doing all year long,” Quinn said.“He’s been an elite goalie for a long time and I think he’s going to be an elite goalie for a while to come.”The Rangers could be without Mats Zuccarello, who sat out Saturday for the fourth time this season with a groin injury. Without Zuccarello, Ryan Strome was inserted into the lineup on the right wing alongside Brett Howden and Jimmy Vesey after being obtained from Edmonton Friday.