hink weve seen a bit of a shift in the game over the last co

DALLAS -- Columbus had a little head start with a chance to clinch just the second playoff berth in franchise history. Wholesale White Sox Jerseys . The Blue Jackets took advantage right away Wednesday night. Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu added first-period goals to the one Columbus already had when the puck dropped in a makeup game with Dallas, and the Blue Jackets withstood a frantic third period for a 3-1 victory over the equally playoff-hungry Stars. "Its been a long time," said winger Jared Boll, one of the few players remaining from the Blue Jackets last playoff team in 2008-09. "Its just the first step. Weve still got a long way to go." The Blue Jackets had a 1-0 lead when the puck dropped because that was the score March 10, the night the original game was postponed after Dallas forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench because of an irregular heartbeat. Anisimov doubled the margin on an unassisted goal just 1:33 into the game. That was 71 seconds faster than the goal last month by Nathan Horton, who got credit for it even though he didnt officially play because he missed the makeup game with a lower-body injury. "The only thing that was weird about it was looking up at the scoreboard in warm-ups and we had a 1-0 lead," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "But once you got into the game, I had to remind myself when we scored the first goal that we were up 2-0, not just 1-0." The Blue Jackets set a franchise record with 42 wins, beating the previous mark from their only other playoff season. Columbus was swept by Detroit in the first round five years ago, and now those teams are in a battle for playoff position in their first season since being moved to the Eastern Conference. "Its fun right now to say we clinched, but we cant be satisfied with just getting in," said Boll, who missed four months with a torn ankle tendon. "We want to get there and make a splash." The Stars, who are in a franchise-record playoff drought thats a year longer than what Columbus endured, never really gave themselves a chance to build a cushion on Phoenix for the final playoff berth in the West. Dallas (89 points) has a two-point lead over the Coyotes, who have three games left to two for the Stars. "We fell behind before the game even started," Dallas forward Jamie Benn said. "That didnt help, but were not making any excuses." Dallas trailed 3-0 after the first and couldnt capitalize on power plays with fresh ice at the start of the second and third periods against Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 17 of 18 shots in the third period and 33 of 34 overall. The Russian had to work harder at the start of the third, stopping Tyler Seguin on a backhand shot in the crease after Dallas leading scorer skated around the defence and turning away Benn from the wing a few seconds later. The Stars scored when they pulled goalie Tim Thomas for a 6-on-4 power play with nearly 14 minutes left in the game. Bobrovsky made a sprawling save before Trevor Daley punched in a rebound in a crowd in front of the net. "I broke my old record by a couple of minutes," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "I pulled a goalie one time in Atlanta with 9-something. I pulled it at even strength and we didnt score, but we scored the next shift and we pulled him late in the game and ended up tying it, and won it in overtime." Dallas outshot Columbus 18-2 in the third period, when the Stars went with an empty net for a total of about 5 minutes. The Stars ended up playing four times in five nights because of the makeup game, the same thing the Blue Jackets are doing to finish the season. Columbus was on the second night of a back-to-back and is the first team to play on four of the last five days of the season since Ottawa in 1993. Because of the busy schedule, Dallas coach Lindy Ruff went with Thomas over Kari Lehtonen. Thomas was fooled by Anisimov for the Columbus centres third goal in two games against the Stars, and Letestu made it 3-0 when his shot went off Daleys stick to the side of Thomas and somehow slid between the goalies legs. NOTES: STATS research going back to the 1989-90 season couldnt find an instance where a player scored a goal without officially playing in a game. Matt Calvert and James Wisniewski got credit for assists on Hortons goal. ... Daley tied his career high from three years ago with his eighth goal. White Sox Jerseys 2019 .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month. Chicago White Sox Pro Shop . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. The injury was caused in the second minute of Tuesdays 4-1 league win over Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou when teammate Sergio Busquets accidentally struck Mascherano just above the knee with an outstretched boot. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes. ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tiger Woods was a large part of the conversation on the eve of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. And hes not even playing. Woods is missing Bay Hill for only the second time in his career when the tournament starts Thursday on a course that Palmer said is in the best shape ever. Woods has won eight times, including the last two years, but he called the 84-year-old host on Tuesday to say persistent back pain will keep him from playing. "He didnt tell me how bad his back is. I dont think he knows how bad his back is," Palmer said. "I think hes listening to the doctors. And he mentioned that theyre saying that he needs to give it a bit of a rest and see if he can work it out. He was very nice. And I, of course, have great sympathy for the fact that he tried like hell to come here and play. And I appreciate that and the fact that he called. "I think he wanted to play golf this week," Palmer said. "I think that he needs to take (time) -- whether its this week, next week or the following week -- to get ready for Augusta. Certainly, if I were in that position, Id be doing much the same." Most of the chatter was more about the future with Woods. Will he play at the Masters? Stuck on 14 majors for the last five years, can he match or surpass the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus? And what will be the larger obstacle -- his age (38), his health (legs and back) or the competition (long list)? "I dont think 38 years is the ultimate stopping point for his quest to do what Jack did," Palmer said. "I think it lessens the possibility of that happening. Its going to be tough. Its going to be tough to keep the concentration and the type of the game that is necessary to win majors." Nicklaus won four of his majors after turning 38. Ben Hogan, with battered legs from a car accident, won five majors after turning 38. Palmer, however, believes more than age is at stake for Woods. "These young guys are tough, and theyre strong," Palmer said. "And if they continue to play as well as theyve been playing, its going to be tough for anybody -- whether it be Nicklaus or Tiger or whomever it would be -- to continue to win major championships. And were talking about guys that are playing good and coming on." Palmer actually had a list of players he was talking about. Some of thhem were young, such as Chris Kirk and Harris English. Chicago White Sox Gear. Others had either won this season (Ryan Moore) or played well recently (Robert Garrigus). "I dont know how many you want me to name," Palmer said. "But really, the strength and the ability of these people is very pleasing to me." Graeme McDowell, a runner-up to Woods two years at Bay Hill, said he can understand what the No. 1 player is going through with injuries. He also believes that competition might be an even larger obstacle than his health for Woods to break Nicklaus record. "Hes a physical player who creates a lot of speed and a lot of power and his body is starting to struggle a little bit, no doubt about it," McDowell said. "But Im sure hell fix it. ... But we all talk about how good the fields are nowadays. Taking Tigers fitness and physicality out of it, winning major championships is getting harder and harder for everyone -- including the best player maybe thats ever lived in Tiger. "Hes got more than just his body to be fighting. Theres a lot of great players in the world now," McDowell said. "Its going to be harder for him to achieve Jacks record. But if anyone can do it, Im sure he can find a way because we all know how good he is." The field at Bay Hill is not as strong as usual, starting with the absence of Woods, the No. 1 player in the world and an eight-time winner of this event. Match Play champion Jason Day (No. 4 in the world) pulled out with recurring pain in his thumb, and Phil Mickelson (No. 5) is not playing this year. Not that it would change the dynamics of what already has been a peculiar season. With 18 tournaments in the books this season, Zach Johnson is the only player to win a PGA Tour event while ranked among the top 10 in the world. The Masters is three weeks away. Is it time for the stars to come out? "Hopefully, this one does," Masters champion Adam Scott said, pointing to himself with a laugh. "But as far as unexpected winners, it seems to me thats happening more and more in golf. There are more and more guys breaking through, putting in a lot of hard work and getting what they deserve. So I think weve seen a bit of a shift in the game over the last couple of years -- a lot less domination by top players." ' ' '