defensive lineman Justin Smith to return for another seas

DALLAS -- Dallas Stars centre Cody Eakin skated the length of the ice, got around a sliding defender, closed his eyes and shot just before his stick got ripped out of his hands. The top-seeded Anaheim Ducks can clearly see they are in quite a fight now. Eakin scored on Dallas first shot of the third period, Alex Goligoski scored on the next one 1:22 later and the Stars beat the Ducks 4-2 in Game 4 on Wednesday night to even the best-of-seven series. "Once I came around that D-man ... I saw a guy and there was a lane," Eakin said. "So, I just closed my eyes and shot." Even without captain Ryan Getzlaf, a surprise late scratch with an upper-body injury, and healthy scratch Teemu Selanne, the Ducks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. "Its not often we get outworked," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "But I thought after that, the last 40 was as hard as the boys could go. They emptied the tank." The Stars, who got physical at home after a pair of one-goal losses in Anaheim to start the series, are assured of playing another home game in their first playoff appearance since 2008. "All year weve been good at putting stuff behind us. Things havent been going well, weve been able to put periods behind us," Goligoski said. "We just stuck with the plan, kept going, kept getting in their zone and it paid off." Game 5 is Friday night in Anaheim, and the series returns Sunday to the American Airlines Center for Game 6. Stars captain Jaime Benn scored unassisted, his third goal of the series, off a faceoff 27 seconds into the second period. About 6 minutes later, Vernon Fiddler managed to get the puck in a small gap between the post and rookie goalie Frederick Andersen to tie it at 2. Getzlaf took a puck in the face in the series opener and played the last two games with a half-cage to protect the stitches just below his mouth. It wasnt clear if the upper-body injury was related to that, or was a different issue for the captain, and coach Bruce Boudreau wouldnt elaborate despite being asked about it several times. "It was a previous injury aggravated, but thats all Im going to say," said Boudreau, who downplayed the captains absence being deflating. "In the first period, it made us come out and do whatever we had to do." Bryan Allen scored on a shot from just inside the blue line with 7:43 left in the first period. Anaheim led 2-0 after Matthieu Perreaults shot that hit Kari Lehtonens glove and fell over the goalies shoulder behind him. The puck trickled in with help from Patrick Maroon, the left wing who got the goal after talking about retaliation against Dallas after what the Ducks had perceived as over-aggressive play. Just like Game 3, there were plenty of scrums Wednesday night. With 2:10 left, Anaheims Corey Perry and Antoine Roussel got in some big blows before being separated and given 5-minute majors for fighting. It was Roussel who punched Getzlaf in the previous game. There were also five 10-minute misconduct penalties in that closing stretch, and referees had to separate several groups of players when the game ended. "Thats the type of stuff thats their pushback, its our pushback," Ruff said. "I really feel like were in a playoff series now." Eakin hit the post in the opening minute of the third period, but didnt miss the go-ahead goal with 13:38 left. The raucous crowd was still in a frenzy when Fiddler backhanded a pass to Goligoski for a wrist shot that made it 4-2. "I felt a little bit off. It was a shock on the first one, and the second one snuck by me. I was expecting (Fiddler) to pass," Andersen said. " They came out of nowhere in the second. We werent ready for their push." Andersen was then pulled in favour of Jonas Hiller, the veteran goalie who won 29 games during the Ducks best regular season in franchise history before a late slump that left him on the bench until that point. Hiller faced only one shot in his 10 1/2 minutes, and Boudreau said he would discuss the goalie situation his assistants before deciding who starts Game 5. Lehtonen, who was 0-4 in post-season games before stopping 37 shots in Dallas 3-0 win on Monday night, had 21 saves Wednesday night. "Being able to tie this series, its huge," Lehtonen said. "I think were a confident group. ... And even more so now." Notes: The 43-year-old Selanne, who is in his 21st and expected to be his last NHL season, has appeared in a franchise-record 87 post-season games for the Ducks, 15 more than Getzlaf. Selanne also is the teams top post-season scorer with 64 points (33 goals, 31 assists), one more than Getzlaf (23 goals, 40 assists). ... Benn has also had an assist and has scored in each game. It appeared that he added an empty-net goal with 1:04 left, but play had been whistled dead. Nike Air Max 270 Pas Cher Chine .Pete Morelli said the back judge threw a flag on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens on a pass to Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew in Dallas 24-20 wild-card win Sunday. But the head linesman said there wasnt enough contact and that Hitchens was face-guarding, which isnt a penalty in the NFL. Air Max 2019 Pas Cher . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. http://www.maxnikepascher.fr/destockage-air-vapormax/vapormax-flyknit.html .S. President Barack Obama saluted the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks at the White House on Monday -- a rare moment for a president hungry to see more victorious teams from his hometown. Air Max 95 Femme Pas Cher .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. Air Max Pas Cher Chine .Y. - Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs didnt flinch in the face of adversity.SAN FRANCISCO - Jim Tomsula made his modest head coaching start in NFL Europe, then landed as the 49ers top man nearly a decade later.San Francisco promoted its longtime defensive line coach to head coach Wednesday, going with a familiar face following a national search that took more than two weeks and ended right in house.The well-liked Tomsula is set to be formally introduced Thursday in a news conference at Levis Stadium.Im a football coach. Im Jim nobody from nowhere, Tomsula said in 2010.Tomsula replaces Jim Harbaugh, who parted ways with the Niners on Dec. 28 in what the team called a mutual decision. Harbaugh was introduced as Michigans new coach two days later following a successful four-year stint during which the 49ers reached three straight NFC championship games and a Super Bowl.After conducting a thorough coaching search, and meeting with a number of outstanding candidates, Jim Tomsula clearly is the right man to lead this team, CEO Jed York said in a statement. Jim is a great teacher and a tremendous mentor who conducts himself with great class and integrity.San Francisco went 8-8 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time in four years since Harbaugh arrived in January 2011, and the franchise is turning to a familiar face to get the Niners back on track to chase a sixth championship.York said a day after the season ended he wanted to find a teacher to lead the franchise forward. Certainly a coach familiar with the operation was important as the 49ers build around quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is coming off a disappointing year.I love my guys, Tomsula said in a long sit-down with The Associated Press leading up to last season. I have the best guys. They are just awesome guys from top to bottom.With the 46-year-old Tomsulas hiring, it is expected that defensive co-ordinator Vic Fangio and other coaches will depart given he wasnt chosen for the top job and got leapfrogged by Tomsula.Our organization is excited to have Jim Tomsula leading this football team, general manager Trent Baalke said. We have had the privilege of working alongside Jim for the past eight seasons. He is a proven leader, teacher and mentor, and we look forward to seeing him apply his craft and vision to our team.From one energetic, animated Jim to another leading the way.Extremely happy for Jimmy T! Cant wait to get back at it! safety Eric Reid posted on Twitter.In the early 90s, Tomsula worked as a sales rep for a medical equipment company, then delivered newspapers and worked as a nightt janitor and cut firewood to earn extra cash in his early coaching days with a young family.dddddddddddd.Its a good move. I look forward to fighting for Jim Tomsula, said tight end Vernon Davis, who is a neighbour of Tomsulas — their kids play on the same flag football team. Tomsula, just the energy that he provides during the games and having a relationship with him, I can tell that (for) players, hes one of those coaches players wouldnt mind playing for. Just his spirit. Hes a good guy and a terrific coach. Hell allow you to go out and do whatever you can do. Hell put each and every individual in place to perform at a high level.Tomsula is a perfect 1-0 as a head coach.Serving a single-game stint as interim head coach to end the 2010 season following Mike Singletarys firing, the coach who attended tiny Catawba College in North Carolina chose to start Alex Smith under centre over Troy Smith for a 38-7 win against Arizona in the season finale.Were going to win. Let me make that clear, Tomsula said at the time. That was something we talked about this morning. Jeds made that very clear. Trent Baalkes made it very clear — very, very crystal clear.Harbaugh was hired a couple of weeks later on a $25 million, five-year deal and quickly began a transformation of a team that had gone eight years without a winning record or playoff berth.Now, if anybody might be able to persuade defensive lineman Justin Smith to return for another season after 14 years in the NFL, it might be his old position coach.Tomsula could be a strong influence on running back Frank Gore returning, too.Guiding Kaepernick will be a big part of the process.The 49ers offence was inconsistent behind Kaepernick, who completed a second full season as starter that featured too many mistakes and missed opportunities. Harbaugh promoted him over Alex Smith in November 2012, and the 49ers fell short of a Super Bowl championship after that season, losing by three points to Baltimore.Its up to us to make sure we compete for and win Super Bowls. Thats our only goal, York said. We dont raise division championships banners. We dont raise NFC Championship banners. We raise Super Bowl banners.Tomsula will be challenged to get far more production out of an offence that struggled to score points in the second half last season. San Francisco managed only 37 points after halftime in nine games going into its 20-17 victory in the regular-season finale against Arizona.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '