DALLAS -- When the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars meet Thursday night at American Airlines Center, both teams hope to have important contributors back on the ice.Colorado, which beat the visiting Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Tuesday, is starting a three-game road trip. The Avalanche (7-8-0) might see the return of forward Matt Duchene, who leads the team with six goals and 11 points.Duchene missed the past two games with concussion symptoms.Meanwhile, the Stars (6-6-5) could get back center Cody Eakin, who has yet to play this season due to a knee injury he sustained during preseason.Duchene said after practice Wednesday, I feel good right now. Well see what (Wednesday) brings. I feel better every day. Today I felt like I could be myself out there.Avalanche coach Jared Bednar shares Duchenes optimism that the veteran could be back in the mix against Colorados Central Division rivals.As long as he feels good ... then he should be a player for us, Bednar said.Two Colorado players who scored in the win against the Kings, captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, missed practice Wednesday, absences which Bednar termed as maintenance days.I think they both got dinged up just a little bit (Tuesday) night, Bednar said. I think theyre going to be fine, but were just going to keep them off the ice (Wednesday).One decision Bednar already made about Thursday is that Semyon Varlamov, who stopped 32 of 33 shots against the Kings, will start between the pipes.Hes played three really strong games here for us, Bednar said. We like what (Varlamov) has done lately, so were going to go with him again.Dallas started its three-game homestand with a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, the Stars ninth consecutive OT defeat.Stars coach Lindy Ruff didnt like the energy level he saw from his team against the Devils, so he made both Wednesdays practice and Thursdays morning skate optional.This is a physical grind, its a mental grind, Ruff said Wednesday. We had a team that lacked energy (Tuesday) night. Im going to try to switch things up maybe from game to game. I think it mentally freshens up our personnel.One player who was on the ice at the Stars practice facility in Frisco, Texas, on Wednesday was Eakin. He was a key faceoff man who centered Dallas top line for a good part of last season.Feeling pretty good, getting back to where I want to be, Eakin said after practice Wednesday.Ruff makes no secret of his love for Eakins game and what he brings to the ice for Dallas, qualities the Stars missed so far this season.Well, he is our guy that typically goes head to head with the other teams top player, Ruff said of Eakin. Hes probably our best down-low centerman. He brings some speed down the middle, which is important for our game.At some point this week, Dallas also figures to get back veteran forward Patrick Sharp, who missed the past 13 games due to a concussion he sustained Oct. 20 against the Kings.However, instead of seeing Sharp back on the ice against Colorado, it sounds like a more realistic scenario that his return would be Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, according to Ruff.No matter whether Duchene returns for the Avalanche or Eakin is back on the ice for the Stars, the man behind the Dallas bench knows what sort of game is in store for both teams on Thursday evening.Well, I expect a desperate team, Ruff said of the Avalanche. Its a team that got off to a real good start, struggled a little bit, and now they seem to be going a little bit better. Theyve got good speed up front. I want to see our energy up. I want to see our puck possession up. JaVale McGee Jersey . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Tim Hardaway Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. http://www.warriorsteamprostore.com/Cheap-Stephen-Curry-Warriors-Jersey/ . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Andre Iguodala Jersey . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Damian Jones Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Ahead of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, India had a total of eight ODIs to cover all their bases ahead of the Champions Trophy next year. MS Dhoni, who usually cringes at any suggestions of experimentation, admitted the series was an opportunity to try out different players and fill a few slots. By the time India clinched the series 3-2 in Visakhapatnam, Dhoni would have been happy with the progress made on a few fronts.Mishra returns, againBefore the start of the series, Amit Mishra had played 31 ODIs in 13 years. Apart from the palindromic symmetry of these numbers, two things stand out: a) He has been around for ages without ever being a permanent fixture in the limited-overs side; b) Despite that, his talent and persistence have always kept him in the reckoning.In the absence of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who were rested, Mishra was the lead spinner by default. By the end of the fifth ODI, Mishra had earned the right to be the leader of the entire bowling unit, picking 15 wickets to claim his first man-of-the-series award. His wickets arrived through a seductive blend of flight, dip, aided by plenty of revs on the ball, and turn. Just look up the dismissals of Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi in Mohali, and James Neesham in Visakhapatnam.Mishra, who is a month shy of turning 34, knows he has to perform every time an opportunity comes his way. He acknowledges that the key to this lies, apart from his fizzing leg-breaks, in improving his fielding and batting.Dhoni moves to No 4One of the things MS Dhoni has endlessly fretted over in the last few years has been identifying a finisher. With the search remaining futile, Dhoni had no choice but to bat at No 5 or 6, from where bashing the bowling from the outset proved difficult. Dhoni eventually bit the bullet, and in giving himself a promotion, challenged the inexperienced middle-order batsmen to learn the finishers job on the fly.The results were instant. His 80 in Mohali was fashioned from a younger Dhonis template of accumulate and accelerate. Dhonis shift in batting position is less of a concession to a senior pro than an arrangement that optimises his value as a batsman. He would want his younger colleagues in the middle order to ensure they hold up their side of the bargainThe Jadhav surpriseAhead of this series, Kedar Jadhav was known as a batsman who could keep wicket occasionally. It is believed Dhoni wanted someone who could play Suresh Rainas role as a middle-order bat who could send down a few overs, and Jadhav appeared the closest alternative. He was then given an extended bowling session in the nets on the eve of the first ODI, which was followed by Dhoni identifying him, along with Rohit Sharma, as one of his part-timers.As it turned out, Jadhav, with his subtle pace variations and low-arm release, became a compulsive partnership-breaker, and finished with six wickets in the series at an economy rate of 4.05. To Dhonis credit, he never over-bowled him, and ensured he retained the surprise element. Jadhavs biggest challenge,, however, was to prove himself with the bat.ddddddddddddWhile he scored an enterprising 40 in a losing cause in Delhi, it was the calm and selfless manner in which he batted at the death in Visakhapatnam that must have pleased Dhoni the most.The new-ball punt with PandyaWhen Hardik Pandya was picked for the New Zealand ODIs, there were several groans of disapproval. Admittedly, there was a case for scepticism: Pandya had had a poor IPL followed by a mediocre tour to Australia with the India A team. The numbers werent in his favour, but the selectors were excited by his pace with the ball, and the spunk he showed in his counter-attacking 79 in Brisbane.Dhoni put Pandyas deceptive pace to good use when he gave him the new ball on ODI debut in Dharamsala. Pandyas 3 for 31 won him the man of the match award, but the bigger takeaway was that he could swing the ball at upwards of 135 kph. Pandya also nearly won the game for India in Delhi with a thrilling late-innings assault.In the last few years, India have tried out a few players such as Rishi Dhawan, Stuart Binny and Pandya himself, for the seam-bowling allrounders slot. Should Pandya sustain his form and not bowl waywardly - as in Ranchi where he conceded eight wides - he will be one of Dhonis go-to men in England next year for the Champions Trophy. Umesh , Axar and other unsung heroesUmesh Yadavs contribution to Indias series win went beyond his eight wickets. His initial thrust with the new ball usually brought the big wickets, which then helped the spinners bore into the middle order. Umesh, in fact, got Martin Guptill out three times in the series, twice in the first over of the innings. Umesh regularly delivered from close to the stumps, and, apart from in Mohali where he went for runs, this appeared to give him greater control.Axar Patel may not yet be in Jadejas class, but he did everything thats part of the Saurashtra allrounders job description. While he was Dhonis designated run-choker at different stages in the innings, he rose to the occasion with the bat by scoring a gutsy 38 when promoted to No.5 in Ranchi. In the final ODI, he hit an 18-ball 24 to rev up the scoring rate in the slog.That Jayant Yadav and Mandeep Singh were among the most tireless workers at net sessions pointed to a happy and motivated bench. Jayant would often bowl for more than an hour, and spend most of his time talking shop with coach Anil Kumble. Jayant was the only player in Indias squad to not play a single game on the Zimbabwe tour, and it looked like hed have to wait even longer to get his maiden international cap. But, when he was given an opportunity in Visakhapatnam, he did his prospects no harm.Mandeep still remains uncapped, but showed tremendous athleticism when he substituted for Rohit in Visakhapatnam. A string of diving stops inside the circle denied New Zealands batsmen boundaries and added to the pressure they were under. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '