Tyler Seguin thought the Dallas Stars couldve been a contender. Grant Hill Jersey . They still might be, but itll take some work.More than a quarter of the way through the regular season, the Stars are 11th in the competitive Western Conference and five points back of a playoff spot. Along with the successes of the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens, the Stars struggles have been among the biggest surprises in the NHL so far.Weve lost games we probably shouldve won, general manager Jim Nill said recently. But its that old analogy: When you dig a hole, it takes more dirt to fill it in. Were finding more dirt right now.Seguin said before training camp that Dallas was ready to contend with the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, the top teams in the West. A trip to the playoffs last season, even though it ended in the first round at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, infused plenty of belief in the Stars, and off-season additions of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky added to that.(Being a contender is) something earned more than just given, and I think we did that last year, Seguin said in September. But thats one year. We want to be a consistent team.Consistent, the Stars have not been. Coming into Tuesday nights game at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas is 3-4-1 in its past eight games.Starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen (.905 save percentage) hasnt played well, and backup Anders Lindback — whose struggles in replacing Ben Bishop for the Tampa Bay Lightning last spring all but handed a first-round victory to the Canadiens — has been worse with a goals-against average of 4.63 and save percentage of .861.A young, unproven defence hasnt helped, so Nill changed up his blue-line by trading veteran Sergei Gonchar to Montreal for forward Travis Moen and Brenden Dillon to San Jose for Jason Demers. Kevin Connauton was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and call-up John Klingberg (three goals and five assists in 10 games) has been better than advertised.Up front, the Stars are without winger Valeri Nichushkin until March after he had hip surgery. And Hemsky still hasnt panned out with just a goal and five assists in 23 games.Weve had a lot of guys on our team (who) just havent clicked, Nill said.The opposite is true for the Predators, whose 34 points through 23 games were tied for tops in the league pending the Lightnings game Monday night at the New York Rangers. Nashville has gotten superb goaltending from Pekka Rinne, who leads all starters with a 1.82 GAA and .933 save percentage.Theres no question that psychologically you probably play a little bit different with Pekka in net than we did last year for 51 games that he wasnt there, GM David Poile said. Its a good difference and its a big difference and its one of the huge factors of why were winning more games than were losing right now.Rinne missed much of last season with a hip injury and an infection. He returned for the end of 2013-14 and starred for Finland at the world championships.Now that hes in a groove again on a winning team, Rinne said, Its great to be back.The Predators are back in contention under new coach Peter Laviolette thanks in large part to some new additions. Twenty-year-old Filip Forsberg is Nashvilles leading scorer, and his linemates — free-agent signee Mike Ribeiro and trade acquisition James Neal — have produced plenty, as well.We believe that we have a good team here and we can compete against any team, Ribeiro said. Obviously we have one of the top goalies, the defence corps, and if we can play well defensively and be able to score two to three goals, it gives you a chance to win with the goalie that we have.Goaltending has been crucial to the early success of three Canadian teams: Ryan Millers Canucks, Jonas Hillers Flames and Carey Prices Canadiens.Miller (2.42, .911) has stabilized the position in Vancouver after a few years of drama surrounding Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo. After shutting out Columbus last week, Miller said hes still building the right kind of game to play with this team.So is Hiller, signed to be the Flames starter after getting pushed out by younger depth in Anaheim. He and Karri Ramo have been excellent in Calgary, and defensive scoring has gotten GM Brad Trelivings team into a playoff spot in the early going.Early on it was our goaltender making a bunch of saves and our defence scoring, Treliving said. We needed more than that to have sustained success. Weve got a lot of season. Were encouraged of how were playing and where we are, but we theres a lot to clean up and a lot to get better in. For me its encouraging that were having some success.Coach Bob Hartley is up there with Laviolette among early Jack Adams Award candidates, but Treliving didnt want to comment on a possible extension. This was supposed to be another rebuilding year for the Flames, which also means they wont be hard-core buyers at the trade deadline, even if this kind of winning continues.Were still looking at this as taking a long-term view, Treliving said. Were not going to give up young assets, long-term assets for something thats going to help us for two weeks.Montreal GM Marc Bergevin has already been making moves, specifically to add depth on defence and free up cap space in 2015-16. In addition to turning two more years of Moen into one of Gonchar, Bergevin sent Rene Bourque and his contract to Anaheim for Bryan Allen and his expiring one.Second in the Atlantic Division to the Lightning going into Mondays action, the Canadiens have relied on Price (2.34, .922) in a major way.Obviously goaltendings been very good, Bergevin said. Overall I think our compete levels been there most of the year, and when you compete and you have good goaltending, youll win your share of games.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Jamal Crawford Jersey . Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister. Elie Okobo Jersey . Siddikur, who led on all four days and took a four-stroke lead going into the final day, bogeyed four out of six holes starting at the sixth and continued a forgettable last round in which he returned a three-over 75 to finish with a 14-under 274. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/customized/ . With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena.LANDOVER, Md. -- Johnny Manziel raised his middle finger toward the Washington Redskins bench as he returned to the huddle late in the third quarter. It was one of the few times a Cleveland Browns quarterback actually found his intended target. Manziels latest hand gesture was one of many lowlights for the Browns in a 24-23 Monday night loss that did little to make coach Mike Pettines decision any easier when it comes to selecting a Week 1 starter. If the choice is based solely on numbers, theres not much either Manziel or Brian Hoyer did to show he deserves the job. If its based on composure, the hot-shot rookies obscene gesture lost him some ground to the nondescript sixth-year veteran. "It does not sit well," Pettine said. "Its disappointing, because what we talk about is being poised and being focused. ... Thats a big part of all football players, especially the quarterback." Manziel called the moment a "lapse of judgment." Teammate Joe Haden said opposition fans and players were giving "Johnny Football" plenty of unprintable verbal grief for the second straight week. Manziel was openly mocked by Brian Orakpo when the Redskins linebacker raised both hands and performed the 2012 Heisman Trophy winners "money" gesture after a sack by Ryan Kerrigan in the first quarter. "I get words exchanged throughout the entirety of the game, every game, week after week, and I shouldve been smarter," Manziel said. "It was a Monday Night Football game and cameras were probably solid on me, and I just need to be smarter about that. ... Its there, and its present every game, and I just need to let it slide off my back and go to the next play." Meanwhile, Pettine needs to pick a quarterback. The performances were so unspectacular that the coach suggested he might audible from his previously stated plan of announcing his regular-season starter on Tuesday. "All the options are still on the table," Pettine said. Hoyer started Monday night and completed 2 of 6 passes for 16 yards. His self-assessment: "It probably couldnt have been any worse. Its disappointing. It was embarrassing." Manziel, the No. 22 oveerall pick in the draft, was 7 for 16 for 65 yards and a touchdown. Deandre Ayton Suns Jersey. Of his series early in the game, he said: "I really tried to force everything and not let it fly like I should have. I need to get better at that and throw the dang ball." Those stats, as mediocre as they are, were padded by series against the Redskins backups. In the first quarter -- when Washingtons starters were in the game -- Manziel was 2 for 7 for 29 yards, while Hoyer was 0 for 2. "They both missed some throws," Pettine said. If theres any hint as to which way Pettine is leaning, its worth noting that Hoyer started for the second consecutive game and played mostly with the first-team offence, while Manziel was sent out with the backups to play in the second half. Manziel took advantage by leading a 16-play, 68-yard drive capped by an 8-yard pass to Dion Lewis for Clevelands first touchdown. The sloppy game included 21 penalties and five turnovers. The Browns were particularly susceptible to the NFLs new emphasis on hindering receivers: Clevelands defence was whistled five times for holding or illegal contact in the first quarter alone, including twice on one play. The Redskins dont have a quarterback competition, but their former Heisman winner -- Robert Griffin III -- also needs some work to get to regular-season form. He finished 6 for 8 for 112 yards, including an off-balance throw that was picked off by Haden. "I just cant throw it late," Griffin said. "And if I do, it has to be a humdinger -- and it wasnt a humdinger. I kind of floated it out there." Designed QB runs are being marginalized under new Redskins coach Jay Gruden, but Griffin was nevertheless hit hard several times as he scrambled four times for 24 yards and earned a thigh bruise along the way. "Its nothing to worry about," Griffin said. "I know anything that happens with me -- or quarterbacks in general -- guys get a little worried." Notes: Browns WR Travis Benjamin left with a rib injury. ... At least the game had an exciting ending. Connor Shaw hit Emmanuel Ogbuehi on a 45-yard Hail Mary as time expired. The Browns 2-point conversion attempt failed. ' ' '