Willkommen » club I have supported all my life. The driving

OTTAWA -- For the past month the Ottawa Senators have been focusing on playing better hockey while keeping a close eye on the Eastern Conference playoff race. And with one game remaining before the Olympic break, Ottawa finally has a chance to crack the top eight in the conference standings. Ottawa (26-21-11) visits the Boston Bruins (36-16-4) on Saturday afternoon hopeful theyll have a hold on a playoff spot once the dust settles. Trouble is, the Senators are in a very tight race and winning still might not be enough. Ottawa has 63 points heading into Fridays action, one behind Detroit for the final wildcard spot. But the Columbus Blue Jackets also have 63 points and more wins. Columbus faces San Jose on Friday night and a Blue Jackets win will leave Ottawa outside the top eight regardless of Saturdays outcome in Boston. And theres also the matter of the Red Wings, who face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. So should either Detroit or Columbus win, nothing would change for Ottawa. "Its a competitive group of teams thats fighting for that spot," said Ottawa defenceman Marc Methot. "It keeps you honest. I like it. "It makes it competitive and it makes every game that much more important and those are easy games to get up for. Its going to be competitive and I bet its going to get right down to the last week of the season." Ottawa is in playoff contention thanks to posting a 9-3-4 mark so far in 2014. The Senators feel as long as they can remain competitive they should find themselves in good standing at seasons end. "Were playing better hockey, were playing more consistent," said captain Jason Spezza. "A win in Boston would go a long way for us to keep moving in the right direction so its a good opportunity for us to win another game and keep grabbing points." Spezza finds himself on a nice roll, having recorded seven points (one goal, six assists) in his last five games. While the Olympic break might not be ideal, the Senators feel they can take advantage of the practice time and return to action with confidence. "Im real proud of the little stretch of good hockey that weve been playing lately," said Methot. "If theres any way to go into the break its playing properly and good structured hockey and as a team right now were clicking. "You just hope after a little bit of a layover with the break, so to speak, well come back just as strong. Im sure well be putting the work in as soon as were all back together." While holding down a top-eight spot by the Olympic break would be satisfying, centre Zack Smith believes even being within reach is a positive sign. "Weve come a long way in the last month and a half or so," said Smith. "Weve won some big games and theres a few that obviously wed like to have back. "Theyre all emotional games right now so its nice to get points and stay in." But with the teams Ottawa is chasing also winning, that makes the Senators task that much more difficult. "Theres not much separation or breathing room it seems," said Smith. "Everything can change within a few hours so you have to wait and check scores to see whats going on." But one benefit of a tight race is it makes every game important. "Every night youre playing for something and you know the points are that much more important," said Smith. "Its exciting to. "Win or lose you know it has a lot of influence on where your spot is and what position youre in." Should Ottawa be unable to crack the top eight by the break, Smith said there will still be plenty of time for the team to make a move. "When it comes down to it, theres still a lot of games left after the break," said Smith. "Its still a long season. "If we dont win a game or say we lose two games in a row were still not out of it by any means. Its good for motivation." NOTES -- Craig Anderson will start in goal against Boston . . . Forward Stephane DaCosta was re-assigned to the AHLs Binghamton Senators on Friday. In eight games, DaCosta had three goals and an assists . . . Defenceman Chris Phillips will miss his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury Saturday. Phillips skated on his own prior to practice . . . Defenceman Erik Karlsson was given a maintenance day Friday . . . Head coach Paul MacLean shuffled all of his lines at practice. But he said not much should be read into it as he was just having some fun . . . Most of the Senators said theyd be keeping a close eye on the Olympic action but also were looking forward to having a little down time. Air Jordan 1 Sale Canada .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Cheap Authentic Jordan 1 .com) - The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated balls during Sundays AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis. http://www.airjordan1salecanada.com/ . Damyean Dotson, 19, Dominic Artis, 19 and Brandon Austin, 18, were suspended after the school received a police report concerning allegations made by a student who said she was assaulted by the players in early March. Jordan 1 Cheap Real . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Air Jordan 1 Canada . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay.SYDNEY, N.S. - Kyle Farrell scored once and set up two more as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles downed the visiting Shawinigan Cataractes 5-3 on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Timothe Simard added a pair of goals for the Screaming Eagles (31-24-4), who are 4-0-1 in their last five outings, while Matthew Nosella and Charles-Eric Legare each scored once. Lucas Lajoie, Giovanni Fiore and Ilya Zinoviev supplied the scoring for the Cataractes (16-36-8), who dropped out of the final playoff position with the loss. Cape Bretons Zachary Fortin made 24 saves for the win as Shawinigans Marvin Cupper turned away 28-of-32 shots in defeat. --- SEA DOGS 2 ISLANDERS 1 CHARLOTTETOWN — Nathan Noel scored both goals for his club as Saint John edged the Islanders to slip into the last playoff spot. Noel opened the scoring for the Sea Dogs (18-37-4) 4:37 into the first period and then added the eventual winner on the power play at 12:19. Sebastien Auger made 37 saves for Saint John. Daniel Sprong scored the lone goal for Charlottetown (18-36--5), which is 1-9-0 in its last 10 contests, and Eric Brassard kicked out 15-of-17 shots in a losing cause.dddddddddddd --- REMPARTS 3 VOLTIGEURS 2 (SO) DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. — Marc-Olivier Groleau scored the only goal in the shootout to lift Quebec over the Voltigeurs. Kurt Etchegary and Alexandre Boivin scored in regulation for the Remparts (35-16-9) while Francois Brassard made 23 saves for the win. William Carrier scored once for Drummondville (35-20-4) and assisted on Olivier Caouettes goal as well. Louis-Philip Guindon turned away 23-of-25 shots for the Voltigeurs. --- OLYMPIQUES 3 SAGUENEENS 0 GATINEAU, Que. — Anthony Brodeur only had to stop 17 shots as the Olympiques blanked Chicoutimi for their third straight win. Elie Berube, Adam Stevens and Simon Tardif-Richard scored for Gatineau (37-19-4) and Jean-Simon Deslauriers tacked on two assists. Jeremy Bouchard led the Sagueneens (26-32-1) with five shots on Brodeur. Julio Billia turned aside 27-of-30 shots for Chicoutimi, which is just 2-8-0 in its last 10 games. ' ' '