BOSTON -- Jarome Iginlas slow start in Boston is now a distant memory. Stitched Royals Jerseys . Iginla scored two goals, Tuukka Rask stopped 33 shots, and the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins extended their winning streak to nine games with a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night. Signed during the off-season to replace departed free agent Nathan Horton on the Bruins top line, Iginla has fit in perfectly. "We lose a guy that we thought would be back for us, in Horton. That was a big hole to fill," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Hes come in and filled that hole really well. You mention the stats, he brings us the same thing the other guy did with his size and scoring ability. Hes done a great job. "Were talking about a veteran here with tremendous leadership qualities. Hes certainly been a great asset to our team." Iginlas scoring didnt come for a while with Boston. He didnt net his first goal until his ninth game, and had just five in his first 29. But now he is scoring goals even when his shots are blocked. The Bruins grabbed a 1-0 lead 3:52 into the second period on Iginlas first of the game. His shot was deflected by the stick of defenceman Jonas Brodin and popped into the air. Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper appeared to lose sight of the puck, and it bounced between his pads just before he dropped. Iginla was smiling along the boards when his teammates came to congratulate him. Iginla added an empty-netter, his team-leading 25th goal, with 65 seconds to play. "It was a very fluky, fortunate bounce goal. Ill definitely take them," he said, flashing a similar smile while standing in front of his locker. The Bruins increased their conference lead to five points over idle second-place Pittsburgh by posting their longest winning streak since a 10-game run in November 2011. Boston is 12-1-2 in its last 15 games. Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith also scored for Boston, which beat the Wild at home for the first time after losing the first six meetings. The Bruins are 3-10 overall against the Wild, who began play in the 2000-01 season. "They were real consistent in how they played," Minnesota defenceman Keith Ballard said. "Theyve got good balance to their lineup." Jason Pominville had the only goal for Minnesota, which lost for the fifth time in six games, but three of those defeats came in shootouts. Kuemper made 25 saves. About 2 1-2 minutes after Iginlas first goal, Rask robbed Mikko Koivu with a glove stop on a shot from in front. He also made a right-pad save on Nino Niederreiters shot from the left circle with just over 2 1-2 minutes left in the game. "Our goaltending has been outstanding all year without question," Iginla said. "They give us a chance every night with big momentum shifts. We also feel as the game goes on we can start playing physical to start taking over the game and try to wear teams down." Rask played like what the Wild expected to face. "He was very good. We knew that going into the game, and he was as good as people say he is," Koivu said. "He made some great saves." Boston made it 2-0 at 11:55 when Carl Soderberg circled the net and sent a backhanded pass across the crease and through a group of players to Eriksson, who one-timed it into the net. Pominville cut it to 2-1 with 1:26 left in the second. He unloaded a slap shot, and the blade of his stick broke. It flew toward Rask as the puck sailed by his glove inside the near post. Smith scored off the rebound of Bergerons shot, making it 3-1 at 7:50 of the third. NOTES: Bruins defenceman and captain Zdeno Chara will turn 37 on Tuesday. ... Boston D Johnny Boychuk missed the game because of a lower-body injury. He went into the boards awkwardly Saturday in a win against Carolina and was helped to the bench, favouring his right leg. He returned and blocked a shot with that leg on his next shift and went to the bench slowly again. He tested the leg Monday morning and said it was too sore for him to play. ... The Bruins have never scored a power-play goal against the Wild, going 0 for 36. Boston had no power plays in the game. ... Iginla became the 55th player and the fifth active one to play in 1,300 NHL games. Royals Jerseys 2019 .C. - Goodyear has warned teams that increased speeds at Charlotte Motor Speedway will put a heavy emphasis on the right front tires in Saturday nights race a€” a potentially key development for drivers trying to advance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Wholesale Royals Jerseys . That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que.There were plenty of critics who thought the Blue Jays gave up too much to the New York Mets for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul. But you just never know with young unproven players. Both Syndergaard and DArnaud have have had their problems over the last few weeks. They were ranked the Mets top two prospects coming into this season. However a couple of weeks ago, Syndergaard, who can get it to the plate in the 95-97 mph-range, developed a flex strain in his pitching arm and had to shut it down at Triple "A" Las Vegas for a week or so. Fortunately, the MRI showed it had nothing to do with his elbow. As soon as he returned though, Syndergaard got bowled over in a homeplate collision as he was covering home after throwing a wild pitch. He suffered a sprained AC joint in his left (non-throwing shoulder) and once again has had to shut it down for about a week. Its nothing career-threatening, but it is a setback and will delay his anticipated call-up to the Mets this season. DArnauds problems are more troublesome. He was sent down to Vegas by the Mets on Sunday after hitting just .180, and only .113 over his last 41 at bats. Worse than that, his defence which was supposed to be a strength was the worst of any catcher in the National League. A concussion suffered earlier this season may have factored in, but Mets skipper Terry Collins said DArnaud wont be called up again until he starts hitting and dominating in the Pacific Coast League like the prospect he was supposed to be. Whatever you may think of Dickey, he already has 20 victories over his brief stay in Toronto, hes an innings eater and has helped put them in first place in the AL East. If you were wondering why teams seem so reluctant to trade starting pitching at this point of the season consider this; only two teams in the Majors, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia are further than 6.5 games out in the Wild Card chases. The Rays are 10 games out and the Phllies are seven back. Ever other team, including the Cubs, Astros and Diamondbacks, who got off to horrible starts, are within 6.5 games of a Wild Card spot or closer. If you are that close, even if your overall talent isnt that good, its not easy to tell your fans you are trading for the future with almost 100 games left. Even Boston with a 10-game losing skid and then a five-game win streak is still only five games out of a playoff spot. It only makes sense for the Rays to deal their ace lefty David Price but I cant see him being moveed to any other team in the American League East. Kansas City Royals Pro Shop. . Texas might make sense, but I have a hunch Price could end up with the Mets. They lost six in a row and are in danger of tumbling into becoming a mere afterthought in New York and the National League. The Mets are loaded with pitching prospects like Syndergaard, Zach Wheeler, Rafael Montero and Jake deGrom. These are the kinds of young arms that should entice the Rays. New York is seven games under .500 heading into Mondays play, but they are only five games back of Atlanta, Washington and Miami, who are locked in a virtual tie for first place in a winnable National League East. Price to the Mets makes sense, if only to upstage the Yankees who have pitching issues of their own. If youre going to trade for pitching prospects, though, you still could get burned. When the Blue Jays dealt David Cone to the Yankees in 1995, they received three young righthanders in return, in Mike Gordon, Jason Jarvis and Marty Janzen. Gordon and Jarvis never climbed higher than Double "A", and Janzen had only a brief stint with the Jays. Over parts of two seasons, he went 6-7 with a 6.39 ERA. He was ultimately claimed in the expansion draft by Arizona after the 1997 season and then was traded back to the Yankees. However, Janzen never saw the light of day in the Majors again. Cone helped the Yankees win four World Series (1996, 1998-2000) to go with the ring he won with the Blue Jays in 1992. Looking Ahead The next 16 games are going to be huge for the Blue Jays. Over that span, they play 10 games against the Yankees and Baltimore, starting with a four-game set at Camden Yards later this week, then a road series with the Yankees on the same trip followed by a three-game set at Rogers Centre June 23-25. Show of Respect I dont know if it was a one-off or just the "Cardinals way" but it was impressive and classy when the St. Louis players lined up in front of their dugout Sunday for the anthems. Home, Not Sweet Home One of the oddities of this season is the L.A. Dodgers home record. For all their starting pitching and their talent laden lineup, they are only 13-19 at Dodger Stadium. The only team in the Majors with a worse mark is Arizona at 11-23. The timing couldnt be worse for the Dodgers, since the Giants are starting to run away with the division at 42-21, the best record in MLB. Luckily for the Dodgers, they are still just a half game out of a Wild Card spot, battling it out with the likes of the Braves, Nationals, Marlins and Cardinals. If this continues, the Dodgers figure to be one of the more active teams by the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. ' ' '