with four goals in the third period to beat the Kings on Saturday, the Blackhawks could not mount another comeback. Jurco got Chicago on the board at 14:59 of the second, and Schmaltz trimmed the deficit to 4-2 1:07

ST. PAUL Winnipeg Jets Hats Womens , Minn. (AP) — After patiently approaching his season in charge of the Minnesota Wild, general manager Paul Fenton has taken his first steps toward remaking the roster.If the Wild don’t pick up the pace in the Western Conference race, more moves could be coming soon.The Wild traded left wing Nino Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday for center Victor Rask, a swap of underperforming but still-young players on long-term contracts between teams under new regimes.The 26-year-old Niederreiter, a native of Switzerland, has nine goals and 14 assists in 46 games this season for the Wild. He’s in the second season of a five-year, $26.25 million contract that came after a career-best 2016-17 season.For a team that currently ranks 22nd in the NHL in goals per game (2.83 entering play on Thursday against Anaheim), Niederreiter simply wasn’t producing enough. He scored his second goal in three games on Tuesday against Los Angeles, after being dropped down to the fourth line.The Wild entered play on Thursday in eighth place in the Western Conference, their streak of six straight appearances in the playoffs in precarious position. They acquired right wing Pontus Aberg in a deal on Wednesday that sent AHL center Justin Kloos to the Ducks.“We’re looking for consistency,” Fenton said on a conference call with reporters. “For me, when you make change like this, it shows players that nothing is forever and it gives them an alert that if they want to be here they’re going to have to play and play the way that we want them to play and be successful.”The Wild acquired Niederreiter, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, from the New York Islanders in 2013 for right wing Cal Clutterbuck and a third-round draft pick. The Wild clearly came out ahead on that deal Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys , with Niederreiter playing in all but three games over his first four seasons with the team and posting 25 goals and 32 assists in 2016-17.Perhaps the Hurricanes, who are in their first year under general manager Don Waddell, will similarly benefit from Niederreiter’s switch in situations. He has 112 goals and 119 assists in 498 NHL games.“I don’t want him to fail so that we look good,” Fenton said. “I want him to thrive there, and I want Victor to thrive here as well.”The Hurricanes, who have made the playoffs only once in 12 years since winning the Stanley Cup, have headed in a new direction this season under Waddell and rookie coach Rod Brind’Amour. They’re currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, entering their game on Friday against the Ottawa Senators.The 25-year-old Rask, a native of Sweden, has only one goal and five assists in 26 games this season for the Hurricanes after missing the first 20 games following surgery on two of his fingers as a result of what the Hurricanes said was a slicing accident in the kitchen. Rask is in the third season of a six-year, $24 million contract.“I think he needed a change of scenery,” Fenton said, “and I’m hoping he gets back his scoring and his distribution so he can be very productive for us.”Rask has 63 goals and 100 assists in 339 NHL games. Though their ages are only six months apart, Rask will give the Wild a $1.25 million annual discount from Niederreiter in salary cap charges. He also plays a more coveted position that is in flux for the future with the Wild, with Mikko Koivu (35) and Eric Staal (34) currently holding center spots in the lineup.“My experience tells me you can’t have enough centers www.goldenknightsshoponline.com ,” Fenton said. ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Corey Perry has been around the NHL long enough to know how to attack the end of the regular season, and the same is true for the Anaheim Ducks.After some early struggles, Perry and the Ducks look to be finding their groove.Perry and Jakob Silfverberg each scored twice and the Ducks earned points at home for the eighth game in a row, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Sunday.Rickard Rakell scored for the third straight game, Marcus Pettersson had his first career goal, and John Gibson made 37 saves. The Ducks moved into third place in the Pacific Division, a point ahead of Los Angeles. They improved to 6-0-2 in their last eight games at home and 6-1-1 in their last eight overall. Ryan Getzlaf had three assists.”Guys are starting to find their role and play within it,” Perry said. ”It’s a matter of everybody fitting in and rolling four lines out the door. Guys are having fun, and when you’re winning it’s fun.”Nick Schmaltz had two goals, and Tomas Jurco scored for the Blackhawks. They are 1-7-1 in their last eight road games. Anton Forsberg gave up four goals on 21 shots before getting pulled midway through the second period, and Jean-Francois Berube made eight saves in relief.The Ducks needed just 2:23 to take the lead on Rakell’s fifth goal in three games. With Anaheim on the power play after a frustrated Anthony Duclair slashed Cam Fowler in the offensive zone, Rakell skated through three Blackhawks to get to the front of the net and score off Getzlaf’s centering pass.Rakell is on his third goals streak of at least three games this season. He had goals in a career-high six-game run Dec. 21-Jan. 2 and another three straight Feb. 3-6.Perry made it 2-0 at 6:14, whirling around and firing a powerful wrist shot into the top netting from close range.”Those are things that show you are ready to play a hockey game, and we were ready at the start of the game Vegas Golden Knights T-Shirts Womens ,” Perry said. ”You have to be ready to play these games. Every point is crucial for us moving forward.”Pettersson, appearing in his eighth NHL game, put the Ducks up 3-0 at 2:09 of the second with a long wobbly shot through traffic. The 21-year-old Swede was caught by surprise when he was credited with the goal after assuming it struck teammate Derek Grant going in.”Joy. Just complete joy,” Pettersson said, recalling his reaction. ”It was a great game and a fun time, too, to score my first.”It was also the first goal in North America for Pettersson, as he never scored in 44 games for San Diego of the American Hockey League this season, prompting him to joke it is ”easier up here.”Silfverberg made it 4-0 at 6:39.After rallying from a 3-1 deficit with four goals in the third period to beat the Kings on Saturday, the Blackhawks could not mount another comeback. Jurco got Chicago on the board at 14:59 of the second, and Schmaltz trimmed the deficit to 4-2 1:07 into the third before Silfverberg restored breathing room at 5-2 with his second goal with 13 minutes to play.”We played the way we needed to for half the game and probably felt like we could have had a better result if we would have started with that same emphasis,” Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews said.Perry picked up his second with 5:19 remaining for a 6-2 lead.Schmaltz had his third multi-goal game of the season at 17:32.NOTES: Getzlaf, who missed the 6-5 shootout loss to Edmonton on Friday with the flu, has two goals and eight assists in his last five games. … Derek Grant and Andrew Cogliano each had two assists.UP NEXTBlackhawk: Host Colorado on Tuesday night.Ducks: Host Washington on Tuesday night.—