shutout at Nashville as backup goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped all 49 shots he faced.However, the big story surrounding the Stars on Friday was the comments from franchise president and CEO Jim Lites to two local media members which were critical of captain and perennial All-Star Jamie Benn.The Star

WINNIPEG Adidas Paul Stastny Jersey , Manitoba — To be the best you’ve got to beat the best.By that logic, the Winnipeg Jets took a significant step towards their goal of hoisting the Stanley Cup next spring by beating last season’s champs, the Washington Capitals, 3-1 Wednesday night at Bell MTS Place.It wasn’t a Rebrandt by any means — it can’t be when you have two shots on goal in the first period, one of which came from your own zone and was practically moving backwards when it was gently brushed aside by the goalie — but the Jets got stronger as the game wore on and did a good job of neutralizing sniper Alex Ovechkin and keeping virtually all of his teammates’ rushes to the outside of the rink.Article continues below ...Defenseman Josh Morrissey was his usual tower of strength in shutting down the high-octane Capitals attack but his body slam of forward T.J. Oshie late in the third period left his participation in Friday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres in doubt. The two got tangled up battling for the puck and it appeared the Jets rearguard could just as easily have ended up on the bottom. No penalty was assessed on the play.He had a phone hearing with the league on Thursday afternoon and avoided a suspension but was handed a fine of nearly $8,500.Jets coach Paul Maurice continues to play around with his forward units but it looks as if right winger Patrik Laine — who has spent time on all four lines over the past couple of weeks — has found a place on the second line. For now.“It’s not about one player or one line. There are different skills sets with each player and different levels of experience and that has to get balanced out. We want the speed balanced out, too, that’s important for each line. We’ve moved him around an awful lot. It’s all about balance and trying to give players the chance to play their best game Adidas Max Pacioretty Jersey ,” he said after practice on Thursday morning.The Jets have won three straight games since returning from the Global Series in Helsinki to improve to 11-5-1.The Sabres (10-6-2) are riding a three-game winning streak of their own, including Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over perennial powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning, and a pair of come-from-behind wins over the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks. “They’ve been one of the top teams over the last few years,” Zach Bogosian, a former Jets defenseman, said at a post-practice scrum on Thursday. “I thought we probably didn’t play our best game, but we found a way to win. That’s the important thing. Moving forward, we know we can close out games like that.”Jets backup goalie Laurent Brossoit will start for the first time in seven games against the Sabres. He’s 3-0 with a goals-against average of 1.68 and a save percentage of .957. Across the ice in the opposing crease Adidas Seth Griffith Jersey , it’s expected starter Carter Hutton will get the call for the Sabres. He has a record of 4-4-1 and a .993 save percentage in 10 career games against the Jets. DALLAS –The Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars were once rivals in the Central Division, but that changed in 2013 when Detroit shifted to the Eastern Conference.On October 28, the Red Wings (15-18-6) defeated the Stars 4-2 at Little Caesars Arena. The rematch comes Saturday at American Airlines Center and Detroit, which has allowed 131 goals this season (tied for second-most in the NHL) looks to flip that script.“Yeah, well you can’t give up the number of goals we’ve given up and be happy with it,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said after a 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Thursday. “You got to make sure that you’re not giving up anything easy. You’ve got to make sure they’re earning everything.”Article continues below ...Detroit is 2-6-2 over its past 10 games and is 7-9-3 on the road.But one bright spot from Thursday’s road loss was forward Dylan Larkin scoring his 16th goal of the season and extending his career-best point streak to 12 games.“We got to find a way to just grind it out for 60 minutes, play our game and come away with two points. We need two points desperately here,” Larkin said Thursday.On Thursday Adidas Jack Roslovic Jersey , Dallas (19-16-3) notched a 2-0 shutout at Nashville as backup goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped all 49 shots he faced.However, the big story surrounding the Stars on Friday was the comments from franchise president and CEO Jim Lites to two local media members which were critical of captain and perennial All-Star Jamie Benn.The Stars practiced early Friday afternoon and coach Jim Montgomery and the players spoke to the media before Lites’ comments surfaced.And Dallas, which is 11-5-1 at home, is beginning a crucial stretch where it plays 10 of its next 13 on home ice.“I want us to become more consistent and create an identity of we’re going to be a puck-pressure team that is tenacious when we don’t have the puck and when we do have it, we’re going to manage it well,” Montgomery said after practice Friday of this stretch of home games.Montgomery said Ben Bishop will start in goal Saturday against Detroit.Dallas also made several roster moves Friday, recalling forward Roope Hintz from Texas of the American Hockey League and activating defenseman Connor Carrick (foot) off injured reserve. The Stars also assigned defenseman Gavin Bayreuther to Texas and placed forward Martin Hanzal (back) on injured reserve.Montgomery said the decision has yet to be made on whether Carrick or Julius Honka will skate on Dallas’ third defensive pair Saturday.But even with Dallas facing a Detroit team that has lost three straight and seven of eight, the Stars’ rookie coach isn’t about to take the Red Wings lightly.“A real fast team Adidas Laurent Brossoit Jersey , a young team that works hard, that comes at you hard on the forecheck and in the neutral zone, and a team that if we can possess pucks down low maybe we can have some success against,” Montgomery said of Detroit.