Geburtstage » Steven Stamkos has taken another step forward in his com

TORONTO -- The Toronto Marlies have enjoyed plenty of success so far in the 2014 American Hockey League playoffs, sweeping their first two series to secure a spot in the Western Conference Final. But despite their perfect 7-0 post-season record, the Marlies wont be taking their next opponent, the Texas Stars, lightly. "We know were not going to win every game," said centre Peter Holland. "If we are going to make it to the Calder Cup (final) and were going to make a push like that, we know were not going to sweep the whole way through. Thats just not realistic." Texas (48-18-10) is the reigning Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winner with the leagues best regular season record. The Stars roster also boasts the leagues MVP in Travis Morin and Rookie of the Year in Curtis McKenzie. Morin leads the Stars in playoff scoring with two goals and eight assists in nine games, followed closely by Mike Heddens five goals and four assists. The series begins Friday in Cedar Park, Tex. The Stars, like the Marlies (45-25-6), swept their first round matchup against the Oklahoma City Barons and then used six games to dispatch the defending Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins. Marlies head coach Steve Spott was in Texas Sunday to see the Stars down the Griffins 7-1 in the series clincher. "Theyre the No. 1 team in the league, were an underdog, lets not kid ourselves, were an underdog," Spott said. "I sound like Bruce (Boudreau) right now in Anaheim, but we definitely are, were underdogs, we understand that, but weve been underdogs since Sept. 1 in this league." Spott, who was the head coach of the Kitchener Rangers from 2008-13 before joining the Marlies, has coached or coached against as many as six members of the Stars organization including forwards Radek Faksa and Hedden, both of whom played for the Rangers. "Theyve got depth, theyre well coached and its going to be a heck of a series," said Spott. "I think these are two premiere clubs in the league the way theyre playing right now and its going to be a tough series. I think weve been searching for adversity. I think were going to find it and its going to test our identity." The Marlies were 2-2-0 against the Stars this season losing both meetings at Cedar Park Center. Toronto was out-scored 11-2 in the losses. Spencer Abbott and Josh Leivo each had three points during the season series while Marlies leading playoff scorer Jerry DAmigo had two goals and Greg McKegg added three assists. Drew MacIntyre, who has a 1.56 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage in the post-season, appeared in all four regular season meetings, posting a 3.00 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. An area of concern against Texas could be Torontos power play, which went 1-for-14 during the season series. In the playoffs, though, the Marlies have the top-ranked power play among teams currently playing at 25 per cent efficiency. "Weve really got to make sure our special teams are on top of it cause they can win or lose you games at this time of the year," said Holland. "Weve got to make sure our power play is scoring goals for us and our penalty kill is stopping them." Holland, who has four goals and six points in four games after missing the first three playoff games to recover from injury, didnt play in the regular season series. Spott says Holland is a key ingredient to the power play. "When you drop in Holland and you drop in Abbott, your power play becomes a lot better," said Spott. "What we do is overrated sometimes. We can put in the plan, but theyve got to execute it. "When theres something not there, Peter Holland can create something so I think thats what makes the difference. " Game 2 of the series goes Monday in Texas before moving to Toronto for Games 3-5 beginning May 28 at Ricoh Coliseum. Notes: Defenceman Andrew MacWilliam (upper body), who was injured in Game 3 of the Chicago series, will be a game-time decision for Game 1. Spott said forward Tyler Biggs has been battling a stomach virus, which caused him to lose 11 pounds in a 24-hour period this week. Cheap Sneakers Canada . Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. Wholesale Sneakers Online . Bryant underwent an operation in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. His season ended with four games left because of a rapid heartbeat, a condition he has known about for several years and had been treated for in the past. http://www.wholesalesneakerscanada.com/ . The club announced on Wednesday that Malhotra signed a 25-game professional tryout contract. The 33-year-old suffered a serious eye injury when struck by a puck during a game versus Colorado in March of 2011. Wholesale Sneakers Canada .com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills. Authentic Sneaker Wholesale . Bjoerndalen broke the record he shared with cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie, also matching his fellow Norwegians record of eight gold medals. Bjoerndalen earlier won gold in Sochi in the mens sprint biathlon. TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos has taken another step forward in his comeback from a broken right shin by taking part in his first morning skate. Stamkos practiced with his teammates on Thursday as they prepared for a game Thursday night against the New York Islanders. The centre had been skating on his own, or briefly joining the team on the ice at the end of workouts. A member of Canadas Olympic team, Stamkos remains confident that he will be able to play with the Lightning and then participate in the Sochi games next month. "Its not a full practice, but to be able to get out and not havee to go off early or not have to wait until the end to go on, I wanted to go and try it," Stamkos said.dddddddddddd "Its the best its felt." Stamkos has been out since he was injured Nov. 11 at Boston and needed surgery. "A lot of this is physical and how you feel," Stamkos said. "But there is that mental element. The power of the mind is very strong and Ive really come to understand that right now. This is another step closer." Stamkos had 14 goals and 23 points in 17 games before the injury. "Every day hes getting closer," Lightning coach Jon Copper said. ' ' '