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GLENDALE, Ariz. Andre Tippett Patriots Jersey . -- A win wasnt going to help the Phoenix Coyotes. The playoffs were already out of reach and there was nothing to gain. But as they went into their final game of the season, the Coyotes faced a must-win -- for their peace of mind heading into the off-season. What had been dubbed "That stupid streak" had to end. Dave Moss scored late in the third period, Thomas Greiss stopped 16 shots, and the Coyotes snapped a seven-game skid with a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night in the season finale for both teams. "Thats something we talked about: That stupid streak, someone has to end it," Moss said. "We were able to get a win, which is a good way to end, but ultimately its not where we want to be." Knocked out of playoff contention on Friday, the Coyotes wanted desperately to break the season-worst losing streak. Shane Doan scored, Greiss gave them a chance with some difficult saves, and Moss finished it with a one-timer past Tim Thomas with 2:31 left. The Coyotes finished two points behind Dallas for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but at least they went out on a winning note. It would have been an awfully long summer had they not. "It was important for us," Doan said. "Its obviously the way it ends with the streak, its good to win one. We had to win one." Dallas, already locked into a first-round playoff series with Anaheim, rested many of its key players for the finale. The Stars kept it close behind Colton Sceviours first-period goal and 29 saves by Thomas, but couldnt get anything past Greiss with an extra attacker in the closing seconds. "I still slammed a water bottle there at the end," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "You still dont want to lose. I didnt want to lose that game. The only bitter taste was the end of the game." The Coyotes had hoped this season finale would put a stamp on their playoff bid. Instead, it turned into a play-out-the-string game that mattered little to either team. The Stars gave Phoenix every opportunity to take the Western Conferences final playoff spot, yet the Coyotes were unable to make up any ground, thanks to a six-game losing streak. Dallas clinched their first playoff appearance since 2008 by beating Colorado on Friday, and Phoenix still couldnt shake its doldrums against depleted San Jose on Saturday, losing to the Sharks 3-2. The Stars will open the playoffs on Wednesday, so captain Jamie Benn and assistant captains Trevor Daley and Ray Whitney were all given the night off against Phoenix. Like they did on Saturday, the Coyotes got off to a lackadaisical start and fell behind when Sceviour got Greiss off-balance with a couple of dekes and scored on a power play after a nifty backhand pass from Vernon Fiddler. Phoenix generated some good chances in the second period, and Doan broke through with his 23rd goal, redirecting a shot from the point by Zbynek Michalek past Thomas. In the third period, Greiss made consecutive saves on Tyler Seguin, including one on a rebound after sliding across the crease and nearly doing the splits. Moss put the Coyotes up late, and Greiss made some difficult saves in the closing seconds after Dallas pulled Thomas. The Stars lost, but they had bigger things on their minds. "Its kind of hard to do it when youre excited for the playoffs," Stars defenceman Alex Goligoski said. "But for the most part, we played well enough to stay in the game until late." NOTES: The Phoenix Coyotes played their final game before changing to the Arizona Coyotes next season. The new ownership group called for the change to make the name more inclusive for the entire state. ... Sceviours goal was his eighth of the season. ... Coyotes LW Lauri Korpikoski played his 400th career NHL game. Joe Vellano Jersey . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Kevin Faulk Womens Jersey . Switzerland had already secured the match with its doubles victory on Saturday. On Friday, Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka both won their singles matches and pulled out of the reverse singles.R.A. Dickey lost on Opening Day and Jose Reyes is on the disabled list. Stop me if youve heard this one before, because amazingly its a scenario that Blue Jays fans are now experiencing for the second straight April. Add in the fact that closer Casey Janssen was placed on the DL on the eve of the season, and you could argue things are even worse than they were a year ago for the Jays. Lets get it out of the way right off the top - it was Game 1 of 162. A baseball fan wouldnt feel uncomfortable about a teams chances after just one game, right? But theres no question that theres a sense of deja vu for Toronto fans after Mondays 9-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Bad starting pitching last April coupled with the injury to Reyes pretty much killed the Jays chances at contending by the time the calendar flipped to May. So is it an overreaction this time around to have that same ominous feeling that this is nothing more than a continuation of last season? Sure, Tampa Bay is considered a World Series contender and theres no shame in losing to former Cy Young winner David Price. But still. In the 1989 baseball cult classic film "Major League", it was commentator Harry Doyle, played by the legendary Bob Uecker, who said "a lot of people say you can tell how the seasons gonna go by the first hitter of the year. Alfonzo Dennard Jersey. " Willie Mays Hays legged out an infield single for the Indians in the movie, then got picked off first base. On Monday, Reyes never made it that far. In the first at-bat of the Blue Jays season, he pulled up while running to first base after aggravating the hamstring injury that had been bothering him during spring training. The team placed him on the 15-day disabled list after the game, meaning it will be the middle of the month at best before we see Torontos star leadoff hitter in the lineup again. The Blue Jays will play three more games at Tropicana Field this week, a place where they have not won a series since 2007. Then its home for three against the revamped New York Yankees to close out the first week of the season. Last year the Blue Jays finished the first week with a record of 2-4, and its entirely possible they could be in that zone again. Given, its very, very early. You cant judge a major league season by the first game. But do you feel uncomfortable about the Blue Jays after witnessing their Opening Day loss? Its Your! Call. ' ' ' |
