Stars' Tyler Seguin: Dishes masterfully in rout of Blues

Seguin went on an assist frenzy against the Blues on Thursday, helping out on four goals (one on a power play) in a 6-2 win.

Seguin's doing his thing as usual, driving the Dallas offense with elite production from the center position. He's found the scoresheet in four of the last five games and should continue registering points with consistency as long as he can stay healthy; he's missed 21 games over the last two seasons, so a full campaign from Seguin would be huge for both him and his fantasy owners.

Gaming: friv

Seguin breathes sigh of relief after avoiding big Byfuglien hit

After narrowly escaping severe damage Saturday, Canada’s Tyler Seguin had a few words for The Beast.

As in, Dustin Byfuglien, the 6-5, 260-pound Team USA defenceman who came oh-so-close to ending Seguin’s World Cup experience with four minutes remaining in Canada’s 5-2 exhibition win.

“Once I chipped that puck (outside the Canadian blueline), I knew where he was,” Seguin said. “Well, I saw the white (sweater). I didn’t know it was him, but I saw someone making a bee-line for me and I got out of the way.”

Back in March, Seguin saw the crushing Byfuglien hit which ended the season for Ottawa Senators winger Mark Stone. Byfuglien’s reputation is well established in the back of players’ minds.

“I know Buff, too, and I’ve been very nice to him in all-star games and stuff like that, for that reason,” said Seguin. “So, after the whistle, I said ‘Buff, that was a little aggressive’ and he chuckled, or whatever.

“You do know when certain guys are on the ice. I think Buff is a bit of a beast and you want to know he’s out there.”

TORTORELLA WANTS MORE OUT OF PACIORETTY

Playing for your country carries a different set of rules for the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.

And, Max Pacioretty is getting wakeup call from Team USA before the World Cup of Hockey even gets under way.

Pacioretty might be one of the best players on the Habs but that isn’t going to get him a free pass from American coach John Tortorella and he sent a message to the winger by dropping him to the fourth line in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Team Canada Saturday night in Ottawa.

Tortorella indicated if Pacioretty wants to play more than the 10:05 he saw against the Team Canada at the Canadian Tire Centre he’d better step it up.

“He’s OK but I need more out of him,” said Tortorella, who gave the American team Sunday off. “I know how he can play and this is what happens in this type of tournament and the team makeup, you’re not going to get your 20 minutes if other people are going they tend to take some ice time.

“All the top players, even you look at Canada’s team, your minutes are going to be down. But Max hasn’t … he’s got to give me some reason to give him more minutes here. We’ll see where it goes. We know he’s a really good player, great kid, we’ve just to get a bit more out of him.”

Tortorella said he can’t afford to wait because of the short tourney.

“(James) Van Riemsdyk came in (Saturday), didn’t play (Friday) and I thought he took some of the minutes,” Tortorella said. “I thought he gave us some good minutes. That’s just the lay of the land of this tournament: I can’t wait. You can’t, you’ve got to get guys into situations where you think they’re going to produce for you.

“Max is a pretty important player for us and we hope he gets going for us and does some of the things we need him to do.”

With files from Bruce Garrioch.

Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov upsets Nick Kyrgios at Rogers Cup

As they get their earliest experiences on the ATP Tour, most young players are scheduled to play on a back court, and they nervously muddle through a loss to some world-class pro before a handful of observers.

That was the exact opposite of what happened to intriguing 17-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov in his maiden Rogers Cup match Monday night.

Just more than two weeks after winning the junior Wimbledon title, the teen from Thornhill, Ont., made a roaring Rogers Cup debut in a night-time match on Centre Court, where he shocked a less-than-stellar world No. 19 Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3.

“We were asked at one point if he was given the opportunity to play a night match on Centre Court in his first Rogers Cup, would he like that, and Denis answered: ‘Yes,’” Adriano Fuorivia, Shapovalov’s coach, said earlier on Monday. “He was asking for the big stage. He’s been brought up to go for it.”

The win propels the fascinating Canadian teen into the second round, where he will face world No. 40 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

Shapovalov was backed by a huge hometown crowd at York University’s Aviva Centre, which is located about seven kilometres from Tessa Tennis, the academy where he grew up being coached by his mother, Tessa Shapovalova, a former national team player in the old Soviet Union. She and his father, Viktor, were at Monday’s match, along with his brother Evgeniy and some kids from the academy.

“Nick is an incredible tennis player, top 20, maybe even a future No. 1, so obviously I didn’t expect to win, but I thought I’d just go fight for every point and that’s what I did,” an exuberant Shapovalov said after the match. “I thought it would be fun with all the fans [on Centre Court]. I love playing on a big stage; I love impressing people, so it was very fun for me.”

Since winning the junior Wimbledon title two weeks ago, he’s had a brief taste of life on the ATP Tour. He made his main-draw debut at an ATP World Tour tournament last week, suffering a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 loss to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia at the Citi Open in Washington.

When arriving for the Rogers Cup, the player largely unknown before his junior Wimbledon title was asked to do several TV interviews and was repeatedly surrounded by autograph-seeking kids. He played in a ball hockey exhibition on Centre Court alongside players such as Novak Djokovic and NHL stars Connor McDavid and Tyler Seguin. He got the opportunity to practise with world No. 8 Tomas Berdych.

Monday’s match seemed like a mere measuring-stick opportunity, a chance to see how far off Shapovalov might be in this brief encounter with ATP talent. Kyrgios had also been a junior Grand Slam champ just three years ago when he took the boys’ Australian Open title.

Centre Court was about two-thirds full for the Monday night match. A few fans held up a large cardboard cut-out of Shapovalov’s head. Others tried out a sing-song “Let’s go Shap-O.” It felt like the youngster’s coming-out party, and the Canadian fans were enamoured with the fair-haired and athletic newcomer.

Twice in the first set, Kyrgios was on the verge of breaking Shapovalov, but both times the youngster clawed his way out of it to remain on serve. The Canadian saved four break points.

At times, the enigmatic Australian seemed to be loping around the court as if distracted or disinterested. The more experienced player was suffering with double faults and unforced errors early on. At one point on his serving motion, his racquet flew completely out of his hand.

The Canadian couldn’t earn a break point of his own, but he kept surviving. The two played to a first-set tiebreak.

A chant of “Go Denis Go” began late in the tiebreaker as the Canadian won it on big serves, winners and letting Kyrgios make his own mistakes. Shapovalov punctuated the win with a fist-pumping holler and the crowd that filled the stadium a little more than half full roared with a mix of joy and surprise.

At times, Shapovalov delivered stunning cross-court backhand winners or beautifully placed aces. In other moments, his inexperience was glaring as he scrambled to keep up with Kyrgios’s pace. But it was obvious the world No. 19 was not at his best.

The Australian went up a break early in the second set and cruised to a 6-3 win as the Canadian began to commit several mistakes of his own. In the third, however, the Canadian went up 2-0 and let Kyrgios choke on unforced errors. The winning game went to deuce before Shapovalov smashed an ace for advantage and then sealed the match with a cross-court forehand winner. Kyrgios had 18 double-faults on the night.

“You know, he's coming off of one of the best results of his career; he has a great future,” said Kyrgios. “I'm really looking forward to see how he's going to progress into the seniors and transition. He's a top player.”

Shapovalov got increasingly fired up as the night progressed, as the charismatic teen called on the Toronto crowd to bring the noise. The likeable kid said the win does wonders for his confidence.

“I played a couple of players now and I have played them tight. I was practicing with Tomas Berdych and I went 6-4 in a set with him, so I feel like I'm very close to these guys,” said Shapovalov. “I didn't know how Nick's game would suit up against mine. He's got a huge serve. It was very difficult for me to return. Yeah, I think I played some very good tennis today.”

Mike Modano and Tyler Seguin remember the late Gordie Howe, reveal why he will always be remembered in NHL locker rooms

Mike Modano is a hockey icon in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. He hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1999 with the Stars and is the all-time goal scoring and point leader among American born NHL players.

Oh, he is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, too. 

Tyler Seguin is one of the most polarizing players in the game today and possesses breakneck speed that when paired with teammate Jamie Benn, has shown to be lethal.

Recently, both Modano and Seguin paid tribute to the late Gordie Howe, who died Friday at age 88.

The former Red Wings captain, known by many as simply "Mr. Hockey," was a 23-time All-Star and holds the record for most games and seasons played.

Modano and Seguin both took to The Players Tribune to pay their respects and share the memories they each had of Howe.

Having had his number retired by Dallas in 2014, Modano revealed Howe was the reason he wore number 9.

"I always wore number 9 because of Gordie Howe," Modano wrote. "Ever since I started playing junior hockey up in Saskatchewan with the Prince Albert Raiders, it had to be number 9."

"Gordie is such an icon that you don't need to watch YouTube to get an understanding of what he means to the game of hockey. His legend has been passed down by word of mouth, from junior hockey buses to NHL locker rooms."

"Gordie Howe will live on in NHL locker rooms as long as people are still playing hockey. I'll guarantee you right now, even 50 years from now, any time a guy has a goal, an assist and a fight, there will still be a rowdy little celebration in the room, and you'll hear Gordie's name."

Seguin also marveled at Howe's toughness, particularly his massive physique, and said "Gordie wasn't to be messed with."

"Gordie is just massive," Seguin wrote. "Gordie wasn't to be messed with. And he was just such a complete player on the ice. He was everything all at once. That's probably what I'll always remember about him. As a kid growing up, my father and my father's father talked a lot about Gordie, and he became a bigger-than-life figure for me."

'It was terrible': Stars center Tyler Seguin on fluky playoff injury, how close he was to returning

Tyler Seguin suffered a calf injury when he returned from an Achilles tendon injury in Game 2 of the first round playoff series, the Stars revealed Friday.

While Seguin and coach Lindy Ruff said the calf injury was directly related to the Achilles injury, both said they felt Seguin was healthy when he played April 16 against the Minnesota Wild.

"It's a tough one to explain. It's related, it's a calf injury that he suffered," Ruff said. "I guess it's related to the Achilles, maybe one area compensating for the other, but even with the two extra skates I thought he looked dynamic in practice the next couple of days and it's unfortunate what happened. He was medically cleared well before we even played him, but that's just stuff that happens."

Seguin said he knew when he either strained or tore his calf muscle in Game 2 that he was going to have problems. He finished the game and played 15:40,but he struggled throughout.

"It was terrible," Seguin said. "Honestly, I didn't really tell Lindy about it at the time. I hadn't been in the lineup, so I kind of kept it to myself and told (head trainer) Dave (Zeis) but not really Lindy. I've never felt anything like that."

Still, Seguin said he felt great when he was skating before Game 2 and understood the risk involved.

"I was told hips, knees, calf, this could all be caused from the Achilles," he said.

Asked if he came back too soon, Seguin said: "The thing with my calf is, I didn't have the strength yet when I was coming back in the lineup. It was another fluke thing that happened, a weird step that made it go fireworks in my leg. You can speculate all you want. I could have waited a couple of more games. I'm a competitive athlete and I see my team working hard the last 10 games of the season with me hurt and then I get a chance to be back in the lineup for Game 2 against Minnesota, I'm not going to pass that up."

Stars general manager Jim Nill said a lot of thought went into the decision-making to put Seguin back into the lineup.

"He had the Achilles tendon severed. It was fully healed, he came back, and he had an injured calf muscle," Nill said. "Is that a result of the Achilles? We don't know. We think it is just because of the way everything heals up, different dynamics, the muscle's firing different. He came back that first game and severely injured his calf muscle."

The loss of Seguin, who is fourth in scoring in the NHL over the past three seasons, was significant. Ruff said just having Seguin there to finish some of the great scoring chances the Stars created would have been helpful.

"If you give Tyler a couple of those opportunities that some of our players had, he doesn't miss," Ruff said. "That's just what he is, he's a dynamic goal scorer, and he doesn't need five chances to score one. I don't want to use any excuses, we didn't have him. We had to play without him and I still think we had a chance to beat them without him. Would he have helped? I think the answer's yes."

Seguin said the experience was mentally exhausting. He said watching his teammates battle hard for two months without him was tough.

"I wanted to be back out there so badly, but there wasn't really any much talk of me playing against St. Louis," he said. "Then, the last few days, I really started feeling a lot better and started being able to skate a lot harder. Personally, I was hoping for maybe a Game 2, Game 3 next round. So I was close, but I wasn't close enough yet."

Now, he said, he will focus on being ready for the World Cup of Hockey, which starts Sept. 17 in Toronto. Seguin and Jamie Benn have been selected for Team Canada.

"My motivation's huge," Seguin said. "This offseason is going to be a little different with that World Cup stuff happening and with being injured, continuing rehab. Like I told our docs, even if I came back in the next round, I still wasn't going to be 100 percent. So it was probably next year and it would take an offseason to get my Achilles fully healed and get my calf back working. I'm really working very hard on that probably starting next week and getting it back to 100 percent."

Stars' Tyler Seguin missed playoffs with strained calf

Tyler Seguin says he didn't even know he had calf muscles before the All-Star forward from Dallas injured one trying to come back from a cut on his left Achilles tendon.

So the 24-year-old will just add that to his off-season conditioning checklist as he tries to get healthy for next year after sitting out all but one postseason game this season.

"Probably the toughest time of my career I would say, being away from the rink," Seguin said Friday following team meetings two days after a Game 7 loss at home to St. Louis with a trip to the Western Conference finals at stake. "Just two months of trying to find a fine line between supporting the guys and also not being a distraction and making sure they can do their jobs."

The trouble started March 17 when Seguin was cut during a 4-3 victory against Tampa Bay. He missed the final 10 games of the regular season but was skating close to full speed when the playoffs started.

After Seguin missed the opener against the Wild, coach Lindy Ruff decided to give the team's No. 2 scorer behind captain Jamie Benn a shot in the second game. The left calf, weakened by the layoff, didn't last long.

Calls injury 'fireworks in my leg'

"It was another fluke thing that happened, a weird step that made it go fireworks in my leg," said Seguin, who had 73 points during the regular season (33 goals, 40 assists). "I've never felt anything like that."

The Stars also revealed Friday that Patrick Sharp separated a shoulder in the St. Louis series and fellow forward Antoine Roussel had a strained abdomen. Both played all 13 postseason games. Travis Moen was limited to six games with a broken wrist.

Dallas led the Western Conference with 109 points in the regular season, and extended the second-place Blues to seven games despite getting outscored 25-14 in the series. Dallas never scored more than three goals in a game.

"It was going to be a tight series regardless of who was in the lineup," forward Jason Spezza said. "Would he have helped us? Definitely. He's a special player in the league. The reality of it was is he wasn't going to be able to play. You almost just block it out and you move forward and that shows the resiliency of the group."

Ruff pointed to several missed chances early before Game 7 got out of hand and the Blues cruised to a 6-1 victory.

"I'm going to tell you if you give Tyler a couple of those opportunities that some of our players had, he doesn't miss," Ruff said after falling to 0-4 in Game 7s as a coach. "That's just what he is. He's a dynamic goal scorer, and he doesn't need five chances to score one."

If Seguin is healthy and the Stars are contending a year from now, the high-scoring duo of Benn and Seguin will try to win a postseason series together for the first time. They lost in the first round to Anaheim in 2014, Seguin's first season with the Stars.

"I think whenever you have a chance to have Tyler in the lineup, it's going to make your team better," said Benn, the captain who was second in the NHL in regular-season points with 89 (41 goals, 48 assists) and tied for second in playoff points through two rounds with 15 (five and 10). "It was tough not having him, but we had to find a way to do it without him and came up short."

From Seguin's point of view, the Stars were effective without him.

"We bought into playing with who was in the lineup," he said. "I don't think anyone was really thinking about that during the games. But obviously when we're in those close games, and I'm watching upstairs and I know I can help." Maybe next year.

SEGUIN SENDS OUT 'WEIRD' TWEET CHEERING ON BRUINS

Proving once and for all that he’s over the bitter divorce from the Boston Bruins three years ago, Tyler Seguin sent out a pro-Bruins tweet on Friday night while watching the Bruins battling for their playoff lives in St. Louis. Clearly Seguin had a Central Division agenda in hoping the Blues would lose the late regular season game, but the former Bruins star sent out a tweet supporting the B’s in the third period of their white knuckle 6-5 win over a hard-to-kill St. Louis club at Scottrade Center.

Seguin is, of course, on the shelf with an Achilles tendon injury at the moment and unable to help the Stars on the ice. So instead the 24-year-old sent out the pro-Bruins tweet cheering on former teammates like Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask and David Krejci among others.

It might have been “weird” in the words of Seguin rooting for a Bruins win, but it ended up being just the good luck charm that Boston needed on a night they required all the help they could get against the Blues.

Tyler Seguin not quite ready to become a rapper, but appreciates work of friend 'Mike Stud'

Tyler Seguin has a lot of friends who are athletes, and at least one who has become a rapper.

Seguin hung out one night last week at Trees with good friend and rapper Mike Stud, who was performing. The evening turned into a full-fledged athlete get-together, with Mavericks swingman Chandler Parsons and Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel also on hand.

"I think we tend to congregate; there's a lot in common and a lot of connections," Seguin said.

Seguin has known Stud for years. He got to know the former Duke pitcher, whose given name is Michael Seander, while played for the Boston Bruins.

Seander saw his athletic career end because of Tommy John surgery. He started rapping as a joke, but he gained fans and has since put out albums and gone on tour as Mike Stud. Seguin and Manziel are even mentioned in his songs.

"It's fun to watch him. He's really creative. I respect his talent," Seguin said. "He'll be working on a beat and then he'll leave the room for five minutes and come back with a whole verse. It's amazing to watch."

Seguin said he has no future in rapping but enjoys the concerts. He said he has gotten to know Manziel and Parsons and also is friends with Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman, another Duke alum.

Seguin has met players through sponsor connections, awards shows and mutual friends.

"Athletes tend to appreciate one another and what the other can do," Seguin said. "I think we can relate."

An account of the evening was reported by TMZ.

"It's a little weird, but it's just sort of how it is," Seguin said of the report. "I was there more to see a friend than anything else, but you just sort of expect it now."

2 short-handed goals help Avalanche beat Stars 3-1

DALLAS - For three years in a row now, the Colorado Avalanche have dominated Dallas.

At least on the scoreboard.

Carl Soderberg and Gabriel Landeskog each scored a short-handed goal, and the Avalanche beat the Stars 3-1 Saturday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves for the Avalanche, outshot 43-15. Mikhail Grigorenko added Colorado's final goal with 5:51 remaining.

The Avalanche beat Dallas for the 11th time in 12 meetings during Lindy Ruff's three seasons as Stars coach.

"Those are things that you can't really explain," Landeskog said. "They're one of the best teams in the league this year and they're playing really well. It's just a matter of trying to get ourselves in a good spot."

The Stars totalled 106 shots, but the Avalanche blocked 32 and Dallas misfired on 31 others.

"I thought our penalty killing was really good, and we scored two short-handed goals. That gave us a chance to win this game, and (Varlamov) was phenomenal out there," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said.

Jason Demers scored for the Stars, who fell to 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. Antti Niemi stopped 12 shots.

"To force them out of their game, you have to get the lead," Ruff said. "We didn't force them out of their game. We had to be a little harder around the front of the net."

Landeskog's goal at 10:12 of the second period broke a 1-all tie. Tyson Barrie pushed the puck ahead to Landeskog, who skated in alone and put a wrist shot past Niemi.

Colorado's penalty killers are 19 for 21 in the last seven games, with three short-handed goals.

"I realized I was on my own," Landeskog said. "I kind of had my mind made up already what I was doing coming in on him. It doesn't happen very often that you score one short-handed goal, nonetheless two."

Dallas dominated the early play, but Varlamov denied good chances for Johnny Oduya, Valeri Nichushkin and Tyler Seguin. Demers tied it for the Stars on the power play at 7:24 of the second.

Midway through the first period, Niemi saved a close-in shot by Soderberg with his pads and engulfed John Mitchell's wrist shot from the slot.

Soderberg gained redemption during the first period's only power play. He won a battle for the puck from Jamie Benn, skated in on Niemi and flipped a wrist shot into the upper left corner at 19:07.

In the second period, the Stars had the first 12 shots on goal, finally scoring on the ninth when Demers backhanded in a rebound from the blue paint.

Dallas' goal appeared to come with a bonus: Soderberg hit Demers with a high stick that drew blood and a double-minor. Landeskog scored during the 4-minute power play, however, and Grigorenko put in his own rebound over Niemi's glove for a 3-1 lead.

"I'm pretty tired after back-to-back games," Varlamov said. "Those were very intense games for us. I think we almost died after the second period. We took too many penalties and then they were all over us. Thank God that we scored."

NOTES: Avalanche RW Jack Skille left in the first period with a back injury after crashing into the boards following a shot that Niemi saved. ... Colorado welcomed back D Erik Johnson, who missed nine games because of a lower-body injury, and LW Blake Comeau, who missed Friday's game while his wife was giving birth to their second daughter. ... The short-handed goals moved the Avalanche up to fifth in the NHL with six, trailing Ottawa (nine), Montreal (eight) and Dallas and Winnipeg (seven each). ... Landeskog has three goals in two games vs. Dallas this season. ... The Stars are 1-8-3 against Colorado in Ruff's tenure as coach, including losses in both games this season. ... The Stars scored once on five power plays, but gave up the two short-handed goals and are 4 for 33 over the last 12 games.