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When the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars stars last met, the attention shifted from hockey to a decidedly more serious subject in a matter of seconds. On Wednesday, the two teams will get together in Dallas to play the game that was postponed due to a scary incident involving Stars forward Rich Peverley. The initial matchup on March 10 was stopped with 6:23 played in the opening period after Peverley collapsed on the Dallas bench and suffered what was later called a cardiac episode. Peverley spent a few days in the hospital and eventually underwent a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat, but he wont play again this season. Columbus was ahead 1-0 at the time of Peverleys collapse, and although tonights game will be a full 60-minute contest, the Blue Jackets will keep that lead. Although the Blue Jackets and Stars play in different conferences, Wednesdays game is big for both teams. In fact, Columbus can clinch a playoff spot for only the second time in franchise history with a win tonight. The Blue Jackets currently hold the last of two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. With 89 points, Columbus is four ahead of Washington and five in front on New Jersey with three games left for all three teams. The Capitals and Devils are idle on Wednesday. Columbus also is one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for the Easts first wild card berth. The Red Wings also have three games remaining and play in Pittsburgh tonight. The Blue Jackets only trip to the postseason came in 2009 when they were swept out of the first round by Detroit. The Stars cant clinch on Wednesday, but they can move four points ahead of Phoenix for the last wild card spot in the West. Dallas has 89 points to give the club two more than the Coyotes, who are idle tonight. Both clubs have three games left and will face each other on the final day of the regular season, as they are set to meet Sunday in Phoenix. The Blue Jackets have won two straight and three of their last four games and are coming off Tuesdays overtime win against the visiting Coyotes. Ryan Johansens goal 3:33 into overtime lifted Columbus to the 4-3 win over Phoenix. Johansen handled a loose puck near center ice, skated in along the left side and fired a wrist shot that beat Thomas Greiss top-shelf on his glove side. "(Johansens) been a monster for us all year, scoring some big goals," said Columbus Blake Comeau."He thrives in those moments. He wants to be a No. 1 center like he has been for us all year. Youve got to step up and be that guy in key moments, and hes done that this year." Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves for the win and is expected to start again tonight. Tuesdays tilt was the final home game of the regular season for Columbus, which will visit Dallas, Tampa Bay and Florida to wrap up its schedule. The Blue Jackets are 19-16-3 as the road team this season. The Stars picked up their second victory in three games and also won for the fifth time in seven outings with Tuesdays shootout win over visiting Nashville. Tyler Seguin scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout as the Stars inched closer to a playoff spot with the 3-2 win at American Airlines Center. "We just focused on what we could do," said Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff. "The schedule is demanding and it gets a little bit worse tomorrow. Im a little concerned that our energy was good early and the energy began just slipping away." Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski scored in regulation for the Stars, while Kari Lehtonen stopped 27 shots. Dallas is 22-10-7 as the host this season and is playing the second part of a three-game homestand on Wednesday. The Stars will welcome St. Louis on Friday before Sundays meeting with the Coyotes. Columbus has won two straight and three of the last four meetings in this series overall and has taken two straight in Big D. Lehtonen could get the call again in net for Dallas. He is 5-5-1 with a 1.91 goals against average and .936 save percentage in his career against Columbus. Bobrovsky is 5-0-1 with a 1.96 GAA and .937 save percentage in six lifetime meetings with the Stars. Saucony Shoes Canada Online . LUCIE, Fla. Buy Saucony Shoes Canada . Simon (10-3) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings to break a tie with the Dodgers Zack Greinke and Cardinals Adam Wainwright for the NL lead in victories. Simon went to spring training as a relief pitcher and moved into the starting rotation when Mat Latos was recovering from elbow and knee surgeries. http://www.cheapsauconycanada.com/. Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Saucony Outlet Canada . A top pitching prospect, one who the ball club is pinning some of its future hopes, takes the spot of a veteran who once was viewed as a future ace but who, to this point, hasnt realized his potential and may never. Saucony Shoes Canada Sale . Three days after falling to Hamilton, Abbotsford scored three goals in 53 seconds en route to a convincing 5-1 win over the Bulldogs Saturday in American Hockey League play.COLUMBUS – The Maple Leafs continue to search for an identity. On a chilly Friday evening in Columbus, that reality was hammered home once more. The Leafs fell for the third time in the past four games, outworked by the Blue Jackets in a 5-2 loss at Nationwide Arena. A fast, physical, determined bunch in 2013 en route to the first playoff berth in nine years, the group this fall has bared only a passing resemblance to that identity so far. “We know what it was – I think everybody knows what it was,” Jay McClement said of the teams identity in conversation with the Leaf Report following the latest loss. “Were struggling to live up to that every night I think right now.” There were signs of that identity emerging in a hearty 4-2 win against Anaheim on Tuesday night. Though they started slowly with the Ducks in town – just two shots in the first frame – the Leafs got to playing a harder, more refined game as they took control of the final two periods en route to their seventh victory this season. It appeared to be a potential starting point. “For the most part, the last game we played was probably back to our identity and then we come out tonight and you dont really see any resemblance of it,” said McClement, second among Toronto forwards with upwards of 21 minutes against the Blue Jackets. “Its just a consistency in getting that game back. Its all the things we talked about all year last year; just being a physical team, a forechecking team, and playing fast.” Stumbling starts have become an increasingly concerning part of the equation. Friday was the fourth time in five games that the Leafs (sans Joffrey Lupul, who was nursing a bruised right foot) have managed five shots or fewer in the first frame, a mere five against Sergei Bobrosky within a sloppy, uninspired opening 20 minutes which saw Columbus draw 16 shots and a 1-0 lead. “Just seems to be one of those things,” said James van Riemsdyk. “Every game we come out and get outshot 16-3 in the first period and then start to play a little bit better. Usually when you do that you dont leave yourself much breathing room to find ways to win games. We definitely didnt play anywhere close to our abilities tonight.” “If I had the answer to that,” Randy Carlyle said with a sigh of his teams sluggish starts. “I wish I did have the answer to that.” Concerned with his teams performance throughout an uneven and yet successful start, Carlyle called for an improved work ethic prior to the win over Anaheim. “Our work ethic has to be elevated to a point where we can create more of an identity for ourselves,” he said on Tuesday morning. “I dont know if we can say what type of hockey club we are yet.” Recovering from their off-kilter start – Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 of the first 23 shots – the Leafs entered the third frame on Friday even at one. But after a quick goal from Marian Gaborik and a shorthanded back-breaker from Brandon Dubinsky, any hope of success was all but extinguished. “Were 11 games in and were nowhere near the peak of playing our best hockey,” said van Riemsdyk of his group, now 7-4-0 on the year. “Obviously we know we have a lot of work to do.” The Leafs established a physical presence last year by being a quick and often relentless group on the forecheck, wearing opponents down by mucking it up in the corners. They would chip pucks, chase, and grind. And in conjunction with solid special teams, sturdy goaltending and a lot of offence – the Leafs were a poor defensive team at even-strength – theyd win a fair number of games. “We think as a forechecking hockey club that you dont go in and swing by people, you go in and take the body,” said Carlyle before the Friday loss. “Thats probably the mandate that were going to try and play to. I would say that we havent done a very good job of that … Were a team still trying to find its identity.” The wins were there early this year – six in the first seven games – despite underlying concerns, but of late those results have turned; three losses now in the past four games with the daunting Penguins in town on Saturday. The search continues for who and what the Leafs are. “Weve got to start with being prepared mentally to play that game,” McClement said. “I just think we cant rest on that identity, we have to earn that identity every night. “You have to live up to it. Thats how teams expect us to play. Its disappointing when we dont play like that because thats how we can win games.” Five Points 1. Long-awaited debut David Clarkson played just under 16 minutes in his Maple Leafs debut. The 29-year-old began the night alongside Dave Bolland and Jay McClement, eventually finishing the proceedings with Nazem Kadri and Mason Raymond. Clarkson finished with four shots, whistled for hooking on his third shift of the game. “I think he looked rusty,” said Carlyle of Clarkson, who hadnt played since Sept. 27 in the preseason. [But] the one thing you know [is] hes gooing to try.dddddddddddd” “No I didnt feel that,” said Clarkson of any rust in spite of a month-long layoff. “Thats maybe what Randy feels. Getting used to playing with guys, minutes, I guess youd have to ask him those questions.” Clarkson did present some of the promised elements in his first action with the club. He was a force in some instances on the forecheck and proved an irritant at times. 2. Alarming starts “The first period wasnt us at all,” McClement said of the teams start against the Blue Jackets. Sluggish first periods have become all too familiar for the Leafs in the past 10 days or so. A mere three shots were on the clock in the opening frame against the Wild, three shots during a clash with the Blackhawks, two shots against the Ducks and five shots against Columbus most recently. Overall this season the Leafs have been outshot 125-92 in first periods, outscored 10-7. 3. Clarksons evolution Though he remains a pesky presence, Clarkson has evolved from the player who first entered the league with New Jersey in 2007. “I fought my way into the league,” he said before his debut with the Leafs on Friday. “Thats still part of my game, but I think the more I got used to the level and everything I think the game started coming together for me.” A look at Clarksons fighting history reveals such a shift. “Definitely when I was younger there was more fighting or agitating, but I still dont shy away from that now,” he said. Year Fighting Majors* 2007-08 21 2008-09 20 2009-10 9 2011-12 7 2013 6 *HockeyFights.com 4. Subtle adjustments with a new team Just weeks into his Leafs career, Bernier continues to adjust to the style of his new team and more specifically, the defence core. As the backup to Jonathan Quick for years in Los Angeles, Bernier “had to step in on what [Jonathan] Quick liked” as far as working with the teams defenders. “Obviously when youre a backup its different,” he told the Leaf Report earlier this week. “When the guy plays a lot you have to read what hes doing so when you step in its going to be the same thing.” Now in Toronto and a competitor for the No. 1 job, Bernier is trying to assert his own preferences. Because he intends to square up every shooter, the 25-year-old wants to ensure that back-door assignments are handled by his defenders. Adjustments typically come through game experience. “It has to happen on the play,” he said of hashing out any changes. “Lets say I get beat in the game and Ill be like ‘Look I think thats going to work for us if we do this. It takes time to adjust.” “I dont know about the other D, but Im talking to Bernier every day about positioning when theres a point shot, when hes out playing the puck, all that,” Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report. “If we let the back-door pass through its going to be a tough one for him right … Weak-side, weve got to make sure weve got the guy, at least tie up his stick and try to box out so he sees it. “Just trying to figure out what he wants because in the end hes the guy whos doing all the work back there.” 5. Rielly Morgan Rielly played his ninth game with the Leafs on Friday. When he suits up against the Penguins on Saturday night he will have exercised the first year of his entry-level contract. The 19-year-old will have additionally secured one year towards eventual arbitration rights (four are required). The next big hurdle for Rielly is the 40-game plateau. After 40 games on the active roster (even those he doesnt play), Rielly will have garnered one “accrued” season in the NHL, thus initiating the clock on his path toward unrestricted free agency. With seven accrued seasons in the league (or the age of 27), players qualify for UFA status. Stat-Pack 23:05 – Ice-time for Cody Franson versus Columbus, leading the team. 12-41 – Combined mark on the draw for Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland against the Blue Jackets. Bozak finished 9-26, continuing his year-long struggles, Bolland far off the mark with a 3-15 showing. 43.7 per cent – Leafs overall mark on faceoffs this season, second-worst in the NHL. 15:41 – Ice-time for David Clarkson in his Leafs debut. 36 – Shots for Columbus. 10 – Number of games the Leafs have yielded 30-plus shots this season. 21:33 – Minutes for Jay McClement against Columbus, a season-high. 31 – Saves for Jonathan Bernier. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3 PK: 5-6 Quote of the Night “You have to live up to it. Thats how teams expect us to play. Its disappointing when we dont play like that because thats how we can win games.” -Jay McClement on the Leafs identity. Up Next The Leafs host Sidney Crosby and the Penguins at the ACC on Saturday. ' ' '