DALLAS -- Columbus had a little head start with a chance to clinch just the second playoff berth in franchise history. The Blue Jackets took advantage right away Wednesday night. Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu added first-period goals to the one Columbus already had when the puck dropped in a makeup game with Dallas, and the Blue Jackets withstood a frantic third period for a 3-1 victory over the equally playoff-hungry Stars. "Its been a long time," said winger Jared Boll, one of the few players remaining from the Blue Jackets last playoff team in 2008-09. "Its just the first step. Weve still got a long way to go." The Blue Jackets had a 1-0 lead when the puck dropped because that was the score March 10, the night the original game was postponed after Dallas forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench because of an irregular heartbeat. Anisimov doubled the margin on an unassisted goal just 1:33 into the game. That was 71 seconds faster than the goal last month by Nathan Horton, who got credit for it even though he didnt officially play because he missed the makeup game with a lower-body injury. "The only thing that was weird about it was looking up at the scoreboard in warm-ups and we had a 1-0 lead," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "But once you got into the game, I had to remind myself when we scored the first goal that we were up 2-0, not just 1-0." The Blue Jackets set a franchise record with 42 wins, beating the previous mark from their only other playoff season. Columbus was swept by Detroit in the first round five years ago, and now those teams are in a battle for playoff position in their first season since being moved to the Eastern Conference. "Its fun right now to say we clinched, but we cant be satisfied with just getting in," said Boll, who missed four months with a torn ankle tendon. "We want to get there and make a splash." The Stars, who are in a franchise-record playoff drought thats a year longer than what Columbus endured, never really gave themselves a chance to build a cushion on Phoenix for the final playoff berth in the West. Dallas (89 points) has a two-point lead over the Coyotes, who have three games left to two for the Stars. "We fell behind before the game even started," Dallas forward Jamie Benn said. "That didnt help, but were not making any excuses." Dallas trailed 3-0 after the first and couldnt capitalize on power plays with fresh ice at the start of the second and third periods against Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 17 of 18 shots in the third period and 33 of 34 overall. The Russian had to work harder at the start of the third, stopping Tyler Seguin on a backhand shot in the crease after Dallas leading scorer skated around the defence and turning away Benn from the wing a few seconds later. The Stars scored when they pulled goalie Tim Thomas for a 6-on-4 power play with nearly 14 minutes left in the game. Bobrovsky made a sprawling save before Trevor Daley punched in a rebound in a crowd in front of the net. "I broke my old record by a couple of minutes," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "I pulled a goalie one time in Atlanta with 9-something. I pulled it at even strength and we didnt score, but we scored the next shift and we pulled him late in the game and ended up tying it, and won it in overtime." Dallas outshot Columbus 18-2 in the third period, when the Stars went with an empty net for a total of about 5 minutes. The Stars ended up playing four times in five nights because of the makeup game, the same thing the Blue Jackets are doing to finish the season. Columbus was on the second night of a back-to-back and is the first team to play on four of the last five days of the season since Ottawa in 1993. Because of the busy schedule, Dallas coach Lindy Ruff went with Thomas over Kari Lehtonen. Thomas was fooled by Anisimov for the Columbus centres third goal in two games against the Stars, and Letestu made it 3-0 when his shot went off Daleys stick to the side of Thomas and somehow slid between the goalies legs. NOTES: STATS research going back to the 1989-90 season couldnt find an instance where a player scored a goal without officially playing in a game. Matt Calvert and James Wisniewski got credit for assists on Hortons goal. ... Daley tied his career high from three years ago with his eighth goal. Nike Roshe Clearance . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Outlet Nike Roshe . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. http://www.discountnikeroshe.com/. Mike Babcock has turned to the Montreal Canadiens goalie over Roberto Luongo, who backed Canada to a gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, for Canadas final preliminary round game against the ailing Finns. Nike Roshe Sale Cheap . The 31-year-old Russian dominated the No. 3-ranked Ferrer throughout, breaking the defending champion and local favourite four times on the indoor hard court. Discount Nike Roshe Shoes . Terms of the contract were not disclosed by the club. Clemons spent his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 draft out of Clemson.NEW YORK -- A happy homecoming for Jimmer Fredette and Michael Malone was another miserable night in a turbulent season for the New York Knicks. Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night. Gay and Isaiah Thomas each finished with 20 points for the Kings, who shook off a 13-point deficit and the loss of DeMarcus Cousins late in regulation to salvage the finale of a four-game road trip. Cousins had 19 points and 14 rebounds before limping off with a strained hip flexor with about 3 1/2 minutes left. The Kings made Malone a winner in his first game as a head coach in New York, where he spent four seasons as a Knicks assistant. It was the first time his mother watched him coach an NBA game in person. "Being from New York and having my family here and this is where I started in the NBA, its like a little kids dream," Malone said. "To come back here, and as a head coach, and get a win against the Knicks, it is an unbelievable moment for me, my mother, my father and my family." Carmelo Anthony had 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks but flopped at the finish, missing a potential winning shot in regulation before blowing a layup on the first possession of overtime. Playing 48 minutes, he was scoreless in the extra session. Gay followed Anthonys missed layup with his 3-pointer, Derrick Williams added a basket that pushed it to 98-93 with 2:28 left, and the Knicks never really had a chance to catch up from there. New York finished the first half at 20-32. The reigning Atlantic Division champions have already lost more games than all of last season and continue to battle injuries and speculation that coach Mike Woodsons job is in jeopardy. "I didnt expect us to be in the situation that were in right now. If somebody would have told us that before the season, Id have put any amount of money that they were lying," Anthony said. "But were in this situation right now and weve got to fight through it." The Knicks played without J.R. Smith, who broke a ccheekbone Sunday at Oklahoma City and was uncomfortable with the protective facemask he was supposed to wear, which he didnt receive until Wednesday.dddddddddddd Iman Shumpert then left in the second half with a strained left hip flexor. Amare Stoudemire scored 20 points off the bench and Tyson Chandler had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks in a game Anthony had called a "must-win." "We cant go back and get this game," Woodson said. "We didnt finish the game. I think we played well in spurts. We just didnt get it done." Stoudemire had three straight New York baskets midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Knicks an 87-83 advantage with 4:59 remaining. Fredette twice hit 3-pointers to make it a one-possession game, and Gay, after having a jumper go in and out, got another chance and knocked it down that time to tie it with 20 seconds to go. Anthony scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Knicks cruised to a 33-22 lead after one, hitting 70 per cent of their shots. But Fredette, the college scoring star from BYU whose pro career has been largely underwhelming, answered back with 15 points in the second, matching his high for a game this season. "It was a lot of fun," said Fredette, a native of Glens Falls. "You dream about this, growing up not too far from here, and this is the best arena in the world. It was an amazing experience tonight. But I was just happy we got this win and go into the All-Star break on a high note." New York built a 54-48 halftime lead on 57.5 per cent shooting, but was just 7 of 23 (30 per cent) in the third quarter, with the Kings cutting it to 74-72 entering the fourth. NOTES: Smith didnt want to play without the mask for fear of further injury, acknowledging his choice to sit out was a "somewhat selfish decision." He said he will have to wear the mask for a few weeks and hopes to get it adjusted before play resumes next week. ... Malone worked for four different head coaches in New York. ... The Knicks honoured Hall of Famer Bernard King, who held the franchises single-game scoring record with 60 points until Anthony broke it with 62 last month against Charlotte. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '