LOS ANGELES — Jaromir Jagr had his first multi-goal game since opening night, Brenden Morrow got the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Dallas Stars ended the Kings’ six-game home winning streak with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night.

Jagr and Cody Eakin connected on power plays for Dallas’ first two goals after penalties against Los Angeles defenceman Keaton Ellerby. Jagr converted a rebound of Jamie Benn‘s shot with 10:20 remaining, his ninth of the season and 674th of his career — 10th on the NHL’s all-time list.

Jagr’s three-game goal streak is his longest since his final four games of the 2007-08 regular season with the Rangers. The nine-time All-Star and 1999 MVP spent the next three years out of the NHL before returning last season with Philadelphia, and has 27 goals in 95 games since his comeback began.

Antoine Roussel completed the scoring with an empty-net goal and Kari Lehtonen stopped 30 shots in his third straight start, after missing the previous five games with a lower body injury.

Jeff Carter scored his 12th goal in 12 games and 16th this season for Los Angeles. Trevor Lewis also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions and Jonathan Quick made 17 saves.

Quick’s record slipped to 7-7-2. Last season he was 35-21-13 while setting franchise records with 10 shutouts, a 1.95 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage before winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Dallas rookie forward Reilly Smith hit the left post with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle in the second period with the score 1-1.

The Kings had a chance to take the lead with a short-handed goal as Carter took off on a 2-on-1 rush with Mike Richards while Alec Martinez was serving a tripping penalty. Lehtonen made the save on Richards, but the Kings took a 2-1 lead shortly after as Carter’s wrist shot from the right caromed into the net off Benn’s left skate.

Dallas pulled even late in period, as Eakin chipped the puck past the backchecking Martinez in the Kings’ zone and beat Quick to the glove side while Ellerby was off for hooking Trevor Daley.

Jagr opened the scoring 5:28 into the game. Ellerby was off for tripping Erik Cole when Benn passed the puck from the top of the right circle to Jagr about 10 feet to the left of the net, and the five-time NHL scoring champ one-timed it past Quick.

Los Angeles tied it when Dwight King‘s persistent forechecking against Alex Goligoski behind the net allowed Lewis to gain control. He circled the net before using Vernon Fidler as a screen to beat Lehtonen high to the stick side.

NOTES: Morrow’s goal was his 243rd with the Stars, tying Jere Lehtinen for second place on the Dallas list behind Mike Modano‘s 434. Modano scored 123 other goals for the franchise while it was in Minnesota. … Jagr needs four assists to join Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic and former Pittsburgh teammate Mario Lemieux as the only players in NHL history with at least 1,000 assists and 600 goals. … Los Angeles D Rob Scuderi and Dallas LW Eric Nystrom were both raised in the same town, Syosset, N.Y., which is about 30 miles east of Madison Square Garden. Nystrom is the son of Bobby Nystrom, who won four Stanley Cup titles with the Islanders. … This was the opener of a five-game season series with the Stars, whom the Kings beat out for the final Western Conference playoff berth before becoming the first eighth seed to win a Stanley Cup.

By Andrew Simon / Special to MLB.com | 3/7/2013 11:45 P.M. ET

Fans whose Spring Training plans might be foiled by inclement weather on Friday won’t be out of luck.

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D

Tickets | Bracket | Scoreboard

With the forecast in Arizona looking ominous, those holding a ticket to one of Friday’s Cactus League games will have the opportunity to purchase a $5 ticket to a World Baseball Classic contest instead. To take advantage of the offer, bring tickets for rained-out games to the box office at Phoenix’s Chase Field.

Chase Field, the home of the D-backs, is hosting two Classic games on Friday. Italy will face Canada at 12 p.m. MT, and the U.S. will take on Mexico at 7 p.m.

Italy is coming off a dramatic 6-5 win over Mexico on Thursday; the U.S. and Canada will be playing their first games. The Americans will send reigning National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey to the mound against Mexico’s Yovani Gallardo.

Tickets for those games also can be purchased at worldbaseballclassic.com or by calling the Chase Field box office at 602-514-8400.

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO –The Canadian Football League announced today that it has fined the Edmonton Eskimo Football Club $10,000.00 for violating the league’s tampering rules when signing free agent Odell Willis.

As outlined in the league’s by-laws, CFL tampering rules state:

A coach, manager, trainer, player, officer, executive or any other person connected, directly or indirectly, with a Member Club is prohibited from:
 
(d)    directly or indirectly through an agent or by public or private statement or inference, contacting or negotiating with

(ii)    any player who is under contract to, on the Negotiation List, or Suspension List, or Retired List, or otherwise the property of, another Member Club

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The New York Rangers have claimed veteran defenceman Roman Hamrlik off waivers from Washington.

Hamrlik was selected first overall by Tampa Bay in 1992 and is the current active leader in NHL games played.

He has appeared in 1,383 regular-season games with Tampa Bay Edmonton, New York Islanders, Calgary, Montreal and Washington.

The three-time all-star has 155 goals and 483 assists in his career, good for third among active NHL defencemen.

The 38-year-old native of the Czech Republic has played only four games this season. He is in the final season of a two-year, US$7-million contract he signed in the summer of 2011.

He was placed on waivers by Washington on Tuesday.

TAMPA, Fla. — So, Joe Girardi, is it getting tougher to remain optimistic?

“No, it’s not,” he said.

How so?

“This is a club that I’ve seen go through this most of the time I’ve been here,” he said. “We’ve gone through it here and there with some injuries. Our guys have found a way. And I really believe they’ll do that.”

Even if they have to do things a different way?

“Even if we have to do it a different way, we’ll find a way,” he said.

This has to be the mantra for the Yankees in these bizarre times. The Yankees know how to win. The Yankees still have pitching. The Yankees aren’t awed by the American League East landscape.

When in doubt, Yankees fans, repeat as often as necessary.

Scouts making their way around the Grapefruit League have different opinions about the Yankees. Some say they’re a last-place team. Some say that they’ve got enough pitching to keep them in the race until reinforcements arrive.

After being hit hard by free-agent defections over the winter, the Yankees have gotten a drip-drip-drip of bad news. Girardi spoke to reporters Monday after learning that Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira had sustained a right wrist injury, but before reliever David Robertson was unable to get loose for a scheduled appearance against the Braves.

General manager Brian Cashman, who has had a bad week himself in sustaining a broken leg in a parachute jump, said he was worried about Teixeira, who”ll undergo more tests.

Curtis Granderson is gone, too, for about a month after breaking his forearm. The Yankees already had a thin margin for error after Nick Swisher, Russell Martin, Rafael Soriano and others departed via free agency.

At the moment, the Yankees are holding onto a couple of things. First, the AL East does not have a dominant team. The Blue Jays and Rays appear to be better than the Yankees, but it’s unlikely either is going to run away from the pack.

Second, the Yankees know how to win. Don’t laugh. This is a big, big deal. Confidence is critical. The Yankees still have Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, too.

The Yankees added Kevin Youkilis, Travis Hafner and Ichiro Suzuki, all respected pros. Whatever else you can say about these Yankees, they understand professionalism and preparation and staying the course in bad times.

“We’ll see what happens,” Pettitte said. “I know everybody in this room is extremely confident about what this club can do.”

If you focus on the Yankees’ losses, you’ll miss the larger picture. Rivera may pitch in his first game on Wednesday. Jeter could be back in a few days. Granderson will return in May.

Instead of home runs, they’ll have to score runs a different way, and there’s no way of knowing if it’ll work. At least, that’s the hope. Brett Gardner is a huge part of the puzzle. Robinson Cano is essential. Youkilis, Hafner and Ichiro all need to be healthy and productive.

If the Yankees can pitch and play defense, they’ve got a puncher’s chance of hanging around. If they stay close for half a season, things could change quickly.

Some of that talent at the lower levels of the Minor Leagues could begin moving through the system. Outfielders Mason Williams, Melky Mesa and Tyler Austin could end up in the picture as either contributors or trade chips.

Is it perfect? Of course not. Just when Granderson’s broken forearm seemed to be the worst news possible, it got worse.

Only Cano, Jeter and Gardner are guaranteed to be in the lineup from Opening Day 2012.

And expectations haven’t changed. When Pettitte was asked about maybe flying under the radar with lower expectations, he shook his head. Actually, I think his look said, “What planet have you been on?”

“We’re expected to win this thing,” he said. “You know that. If we don’t make a run at a championship, it would be a huge disappointment.”

He remains relentlessly optimistic, praising Cashman for his offseason acquisitions and emphasizing that he hasn’t lost the faith.

“We’re excited,” Pettitte said. “We’ve added some guys who’ve been great. Youkilis. Hafner. They’ve been great around here. I really enjoy being around those guys. I feel like we have a pretty good club. Our pitching is in intact, and if you’ve got pitching, you’re going to be able to be successful. I know I feel real good about the pitching we have.

“I understand there might be question marks about the lineup as far as losing some power. I’ve got no problem with hopefully having more contact guys who can put the ball in play and stuff like that. You’ve got to play the games.”

DETROIT — Niklas Kronwall scored in the second period thanks to a fluky bounce, and the Detroit Red Wings held on to beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Detroit opened the scoring with 13:00 to go in the second on a breakaway goal by Johan Franzen, and Kronwall added to the lead when his shot from the point went wide, bounced back off the boards and went in off the right skate of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

The Red Wings needed that second goal, because Colorado’s Paul Stastny spoiled Jimmy Howard‘s bid for a shutout when he scored with 1:30 to play in the third.

Detroit has gone four straight games without allowing a goal in the first or second period.

Detroit was coming off a shootout loss to Chicago on Sunday — after the Red Wings came within 2:02 of handing the Blackhawks their first regulation loss of the season.

They almost blew a late lead in this one too, but Colorado wasn’t able to tie it up. The Avalanche nearly had a fortunate bounce of their own in the final seconds when a shot went wide and caromed off the boards out to Matt Duchene in front of the net. But Duchene couldn’t beat Howard.

After the final buzzer, a frustrated Duchene broke his stick into three pieces when he slammed it against the empty net Colorado had been defending, then threw the rest of the stick down on the ice.

The rivalry between Detroit and Colorado isn’t quite as heated as it used to be, and the first period Tuesday passed without a goal or a penalty.

Franzen gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead in the second when he got his stick on a Colorado shot from the point and then immediately began skating up the ice. Damien Brunner controlled the puck and sent a pass to Franzen, who went in alone and beat Giguere high to the glove side.

Kronwall’s goal with 2:28 left was more bizarre. His shot missed to the left of the net, but it caromed back as Giguere was extending his right leg and ended up bouncing off the goalie and in.

Howard made 36 saves. The most acrobatic of them came early in the third, when he stretched all the way out on his side to stop John Mitchell in front of the net. Mitchell had been left alone and had time to pull the puck to his backhand, but after manoeuvring around Howard, he couldn’t put the puck past him.

Howard later stopped P.A. Parenteau on a breakaway.

The Red Wings wasted a chance to score again when they failed to take advantage of a two-man advantage in the third. The 5-on-3 situation began after Colorado’s Chuck Kobasew was called for boarding Brendan Smith — a hit that led to the first hint of a scuffle all night.

NOTES: Giguere made 31 saves for the Avalanche, who will have to turn around and play at Chicago on Wednesday night.