Dein erstes Forum » will be battlinng Karri Ramo for playing time a

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Even as two early power-play goals helped establish a 3-0 lead Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott said he still felt uneasy Friday. He didnt need to worry. The Marlies never trailed on the way to a 5-2 American Hockey League playoff victory over the Chicago Wolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal. "Its a little bit scary. Youre up 3-0 and two of those goals came pretty early," Spott said. "It definitely didnt feel like a 3-0 game. We knew they were going to come at us, they did." The Marlies used two power-play goals to grab an the early advantage while goaltender Drew MacIntyre turned back 37 shots. "It was a 60-minute effort," Spott said. "All four lines played very hard tonight." Centre Trevor Smith opened the scoring with his first goal of the post-season, a power-play goal on a short backhand at 10:54 of the first period. Toronto converted another power-play chance at 14:55 as centre Peter Holland slipped a backhand over the glove of Wolves goaltender Jake Allen. The teams were at even strength in the second when Greg McKegg scored his second goal of the playoffs at 5:02 with a slapshot for a 3-0 lead. "Once they got up a couple of goals they (played) a little freer, they felt good about themselves and it took us a while to get back on track," said Chicago coach John Anderson. The Wolves got on the board five minutes later as Christian Hanson dumped a short rebound shot past MacIntyre. Chicago winger Michael Davies cut the deficit to 3-2 at 17:26, beating MacIntyre on a one-on-one. Toronto restored a two-goal lead at 3:53 of the third period. Winger Carter Ashton slipped while shooting but his wide, wobbly shot was deflected off Allens stick into the net. The Marlies closed out the Wolves on Sam Carricks fourth post-season goal at 17:19. "There were a couple of mistakes that cost us goals," Spott said. "We didnt get in the shot lane when we should have and had a bad line change in the second period. But beyond those two mistakes I thought we played a pretty thorough road game." Allen finished with 30 saves for Chicago. In two regular season meetings this season, seven-of-eight combined goals by the Wolves and Marlies came on power plays. The Marlies claimed a 3-2 overtime win at Chicago on Jan. 17 while the Wolves had a 2-1 triumph eight days later in Toronto. The series resumes Saturday in suburban Chicago then shifts to Torontos Ricoh Coliseum next Wednesday for at least two games, and three if necessary. The post-season series is the first between the teams since 2008. The Wolves went 4-1 on the way to their most recent Calder Cup. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . The No. 23 seed at the first Grand Slam event of the tennis season has worked out all the details, from his training regime right down to where hes going to eat dinner. China Jerseys .Brooks, a three-year veteran, was slow to get up after suffering the injury during a 5-yard run by Arian Foster.Brooks limped off the field midway through the quarter and then slowly walked to the locker room a few minutes later. http://www.wholesalenfljerseyssupplycheap.com/ .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap .com) - Quarterback Cardale Jones will return to Ohio State next season. Cheap NFL Jerseys Paypal . The 27-year-old hit .209 in 86 at-bats last year after missing the 2010 season following surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.The Calgary Flames were hard-working team last season, but they werent overly skilled and had subpar goaltending. They made a move in free agency to address the latter concern. Numbers Game examines the Flames addition of Jonas Hiller. The Flames Get: G Jonas Hiller. Hiller, 32, has been an above average starting goaltender over the course of his career, posting a .916 save percentage, but the past three seasons have not been so kind, as Hillers .911 save percentage ranks 22nd out of 29 goaltenders to play at least 100 games in that span. Of those below Hiller on that list, Steve Mason and Ondrej Pavelec are the only ones set to be clear number ones with their teams going into next season. Hillers even-strength save percentage over that time, .922, is below average, at least among goaltenders that have played starters minutes. Being a below-average starter can still be an improvement for the Flames, but it should also manage expectations for Hiller, who was beaten out for playoff playing time in Anaheim, by rookies Frederik Andersen and John Gibson. Even so, in Calgary, Hiller will be battlinng Karri Ramo for playing time and Ramo had a .dddddddddddd911 save percentage last season -- his first year in the NHL since 2008-2009 -- and owns a .902 save percentage in 88 career games. To his credit, Ramo came on after a slow start last season, posting a .918 save percentage in 30 games from December through the end of the season, so maybe he can compete with Hiller for playing time. Even if Hiller might not be great at this stage of his career, hes likely an upgrade on Ramo and thats what matters to the Flames. With Hiller and Ramo together, the Flames have a chance to get something close to league-average goaltending. That may not be enough to get them into playoff contention -- they ranked 26th in puck possession last season, after all -- but he makes the Flames better. Signed for $9-million over two seasons, Hiller is being paid like a starting goaltender, but the short term makes this a smart, low-risk move for the Flames. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '