OTTAWA -- For the past month the Ottawa Senators have been focusing on playing better hockey while keeping a close eye on the Eastern Conference playoff race. Mike Gesicki Dolphins Jersey . And with one game remaining before the Olympic break, Ottawa finally has a chance to crack the top eight in the conference standings. Ottawa (26-21-11) visits the Boston Bruins (36-16-4) on Saturday afternoon hopeful theyll have a hold on a playoff spot once the dust settles. Trouble is, the Senators are in a very tight race and winning still might not be enough. Ottawa has 63 points heading into Fridays action, one behind Detroit for the final wildcard spot. But the Columbus Blue Jackets also have 63 points and more wins. Columbus faces San Jose on Friday night and a Blue Jackets win will leave Ottawa outside the top eight regardless of Saturdays outcome in Boston. And theres also the matter of the Red Wings, who face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. So should either Detroit or Columbus win, nothing would change for Ottawa. "Its a competitive group of teams thats fighting for that spot," said Ottawa defenceman Marc Methot. "It keeps you honest. I like it. "It makes it competitive and it makes every game that much more important and those are easy games to get up for. Its going to be competitive and I bet its going to get right down to the last week of the season." Ottawa is in playoff contention thanks to posting a 9-3-4 mark so far in 2014. The Senators feel as long as they can remain competitive they should find themselves in good standing at seasons end. "Were playing better hockey, were playing more consistent," said captain Jason Spezza. "A win in Boston would go a long way for us to keep moving in the right direction so its a good opportunity for us to win another game and keep grabbing points." Spezza finds himself on a nice roll, having recorded seven points (one goal, six assists) in his last five games. While the Olympic break might not be ideal, the Senators feel they can take advantage of the practice time and return to action with confidence. "Im real proud of the little stretch of good hockey that weve been playing lately," said Methot. "If theres any way to go into the break its playing properly and good structured hockey and as a team right now were clicking. "You just hope after a little bit of a layover with the break, so to speak, well come back just as strong. Im sure well be putting the work in as soon as were all back together." While holding down a top-eight spot by the Olympic break would be satisfying, centre Zack Smith believes even being within reach is a positive sign. "Weve come a long way in the last month and a half or so," said Smith. "Weve won some big games and theres a few that obviously wed like to have back. "Theyre all emotional games right now so its nice to get points and stay in." But with the teams Ottawa is chasing also winning, that makes the Senators task that much more difficult. "Theres not much separation or breathing room it seems," said Smith. "Everything can change within a few hours so you have to wait and check scores to see whats going on." But one benefit of a tight race is it makes every game important. "Every night youre playing for something and you know the points are that much more important," said Smith. "Its exciting to. "Win or lose you know it has a lot of influence on where your spot is and what position youre in." Should Ottawa be unable to crack the top eight by the break, Smith said there will still be plenty of time for the team to make a move. "When it comes down to it, theres still a lot of games left after the break," said Smith. "Its still a long season. "If we dont win a game or say we lose two games in a row were still not out of it by any means. Its good for motivation." NOTES -- Craig Anderson will start in goal against Boston . . . Forward Stephane DaCosta was re-assigned to the AHLs Binghamton Senators on Friday. In eight games, DaCosta had three goals and an assists . . . Defenceman Chris Phillips will miss his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury Saturday. Phillips skated on his own prior to practice . . . Defenceman Erik Karlsson was given a maintenance day Friday . . . Head coach Paul MacLean shuffled all of his lines at practice. But he said not much should be read into it as he was just having some fun . . . Most of the Senators said theyd be keeping a close eye on the Olympic action but also were looking forward to having a little down time. Danny Amendola Dolphins Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Josh Sitton Dolphins Jersey . The 21-year-old Canadian earned a spot in his third career ATP final on Saturday thanks to his first Top 10 victory of the new tennis season, a 6-4, 6-4 win over world no. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain. http://www.dolphinsteamauthenticshop.com/c-88-dolphins-albert-wilson-jersey.aspx .S. Olympic hockey management team have been making what he called "ghost rosters" since August. CONCORD, N.C. -- Kyle Busch proved hes still the man to beat on the Nationwide Series -- particularly when it comes to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch raced to his 11th Nationwide victory of the year Friday night, giving him a season sweep on the 1 1/2-mile track. Busch edged Nationwide title contenders Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish Jr. to win for the eighth time in the series at his favourite track. Coupled with his five Truck Series wins at track, he broke the track victory record with 13. "I feel like Ive really taken to this place over the years," Busch said. "I have it figured out in Camping Truck and Nationwide but I seem to have a little bit of a struggle on the Cup side. Well see if we cant change that around on Saturday. Id like to score my first Cup Series win here." Busch and wife Samantha donated the winnings from the race to the Pretty in Pink Foundation that provides financial assistance and support to underinsured and uninsured North Carolinians with breast cancer. The victory pushed Buschs series record to 62. He has 19 victories this year in NASCARs three national series, also winning four times each in Cup and Truck. Overall, he has 124 victories in the three series, winning 28 times in Cup and 34 in the Truck circuit. The win wasnt quite as easy as his Nationwide victory at the track in May when he led 186 of the 200 laps. Busch, who started from the pole, only led 36 laps this time after struggling during the first half of the race. He took the lead from Hornish with eight laps to go and pulled away. "Its very frustrating to be leading with 10 laps to go and to get blown away by the 54 car," Hornish said. Busch said he stole a page from Kyle Larson, who ran well at the top of the track for most of the night before nicking the wall late and finishing 13th. "Its good to be young and dumb," Busch said with a laugh. "He taught us old wily veterans something. He drove past me and I said, I better try that." The night ended the same way it began in the points standings-- with Dillon holding an eight-point lead over Hornish. Hornish finished a spot behind Dillon in third, but receiived bonus points for leading the most laps essentially making Friday nights race a push. Jason Sanders Dolphins Jersey. . The final three races will determine wholl win the championship but both drivers said theres a mutual respect and they expect clean racing moving forward. "I feel like were going to run hard for the championship and were going to race each other with respect and see how the points stack up at the end," Hornish said. Dillon is hoping for more races like this one, calling it the best race hes been a part of this year. "We had three guys fighting it out until the end and it was a heck of a race," Dillon said. With the victory, Joe Gibbs Racings No. 54 Toyota took the lead in the owners standings, four points ahead of Penske Racings No. 22. Joey Logano was seventh in the Penske ride. The No. 22 has 11 victories this year, five by Brad Keselowski, three by Logano, two by AJ Allmendinger and one by Ryan Blaney. Busch started on the pole but dropped back to sixth in the first half of the race. His crew made adjustments around lap 115 and he started climbing back toward the front. It was a tough night for Gibbs teammates Brian Vickers and Elliott Sadler, who crashed on lap 52. The incident began when Reed Sorenson got into the grass causing him to slide up the track into the wall on the front stretch. As Sorenson slid back down the track Vickers tried to avoid him and slammed into Sadler, who was coming off pit row, taking out both JGR cars. The crash knocked Vickers and Sorenson out of the race. Sadler returned to the track after getting some done, but that temporary fix only lasted only a dozen laps before he crashed and was forced to join the others behind the wall. Sadler said it was a frustrating night with a lot of "weird luck." "We had a rocket tonight and we were coming up through the pack," Sadler said. "My spotter was telling me to Go, go, I had no idea they were going to hit me." Sorenson said he was looking to make a pass when his left front tire hit the grass. "When I hit the grass my car went right, so I dont really have an explanation for it," Sorenson said. Cheap Steelers Jerseys Cheap Patriots Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Raiders Jerseys Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys ' ' '