Against the Kings, Dallas was again without forwards

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Suspended defenseman Nate Schmidt and the Vegas Golden Knights agreed to a $35.7 million Matt Calvert Jersey Womens , six-year contract extension Wednesday that runs through the 2024-25 season.The team announced the move late Wednesday night after losing 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout. Schmidt’s new deal is worth $5.95 million per year.The 27-year-old Schmidt was banned 20 games last month for violating the NHL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. He can return to the Golden Knights on Nov. 18.“He is the kind of defenseman that every team in this league is looking for now,” Vegas general manager George McPhee said. “He is unique, excellent defensively and has become a shutdown defenseman for us playing against the other clubs’ top players. But he also brings a lot of pace to the game and he brings offense.”Schmidt led the Western Conference champions in ice time last season at 22:14 per game. He had five goals, 31 assists and 19 penalty minutes in 76 games. He added three goals and four assists with four penalty minutes in 20 playoff games for the expansion Golden Knights, who lost to the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final.In five NHL seasons, Schmidt has 13 goals, 66 assists and 64 penalty minutes in 276 career games. The native of Minnesota was selected by Vegas from Washington during the 2017 expansion draft.“He means a lot,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “He’s a top player for us. He’s done a great job playing defense for us last year. Obviously he got a real nice contract that he deserves Cale Makar Jersey Womens , and we miss him a lot. So he’s a big player for our group and we’re happy to have him for long term.”Schmidt insisted he didn’t intentionally take a banned substance and couldn’t have gotten any performance benefit from the “trace amount” that got into his system.He and the Golden Knights released statements disagreeing with the penalty, though neither specified the substance. Schmidt said one of the experts testifying on his behalf at the appeal hearing likened the amount to a pinch of salt in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.The appeal, which was heard by a neutral arbitrator, was denied. DALLAS — On Oct. 13, the Dallas Stars defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 at American Airlines Center.These former Pacific Division rivals square off again in Dallas on Thursday, and first-year Stars coach Jim Montgomery expects a similar game from the Ducks.“They haven’t changed,” Montgomery said after practice Wednesday. “They’re winning games because of their goalie, their D core and they manage games well. They don’t beat themselves.”Article continues below ...Anaheim (5-4-1 Riley Nash Jersey Womens , 11 points), who is concluding a quick two-game road trip, is 3-3-0 on the road after a 3-1 loss at Chicago on Tuesday with Rickard Rakell scoring the lone goal.One positive was the season debut of forward Nick Ritchie, who had been a contract holdout before signing Oct. 17. Ritchie, 22, is the younger brother of Dallas forward Brett Ritchie.“It wasn’t a very good game,” Ritchie told Fox Sports West postgame in Chicago. “We had a slow start, took a lot of penalties. It wasn’t the effort we were looking for.”Dallas (4-4-0 Martin Hanzal Jersey Womens , 8 points), on the other hand, heads into this game off a win, 4-2 against the Ducks’ crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, on Tuesday night.The Stars’ victory arrested a three-game losing streak and saw Dallas play 11 forwards and seven defensemen, a look Montgomery said he could employ again.“Still an option, yeah Anton Khudobin Jersey Womens ,” Montgomery said. “I liked it for the forwards, I don’t know how good it was for a defenseman.”Besides the two-goal win, the rookie Stars coach saw several other big positives from Tuesday’s win.“Our feeling is we won ugly and maybe (were) a little bit fortunate,” Montgomery said. “Probably the second time all year where the other team had a lot more puck possession time than we did. Other than (Ben Bishop)’s effort, the one real positive is we were physical. We were in the battle. We just got to get better at our execution.”Against the Kings, Dallas was again without forwards Valeri Nichushkin (soreness) and Alexander Radulov (lower body), and it appears neither Russian winger will skate against the Ducks.“(Radulov) we do not expect to play tomorrow (Thursday),” Montgomery said. “We need to rest it for a couple days. We do expect him to be a player on Sunday.”But Nichushkin’s status sounds more uncertain.“(Nichushkin) practiced with us today Wade Megan Jersey Womens , so that’s a positive sign. We think he’s physically ready,” Montgomery said. “Is he ready condition-wise to go in tomorrow night or does he need a couple days?”Montgomery would like to see his dynamic offensive duo of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, who have combined for one point, a Seguin assist on Tuesday, over the past four games, get back on track.“The most important thing is we need (Seguin) and (Benn) to get back on the score sheet and we need them to start possessing pucks a lot more,” Montgomery said.The Stars look to win the final contest of a three-game homestand before hitting the road for a six-game Eastern Conference road trip starting Sunday at Detroit.