As the Nashville Predators work on turning around their slow start, they were presented with two breaks from the schedule-maker.Not only are they finishing up a three-game homestand Friday when the Winnipeg Jets come to Nashville, they are also in the middle of a stretch of four straight games against their Central Division brethren, meaning wins can count for a little bit more.These games are huge, Nashville forward Filip Forsberg said. These division games are probably going to decide whos going to make the playoffs. Thats been the case for the last couple of years now.Forsberg got the Predators run of division games off to a good start, scoring a goal and picking up an assist Wednesday night in a 5-2 win over Dallas that upped their record in Bridgestone Arena to 7-1-1. Whats more, it upped Nashville (9-7-3) from sixth in the division to fourth.Nashville effectively swapped places with the Jets (9-11-2), a 3-1 loser Wednesday night in Minnesota. That dropped Winnipeg to 0-4-0 on its five-game road trip and 3-8-1 away from Manitoba this season.We were just about an inch shy on everything that happened for us tonight, Jets coach Paul Maurice said. Both teams were competing pretty hard on that puck and it was hard to get pucks to the net. The margin for error there was real small.There has been no margin for error for Winnipeg since it blanked Chicago 4-0 on Nov. 15 to claim second place in the division. It has been outscored 15-5 during its road trip and has been stuck on one goal for three straight games.Given the way Predators goalie Pekka Rinne played this month, the Jets chances of registering a crooked number dont look good in this one, either. Rinne (8-5-3) stopped 33 shots Wednesday night, including all 22 Dallas threw at him in the second period.In 10 November games, Rinne is 7-1-2 with a 1.39 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage. He is not the entire reason Nashville is 6-2-1 in its last nine games, but he is clearly the teams first star this month.Hes a good goalie, Dallas left winger Jamie Benn said. Hes one of the best in the league and if he can see it, hes probably going to stop it.Also boding well for the Predators was getting goals from Forsberg and Ryan Johansen in the same game for the first time this season. Both have just two markers in 19 games, although Forsberg leads the team in points with 15 and Johansen has played a solid two-way game, ranking among the team leaders in plus-minus.Nashville coach Peter Laviolette was particularly pleased with Johansen, and linemates Viktor Arvidsson and James Neal, for their work against the Stars top line of Benn, Tyler Seguin and Cody Eakin.Hes working hard at both ends of the ice, Nashville Laviolette said of Johansen. I think theyre playing against big lines. Defensively, theyre trying to be responsible and play a good game and still contribute offensively.Fridays game starts a home-and-home series between the Predators and Jets. They meet again on Sunday in Winnipeg.Hydro Flask Coffee . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Hydro Flask Coffee Suomi . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. http://www.hydroflaskpullosuomi.com/ . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Hydro Flask 40 OZ . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Hydro Flask Pullo . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Ask the Arizona Cardinals how running back David Johnson looks at training camp, and youd think youd just asked somebody about their buried treasure.Man ... people dont know, tight end Darren Fells said. But theyre going to know.Im afraid to say it, coach Bruce Arians said, because then hell get hurt.I dont even want to talk about what Ive seen from David Johnson, because I dont want to jinx it, general manager Steve Keim said. Its scary.Johnson was plenty scary last year, when he had 13 touchdowns as a rookie -- eight rushing, four receiving and one kick return for good measure. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry, and over his final seven games -- five in the regular season and two in the playoffs -- he averaged 135 yards from scrimmage per game.But those arent the only reasons for the rattlesnake-caliber buzz swirling around Johnson in the Arizona desert. Something about the Cardinals 2015 third-round pick feels even more exciting this year.Hes got rare and unusual skills Ive never seen in a back, where hes got an erect running style, yet at the same time he has tremendous lower flexibility and lateral quickness, Keim said. So thats a weird combination, because usually those taller, upright guys are kind of straight-legged and stiff. This guys got an unusual knack of being able to pick and slide and do some things laterally. And then his receiving and ball skills are second to none.I mean, probably the best receiving back Ive seen.Like ... ever?A lot of people have compared him to Marshall Faulk, and our coaches had Marshall Faulk in Indy, Keim said. I think hes very similar in some ways athletically and in terms of ball-catching skills to Marshall.Pretty lofty stuff. Fortunately, its not the stuff that seems to be filtering its way to Johnsons own ears. A couple of weeks ago, Johnson stopped for an interview after a tough practice. Hed missed a blitz pickup and spent the rest of the practice with Arians screaming at him about it.Yeah, I just got yelled at, Johnson said. Just so mad at myself for doing it, because I thought I was getting better and learning a lot more, and I think it was just one of those things I might have just overlooked and just assumed. I always have to be ready for that.Good to keep em humble, obviously, and the way Johnson is ripping up practices and preseason games, its important to make sure he doesnt get too happy about all of his success too quickly. Fortunately for the Cardinals, Johnson seems to be the sort who gets the message when Arians sends it.Hes a tough coach to play for, because hee wants it a certain way, Johnson said.dddddddddddd. Every play he makes is set for that certain defense. Theres always a route or theres always a play that we should be able to win with against that defense. And usually, most of the time, I was talking to the players, and they say its the players that mess up. So hes really tough on us, especially me, because he wants Carson Palmer protected. They dont care how good you are. If you cant protect this quarterback, you arent getting on this field. That was literally the first thing he ever said to me.So theres the thing that could potentially hold Johnson back. You cant score touchdowns if you cant get on the field. But if he can stay on that field, look out. Hes put on five pounds to get up to 229, which should help him run with more power between the tackles. Not even Keim thought the running back would be great at that when he drafted him. Go back a year, and Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson were ahead of Johnson on the depth chart.I thought he was a much more gifted pass-catcher than he was a runner, Keim said. And I see the thing hes probably improved on the most is his inside running skills -- being a taller guy and being able to run behind his pads and finish between the tackles. That was the concern with him being an upright runner -- can he run with his size or is he going to be a finesse perimeter guy? Hes shown us the ability to do both, and hes gotten better and better.So this might be the time for David Johnson. Maybe a year ago, he admits himself, he wouldnt have been ready for the opportunity to be the full-time starter. Missing a blitz pickup assignment in October has far more dire consequences than missing one on Aug. 4, when the defense isnt allowed to hit your quarterback. Maybe right out of Northern Iowa, before hed figured out how to deploy his unique and considerable skills against hyper-speedy NFL defenses, hed have had a rough time. Maybe now is the perfect time for David Johnson to happen.Me being able to play last year and knowing how the NFL is, the atmosphere of NFL games, its a lot easier, Johnson said. Im a lot more comfortable coming in and getting ready for my second season. And hopefully I can continue to get better and continue to improve.All this sounds very exciting to the Cardinals, their fans and anyone fortunate enough to have snagged Johnson early last year in a fantasy keeper league.Just, you know ... dont tell anyone. ' ' '