With the New York Rangers playing their best hockey in months as they went into their extended break Tim Heed Jersey , veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist hopes his young teammates don’t focus too far ahead when they return.The Rangers have won four of five to pull within nine points of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. After beating Boston last Saturday, they are on their bye week heading into this weekend’s All-Star break and don’t play again until hosting Philadelphia next Tuesday night.“We can’t look at the big picture, ‘Can we get in, are we still in the race?,'” he said. “We just got to take it week by week and continue to improve.”New York, expected to miss the playoffs for the second straight year after making seven consecutive appearances that included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, went into the nine-day layoff 6-6-1 while playing 13 games in 24 days. The stretch was capped by the Rangers’ first three-game winning streak since Nov. 19-21.“Awesome feeling going into the break with a win,” said Mika Zibanejad, who has totaled five goals and four assists in the last five games. “It’s been a hectic schedule here with a lot of hockey, so try to get away from it a little bit. We’ve got a few days before the game to come back … it’s easier to come back with a win before the break than if we had lost.”In rebuilding mode this season, the Rangers have struggled for consistency. They won nine of 11 to move to 12-8-2 heading into Thanksgiving, but then followed that with just five wins in 21 games (5-11-5) before the recent five-game stretch.Lundqvist, who has earned each of the victories during the Rangers’ current streak, didn’t mind the timing of the break.“I’ve been waiting for this week,” the veteran goalie said. “It’s been a grind. It’s been for different reasons up and down and I think it’s good to get a break. And also reflect on why did we have a really good week. I hope we all do that and understand how focused, and (how we) paid attention to all the details in our game. … That’s what wins you games in this league and its very important that we understand that.”First-year coach David Quinn was pleased with how his players maintained their focus with the long time off approaching.“I’m really proud of the way we’ve played, understanding you see a nine-day break you could get distracted,” he said. “Your mind could be in different places but we did a heck of a job … of really being dialed in and wanting to finish on a high note. Hopefully they keep in mind what we did the last three games to put us in this position.”Zibanejad, who leads the team with 44 points, isn’t the only one who has played well lately, as he and linemates Mats Zuccarello (three goals, five assists) and Chris Kreider (two goals Alex Pietrangelo Jersey Kids , three assists) have combined for 10 goals and 12 assists the last five games.Quinn wasn’t concerned with the layoff breaking his team’s rhythm, noting that every team has an extended break around the All-Star Game in San Jose this Saturday with a bye week either heading into the weekend or immediately following.There have been some bright spots during the first 48 games. Kreider has upped his total to a team-high 22 goals, and Zibanejad is tops with 27 assists. Several youngsters have also come through as Jimmy Vesey (16 goals, 11 assists) is one away from his career high in goals and points, and two in assists. Defenseman Neal Pionk has 20 points, 19-year-old forward Filip Chytil has nine goals and nine assists in his first full season, and 20-year-old Brett Howden has 15 points.Lundqvist, who has moved past Terry Sawchuk for sixth place on the NHL career wins list with 446, eight behind Curtis Joseph for fifth place, won’t be off the entire time like his teammates, as he will be making his fourth All-Star appearance.“You go there to enjoy it, meet all the guys,” he said. “You just try to have a blast. I’m going to bring my family and have a good time.” ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The patience Minnesota Wild general manager Paul Fenton exercised last summer during his first offseason in charge has yielded to a more aggressive approach.Fenton’s conclusion about the roster he inherited has become clear: The Wild needed to change their core of forwards before making some long-awaited advances down the Stanley Cup championship contending track.Over the last six weeks, Fenton has dealt Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund leading up to the NHL trade deadline that passed Monday and served notice that the reshaping process will likely resume once the season is over.Reaching the playoffs six straight times to match Anaheim for the longest active streak in the Western Conference has only produced two series wins, and Coyle and Granlund were on all six of those teams. Niederreiter was on all but one.“That’s what I was brought here for, to make some changes,” Fenton said, later adding: “It has nothing to do with cap space or anything. It has to do with the talent level and where we are.”Niederreiter, Coyle and Granlund, all of whom were drafted in the first round in 2010 http://www.officialpenguinsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-derick-brassard-jersey , were each shipped off at age 26, just entering their prime years, but they each fetched a forward in his early 20s. By average age at the start of the season, no team in the league was older than the Wild.“We were trying to get younger, faster and more skilled,” Fenton said, “and the last couple of acquisitions have done that.”Here’s the twist: The Wild are still in control of a postseason spot. They’re tied with Colorado for eighth place with 19 games remaining for each team, taking a three-game winning streak to Winnipeg for a matchup Tuesday with the Central Division leader.“I think that this team has the potential to make the playoffs,” Fenton said, “and if you make the playoffs, you never know.”Niederreiter was sent to Carolina on Jan. 17 for Victor Rask (age 25), who had only one goal and one assist in 10 games after the trade until suffering a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the last six games. Niederreiter, meanwhile, has nine goals and six assists in 16 games for the Hurricanes.But on Wednesday, Coyle was swapped for Boston’s Ryan Donato (age 22), who has one goal and three assists in three games. Fenton said he noticed a “different energy” since that deal. Granlund went to Nashville for Kevin Fiala (age 22). The trades, plus the season-ending knee injury to captain Mikko Koivu , have elevated the roles of youngsters Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway and Luke Kunin.Predators coach Peter Laviolette moved Fiala, who has 32 points in 64 games, up one line the past two games to play with Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen. Fiala had two overtime goals in the playoffs before turning 21 and scored five times in his first 18 playoff games, but he broke his leg in a second-round game against St. Louis in 2017 when Nashville reached the Stanley Cup finals. Fiala followed up with a career-best season in 2017-18 with 23 goals Youth Evgeni Malkin Jersey , 48 points, 13 power-play points and 80 games, but the 11th overall pick in the 2014 draft is a dismal minus-11 this season with only 10 goals.Fenton drafted him as the assistant general manager for the Predators, however, and remained sold on his potential to provide the unique skill and speed on the rush that the Wild have been lacking.“He’s got an electric stick. His vision is unique,” Fenton told reporters Monday at team headquarters. “He’s got this ability to find people in really close quarters.”Fenton, who also reached a deal with center Eric Staal on a two-year extension after deciding not to trade him and his expiring contract, apologized for the timing of the Granlund deal. His fiancée went into labor Monday, expecting their first child. Granlund also had his 27th birthday Tuesday.“We wish them nothing but the best, especially, hopefully, with a happy, healthy baby,” Fenton said.Granlund, who was second on the Wild with 49 points, but like Niederreiter and Coyle never quite fulfilled the potential he came with, spoke optimistically after the Wild’s overtime win over St. Louis on Sunday about keeping the team intact.“It’s a whole new feeling in the locker room. It’s much more fun,” he said. “We’ll just try to keep it up.”