MONTREAL - After two years out of the NHL playoffs, there is new optimism among the Nashville Predators. Fake China Jerseys .A stunning turnaround aided by a coaching change, the addition of veteran forwards James Neal and Mike Ribeiro and the emergence of 20-year-old forward Filip Forsberg have put Nashville in first place in the Central Division going into the all-star break.Now they believe theyve got enough pieces to keep up their strong play through the second half of the regular season and do some damage in the playoffs.Absolutely, veteran centre Mike Fisher said Tuesday. We really believe in this group.We believe were a top team in this league and we are. Weve shown it thus far. Were really confident in the group we have, that we can win any night against other top teams.The Predators had not lost twice in a row this season going into a game Tuesday night against the Canadiens in Montreal, where they were without star goalie Pekka Rinne for a third game due to an injury expected to last three weeks.Backed by Rinne and an impressive defence group led by Shea Weber, the Predators are the NHLs stingiest team, allowing only 2.25 goals per game. But Nashville has been known as a tight defensive side in recent years.The surprise is that they are tied for fifth in goals scored per game at 3.0.Part of that stems from the decision last summer to let the conservative Barry Trotz go after coaching the team through its first 15 NHL campaigns and bring in a more attack-minded Peter Laviolette.Trotz is now performing wonders in making the Washington Capitals a winning, two-way club, while Laviolette will also be a coach of the year candidate for doing much the same in Nashville.Its good for both sides, said Weber. You see the success theyre having (in Washington) and that were having.There was a different feel coming into training camp this year with a new face and I think the guys have responded very well.The second part of the season will determine if the Predators are for real, but it looks like it so far.They certainly have the goaltending with Rinne, considered one of the best in the world.With Weber, they have the big No. 1 blue-liner every team wishes it had, and he is backed by a group that can defend and move the puck. Among them is emerging talent Seth Jones, the fourth pick in the 2013 draft.Only a few months ago, they didnt appear to have much up front, but then Forsberg turned into a nearly point-per-game player and a strong two-way player on the top line with veteran Mike Ribeiro, who so far has shown a new commitment to discipline after being bought out by Arizona due to behavioural problems.Hes been an excellent addition to our team, Laviolette said of Ribeiro, who is on pace for his first 70-point campaign since 2010-11. Terrific in the room, terrific teammate, terrific on-ice play.Forsberg, playing his first full NHL campaign, was acquired from Washington in March 2013 for Martin Erat and Michael Latta in what is looking to be a spectacular steal for Nashville.Fisher centres James Neal, a one-time 40-goal scorer picked up in a trade with Pittsburgh in June, and Colin Wilson, who is having a breakout season and will soon top his career high of 35 points.Veteran Olli Jokinen, signed from Winnipeg, is playing on the fourth line. Another reclamation project, defenceman Anton Volchenkov, brings his stay at home style to the third defence pair and being dumped by New Jersey.Fisher likes the teams chances.With the goaltending we have, and look at our back end: everyone can handle the puck and skate, he said. And you look at the mix, the young guys, the leadership, energy, the way we play.Were all excited about what we can do. Its a tough league and the playoffs are tough, but we feel weve got a lot of pieces and character and we can be successful.The Predators have won only two playoff series in their history, the last against Detroit in 2012.The optimism now stems from adding some offence to a team known for tight defence. That comes from Laviolette.Id say were more aggressive, said Fisher. We want to be hungry for pucks, to forecheck really hard.The way our defence can move the puck helps us offensively. And defensively, we want to be hard to play against. He wants us to play both ends. He wants us to make plays and be creative, but be responsible.It has worked so far, but Weber, the captain, knows there is a lot of hockey still be played.I was on this team a while back when we were in first place for a while too, he said. Weve had good teams since Ive been in Nashville.Its just been tough the last couple of years. Theres still a lot of season left and we have to keep it up. Custom Jerseys China . The 22-year-old Kreider was injured Friday night in New Yorks win at Columbus, but played in the next two games -- including Monday nights win over Phoenix. But the left winger, who has 17 goals and 37 points this season, was limited to about 10 minutes of ice time in each of the previous games. Cheap Jerseys 2020 .com) - Nate Buss 3-pointer with 5. http://www.jerseyscheapcustom.com/ . - The New York Rangers have momentum, a unified locker room and Henrik Lundqvist.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Andreas Seppi knew he couldnt relax. Up two sets against Roger Federer, the 30-year-old Italian was eying a big upset but remained wary of the opponent on the other side of the net. Its never comfortable playing Roger, Seppi said in an on-court interview with a TV reporter. He should know. Seppi lost his first 10 matches against Federer before finally finding the all-time greats number in a monster upset on one of tennis biggest stages. Seppi handed the second-seeded former world No. 1 Federer his earliest exit at the Australian Open in 14 years, gutting out a four-set win in the third round on Friday that took three hours to complete and ended with one of the unheralded Italians best shots on match point in a fourth-set tiebreak. Following a hard serve, Seppi found himself in no mans land on Federers return but got the ball back. It drew Federer to the net, but Seppi was able to track the next shot down in the corner, looping a forehand over Federer and down the line for a winner. It finished off a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) win that ended Federers run of 11 consecutive semifinal appearances at the seasons first Grand Slam event. To beat Roger first time, especially in a Grand Slam, best-of-five, is a special moment for me, said Seppi. Of course, at the beginning, I just went on the court to enjoy the match and to play my best tennis. I was pretty calm. I have to say, from the beginning [and] also in the important moments. Federer hadnt lost this early at the Aussie Open since he was also ousted in the third round way back in 2001. [It was] just a bad day, admitted Federer. I wish I could have played better, but clearly it was tough losing the first two. [I] had chances to get back into it. I let it slip, I mean, both times in some ways. I guess I won the wrong points out there today. I knew how important that second set tiebreak was, so clearly that hurt, losing that one. The end wasnt pretty. It wasnt easy to play with the shadow. But it was the same for both of us. [It was] just a disappointing loss. The four-time Aussie champion -- his last win came in 2010 -- Federer aced Seppi 15 times but also committed nine double faults, including one to go down 15-30 in the 12th game of the fourth set. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys. The Swiss star fought back and won the game with an ace to force a tiebreak. Federer holds a mens-record 17 Grand Slam titles, but its the three-time ATP champion Seppi who moved on to face Aussie Nick Kyrgios. Meanwhile, third-seeded former No. 1 Rafael Nadal got past Israeli Dudi Sela 6-1, 6-0, 7-5 and No. 6 seed Andy Murray, a three-time Aussie Open runner- up, eased to a 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 win over Portuguese Joao Sousa and will next face No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov, who battled Marcos Baghdatis for 3 hours, 27 minutes before besting the 2006 Melbourne runner-up 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win. The 14-time Grand Slam champion Nadal beat Federer in the 2009 Aussie final and is a two-time runner-up in Melbourne, including last year when he was stunned by Stan Wawrinka in the final. Nadal, of course, is the reigning French Open king. Nadals fourth-round opponent will be tall South African Kevin Anderson. In other third-round action involving seeds, No. 7 former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych handled Serb and last weeks Sydney champion Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and a No. 14 Anderson dismissed No. 24 Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6). Up next for Berdych will be dangerous Aussie Bernard Tomic. Also on Day 5, the promising crowd favorite Kyrgios doused Tunisian Malek Jaziri 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 and an all-Aussie affair saw Tomic knock out Sam Groth 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3. The third round will resume here on Saturday, including matches for current world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the fourth-seeded reigning Oz champion Wawrinka and fifth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori. Djokovic will take on 31st-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, while Wawrinka will encounter Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen and the Japanese Nishikori will be opposed by American two-time NCAA singles champion Steve Johnson. The reigning Wimbledon champ Djokovic is a seven-time major titlist, including four Aussie crowns. He captured the title at Melbourne Park three straight years from 2011-13. Also slated for action Saturday are eighth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, ninth-seeded former Roland Garros finalist David Ferrer and 19th-seeded towering American John Isner. ' ' '