COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets took advantage of the Minnesota Wild, who were coming off an emotional game a day ea

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets took advantage of the Minnesota Wild, who were coming off an emotional game a day earlier. Robert Alford Falcons Jersey . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night. "We talked about them playing last night and there was definitely an emphasis to jump all over them," Umberger said, referring to the Wilds 4-3 home win over Chicago. "We were moving pretty good." The Blue Jackets had not played since Tuesday, filling the time with two hard, full practices in which they were able to work on several problem areas. Minnesotas Zach Parise knew his team didnt have its heart in the game. "We were just flat and not crisp," he said. "We were pretty brutal through the neutral zone and couldnt get anything generated." Wild coach Mike Yeo didnt want to use his clubs first home win over the Blackhawks since 2008 as an excuse, but still thought that was the root of his clubs problems. "We played right into that (being tired), too, turning pucks over," he said. "We were on our heels, slow reacting, slow getting to places. We were not pressing the way we needed to be." It was the Blue Jackets second win in a row, the first time theyve won back-to-back games since Oct. 25. They did it in their first game without last years Vezina Trophy winner as the NHLs top goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, who will miss the next month or so with a strained groin. McElhinney made 20 saves in his first shutout since Feb. 5, 2011, while with the Anaheim Ducks. "Its a good feeling for me to step in here again and have another shutout game, another win," he said, referring to the Blue Jackets consecutive shutouts. "Hopefully, its the start of something good and we can keep it going." Foligno and Umberger each also had assists and Ryan Johansen added two assists to stretch his points streak to four games. The Blue Jackets have been struggling with injuries. In addition to Bobrovsky, top offensive threat Marian Gaborik (sprained knee) is out for another two weeks and top off-season free-agent signing Nathan Horton (shoulder surgery) has yet to play in a Columbus sweater and likely wont be ready for at least another month. McElhinneys third NHL shutout came in his 78th game. After a scoreless first period, the Blue Jackets took over. At the 1:17 mark of the second, Atkinson took a pass from Dubinsky and wristed a shot from the top of the right circle that Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom didnt appear to see. He barely moved as the puck beat him high and near his right shoulder. "Some games its tougher to swallow the puck when you dont see it," he said. The Blue Jackets went on their first power play when Matt Cooke went off for hooking. Columbus soon took advantage on the man advantage. Johansen passed to Umberger for a shot from a hard angle that handcuffed Backstrom, with Johansen then following the puck to get a whack at it on the rebound. Before the puck could be cleared, Foligno found the net on his second attempt from the right doorstep at the 5:40 mark. "We were able to maintain our energy and continue to push," Foligno said. "You saw great efforts from everybody tonight -- and Curtis McElhinney shut the door." The Wild had a prime chance to get back in the game when they had 1:13 of a 5-on-3 advantage midway through the second period. But McElhinney smothered a hard slap shot from the left point by Jason Pominville and then later appeared to stop a high shot by Zach Parise off his mask. "The big thing was that 5 on 3," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "That was a critical point of the game. Curtis made probably three great saves for us and our (penalty) killers did a great job." Columbus was still controlling the play early in the third when, on a 3-on-3 rush, Jenner wristed a shot from the top of the left circle that eluded Backstrom high on his glove side. The goal, at the 4:38 mark, was the rookies third of the season. Umberger closed the scoring at the 9:05 mark when, while trailing the play, he benefited from a nifty feed from Foligno. Foligno had only one defender to beat but instead whipped a blind pass to Umberger who had virtually an empty net. Notes: The Blue Jackets improved to 35-0 under Richards when leading after two periods. ... It was the Wilds third loss in a row on the road. ... Minnesota has been shut out in two of its past three games. Jalen Collins Falcons Jersey . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday. Chris Chester Falcons Jersey . Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati because of a knee injury, but the 5-foot-10, 249-pounder had been expected to fill a need on Clevelands roster. http://www.atlantafalconsnflstore.com/authentic-matt-ryan-falcons-jersey/ . Every once in awhile, it seems like life lets dreams become real - and that is a gift.THE FORMATIONS: Montreal Impact started the 2014 season in Dallas and their starting XI featured few surprises as new coach Frank Klopas stuck to the 4-3-3 shape his team adopted in pre-season. Klopas had a number of suspensions and injuries to deal with, including star man Marco Di Vaio, so he named Andrew Wenger up top and pushed Houssoun Camara into the centre-back position. First round draft pick Eric Miller got his first MLS start at right back. Collen Warner joined Hernan Bernadello in central midfield with Felipe playing as the attacking central midfield. FC Dallas had a number of injuries themselves with goalkeeper Raul Fernandez and key defenders George John and Zach Loyd missing. New coach Oscar Pareja also adopted a 4-3-3 system that he was familiar with in Colorado. THE GAME: This was a very entertaining match full of tactical adjustments and questionable referee decisions that played a significant impact on the final result. Montreals 4-3-3 turns into a 4-2-3-1 on the counter attack but also, importantly, when they press and this was the theme of the game early. Klopas had his front four press intelligently and the young backline of Dallas, combined with opening day nerves as Pareja later admitted, made it a very difficult opening 15 minutes for the home team. Montreal started on the front foot, causing many turnovers deep in their opponents half. The wide players of Dallas can be electrifying in attack but have little will to defend their flanks, putting pressure on the central midfield pair to carry the load. This works well if the playmaker, in this case Mauro Diaz, cuts in and takes away Hernan Bernadellos distribution but this didnt happen. With Bernadello free, Felipe had license to move forward and this is how Montreal opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Justin Mapp, rightfully so, got the headlines for the goal, cutting in brilliantly on the right, beating three defenders, and supplying scorer Sanna Nyassi at the back post, but it was Felipes run forward that forced the back four to shift over and leave Nyassi unmarked. Montreals dominance continued after the goal, with Bernadello running the show. The Argentine DP sent a long ball over the top for Andrew Wenger to run on to and his cross found Felipe who should have made it 2-0. Bernadello is a very important player for Montreal in this system, and as they play on the counter he is very good at supplying long-range passes to feet, rather than an easy square ball that keeps possession but does nothing for their attack. With Montreal in control, Dallas rocked them back with an equalizer that was their first real threat on goal. A simple ball over the top wasnt cleared by Matteo Ferrari and Fabian Castillo got in behindd to tap home. Deion Jones Falcons Jersey. It was the goal Dallas needed to calm down and for all of Montreals good play to open the match they were now level. THE TURNING POINT: Diaz will be an interesting player to watch for Dallas this season. With David Ferreira gone, he is now their playmaker. At 1-1 he started to get more touches on the ball and drift away from Bernadello. In the 23rd minute, he shuffled out to the right side and dribbled his way towards the box, facing up with Jeb Brovsky. The left back showed him inside, a route Diaz accepted and as he got in front of Brovsky, the Impact man touched him and he went down. A penalty was awarded and it was very harsh. Blas Perez stepped up and blasted home. Montreal would spend the rest of the game behind. The deficit was increased to 3-1 shortly after half-time when Diaz scored a brilliant free kick just outside the area after Bernadello had been deemed to handle the ball when he was turning away blocking a shot. Once again, the decision seemed very harsh. THE POSITIVES: Impact would make it 3-2 later in the game when Wenger scored an outstanding header from a Felipe cross. It was a goal out of nothing and that is exactly what Montreal will need this season from Wenger, whether Di Vaio is playing or not. Tactically, the midfield central three will cause opponents many problems this season if Bernadello and Felipe play at a high level all season. This is where they will be able to dictate a matchs style. They can counter well and maintain possession, while also protecting the back four. The introduction of new signing Santiago Gonzalez, at 3-2 after 68 minutes, was an exciting one for Montreal and showed some flexibility from Klopas. The Uruguayan was immediately pushed up front, to play just off Wenger, and the midfield turned into a diamond. It made the visitors narrower but this took away the desire of FC Dallas to stretch the game. Once again, Montreal dominated this stretch of the match but the score line within it failed to show that. THE NEGATIVES: Both Dallas and Montreal faded badly last season after starting well so it is difficult to know just how good Dallas are this season but they certainly caused Montreals back four some problems. The left side of Brovsky and Nyassi defensively were often exposed and Klopas had to put Miller there late in the game, bringing on Calum Mallace to play right back. THE STAR MAN: For Dallas, it was, unquestionably, Diaz although Castillo had a very good game. Mapp was Montreals best player and his pace and ball control caused Dallas issues throughout. 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