PHILADELPHIA -- Sundays regular-season finale felt almost like a playoff game for Carolina Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller. Chris Godwin Womens Jersey . Its the closest his team will get this year. Eric Staal scored twice in regulation and had the only goal in the shootout to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in regular-season finale Sunday. Jeff Skinner added a pair of goals for the Hurricanes, who finish the season in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, outside of the playoff picture. Wayne Simmonds scored twice for the Flyers, who had already wrapped up third place in the Metropolitan Division and a date with the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs later this week. "Games like this are good for our team," Muller said. "Not that its a playoff game or anything or but this is a tough rink to play in, it was sold out and the guys were intense until the end. For our guys to find a way to win was what we like to see as coaches. It was a good finish for us." Cal Heeter made 33 saves in his NHL debut for the Flyers, before stopping one of two shots in the shootout. Heeter was recalled from the Philadelphia Phantoms and given the start after Steve Mason suffered an upper-body injury in Saturdays win over the Penguins. Mason is day-to-day but the Flyers are hopeful hell be able to return to net for Game 1 of their series with the Rangers. "He battled back," Flyers head coach Craig Berube said of Heeter. "Its tough for a kid like that coming in here. Hes nervous obviously and this is probably not the best situation (for his NHL debut). But it is what it is and the kid hung in there and did a good job." Anton Khudobin made 39 saves and stopped all three of shots in the shootout for the Carolina. Skinner scored his 33rd goal of the season on a power play with 4:21 left, giving the Hurricanes a 5-4 lead after the puck took a weird carom off the boards and left him shooting at an open net. But Simmonds tied the game, scoring on a rebound with 9.5 seconds left for his career-high 29th of the season. Fighting back in the final minute felt like a positive sign to the Flyers heading into the post-season. "If we play as a team and keep doing what weve been doing the past few months, well be a really tough team to beat," Flyers defender Kimmo Timonen said. Trailing 4-1, the Flyers went on a second-period offensive, scoring three goals to tie the game, including two within 10 seconds of each other -- on a power-play slap shot from the point from Kimmo Timonen and a wrister from Simmonds. With less than five minutes remaining in the period, Sean Couturier tied the game with a steal and pretty move on a breakaway, matching his career high with his 13th goal. "I thought we skated and were competitive the whole game," Berube said. "We were just looking for good habits and getting our skating legs, and I thought that they did that." Heeters debut got off to an inauspicious start as he failed to stop the first shot he faced, with Skinner beating him with a wrist shot. The Hurricanes scored twice more before the first period ended, with Staal beating Heeter on a low shot from the left circle and Manny Malhotra going five-hole on the rookie for his first goal since Jan. 25. Staal scored his second just 17 seconds into the second period on an easy shot from the right circle. "In my dreams, Id say I didnt give up six goals," Heeter said. "But its a fabulous experience. Ive been working my whole life to get to here and to finally get the opportunity to play a game and to have the support of the management, players, coaches, fans, everybody here . its a dream come true." The Flyers scored their first goal midway through the first period when Matt Read blasted in a one-timer from Jason Akeson, who logged his first NHL assist. Akeson, who was called up from the Phantoms for Sundays game, has two points in two career NHL games. Notes: Before the game, Claude Giroux was presented with the Bobby Clarke Trophy, given to the teams MVP as voted on by local sports writers and broadcasters. Mason, Timonen, Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl also won team awards, and Vincent Lecavalier was honoured for recently reaching the 400-goal milestone. . The Flyers finished 0-2-2 against the Hurricanes this season, marking the first time they went an entire season without beating the Carolina/Hartford franchise since 1991-92. O. J. Howard Jersey . The Bruins forward has been fined $5,000 by the National Hockey League for spearing Red Wings defenceman Danny DeKeyser in the groin. Chris Godwin Buccaneers Jersey . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive.NEW YORK -- Marking the 67th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke baseballs colour barrier, the Rev. Jesse Jackson praised Commissioner Bud Selig for the strides the sport has taken in minority opportunities over the past two decades. Jackson travelled to baseballs 1992 winter meetings to criticize its lack of minorities in management, and he pushed for change. Selig retired Robinsons No. 42 in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of the big league debut of the Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman. Selig established a Diverse Business Partners program the following year and in 1999 started requiring clubs to consider at least one minority for each manager and major executive opening. MLB also sponsors 35 Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars. Jackson said Jackie Robinson Day had become "a national holiday for all practical purposes." "To honour Jackie in this way honours the best in America," Jackson told Selig on Tuesday at MLBs third Diversity Business Summit. "In many ways, had Jackie not succeeded you could not have Atlanta Falcons or the Braves or the Carolina Panthers. You could not have these southern teams if Jackie had failed." Robinsons daughter, Sharon, presented Selig with a large plaque. Jackson spoke from the audience after Seligs speech and told him "you took to heart that challenge." "I guess if youre commissioner long enough, things can turn around," Selig said later. For the first time since Robinsons number was retired, no players in the major leagues were wearing No. 42. Players using the number were grandfathered at the time of Seligs announcement, and the last to use No. 42 was Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera, who retired at the end of last season. "Today all of our players league-wide will wear No. 42 to celebrate the man who helped change the future course of our game and more importantly our country," Selig said. A ceremoony had been scheduled for Yankee Stadium to unveil a plaque commemorating Nelson Mandelas visit to the old Bronx ballpark in 1990. Kendell Beckwith Jersey. . The Yankees game against the Chicago Cubs was rained out, and the ceremony, which includes Zondwa Mandela, a grandson of the late South African president, was pushed back until Wednesday evening. Selig frequently points out that Robinsons first game occurred more than a year before President Harry Truman desegregated the U.S. military and seven years before the Supreme Courts Brown v. Board of Education decision that ruled state laws requiring segregated public schools were unconstitutional. "Baseball must continue to be more than just a game on the field," Selig said. "The games remarkable ability to serve as a common bond should be used to create opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender." Selig became acting commissioner in 1992 and got the job permanently in 1998. He plans to retire in January. He said the Diverse Business Partners program had led to purchases of more than $1 billion in goods and services from minority- and women-owned businesses. But the percentage of African-American players in the major leagues has been cut in half since peaking at about 18 per cent at times from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon, who is black, says some of this generations players dont know of Robinsons accomplishments. "They dont know a lot about the history, and I dont really blame it all on them. I think their generation is a generation that was force-fed these things," he said, holding up a smart phone. "Everythings now. Not much of an appreciation for the past and what it meant, particularly when it comes to baseball and baseball players. The paths that were paved for them, I dont think they really get it, or really understand it." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '