SOCHI, Russia – No player entered the Olympics on more of a roll than Phil Kessel. And that scorching performance kept right on going on the grand stage here in Sochi. Kessel scored once and added two assists as the Americans opened their bid at gold redemption with a 7-1 rout of Slovakia at Shayba Arena. "Hes on fire," said Leaf and American teammate James van Riemsdyk, who had two assists paired with Kessel and Joe Pavelski at the outset of the Olympic tournament. "The game I think is coming to him really easy right now. Hes working hard, creating a lot and he seems to be on fire." Kessel has been downright dominant since the calendar turned to 2014. The 26-year-old has a league-leading 28 points since Jan. 1 (John Tavares is second with 22), vaulting to fourth in NHL scoring with 65 points, also second behind Alex Ovechkin with 31 goals. Sizzling through the hottest stretch of his NHL career, he led the Leafs to 11 wins in 14 games before the Olympic break. "Hes a game-breaker, does a lot of things out there that a lot of guys cant do," van Riemsdyk said of Kessel shortly after landing in Russia. Kessel has, in one game mind you, exceeded the production he managed in totality at his first Olympics in Vancouver. Then just 22, he managed a mere two points (one goal, one assist) in six games as the US fell just short of gold, losing in overtime of the gold medal game. "Obviously that was a long time ago the last one," said Kessel of 2010. "Im a little older now." Dropping a pass to John Carlson for the games first goal, Kessel notched his first marker of the tournament on a doorstep feed from van Riemsdyk. He added a helper on the fourth American goal from David Backes. Van Riemsdyk, his linemate and roommate here in Sochi, fully expected to be nervous when his first-ever Olympic tilt kicked off, but said the nerves cooled being around the increasingly steady Kessel. "I dont know if he knows hes doing it, but he keeps it very light," said van Riemsdyk. "The bigger the stage, I think thats when his true colours come out. It shows how good of a player he can be." Cheap Air Max 95 China .com) - The surging Montreal Canadiens will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Florida Panthers for Saturdays clash at BB&T Center. Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. http://www.discountairmax95.com/ . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning. Air Max 95 China Wholesale . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. Air Max 95 Clearance . The struggling New Orleans Pelicans were simply overmatched. Crawford hit seven 3s on his way to 24 points, and the Clippers beat the Pelicans 123-110 on Monday night. "We understand what we do well. If we all do what we do well, well make our team stronger," Crawford said.NEW YORK, N.Y. - The NFLs salary cap for this season has been set at $133 million, the highest amount in league history. Each team must be compliant with the cap number by March 11, when the leagues free agency period begins. The cap amount announced Friday, which applies to active players salaries, is up from $123 million last season and surpasses the previous high of $127,997,000 in 2009. NFL teams can carry over unused salary cap room from the previous league year, and the NFLPA says in a release Friday that the average carryover for those teams that elected to do so was $6.dddddddddddd.1 million. The leagues salary cap is calculated by taking a percentage of all projected NFL revenues, subtracting projected benefits for the season, and dividing by 32 teams. ' ' '