Canterburys top four hopes have nose-dived after Sam Kasiano pleaded guilty to kicking Corey Parker in the head, rubbing him out of his sides run to the NRL finals.Kasiano will miss the final two regular rounds after accepting an early guilty plea to a grade two dangerous contact charge on Monday.The club could have challenged the charge, but it was not willing to risk the New Zealand and Samoan Test international missing three weeks.With the Bulldogs fighting to hold onto fourth spot and their big men facing a test of their mettle against a North Queensland pack brimming with international experience, Kasianos couldnt have come at a worse time.They go into Thursdays monster clash at Belmore Sports Ground in fourth but could drop as low as sixth on the ladder if they go down to the premiers.Kasiano has been one of their leading contributors this season, scoring six tries as well as making six line breaks, 21 tackle busts and 30 offloads and has often changed the complexion of the game when coming off the bench.His size and impact will be sorely missed against a Cowboys pack which out-gunned the Bulldogs in a 36-0 thumping five weeks ago.That night the Cowboys, who have led the competition for metres made this year, ran for 1726m while Des Haslers side could only manage 997m.Hes been really good for us so well have to step up without him,Bulldogs back-rower Josh Jackson said of Kasiano.He provides a lot of impact for us, a lot of times this year hes changed the game for us.?Weve been without momentum and flat and hes come on and changed the whole game for us.Hes pretty important to what we do but in saying that weve got big T-Rex (Tony Williams) who sits there on the bench who does the same job for us, Danny Fualalo, Tim Browne, guys like that can do that job as well.Meanwhile, St George Illawarra centre Taane Milne faces up to two matches on the sideline after being charged with a grade-one dangerous throw.While Milne would normally be able to escape a ban with an early guilty plea, two prior offences, including one similar charge, have him carrying significant loading.It means his tackle on Sydney Roosters back-rower Boyd Cordner in the Dragons 36-point loss on Sunday will have him suspended for one match if he accepts the early plea, or two if he challenges the charge at the judiciary and loses.Parramattas Bevan French and Rory OBrien were also charged for separate incidents in Sundays 10-point loss to Canberra, however both can escape suspension with an early guilty plea. Cheap Air Max 720 WholesaleAir Max 720 Clearance Sale . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. http://www.cheapairmax720uk.com/ . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. Wholesale Air Max 720 Uk . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Discount Air Max 720 . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. CHICAGO -- St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock got what he needed from his top players, and that was more than enough on opening night.Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and an assist, and the Blues kicked off the season with a solid 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.The guys that have been around did a number today, Hitchcock said. The guys that have been here before and know what its like to play in this building, know what its like to play against Chicago, they played really well today.Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny each had a goal and two assists for the Blues, who eliminated the Blackhawks in seven games in the first round of the playoffs in April. Jake Allen had 17 saves in his first game since he was handed the lead goaltending job with Brian Elliotts June trade to Calgary.St. Louis went 3 for 5 on the power play.I think that last two days in practice really helped us find our groove, said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who took over as captain after David Backes signed with Boston in the offseason. We kept it simple, try not to be overly complicated. Weve got a lot of guys who can shoot the puck. The big thing is putting the puck toward the net.Richard Panik and Ryan Hartman scored for Chicago, which struggled in the second period. Corey Crawford finished with 29 saves.The Blackhawks had five rookies in the starting lineup, and four players made their NHL debut. And they looked out of sync for much of the night.Theres definitely some learning going on, coach Joel Quenneville said. Well accept mistakes through hard work, because thats how you get better.Hartman put Chicago in front 2-1 with his first NHL goal at 13:57 of the second, but the Blackhawks were whistled for three penalties in a span of 1:34 late in the second. Captain Jonathan Toews was sent off for slashing with 2:06 left in the period, veteran center Artem Anisimov got called for hooking and defenseman Duncan Keith received a high-sticking penalty at 19:28.During the delay after the call on Keith, Tarasenko tied it at 2 wiith a wrist shot that beat Crawford on the goaltenders stick side.dddddddddddd The 24-year-old Tarasenko set career highs with 40 goals and 74 points last season.Hes proven to be a big-time player and obviously these games mean so much to us, Shattenkirk said. He is someone who just shows up in those big games.Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook saved a goal when he swept a bouncing puck off the line late in the second. But the Blues went ahead to stay on Stastnys power-play goal 55 seconds into the third off a rebound from Tarasenkos shot.Chicago had two power-play opportunities in the third, but it was turned away each time. Tarasenko then finished off the Blackhawks with an empty-netter with 1:06 remaining, and Scottie Upshall was credited with a second empty-netter on what looked like an own-goal for Chicago.We didnt do a whole lot of what we wanted to, Toews said. Our energy, our speed and our work ethic wasnt quite there. Weve got to regroup and try to come with that energy in that next one, and play a little bit smarter, too.Game notes RW Nail Yakupov played 10 1/2 minutes for the Blues. He was acquired in a trade with Edmonton on Friday. ... Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa remains stuck on 499 career goals. He assisted on Paniks goal in the first. ... Blackhawks D Niklas Hjalmarsson completed his suspension for charging Blues forward Ty Rattie during a preseason game on Oct. 1. D Michal Rozsival and C Dennis Rasmussen also were scratched. ... St. Louis scratched Rattie, D Carl Gunnarsson and LW Magnus Paajarvi. ... Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles got a standing ovation when she was shown on the videoboard during the first period. She acknowledged the cheering crowd with a wave.UP NEXTBlues: Host Minnesota on Thursday night.Blackhawks: Visit Nashville on Friday and then host the Predators on Saturday night.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '