MINNEAPOLIS -- The surging Texas Rangers passed their latest test in resiliency, reaching the midpoint of their season on a resounding note. Dan Hamhuis Stars Jersey .Ian Desmond homered to lead off the 10th inning for Texas, and the Rangers held on for a 3-2 victory Friday night over the Minnesota Twins.Theres nothing wrong with a little adversity, especially to kind of see what were made of, said Desmond, who leads the majors this season with five go-ahead home runs in the seventh inning or later.After losing back-to-back games to the Yankees in New York on the last at-bat, including a six-run rally Wednesday against relievers Matt Bush and Sam Dyson, the league-leading Rangers improved to 18-6 in one-run decisions this year.Sometimes theyre gifts. They show us what are flaws are, manager Jeff Banister said.Dyson surrendered a leadoff single in the 10th, but he struck out the next two batters and notched his 17th save in 19 attempts. Bush (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, which lifted the Rangers to a club-record 52-29 at the 81-game mark.Its a good number. Its a much better number than being the other way around, Banister said. Were not going to toast to halfway.Flip their record, and its still three games better than the Twins (25-54).Trevor Plouffe tied the game for the Twins with a two-run home run in the seventh that spoiled Martin Perezs shutout bid, but Desmond took Fernando Abad (1-3) deep to start the extra session. Abad has taken the loss in three of his last four appearances.Obviously that fastball wasnt where he wanted it, Twins manager Paul Molitor said.Ervin Santana turned in his third straight sturdy start for the Twins, though he needed 117 pitches to log 6 1/3 innings. Two of his three walks came in the seventh, when pinch-hitter Jurickson Profar put the Rangers in front with a two-run single off reliever Ryan Pressly. Santana struck out five and allowed only three hits.Perez retired the first 10 batters he faced and finished the fourth, fifth and sixth innings with double plays.In the fifth, after Max Kepler sacrificed to move the runners up to second and third, Kurt Suzuki tried to bunt, too. Plouffe broke for home with the pitch, but the ball popped high enough in the air for first baseman Mitch Moreland to catch it and throw across the diamond for an easy out. Just the type of ugly mistakes that have made a bad season much worse for the Twins.It didnt work out. We didnt get the ball down, Molitor said.Throwing strong in his first full season since Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his elbow, Perez hasnt lost in eight starts. The left-hander allowed five hits and three walks in seven innings while striking out three, taking his second no-decision during that span.IAN IS IN A GROOVEDesmond, in his first season with the Rangers, leads the majors with 34 multi-hit games. He hit .358 in June and is tied for the team lead in homers (15) and RBI (52), making quite the case for the All-Star team.He just continues to impress us every single night he goes out there, Banister said.DOZIERS DRIVESBrian Dozier singled before Plouffes homer, stretching his hitting streak to a career-high 13 consecutive games during which hes hitting .431 with 12 extra-base hits and 13 RBI. Doziers run of 11 games in a row with at least one extra-base hit ended as the longest in a single season in the majors since Chipper Jones had 14 straight in 2006, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: RHP Yu Darvish (shoulder) took another step toward returning to the rotation, throwing a smooth bullpen session before the game. Hell start a rehab assignment Monday with Double-A Frisco. RHP Keone Kela (elbow) could be back in the bullpen after the All-Star break. Hell pitch Monday for Triple-A Round Rock.Twins: Miguel Sano played 3B in his return from rehab (hamstring), and he threw Adrian Beltre out with an off-balance, bare-handed grab of a slow grounder to end the sixth. Sano pumped his arm on the way to the dugout. With the RF experiment all but over, Sano will rotate between 3B and DH.UP NEXTRangers RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will make his second start of the season Saturday afternoon. RHP Tyler Duffey (3-6, 5.59 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins in the middle game of the series, coming off a career-high eight innings in a win on the road over the Yankees. He gave up just two hits and one run. Antoine Roussel Stars Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Brian Bellows Jersey . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. http://www.authenticstarsnhlhockey.com/tyler-seguin-jersey/ . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. Fantasy hockey is not above dualism. While we had a rough week in mid-November in which fantasy superstars were injured left, right and center, this past week seems to have made up for the negativity.We saw both Taylor Hall and Johnny Gaudreau return earlier than anticipated from their injuries, in addition to the return of Alexander Steen and Jack Eichel. Thats not to mention the return of less-heralded contributors Chris Kunitz and Bryan Little. Heres more on the fantasy impact of each respective players return:Hall returned to a team that had recently found a scoring line groove featuring Travis Zajac, Michael Cammalleri and Kyle Palmieri. That allowed Hall to play on a second line with Adam Henrique and P.A. Parenteau. Hall notched a goal and two assists -- including a helper on Cammalleris overtime winner -- as the Devils clawed their way back to beat the Nashville Predators on Saturday. These two line combinations look very friendly to fantasy owners and, outside of Hall and Palmieri, the four other forwards are available in 37 percent or more of ESPN leagues.Gaudreau returned with a flourish, and has given coach Glen Gulutzan plenty to think about going forward. In an effort to ease Gaudreau back into the lineup, he returned to the second line instead of the first. The result? The Flames exploded for eight goals against the Anaheim Ducks. Gaudreau looked inspired playing with Sam Bennett and Alex Chiasson. Including power-play points, the trio combined for eight points in the win. Meanwhile, Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg stayed involved, accounting for six points of their own. Perhaps the solution all along to the early-season doldrums of Gaudreau and Monahan was to separate them. Well have to wait to see if Gulutzan keeps them apart; if so, that changes how we view those other forwards in fantasy.Steen took off a couple of weeks with an undisclosed upper-body injury, which wed wager had something to do with his offseason shoulder surgery that originally came with a timetable for a December return. As we know, he returned in time for the start of the season -- the early end of his recovery schedule -- and struggled through the first month and a half of the campaign. Now two games back, Steen has four points and is flying on a line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Robby Fabbri. Heres hoping his return from an injury, coupled with a return to form, means hes healthy and back in business for fantasy owners.Eichel returned to the Sabres on Tuesday and had two points in his season debut. He followed it up with a two-goal performance on Thursday, before finally being silenced on Saturday against the Boston Bruins. Still, the quality performances in his return signal good times ahead for the fantasy owners. Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane are playing with Eichel at even strength, while Reinhart, Ryan OReilly and Kyle Okposo join him on the power play. That should give owners a good idea of who to consider while Eichel helps drive production for his teammates.Kunitz missed six games with a lower-body injury and was back on the ice Saturday with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. His fantasy contributions may be muted while compared to a few seasons ago, but dont underestimate his periphery stats. Last season was far from a banner campaign for Kunitz, yet he finished among the top 100 fantasy skaters on the ESPN Player Rater. Hes available in 75 percent of ESPN leagues.Littles return gives the Winnipeg Jets a much more legitimate No. 1 and No. 2 center combination, assuming Mark Scheifeles injury is short term. When Little and Scheifele were in the lineup together briefly last week, it was Scheifele with fellow youngsters Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, while Little was flanked by Blake Wheeler and Drew Stafford. With Scheifele out the past two games, Little is playing with Laine and Ehlers. The result has been four points in four games for Little. While he was drafted late (179.7 ADP), Little was drafted in most leagues for a reason. Hes now available in 60 percent of ESPN leagues following his extended absence.Forwards rising and fallingLeon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers (up 22 spots to No. 183): Our bad. It turns out that nobody should be declared dead to us for fantasy in an Oilers lineup that can move a player from third line to Connor McDavids side with the stroke of a pen. Draisaitl, who had quietly sunk into fantasy irrelevance for an entire months stretch from mid-October to mid-November, is back in business and racking up points next to McDavid on the top line. Weve seen a gamut of wingers move in and out of the plum spots next to McDavid, including Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, Jesse Puljujarvi and now Draisaitl. If theres one takeaway, it would be that none of the wingers have quite as much value as you might first perrceive, but they have more value than they might otherwise deserve. Jaromir Jagr Jersey. In other words, ride the hot hand and dont drop any of them just because they arent playing with McDavid right now.Josh Bailey, LW/RW, New York Islanders (up 18 spots to No. 218): Already coming on strong as John Tavares settled into a groove, Bailey has maintained his recent hot play as Brock Nelson settled in as the the third member of the top line. Bailey has seven points in the past seven games, including a goal and two helpers in the past three with Nelson at his side. Bailey can keep up respectable scoring numbers as a member of the top line, a status which will not be in question this season.Defensemen rising and fallingTorey Krug, D, Boston Bruins (up 22 spots to No. 97): Patience has paid off for Krug owners, with the Bruins top rearguard getting back down to business of late. Hes peeled off just shy of two-thirds of his points this season in the past eight games alone. We knew the dam would break for Krug eventually, as he has been playing all the important minutes and driving more than enough offense at the opposing net. Although teammate Patrice Bergeron still slides a bit on our rankings this week, we expect a similar turnaround for him sooner than later.Dougie Hamilton, D, Calgary Flames (up 25 spots to No. 164): Its been a little over three weeks since Hamilton switched defense partners and started playing with Mark Giordano on a regular basis. So its no coincidence that Hamilton is the No. 2 fantasy defenseman overall in the past 15 days. Playing more minutes, taking more shots and getting enough points to make a difference has Hamilton behind only Brent Burns on the ESPN Player Rater for the past 15 days among defensemen. Hamilton has been on a see-saw in our rankings this season, as we try to cling to hopes of a breakout campaign. His play in recent weeks may be indicative that the breakout will stick.Goaltenders rising and fallingCam Ward, G, Carolina Hurricanes (up 13 spots to No. 140): This run of exceptional ratios from Ward of late came as no surprise, as the Hurricanes were playing a dominant possession game against opponents since the start of the season. A little bad luck and a bad bounce here or there led to Ward struggling out of the gates. But after posting a 3.64 goals-against average in October, Ward just closed the books on a November with a 1.74 GAA. The goal support will be lacking for his wins column at times, but overall Ward makes a nice addition to your fantasy tandem -- and hes available in 60 percent of ESPN leagues.Steve Mason, G, Philadelphia Flyers (up 31 spots to No. 190): Masons numbers while Michal Neuvirth was healthy and competing with him for starts: a 2-5-2 record, with a 3.56 goals-against average and .874 save percentage. Masons numbers since Neuvirth was injured and hes had the crease all to himself: a 7-3-1 record, with a 2.14 GAA and .927 save percentage. Some guys are better being pushed, some guys are better when they know the job is theirs to keep. Put Mason in the latter camp, and get him on your fantasy rosters while Neuvirth remains out of the picture.Quick hitsWith Corey Crawford sidelined for up to three weeks, his owners should feel comfortable leaning on backup Scott Darling. The Chicago Blackhawks two losses this past weekend likely have more to do with missing Jonathan Toews than Darlings presence in the crease.Speaking of Toews, he hit the injured reserve with his back ailment, but it doesnt sound like hes expected to miss much beyond another week. Marian Hossa owners can bench him in shallower leagues until Toews returns.Rickard Rakell is on the shelf for the Anaheim Ducks, which means Nick Ritchie gets another run on the top line with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. If we get word that Rakell will miss more than a couple games, Ritchie becomes interesting as a short-term asset.The Los Angeles Kings are giving Marian Gaborik every opportunity to succeed, placing him on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Trevor Lewis. Gaborik has a couple of assists to show for his efforts in four games, and has 14 shots in the past three of those games. His ice time has also increased every outing and was at a nice 17:25 in Sundays matchup.Top 250 rankingsHere are the updated rest-of-season, top 250 rankings of forwards, defensemen and goalies, including position ranks.Note: Sean Allens top 250 players are ranked for their expected performance in ESPN standard leagues from this point on. ESPN standard stats include goals, assists, power-play points, shots on goal, plus/minus, penalty minutes and average time on ice for skaters, and wins, goals-against average and save percentage for goalies. 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