07-26-2017, 02:31 AM
DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche grabbed headlines with their fast start this season. The St. Louis Blues are proving to be a good story, too. Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves, David Backes had a goal and an assist and the streaking Blues beat Colorado 4-1 on Wednesday night. Alexander Steen scored his 20th of the season and Jaden Schwartz also had a goal for the Blues, who have won five straight. It was their first victory in Colorado since April 12, 2009. "I cant tell you the last time we won in this barn, so obviously coming here, its big getting two points," said Chris Stewart, who was playing for Colorado when St. Louis last won in Denver. "I think I was on the receiving end last time this team won in this barn, so its a big two points." The Blues lead the NHL with 18 wins more than a quarter of the way through the season. Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 shots and Patrick Bordeleau scored for the Avalanche, who had won three in a row. Colorado coach Patrick Roy was angry after the game with what he considered a double standard. Roy, hired by the Avalanche from the Quebec Major Junior League last summer, took some criticism earlier this season for talking to opposing players during the game. He took issue Wednesday with St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock. "I was very mad at the end because Ive been jabbed by different coaches around the league, especially Hitchcock when he said thats junior, stop talking to players and talking to the referee," Roy said. "But I saw a guy on the other side who was talking to players and was also talking to the referee. He got the referee even (angry). Seems to me theres different rules for everybody in this league. "I guess the old guys are allowed to do whatever they want and I guess us, because were younger, we cant say anything. Im a little (mad) about that." Colorados 17-5-0 start was a franchise best this deep into the season, but the Blues have been the better team lately. They have won 10 of 12 and earned points in 11 of those games. "We are sticking to the way we play. We have been for the last little while," Steen said. "Pucks are bouncing our way, we are taking care in our own end and our goaltending has been phenomenal." St. Louis is 4-1 in one-goal games during its recent run and has averaged 3.4 goals. "Our 5-on-5 play is getting better and our special teams have really carried us," Hitchcock said. One of the wins in that stretch was a 7-3 victory over Colorado on Nov. 14, which came in the middle of a three-game skid for the Avalanche. St. Louis dominated that game from the start of the second period, and that continued Wednesday. The Blues had the first seven shots, and goals by Backes and Steen in the first 6:10 of the game gave them a quick two-goal lead. Backes scored when he redirected T.J. Oshies pass on a rush 2:46 into the first period. Steen made it 2-0 with a power-play goal, which tied him with Washingtons Alex Ovechkin for the overall NHL lead. "We havent had good history in this building the past few years, so we needed to set the tone," Backes said. "Oshie makes a great pass and I found a piece of it and it found a hole." After being outshot 9-1 to that point, Colorado pushed back and got on the board when Bordeleau stuffed in a rebound midway through the first. The Avalanche had several chances to tie it, but Schwartzs short-handed goal with 1:48 left in the period made it 3-1 and stopped Colorados momentum. "We lost the game in the first 10 minutes," Matt Duchene said. "If we played a little better in the first 10 there, even giving up that shorty late in the first period there we go into the next period with a 2-1 deficit, its a different game." The Avalanche failed to mount a comeback in the final two periods. They were held to 14 shots in the last 40 minutes, with four coming in the final 5 minutes of the game. They had two on a power play and two more after pulling Varlamov for an extra skater, but Stewart sealed it with an empty-net goal with 1:44 left. "In general, we played a really sound game," Hitchcock said. "We managed the puck properly, we just did a lot of things good. We had a lot of guys on top of their game." NOTES: Blues C Derek Roy had two assists. ... Avalanche C Paul Stastny missed the game due to back spasms. ... Duchene returned to the lineup after missing three games with an oblique strain. ... Steen has 99 goals as a member of the Blues. ... St. Louis short-handed goal was its first of the season. It also was the first short-handed goal allowed by Colorado. Cheap Panthers Jerseys China .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Cheap Panthers Jerseys . -- ETwaun Moore had 14 points in 30 minutes, and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 87-86 on Sunday night. http://www.cheapfloridapanthersjerseys.c...lad-jersey . The same cant be said of last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Olympic Stadium against a very weakened New York Red Bulls side and one which had three stalwarts in Henry, Cahill and Olave back home in Harrison, NJ. Cheap Adidas Panthers Jerseys . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. Wholesale Panthers Jerseys .Y. - The New York Islanders are brimming with confidence these days, thanks to a standout goalie and a newfound winning attitude.TOKYO -- Frank Dancevic wanted to give it his all in Canadas do-or-die singles match against Japans Kei Nishikori at the Davis Cup on Sunday. But unfortunately for the Niagara Falls, Ont., native, a pulled muscle wouldnt allow him to go past the second set. Japan sealed its victory over Canada in the first-round Davis Cup tie after Nishikori downed an ailing Dancevic 6-2, 1-0. Later Sunday, Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., lost to Go Soeda in the fifth match 6-1, 6-4 to increase Japans margin to 4-1. "Kei came out playing really well today and once I pulled a stomach muscle early in the second set there was no way I could stay with him when I could only serve at 20 per cent..." Dancevic said. "Under other circumstances I probably wouldnt have even stepped on the court with the way I was feeling, but this is Davis Cup and I wanted to give it all I had and push to the limit because this situation means a lot to me." Dancevic, ranked 119th in mens singles, held his serve during the first game, but World No. 18 Nishikori went on to break twice and win the next five games to eventually take the set. After being broken to start the second set, Dancevic took a medical timeout and was forced to retire, handing the match and the tie to Japan. Canada will play a World Group playoff in Sepptember in hopes of keeping its spot in the upper echelon of the competition.dddddddddddd Japan, meanwhile, will face the winner of a tie between the Czech Republic and the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarter-finals. The Canadian squad was missing its top two singles players at the tournament as both No. 11 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and No. 25 Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver were unable to recover from injuries in time to play. Polansky, who lost Canadas first singles match to Nishikori on Friday, replaced Raonic. Dancevic stepped in for Pospisil in the doubles match with Daniel Nestor on Saturday. The Canadian duo, who hadnt played together in three years, lost to Nishikori and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4. "We just battled with so many things this week and nothing really went our way when it came to injuries," said Canadian team captain Martin Laurendeau. "Its obviously disappointing but you cant blame these guys. They gave their all. "... Frank and Peter stepped in and left everything on the court every time they went out there. With what we accomplished last year (reaching the semifinal) we didnt want to take a step back like this but hopefully everyone gets healthy and has a strong season and we can fight hard to keep our spot in September." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '