|
The red-hot St. Mel Ott Authentic . Louis Blues will try to remain undefeated against the defending Stanley Cup champions this season when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for Wednesdays Central Division showdown at United Center. Catch the game on TSN2 starting at 8pm et/5pm pt. With an 8-0-1 record in March, the Blues have vaulted to the top of the NHL standings. A recent victory over the Winnipeg Jets made St. Louis the first team to reach the 100-point mark this season. St. Louis currently sits first in the league with 101 points -- two more than the Boston Bruins. The Blues also are four points ahead of both Anaheim and San Jose in the West standings and hold an eight-point lead over both Chicago and Colorado for first place in the Central. The Blackhawks are currently third in the Central and nine points behind St. Louis. Chicago has a chance to make up some ground in the division race tonight, but St. Louis has gotten the better of the reigning champs so far in 2013-14. The Blues also have earned points in 22 consecutive divisional games (20-0-2), extending a franchise record. The Blues are 3-0 against Chicago this season and have claimed four straight overall in the series. However, each of the last three encounters between the clubs have been decided by just one goal. That includes a 6-5 shootout victory by the Blues in the last meeting on Dec. 28 in St. Louis. Chicago failed to hold a pair of two-goal leads in that meeting in late December and the Blues forced the game beyond regulation by scoring twice during a 1:17 span late in the third period. Still, these clubs have split the last 10 meetings overall and St. Louis has lost 10 of 13 in Chicago despite winning the last two matchups in the Windy City. The Blues won their third straight game Monday night against visiting Winnipeg. David Backes scored twice, including the game-winner with 6:51 left in the third period, as St. Louis secured a 3-1 win over the Jets at Scottrade Center. Backes broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal at 13:09 of the third before being credited with an empty-netter at 18:49. Winnipegs Jacob Trouba hauled Backes down from behind with only an empty net in front of him, resulting in a goal. Brenden Morrow scored St. Louis other goal, while Ryan Miller made 16 saves to improve to 7-0-1 since being acquired on Feb. 28 by the Blues. Miller will get another chance to improve on his brilliant start with the Blues tonight. The former Buffalo Sabres netminder is 2-2-0 with a 2.08 goals against average in four career games against Chicago. St. Louis is kicking off a four-game road trip on Wednesday and is 22-9-3 as the visiting team this season. T.J. Oshie will be back for the Blues in the opener of the swing after missing Mondays test to spend time with his wife and the couples newborn daughter. The Blackhawks have lost three of their last four games, but were able to pick up a point in Tuesdays 3-2 overtime loss in Philadelphia. Chicago grabbed an early 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the first 3:51 of the game, but the Blackhawks wouldnt find the net again. After Scott Hartnell scored twice in the first period to even the game, Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux scored the winning goal with just 4.2 seconds left in OT to give the Flyers the victory. With time winding down in the extra session, Giroux flew down the right wing into the zone and from the circle he snapped a laser on net, using Duncan Keith as a screen, and it went in and out of the left corner for the win. Andrew Shaw and Keith had the goals for Chicago. Antti Raanta gave up all three goals on 37 shots. "I think we did a lot of good things tonight. But, definitely really frustrating the way we gave that point up," said Keith. Blackhawks No. 1 netminder Corey Crawford expects to get the start tonight. He is 9-2-3 with a 2.45 GAA in 14 career games against the Blues. Chicago is beginning a four-game homestand on Wednesday and also will host Carolina, Nashville and Dallas during the stay at United Center. The Blackhawks are 21-6-7 as the home club this season. Santiago Casilla Authentic . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Angel Pagan Authentic . Then Ryan Raburn came to the plate and did what he usually does against the Chicago White Sox. Raburn hit a tiebreaking single and David Murphy drove in four runs, leading the Indians to a 12-6 victory over the White Sox. LOS ANGELES -- After being thoroughly outplayed for over 40 minutes, the Los Angeles Clippers fought back. Leading the way was a player not known for coming up big in the clutch. Darren Collison scored eight of his 18 points in the final 2:58, rallying the Clippers past the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-99 on Sunday to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2. "Even though we didnt play well throughout the game, we were able to get a win," Collison said. "That feels more impressive than anything we did." Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points, missed a 3-pointer and Serge Ibakas tip attempt was too late at the buzzer, allowing the Clippers to salvage a game they trailed until the final 1:23. "It was a good look," Westbrook said. "Just didnt go in." Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 25 points, making 9 of 11 free throws. Jamal Crawford added 18 points. DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds, helping the Clippers win the boards, 45-43 -- the first time in 11 playoff games the Thunder were outrebounded. "We just willed this one. We found a way," said Chris Paul, who had 23 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant scored 40 points, hitting 15 of 18 free throws, for the Thunder. "We let this one slip away," he said. "We could have took control of the series." Game 5 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. "We were almost on the mat and we got off of it. We didnt get pinned," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Theyre seething right now. They had an opportunity to go up 3-1 and now its an even series." It was the 14th comeback -- and largest yet -- by the Clippers this season after trailing by double digits. They rallied from 12 points down in the second quarter of Game 7 to oust Golden State in the first round. "This is one of the best ones yet," Paul said. "Darren Collison was amazing. You just got to love a guy like that who plays with so much heart and never gives up." The Clippers had no answer for Durant and Westbrook until midway through the fourth quarter. That dynamic duo drove the lane with abandon, drew fouls and made free throws in leading the Thunder to an early 22-point lead. Durants three-point play early in the fourth extended the Thunders lead to 15 points, and they were still up by 10 with 7:44 to go. But the comeback Clippers were not to be denied. "Everybody kept telling each other, Chip away, chip away," Griffin said. Gregor Blanco Orange Jersey. "That was kind of our mentality for the rest of the game. We just kept fighting." The Clippers stole a page out of the Thunders playbook, switching to a smaller lineup that included Collison and Danny Granger, who helped disrupt the Thunders rebounding late. Paul willed his team back into it, scoring six straight points to get the Clippers within six. Griffin, who was saddled with five fouls, made three of four free throws before Collison got hot. "The whole time Im thinking, We cant be down 3-1, we just cant be down 3-1 going to Oklahoma," Collison said. With the game tied at 97, Collison scored the Clippers final four points on layups. Crawford passed to a streaking Collison for a fast-break conversion on the second one for a 101-97 lead with 32 seconds left. Westbrook scored for the Thunder, but after Griffin missed, Westbrook did too to end the game. "Did that really just happen?" a still stunned Crawford said. Paul missed all five of his shots in the third, when Griffin picked up three fouls to give him five, and Crawford and Jordan each got their third. Ibaka, who shot 9 of 10 in the Thunders Game 3 win, got his fourth foul, along with Westbrook in the third. The Clippers came as close as eight points before Reggie Jacksons 3-pointer beat the shot clock to keep the Thunder ahead 75-63 going into the fourth. The Thunder had the Clippers on their heels from the opening tip, with Oklahoma City shooting 65 per cent in building a 22-point lead. Oklahoma City outscored the Clippers 32-15 in the first; the fewest points theyve allowed in a quarter of a playoff game. NOTES: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million after recordings of him making racist comments surfaced, attended the game, sitting next to Magic Johnson. Johnson tweeted on April 26 that he would never go to a Clippers game again while Sterling remains the owner. ... Johnson and boxer Floyd Mayweather have each made noises about being interested in owning the Clippers. ... Dick Parsons, whom Silver appointed as interim CEO of the Clippers, will be in town Monday. ... Among the celebs were Rihanna, Justin Bieber (who got booed), Billy Crystal, Mark Wahlberg, former Clipper Baron Davis wearing a Dodgers hat and Kenny Lofton. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
