Stars und Sternchen! » with seven defencemen

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma wants his high-powered team to get used to playing tight-checking playoff hockey before the post-season begins next month. St. Louis doesnt need the lure of the playoffs as an excuse to get stingy. The space-eating Blues have been doing it all year, and it showed in a taut 1-0 road win on Sunday. Frustrating the NHLs best power play during a pivotal two-man disadvantage at the start of the second period, the Blues continued their mastery of the Eastern Conference by beating the Penguins the way theyve beaten so many teams this season. The room to manoeuvr that Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin usually enjoy disappeared as St. Louis clogged passing lanes and dictated play defensively. David Backes deflected a slap shot by Alexander Steen past Marc-Andre Fleury midway through the third period for the games only goal and Brian Elliott stopped 33 shots to pick up his fourth shutout of the season as the Blues moved three points clear of Chicago in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. "When youre in a tight game like that against a good team, the guys kind of rose up to the challenge and I tried to make a couple saves and get the rebounds out of the zone and they did the rest," Elliott said. Fleury made 26 saves for the Penguins but watched Backes deflection carom off his glove and into the net just after a penalty against Malkin expired. "I just saw the guy raise his stick for the shot," Fleury said. "There were a bunch of people in front. I tried to cover some net but I didnt see it go in. St. Louis bounced back from a one-sided loss at Philadelphia on Saturday to improve the leagues best road record to 23-11-3. Pittsburghs top-ranked power play went 0-for-5 a day after scoring three times in a win over Tampa Bay. When Elliott wasnt getting a pad on the puck, his teammates were. The Blues blocked 25 shots, with the Penguins frustration growing at every turn as the Blues improved to 20-5-2 against the Eastern Conference, the best interconference record in the league. Pittsburgh had a 5-on-3 power play at the beginning of the second period for more than 90 seconds without being able to sneak something by Elliott. Most of the time the Penguins struggled generating a shot as the Blues effectively disrupted Pittsburghs rhythm. "We just kind of cleared lanes and I was able to see the ones they took," Elliott said. "Whenever guys are moving big guys out of the way, it just helps and you saw guys get in front of shots, block them and clear them down." Malkin was called for high-sticking 9:17 into the third and he was barely out of the box and back on the ice when Backes gave St. Louis the lead. The puck cycled to the point and Alexander Steen fired a slap shot that Backes found a way to nick as it sailed by. His 24th goal of the year proved more than enough. Elliott wobbled several times — including at least two saves where it appeared the puck was creeping to the goal line when the whistle blew — but didnt collapse. When the clock expired after one last clear up the zone, the game ended with the unusual sight of Malkin trying to mix it up with Alex Pietrangelo. Bylsma said coming into an important weekend he wanted his team to get used to playing tightly contested, low-scoring games. Pittsburgh survived one on Saturday, rallying for a 4-3 overtime win against the streaking Lightning that featured 40 minutes of clamp-down hockey and 22 minutes of frantic play. The Blues, who have positioned themselves into contenders in the West by sealing off the net, would not be lulled into the kind of end-to-end stretches that allow the Penguins to run free. "We still want to do a better job in these games and win them," Crosby said. "We have done a pretty good job of being patient when weve been in these kinds of games." At times, Bylsma wonders if his club was too patient, particularly in the first period. "The first 20 minutes we backed them off with speed," he said. "We had some opportunities and needed to have more of a drive and shoot mentality." NOTES: The Penguins played with seven defencemen instead of six, a move Bylsma said was needed in a game where he knew open ice would be at a premium. ... St. Louis plays in Toronto on Tuesday while the Penguins host Phoenix on Tuesday. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online China . The CFL will help tackle womens cancers by playing four special "CFL PINK" games this weekend. Adidas Shoes China Wholesale . He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. http://www.cheapadidasshoessale.com/ . -- A 25-year-old freelance journalist from British Columbia was formally charged on Thursday with a felony, five days after she was arrested in the United States over allegations she threatened to kill her hockey player boyfriend. Adidas Shoes China Free Shipping .com) - The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Seth Curry on Tuesday. Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale Online . Cleary also had two assists and Patrick Eaves added two goals for the Red Wings, who also ousted Phoenix in seven games during the first round of the 2010 postseason. Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist for Detroit, which got a goal apiece from Tomas Holmstrom and Niklas Kronwall and suffered no shortage of offense despite the absences of Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen.Poole Pirates host the Belle Vue Aces at Wimborne Road in a repeat of last years Elite League Final on Monday, live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm. The reigning champions occupy fourth position in the table and will be looking forward to getting back on the track after two weeks without a meeting. The Pirates have been dominant at home, winning every meeting so far this season but they will be without Krzysztof Buczkowski on Monday who is injured. Wolves Joonas Kylmakorpi will guest for the Dorset side.The Aces will also be looking forward to getting back on the track after a stop-start season so far. The problems at the National Stadium have meant the Aces have only raced five meetings so far with four of them away from home. Mark Lemons side lost last time out at home to Swindon in their first meeting at the National Stadium but they already have two away wins to their name as they look to start playing catch up in the league with more points at Poole.dddddddddddd Chris Holder will feature in Pooles line-up at Wimborne Road Poole: Hans Andersen (Capt), Chris Holder, Joonas Kylmakorpi (guest), Kyle Newman, Bjarne Pedersen, Adam Ellis, Brady Kurtz.Belle Vue: Craig Cook, Max Fricke, Scott Nicholls (Capt), Richie Worrall, Matej Zagar, Joe Jacobs, Steve Worrall.You can watch Poole v Belle Vue live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm. Also See: Bet on Speedway with Sky Bet China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '