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ANAHEIM, Calif. cheap jerseys from china . -- The Anaheim Ducks realize theyre in for plenty of tight defensive games in the next seven weeks while the rest of the NHL attempts to catch them atop the standings. In their first game back from the Olympic break, Jonas Hiller and the Ducks handled the pressure splendidly. Hiller made 18 saves in his fifth shutout of the season, Andrew Cogliano scored in the opening minutes, and the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks returned with a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. With help from a few Blues shots off his posts, Hiller came back strong from the break after posting two shutouts for Switzerland in Sochi. Coglianos early goal off a neutral-zone turnover stood up in a hard-hitting, choppy game between two of the NHLs best teams. "We learned we can keep up with one of the toughest teams in the league," said Hiller, who matched his career high for shutouts in a season. "On a close game, everybody tries to play as tight as possible. You know you cant let up at all." The Ducks were the NHLs final team to resume play, giving extra rest to gold medallists Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and bronze medallist Teemu Selanne. Anaheim likely needed the break after losing three of its last four before the Olympics, getting shut out twice during just its second significant skid of the entire season. Coach Bruce Boudreau earned his 300th career victory as Anaheim swept the season series with the Blues. With 89 points from 61 games, the Ducks are five points ahead of St. Louis, Chicago and Pittsburgh in the overall NHL standings. "It was a good first game for us in terms of the competition," Cogliano said. "It was really high-paced. Its good to jump into a game like that. ... To hold them to 18 shots is something were proud of." Cogliano put the Ducks ahead just 3:39 in with a breakaway goal set up by Saku Koivus pass. The speedy Coglianos goal was his 18th, matching his career high with 21 games left in the regular season. Brian Elliott stopped 18 shots for the Blues just a few hours after St. Louis acquired star goalie Ryan Miller in a five-player trade with the Buffalo Sabres that included goalie Jaroslav Halak. St. Louis still hasnt scored after the break, taking its first two shutout losses of the season. Vancouver also beat the Blues 1-0 on Wednesday night. "Weve just got to put a couple in the net and well get going," Blues defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "Were creating the chances. Were doing a great job of that. But theyre one of the toughest teams. Thats a team were probably going to have to compete against down the road." The Blues made a major move for their post-season stretch about three hours before the puck dropped in Anaheim, acquiring Miller and agitator Steve Ott from Buffalo in a deal for Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, two draft picks and Halak, the Slovak Olympian who has been with St. Louis since 2010. "Its tough when friends leave, when you get to know families and get in personal relationships with those guys," said St. Louis captain David Backes, Millers teammate with the U.S. Olympic team. "But from a hockey standpoint, the management and ownership is really committed to winning, and winning now, and thats partly shown in the move weve made. Ryan Miller is an all-world goalie that has shown it time and time again." Miller and Ott wont join St. Louis until this weekend in Phoenix, so the Blues backup goalie was Jeff Tyni, the Ducks locker room attendant. Both teams attempted to make up for their post-break rust with aggressive physical play. Backes and Perry fought in the first period, extending their personal feud. Adding to the Canada-U.S. rivalry vibe, Getzlaf and T.J. Oshie also nearly dropped gloves during the same prolonged scuffle. NOTES: Ducks C Mathieu Perreault left the game early in the third period with an upper-body injury after taking a big hit. ... Stewart was traded on a Blues-Ducks gameday for the second time. St. Louis acquired Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk from Colorado on Feb. 19, 2011, and Stewart made his Blues debut against Anaheim later in the day. ... The Ducks scratched F Jakob Silfverberg, who won a silver medal for Sweden last weekend. D Sami Vatanen, who won bronze with Finland and led the Olympic tournament with five assists, is back with Anaheims AHL affiliate in Norfolk. wholesale jerseys . Baumann misjudged a long ball from Milan Badelj and failed to clear after emerging outside the penalty area, allowing Maximilian Beister to open the scoring in the 37th minute. cheap jerseys . The Jets jumped into a quick 2-0 lead in the first on goals by Zach Bogosian (3rd) and Devin Setoguchi (9th) 1:05 apart. Toby Enstrom and Andrew Ladd drew assists on the Bogosian goal, a point shot that seemed to dip and get by former Moose goaltender Eddie Lack. CROMWELL, Conn. -- Scott Langley is being careful not to get too far ahead of himself in the Travelers Championship. Thats the mistake he said he made three weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament when he shot a 79 in the final round to drop into a tie for 28th. Winless in two seasons on the PGA Tour, the 25-year-old Langley took the second-round lead in the Travelers on Friday, following his opening 64 with a 65 to reach 11 under 129. He had eight birdies, a double bogey and a bogey in the second round at TPC River Highlands. "Ive been in contention. I played in the final group on Sunday at Memorial," Langley said. "This weekend, Im not going to think about possibilities. Im not going to think about what it means to win. Im not going to think about any of that stuff. Im just going to keep my head down and play my game." Michael Putnam, Harris English and K.J. Choi were a stroke back. Putnam shot 63, matching the best round of the day. English had a 64, and Choi shot 65. Langley was 11 under after 10 holes Friday, but an errant approach shot on the 342-yard, par-4 second hole led to a double bogey. "I was ticked off because it was such an easy mistake, a simple wedge shot," said Langley, trying to become the fifth straight first-time PGA Tour winner in the event. Langley birdied the next hole. Ive given myself a lot of short birdie opportunities the first two days. Those are nice," Langley said. "When you start adding up thhree, four and five almost tap-in birdies, that just really kind of boosts you up. wholesale nfl jerseys. " First-round leader Brendan Steele had a 69 and to top the group at 9 under. He made three bogeys on his first nine holes, but rallied with four straight birdies on Nos. 3-6. Patrick Rodgers, the former Stanford star making his pro debut, was 5 under after a 69. Cameron Wilson, Rodgers college teammate who also was making his pro debut, missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 75. Defending champion Ken Duke was 3 under after a 72. Masters champion Bubba Watson, the 2010 Travelers winner for his first PGA Tour title, followed his opening 67 with a 72 to make the cut by a stroke. Putnam has finished in the top 25 once in 22 events this season. He matched his season best with a 67 in the first round and bettered it significantly Friday with the 63. "It was a perfect day for scoring. It left myself in some good spots and made a couple putts," Putnam said. "I actually three-putted 13 for par so it could have been even better." Defending champion Ken Duke was 3 under after a 72. "I hit a lot of bad shots and I have no excuse for it, but yeah, its good to finish strong and be here for the weekend," Duke said. "Thats what you always want to do." Erik Compton, the two-time heart transplant recipient who tied for second Sunday in the U.S. Open, missed the cut. He had a 69 in the second round to finish at 3 over. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
