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ST. Brandon LaFell Mens Black Jersey . LOUIS -- The secret is out on T.J. Oshie, who showed the world at the Sochi Olympics hes perfected the art of the shootout. Hes among nine Olympians whove rejoined a top contender that doesnt overly rely on razzle-dazzle. The St. Louis Blues are in prime position for the NHL stretch drive. They lack star power, with no one among the top 25 scorers, but are second overall in the Western Conference and atop the Central Division entering the re-start Wednesday at Vancouver. "Weve played awfully well. Weve been really resilient all year, weve responded to challenges all year," coach Ken Hitchcock said before the break. "But its going to really get dialed up when we get back and our players recognize that. "I think some guys are really looking forward to it." So far, theyve done the franchise proud. The next few months, theyll be working on solidifying their position and proving they belong against other powers in the conference. Theyre 3-0 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, but 1-2 against the Kings, 0-3 against the Sharks and 0-2 against the Ducks. The Sharks have outscored them 16-7, the Ducks 8-4. "I told the players when we come back in March and April, its for them," Hitchcock said. "They have to really grab it coming back." The blueprint for success is a defence thats allowed the second-fewest goals. Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott have combined for seven shutouts aided by strong support and willing shot blockers throughout the defensive rotation. Oshie and Alexander Steen are tied for the team scoring lead at 46 points, Steens total coming in 46 games due to a lengthy concussion-related absence. Theres plenty of depth with six players scoring at least 14 goals and Alex Pietrangelo is the first defenceman in franchise history and first in the NHL since Dion Phaneuf (2005-08) to record 40 or more points in each of his first three seasons. Theyve been dominant without much of a power play lately, entering the break in an 0-for-20 skid that included numerous failures with the two-man advantage. The Blues must regain their stride quickly after the break with 12 games in 22 days and never more than one day of rest. Theyve played the fewest games in the Western Conference and have three games in hand on the Ducks, first overall, and Blackhawks, who like St. Louis have 84 points. "Its really going to be like coming out of the lockout where everybody is full-tilt and every point means something down the stretch," defenceman Barret Jackman said. "Its going to be about the mental focus coming back and being the team that doesnt crack in those one-goal games." The Blues got a taste of the pressure going to overtime the last four games prior to the Olympics. They won three of them, with Oshie providing a preview of his Sochi show with four shootout goals to drive the United States past Russia in a preliminary round game. Stateside, Oshie scored in overtime to beat the Bruins, scored in the shootout to help beat the Jets and had a goal and assist against the Senators and then scored again in the shootout in a 5-4 loss. "We came through some injuries, sickness, like a lot of teams have gone through," Jackman said. "But were still one of the top teams in the league and thats a pretty good feeling." Cheap Vince Wilfork Jersey . Wedge will manage the final three games of this season against Oakland before the Mariners begin a search for a new manager. "Its got to the point where its painfully obvious to me that I just wasnt going to be able to move forward with this organization," Wedge said before Fridays game. Cheap Julian Edelman Jersey . The third-year pro went shot for shot with Knicks star Carmelo Anthony down the stretch before nailing the most important one of the night. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Fourth-seeded Roger Federer ended top-seeded Novak Djokovics chance of defending his Dubai Championships title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 semifinal win on Friday. Federer will be looking for his sixth Dubai title when he plays third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in Saturdays final. Berdych reached his second consecutive Dubai Championships final with a tough 7-5, 7-5 semifinal win over seventh-seeded Philiipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Federer now leads Djokovic 17-15 in their career head-to-head meetings. He also leads Djokovic 13-12 when competing on hard courts. "He deserved to win," Djokovic said. "He played in the second part of the match better and was more aggressive and played all around the court really well." Djokovic had won their last three matches and nine of their last 12 matches. Hes twice won three consecutive matches against Federer, but never has won four in a row. "Right now Im just happy that I was able to win the match," Federer said. "I dont care so much about the head-to-heads. "But its nice to be in the finals here in Dubai again." For the first set-and-a-half, Djokovic looked as if he would have an easy time reaching the final. Djokovic established an early lead when Federer lost his serve in an error-filled second game of the first set. Serving at 5-3, Djokovic won the first set on his third set point of the game with a clean ace down the middle. Midway through the second set, it seemed as though Federer remembered that his new part-time coach Stefan Edberg, who is not in Dubai, is urging him to play more offensively. From that point on, Federer started to come into the net and volley more often, which was an effective strategy that Djokovic couldnt handle. "I think I was able to play a bit more aggressive as the match went onn," Federer said. Brandon LaFell Patriots Jersey. "For me it was just a matter of playing consistent, but remain aggressive. "Clearly it was close, but I think I got the right balance." Djokovic doesnt seem to be interested in learning to use the net effectively now that he has Boris Becker, who was a serve and volley type of player, as his new head coach. "Weve been working on certain details in my game, but its nothing significant that Im going to change," Djokovic said. "Im not going to play serve and volley." In the second set, Djokovic surrendered his serve in an error-riddled sixth game to put Federer in position to even the score at one set apiece. Federer broke Djokovics serve in the first and fifth games of the third set to set up the win. In the final game, Federer saved two break points when serving for the match in the final game. Berdych enters the final on a 11-match winning streak. He arrived in Dubai having won his first title in over a year at Rotterdam two weeks ago. "I think hes playing very well right now," Federer said. "This is a big match for him tomorrow (Saturday) as well. "I will try to stop him and play a good match myself." Berdych now leads Kohlschreiber 8-1 in career matches played. In the first set, Kohlschreiber broke out to a 4-2 lead after Berdych lost his serve in the opening game of the match. From 5-3 for Kohlschreiber, Berdych won the next four games to win the first set, which lasted one hour, 28 minutes. The second set stayed on serve until the very last game, when Kohlschreiber surrendered his serve at 15-40 for Berdych to return to the final. "The second final in a row with so many great players in the draw here is a great result for me," Berdych said. "Its great to be able to be hitting the ball so nice and clean." ' ' ' |
