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CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks felt the repercussions of Brent Seabrooks hit on David Backes again on Sunday. Frank Herrmann Indians Jersey . How it affects the rest of their playoff series against the St. Louis Blues remains to be seen. Seabrook was suspended for three games by the NHL on his 29th birthday for his elbow to Backes head late in the third period of St. Louis 4-3 overtime win in Game 2. Now Chicago has to dig out of a 2-0 hole without one of its best defencemen in a rocky start to its Stanley Cup title defence. "You need his size, you need his presence and experience and his leadership," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said before Seabrooks suspension was announced. "Hes got the big shot on the point and hes on our power play as well. He kills penalties, so he plays all important minutes." Seabrook received a five-minute major and game misconduct penalty after he wiped out Backes at 15:09 of the third, and the Blues used the resulting power play to score the tying goal with 6.4 seconds left in regulation on Vladimir Tarasenkos long wrist shot. Backes had to be helped off the ice and did not return. The captains status for Monday nights Game 3 is up in the air. "All I know is hes upright, and thats about it right now," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Sunday. "We dont have any further information and probably wont have until late tomorrow." Backes and Seabrook were not made available to the media on the day off, but much of the talk centred on the hit anyway. The TV broadcast picked up someone taunting Backes in the aftermath of the big blow, but it was unclear if it was coming from the ice or the crowd in the corner where the play occurred. "I saw them talking to him. It makes it a little more gutless," Blues forward Ryan Reaves said. "I dont think theres any need for that. He doesnt even know where he really is. I think if they want to start getting into that battle, we can play the same way. Well see where it takes us." Quenneville said he did not see or hear any players taunting Backes after he went down. In addition to the hit by Seabrook, Hitchcock also was upset by Bryan Bickells knee-on-knee collision with Blues centre Vladimir Sobotka in the third. He said the Blackhawks forward was involved in a similar play with defenceman Alex Pietrangelo in the first. "That part bothers me more than the hit on David, a hit that went array," Hitchcock said. "The hit on Sobotka was a continuation of what happened to Petro in the first period." Here are five things to watch in Game 3 of this increasingly testy series: HOME SWEET HOME: The Blackhawks went 11-2 at home in the playoffs last year, outscoring the Wild, Red Wings, Kings and Bruins by a combined score of 41-23. They went 27-7-7 at the United Center this season, including a 2-0-1 mark against the Blues. "You just feed off of it," Quenneville said. "Itll be exciting to get back here, get some of the positive vibes off it and look to turn this thing around." VLADIMIR THE GREAT: Tarasenko missed the last 15 games of the regular season with a broken right thumb. But the 22-year-old Russian forward caused all sorts of headaches for the Blackhawks in the first two games of the series. The speedy Tarasenko had a first-period goal in the playoff opener, and then had the tying power-play score in Saturdays victory. With Seabrook out for the next three games and Backes status in question, Tarasenko could take on a more prominent role for the rest of the series. SO MANY PENALTIES: The Blues and Blackhawks combined for 17 penalties and 61 penalty minutes in Game 2. The defending Stanley Cup champions were responsible for 11 of those penalties and 41 penalty minutes, both season highs. It looked as if the Blackhawks wanted to match the physicality of the Blues, and it took them out of their puck possession game at times. "I think a little bit we might have played into their hands, but weve got to get back to our hockey, because when were playing that way we do a good job and thats how we win," Chicago forward Brandon Saad said. BEEN HERE BEFORE: St. Louis began last years playoffs with a pair of 2-1 victories over Los Angeles at home, including an overtime win in the opener. The Blues then lost the next four games against the Kings. "We played the best game all year Game 3 in Los Angeles and lost," Hitchcock said. "This is going to be a very long series and were going to have to be better than weve been if we expect to win a game in Chicago." ABOUT THOSE GOALTENDERS: Blues goalie Ryan Miller has been solid since Chicagos three-goal first period in Game 1. He had 25 saves in Saturdays win, and all three of the Blackhawks goals came with traffic in front of the net. Corey Crawford made 48 saves for Chicago in the triple-overtime opener, but he was disappointed with his 27-save performance in Game 2. "He said he needs to be better, and he needs to be better," Quenneville said. ___ AP Sports Writer R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis contributed to this report. ___ Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Michael Bourn Authentic Jersey . During the morning loop on TSN, SportsCentre presents Purple Hearts, a TSN Original feature on Daron Richardson, daughter of former NHL defenceman Luke Richardson, who took her own life at the age of 14. Justin Masterson Jersey . - Hall of Fame centre Bill Russell was arrested this week at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after Transportation Security Administration officials found a loaded gun in his luggage.MIAMI -- A replay reversal loaded the bases with nobody out and the score tied, which meant the Seattle Mariners had to pitch to Giancarlo Stanton for a change. He made them pay. Stanton hit a grand slam to redeem himself for a costly error early in the game, and the Miami Marlins beat the Seattle Mariners 8-4 Friday night. "We tried to stay away from him all night, because he is the one guy in that lineup that can really hurt you," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We had no choice there." The overturned call set the table for Stanton. Reed Johnson was ruled out at third on a force play following a bunt, but the umpires reviewed the call and determined third baseman Kyle Seager had juggled the ball. "Im a big fan of replay tonight," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "I was fired up when we won the challenge." "I knew it was going to be overturned right away," McClendon said. "That was the right call." The Mariners deployed five infielders for a potential forceout at the plate, and Stanton cleared them all with a towering homer to the left of the home-run sculpture. The 6-foot-6, 242-pound slugger took a pounding from jubilant teammates when he reached home plate, but he said he wasnt hurt. "Nah," he said. "I was throwing punches too." Stanton tied a career high with five RBIs to increase his total to 26, most in the majors. He also had an error in the second inning in right field that scored two unearned runs. Stanton was intentionally walked in consecutive at-bats, so he had to wait until the ninth to make amends for his defensive lapse. "I knew this game was going to be lost or won because of me," he said. "I was like, If I get a chance to hit, Id better take care of it, because of what I did earlier in the game. It was definitely in my mind as a duty." The Mariners lost their fourth game in a row, while the Marlins won for only the second time in the past 11 games. Johnson singled to start the ninth against Yoervis Medina (0-1), and Christian Yelich beat out a sacrifice bunt for his third hit. Marcell Ozunas bbunt loaded the bases following the replay review, and Stanton hit a 1-2 slider for his sixth home run. Joe Carter Indians Jersey. Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit his second homer for the Marlins, who won despite two errors that led to three unearned runs. The Marlins Nathan Eovaldi pitched six innings and allowed three runs, one earned. He lowered his ERA in seven interleague starts to 1.70. Steve Cishek (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth. The Mariners, beginning their first series in Miami since 2005 and their second ever, squandered repeated scoring chances. They went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position. Abraham Almonte had a double and a triple and scored twice, but slumping Robinson Cano went 1 for 5 and is 4 for 22 on the Mariners trip. The Mariners patchwork rotation again failed to go deep into a game. Chris Young lasted only three innings while giving up seven hits and four runs. "I just never got in a rhythm," Young said. "I never felt comfortable. I wanted to go deep in the game, and I need to pitch better to do so." The Marlins overcame some bad baserunning, a problem since the season started. Yelich was an easy out trying to score from second on a two-out infield hit and Saltalamacchia was picked off first. The Marlins fielding was no better. They have allowed 14 unearned runs this season, and they came into the game tied for the most in the majors. "Weve been a little sloppy in areas," Redmond said. NOTES: Seattle OF James Jones made his big league debut when he came off the bench in the seventh inning, and he singled in the eighth. ... Yelich had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. ... Miamis Casey McGehee improved to 8 for 15 (.533) with runners in scoring position. ... Eovaldi needed 13 pitches to retire Hart in the first inning. ... Redmond, a Seattle native, grew up a Mariners fan and said he probably attended their home opener 15 years in a row. ... LHP Roenis Elias (1-1, 2.16), who earned his first major league win in his most recent outing, is scheduled to start Saturday for Seattle against Henderson Alvarez (0-2, 4.30). Alvarez turned 24 Friday. cheap jerseys from chinacheap jerseys ' ' ' |
