Off Topic » Getting the nod in his place will be rookie Jake

The St. Louis Blues are among the best defensive teams in the NHL, but theyve lost goaltender Brian Elliott indefinitely. Getting the nod in his place will be rookie Jake Allen, who will try to help the Blues continue their dominance of the lowly Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. The Oilers dropped to 0-11-2 against the West with Thursdays 1-0 overtime loss at Nashville. Jordan Eberle had a chance to end the slide, but he was stopped on a penalty shot 13 seconds into the extra period. We havent been able to take many positives lately, where at the start of the season, we felt good about the way we played even though maybe we came out on the short end of the stick, coach Dallas Eakins said. This one for the group was a step forward even though we couldnt get both the points. Edmonton has averaged only 1.63 goals during its eight-game skid (0-6-2) and gone 3 for 27 on the power play. Eberle has no goals in six contests and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has none in eight games. Taylor Hall has four goals and three assists in five career visits to St. Louis. Oilers defenceman Justin Schultz and Martin Marincin will both be healthy scratches tonight, Oscar Klefbom and Keith Aulie will take their spots. St. Louis (14-6-2) gives up 2.00 goals per game, tying Nashville for the league lead. Elliott is a big reason for that success, posting a league-best 1.82 goals-against average. Its unclear when Elliott will get a chance to improve on that since hes out indefinitely with a lower-body injury suffered late in the second period of a 3-2 shootout loss to Ottawa on Tuesday. Allen stepped in to stop 15 of 17 shots before giving up the only shootout tally in the third round. The goalies have been the heart and soul of our team and the biggest reason why weve been winning, left wing Alexander Steen said, so its tough to see a guy like Moose (Elliott) go down. With Elliott out, Allen will likely carry the load and hes 6-2-1 with a 2.12 GAA and two shutouts in nine games. However, he has a 3.10 GAA while going 3-1-1 in his last five appearances. Hes expected to be backed up by Jordan Binnington, who was recalled from Chicago of the AHL on Wednesday while free agent Martin Brodeur will start practicing with the team Friday. Binnington was 6-2-1 with a 1.89 GAA in the minors this season. Tuesdays loss was just the second in nine home games for the Blues, who followed a 2-2-0 road trip by giving up a two-goal, third-period lead before falling to the Senators. The loss is one thing, but the way we played at times is disappointing, attention to detail and focus, coach Ken Hitchcock said. Steen has snapped out of his funk, scoring two goals and assisting on two others over the past three games. He had there goals and eight assists through the first 19 after leading St. Louis with career highs of 33 goals and 62 points last season. Steen has no goals in eight career home meetings with Edmonton, but hes managed six assists. The Blues are 14-2-1 in their last 17 matchups with the Oilers (6-14-3), outscoring them 17-4 during a three-game sweep last season - including 6-2 in the only home matchup March 13. Theyve won seven of the past eight in St. Louis, and that dominance seems likely to continue against Western Conference-worst Edmonton, which has lost eight straight. George Blanda Youth Jersey . 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. Hunter Renfrow Jersey . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. 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Derek Carr Youth Jersey .Y. -- AJ Allmendingers journey is almost complete.GENEVA - Real Madrid and Liverpool found their combined 15 European titles were no protection on the road in the Champions League on Wednesday.Ten-time champion Real Madrid trailed early against Bulgarian newcomer Ludogorets Razgrad, which was only formed as a club 13 years ago a€” in the same season the Spanish giant won its ninth title.After Ludogorets stunning sixth-minute opener, Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty saved and then scored with a second spot-kick in the 24th, before Madrid got substitute Karim Benzemas 77th-minute goal to force a 2-1 win.We played as equal to Real and I am delighted with our performance, Ludogorets coach Georgi Dermendzhiev said.Five-time winner Liverpool lost 1-0 at Basel, which specializes in beating English opponents, and trails Group B leader Madrid by three points before hosting the title holder next.I thought we were too soft all over the pitch, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said, adding his team didnt deserve anything against Switzerlands champion.Borussia Dortmund won 3-0 at Anderlecht, and leads Group D by three points from Arsenal, which beat Galatasaray 4-1 despite goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny being sent off with 30 minutes left.Atletico Madrid, runner-up last season, beat Juventus 1-0 through Arda Turans 75th-minute goal, and Malmos 2-0 victory against Olympiakos left Group A with all four teams on three points.Zenit St. Petersburg and Monaco drew 0-0 to share the Group C lead with four points, while Bayer Leverkusen beat Benfica 3-1.Ludogorets fans have to travel 335 kilometres (210 miles) to watch their team play at the national stadium in Sofia because the clubs 6,000-seat arena does not meet Champions League standards.But the supporters soon had reason to celebrate after Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho headed in a cross flicked on to the far post.Ronaldo had a 10th-minute penalty saved by goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov, but soon got a second chance to convert and close on Raul Gonzalezs record of 71 Champions League goals in the group stage and knockout rounds. Ronaldo has scored 69 goals a€” not including one in a qualifying-round match a€” and leads Lionel Messi by one in what promises to be a season-long duel.Veteran Basel forward Marco Streller has a more modest record yet his 52nd-minute strike against Liverpool followed his winning goal at Chelsea last season. Basel also eliminated Manchester United three seasons ago.It was a perfectt evening, said Basel coach Paulo Sousa, hailing a win against an historic club like Liverpool.ddddddddddddrsenal is yet to be grouped with Basel, and struck a blow for the Premier League by extending Galatasarays winless streak in England to 10 matches.On Arsene Wengers 18th anniversary as Arsenal manager, his two big off-season signings got goals to ease any anxiety caused by a group-opening 2-0 loss at Dortmund.Danny Welbeck, signed from Manchester United at the transfer deadline, scored in the 22nd, 30th and 52nd minutes. Former Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez had made it 3-0 in the 41st.Galatasarays fans rather than players offered fireworks in the first half. Play was briefly stopped before Sanchezs goal to allow red smoke to clear after numerous flares were lit by the Turkish clubs fans.Only when Szczesny was sent off, for bringing down Burak Yilmaz, did Galatasaray begin to threaten. Yilmaz sent the resulting 63rd-minute penalty past substitute goalkeeper David Ospina, signed after impressing for Colombia at the World Cup.Dortmund again eased to victory, though had only Ciro Immobiles third-minute goal to show for dominating the first half in Brussels. The Italy forward finished a pass from Japan playmaker Shinji Kagawa who, like Welbeck, was unwanted at Old Trafford by new manager Louis van Gaal.Dortmund added two second-half goals from Adrian Ramos, another recruit from Colombias World Cup squad.In a match of few chances in Madrid, Atletico scored a rare goal past Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon when Turkey forward Turan connected at the far post.Malmo was a European Cup finalist in 1979, but is playing in its first Champions League and made a winning home debut against Olympiakos when captain Markus Rosenberg scored late in each half.Were strong at home and were not afraid, Rosenberg said.Zenit St. Petersburg and Monaco played out a drab 0-0 draw in Russia, leaving Leverkusen to do the entertaining in Group C.The German side, which lost in Monaco last month, closed the gap with a comfortable win against visiting Benfica. Veteran forward Stefan Kiessling scored in the 25th , after Brazil keeper Julio Cesar fumbled a shot by Son Heung-min, and the South Korea forward extended the lead nine minutes later.After Benficas Eduardo Salvio pulled a goal back in the 62nd, Leverkusen restored its two-goal lead two minutes later when Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty. ' ' '