Die Macht » Derrick Robinson tucked a grounder inside third

DALLAS -- Two teams that won their last games by a combined 10-2, the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars, look to continue that good form on Saturday evening at American Airlines Center.Winners of four straight, Chicago (7-3-1) shut out Colorado 4-0 at United Center on Thursday behind a pair of goals from veteran forward Marian Hossa.Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford also picked up his second shutout of the week against the Avalanche.He (Crawford) has been doing a great job, Chicago forward Ryan Hartman told the Blackhawks official website after Thursdays win. Hes won a few games for us and hes been real good this year. Hopefully he can keep going and the team can keep going as well.Dallas (4-4-2) also heads into this Central Division battle fresh off a big win, defeating St. Louis 6-2 at American Airlines Center on Thursday.That game was the first against the Blues since St. Louis eliminated the Stars in the second round of the playoffs last spring with a 6-1 win in Game 7 in Dallas.The Stars responded after a scoreless first period, getting four of their six goals from defensemen, including two from John Klingberg, while Tyler Seguin equaled a career high with four assists and captain Jamie Benn had three helpers of his own.It (that win) was important for us because the psyche of the team, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said after practice on Friday. I thought emotionally our team was really engaged in the game. Theres a lot of plays they laid it on the line.It was a tough game. We got rewarded for going to the net, we got people there. We got some breaks finally where we havent gotten any, and I think if we maintain that type of presence, well get results.Former Blackhawk Antti Niemi stopped 28 of 30 shots against the Blues, and it appears he will start again on Saturday.Stars forward Jiri Hudler, who returned from missing several games due to illness, remains sidelined as his illness seems to have returned.No, hes still not feeling well, Ruff said of Hudler, who has been ruled out for both games with Chicago this weekend. Besides flu, some type of virus, hes battling something thats been tough on him.Saturday will mark the first meeting of the season between these division rivals, who will then square off in Chicago on Sunday to complete the back-to-back.Ruff, whose team was 3-1-0 against the Blackhawks last season and outscored them 16-7 in those games, knows the Stars next foe always presents a considerable challenge, especially considering how well Chicago is currently playing.Well, were looking forward to it. Obviously, theyre going really well, Ruff said. Goalies been red hot and theyre a team that has won four in a row now. We have to make sure that were taking care of our own end because we dont have quite the depth of firepower that we had when we were playing them last year.Chicago currently leads the Western Conference with 40 goals and is third in the NHL, giving a game against the Stars, who led the league in goals last season, the feel of an end-to-end offensive shootout in its purest form.Yeah, were definitely opportunistic. We get our chances, Hartman said. We got a lot of guys in this room that can bury them, so you dont see a lot of Grade-A chances that dont go on or close to going in. I think we got a solid group, just looking to continue the streak. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Clearance MLB Jerseys . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Cheap MLB Jerseys Nike 2020 . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw and Hanley Ramirez are making the Los Angeles Dodgers think about October baseball in late July. Kershaw pitched eight stellar innings, and Ramirez hit a two-run homer off Cincinnatis Homer Bailey in a 2-1 victory over the Reds on Friday night. Los Angeles maintained its half-game lead over Arizona in the NL West. The Dodgers are a major league-best 24-6 since June 21, when they were a season-worst 12 games out of first place. Ramirez, acquired last year from the Marlins, is batting .387 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 47 games this season, despite two stints on the disabled list. "Since I got here in this trade, everything changed -- even in my life," Ramirez said. "Being around these guys, its unbelievable." Kershaw (10-6) allowed a run and six hits, struck out eight and walked none, dropping his major league-best ERA to 1.96. The 2011 NL Cy Young Award winner is 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA over his last six starts after going 0-3 in six previous outings. "Theyve got a great team over there, great lineup," Kershaw said of the Reds. "The key is to get these middle guys and not to give them any opportunities." Kenley Jansen got three outs for his 13th save in 16 chances. Bailey (5-10) lost his fourth straight since his no-hitter. He allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked one. "Theres a reason why Kershaw has had the best ERA in the last three years, so it was out of my control," Bailey said. "The last three times out Ive faced him, and Jeff Locke, and that dude from Atlanta (Mike Minor) -- hes got about a 2-something ERA. So what can you do? "Id like to face a guy with an ERA over 3.00. That would be great." Kershaw and Bailey matches zeros until the sixth inning, when Adrian Gonzalez led off with a single, and Ramirez followed with a drive that just cleared the left field fence. It was his 11th homer of the season and 10th since coming off the disabled list on June 4. "I made a pretty good pitch to Hanley there, a pitch that he had taken earlier in the game," Bailey said. "My numbers in the past against him had always been pretty good (1 for 12 coming in), but hes hot right now." Ramirrez also singled in the fourth inning and has reached base safely in 34 straight games, the second-longest active streak behind Joey Vottos 38-game run with the Reds.dddddddddddd "We knew we had the capability of doing this," Gonzalez said. "Hes been swinging a hot bat. When hes going like this, we kind of all jump on his back. My job is to create opportunities for him." Brandon Phillips led off the Reds seventh with a double inside first base, and Jay Bruce singled him home two pitches later. Cincinnati got its fourth double of the game in the eighth when pinch-hitter Derrick Robinson tucked a grounder inside third base with one out, but Kershaw retired Shin-Soo Choo on a comebacker and then got Chris Heisey to pop out on his 118th and final pitch. Until then, the Reds had gotten only one runner past second base. That was in the fourth, when Heisey led off with a double off the glove of centre fielder Andre Ethier and advanced on Phillips one-out grounder. Kershaw escaped by striking out Bruce for the second straight time -- increasing Bruces NL-worst strikeout total to 126. "Both guys were dealing tonight, and it was a very good game. We just came out on the short end," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "You know youre not going to get a lot of chances to score off Kershaw, but we did have some. We hit some balls hard off him. It was a tough one to lose." NOTES: Kershaws career ERA is 2.67, the lowest since 1920 by any pitcher with at least 100 starts and 1,000 innings. Whitey Ford and Sandy Koufax are second and third. ... Since the start of the 2010 season, Bruce leads left-handed batters with 41 home runs against lefty pitchers -- including seven this season. ... Reds C Corky Miller threw out Yasiel Puig trying to steal second base in the first inning. It was the fourth time in 10 attempts that the rookie has been unsuccessful, and the first time Miller has thrown out a runner this season. He is 1 for 8. ... Baker has an 89-108 managerial record against Los Angeles in his 20 combined seasons with the Reds, Giants and Cubs. ... The Dodgers, who dropped the series opener 5-2, havent lost consecutive games since June 20-21 at San Diego. ... Puig was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. ' ' '