When youre able to finish stronger than your start

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ST. Paul Stastny USA Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues won a franchise record 52 games this season and general manager Doug Armstrong cant help but sum it up as a disappointment. "Were in the winning business and were not winning at the appropriate time of the year," Armstrong said Tuesday. "We have to fix that." The past two playoffs have been a carbon copy for the Blues. In 2013, St. Louis won the first two games against Los Angeles at home and then dropped the next four to the then-defending Stanley Cup champions. This season, St. Louis got the jump on defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago, then again lost four straight to end the season. Armstrong said that this years loss to the Blackhawks was worse. "I felt last year that we were coming off of a year where no one expected us to be good the year before and we wanted to prove that we were a good team," Armstrong said. "I expected us to take it to a higher level this year and the higher level was going to be a consistent regular season followed by a longer playoff run. So, this year, theres a true sense that we have squandered an opportunity and opportunities dont come a lot in this league." While the Blues have been one of the best teams each of the past three regular seasons -- St. Louis had 60 points in a lockout shortened 2012-13 campaign and 109 points in 2011-12 -- it has been a different story in April. Armstrong and coach Ken Hitchcock said that the Blues need to develop a killer instinct if they are to get over their post-season hump. "We werent able to create the gap in Games 3 and 4 and win on the road, which you have to do in the playoffs," Hitchcock said. "Thats the killer instinct that you need to have. We werent able to do it in either series, and it hurts. "Thats everyones responsibility. Mine, Dougs, the players, other coaches, everybody. Thats the part that hurts. We couldnt apply the killer instinct in Games 3 and 4 when we needed to in both years." Several players have been a part of the past three seasons, and figure to be part of the puzzle moving forward: forwards T.J. Oshie, Alexander Steen and David Backes, and defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. Armstrong said it his responsibility to see if this core group can get to a new level or whether changes are needed. "I look at the regular season success this team has had over the last three years," Armstrong said "I think our point total is probably in the top three or four in the NHL over that time frame. So, were doing some things correctly. But were not doing enough correctly to win in April, May and June. Quite honestly, I got to quit worrying about May. We got to get out of April first and were not doing that." One area that will need to be addressed is goaltending. The Blues thought they had added the final piece when the traded for Ryan Miller just before the deadline. But Miller, who is a free agent, allowed 19 goals against the Blackhawks and his save percentage was just .897. Armstrong said that Jake Allen, who had another strong year in the American Hockey League, will be one of the teams net minders. Who the will partner with Allen is up in the air. "Its a two-way street with Ryan right now," Armstrong said. "He has opportunities. I want to sit and talk with him and get his feelings about our organization. See where he thinks were at, see if he even has any interest in being a St. Louis Blue." Ryan Suter Jersey . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Justin Faulk USA Jersey . Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season. http://www.hockeyteamusajerseystore.com/Cory-Schneider-Jersey/ . James Harden wasnt worried and told his coach as much. "He was fired up but I told him: Its OK. Were going to be all right," Harden said. And they were. Houston scored 17 straight points after that timeout, led by 10 from Harden, to take the lead and roll to an easy 129-106 win.MONTREAL -- If the fans had their wish, Caroline Wozniacki would be facing local favourite Eugenie Bouchard in the third round of the US$2.44 million womens Rogers Cup on Thursday. Instead, the former world No. 1 from Denmark will play Shelby Rogers, the American qualifier who put a quick end to Westmount, Que., native Bouchards homecoming tournament in the second round. Wozniacki breezed through a second match in a row with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Klara Koukalova on a side court on Wednesday. She has lost only five games in two matches so far at the hardcourt event. "Its my favourite surface," she said. "Ive been playing pretty well lately. "Montreal has always been a good place for me, winning here a few years ago (2010). Im feeling good and hopefully I can keep going." In the evening feature, world No. 1 Serena Williams dispatched Samantha Stosur 6-0, 6-2 in a match interrupted 28 minutes by a sprinkle of rain. Williams, the defending champion who is coming off a victory Sunday at Stanford, then surprised the centre court crowd by doing a courtside interview in French. Wozniacki is coming off her first win of the season at the Istanbul Cup, where she dropped only two games while beating Roberta Vinci in the final. Now ranked 13th, Wozniacki will face the world No. 113 in Rogers, who played the spoiler as Bouchard battled rust and her nerves on Tuesday night. "I know how she looks like, but I dont know much about her game," said Wozniacki. "I will definitely have my team tell me how she plays." It promises to be a quieter match than if it was Bouchard, who had the packed centre court solidly behind her, as well as her Genie Army fan group in from Australia. "I dont really care, to be honest," added Wozniacki. "Obviously, Rogers must have played really well to beat Genie. "With the whole crowd, as well, for Genie, you know it wasnt easy. But for me, its a new match. It doesnt matter whos on the other side." If she keeps winning, it may draw attention back to her tennis game and away from her famous split in May with golfer Rory McIlroy. Both players seem to be doing better since then, with McIlroy following his British Open title with a win at last weeks Bridgestone Invitational. "Ive moved on. I hope everyone else has moved on, too," said Wozniacki, who will be running the New York Marathon in November, when the wedding was to have been. Williams needed only 59 minutes of playing time to improve her career record against Stosur to 7-3. Jonathan Quick USA Jersey. Next she will face 15th-seeded Lucie Safarova, against whom she is 6-0. Safarova beat Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4, 6-2. "She is an interesting player," Williams said of Safarova. "Shes extremely tricky. "Weve had some tough matches. I know weve gone to three sets on occasions. Its definitely not an easy match for me." Williams has won the Rogers Cup three times when it is held on alternate years in Toronto, including last year, but she has not played in Montreal since she retired from the final with an injury in 2000. Odd, since shed be a natural favourite for the mostly French-speaking crowd. "Im really happy to be a part of the tournament this year. Its just really cool," she said. "Ive actually been studying French for most of my life, so yeah, I should be able to speak even better, to be honest. "I love it in Canada because I understand everything. Its a lot easier for me to speak. The accent is much easier for me to understand." In a centre court match, fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova survived a rough first set to down world No. 27 Garbine Muguruza of Venezuela 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. "I was happy that I was able to turn it around," said Sharapova. "I didnt feel good. "I made a lot of errors in the first set. When youre able to finish stronger than your start, thats always a positive because you give yourself an opportunity to keep playing in the tournament." Her next opponent is 14th seeded Carla Suarez Navarro, who got past lucky loser Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. British qualifier Heather Watson upset 10th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5). Watson let a 5-2 lead slip away in the third set before rallying for the victory. The 22-year-old will face eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka in the third round on Thursday. Watson won two qualifying matches on the weekend before downing Tereza Smitkova in the first round. Cibulkova was coming off a first-round win over 17-year-old Francoise Abanda of Montreal. Angelique Kerber, the sixth seed, ousted Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-1. The two faced one another in Madrid in May, with Garcia winning when Kerber retired in the second set with a back injury. Second seed Petra Kvitova downed Casey Dellacqua 6-3, 6-2 and American qualifier Coco Vandeweghe upset ninth seed Ana Ivanovic 6-7 (7), 7-6 (7), 6-4 in the late matches. In doubles, Muguruza and Saurez Navarro beat Abanda and Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que., 6-3, 6-4. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '