hen the already skimpy lineup was further decimated by midweek injuries to Travis Hafner and Brett Gardner | Forum

SAINT PAUL, Minn. Nike React Shoes Online . --The Arizona Coyotes wrap up a four-game road trip on Saturday afternoon with a stop in snowy, frozen Minnesota to face one of the leagues hottest teams before returning to The Valley of the Sun.Minnesota is riding a six-game winning streak overall after a 5-2 win in Nashville on Thursday night to give the Wild at least a point in 11 of their last 12 games (8-1-3).Much of the credit for Minnesotas recent success goes to former Coyote and current Wild goaltender, Devan Dubnyk. The league leader in goals-against average and save percentage, Dubnyk is 8-0-2 in his past 10 starts with a 1.65 GAA and .944 save percentage.We werent at our best but our goalie was, Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said after Dubnyks 34-save performance against Nashville. It seems like he gets into that zone there and he says that nothing else is going to beat him.The Wild survived on three first-period goals and a pair of late empty netters against Nashville, relying on Dubnyk in between as the Predators outshot Minnesota 23-9 over the final two periods.Weve got a solid team and a great goalie right now, said veteran Minnesota center Eric Staal who scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season on Thursday. We got the job done, now weve got to keep going, big one on Saturday.It appears as though Arizona may catch a break as Wild backup goaltender Darcy Kuemper is expected to get the nod from Boudreau in Saturdays matinee match-up. Kuemper is 2-2-1 this season and was in goal for Minnesotas last regulation loss on Nov. 29 in Vancouver.Not that it would necessarily matter to Arizona, however, as the Coyotes have played well of late in St. Paul. While Minnesota has had the upper hand in the last 11 overall meetings between the clubs (8-1-2), Arizona is 7-2-2 in its last 11 visits to Xcel Energy Center.Boudreau knows full well what his team is up against.Ive played that team a lot and theyve always, always been a tough team to play against and I dont expect anything different, Boudreau said. (Arizona coach Dave Tippett) is a very structured coach and they will play their game. Its not going to be a cakewalk. If anybody thinks it is then theyre vastly mistaken.After dropping six in a row, the Coyotes have won three of four and two straight on this road trip after Thursdays 3-2 shootout win over Toronto. Much like the Wild, goaltending has been a huge factor in Arizonas surge.Coyotes starting goaltender Mike Smith stopped 125 of 129 shots in that trio of wins, including 44 against a Maple Leafs team whose offense has proven to be quite potent at Air Canada Center.He was really good, excellent, Tippett said. Thats what youve seen from him the last little bit here. Were still giving up too many chances but hes been there to clean a lot of it up.Smith has indeed had a lot to clean up for an Arizona team allowing a league-high 35.8 shots per game. Despite playing just 16 games due to a knee injury costing him a dozen potential starts, Smith has faced 40 or more shots six times which leads the NHL.Smith set a career-high and a franchise record for saves in a game when he stopped 58 of 60 Columbus shots in a Dec. 3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets. The 58 saves were also the most saves in a game by any NHL goalie this season and it was only the 4th time in the last 25 years a goalie had 58 saves or more in a regular season game. Nike React Discount .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Nike React Clearance . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. http://www.nikereactwholesale.com/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss        . Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is down to whoever let Justin Bieber play with the Stanley Cup this week. Pictures of the vacant-headed teen jerk posing with the trophy were pure hockey PR; he stepped on Chicagos sacred carpet logo, but frankly, they were lucky he didnt pee on it. But that annoyed feeling washed away when the next set of Cup pictures surfaced - Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville in a childrens hospital, with patients beaming, laughing, hugging the Stanley Cup. It really did have better things to do. Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free Press: My thumb is down to painting Eric Lindros as a man of poor character for having the courage to try and shape his own destiny. Esteemed colleague and member of the HHOF selection committee Mark Defoy said on Winnipeg radio this week that, "some people might hold a grudge," against Lindros. For what? Because Lindros had the gall to try and control where he played hockey as a teenager and then later as an adult? The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds didnt have to trade his rights and neither did the Quebec Nordiques. Lindros took a stand. Others turned their back on personal principle and then whinged in the aftermath. Lindros should or shouldnt get in the HHOF for what he did on the ice, nott for being strong enough to go against the grain. Nike React Sale. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to the New York Yankees for cavalier treatment of their most prized asset, Derek Jeter. Jeter missed this weekend series against Minnesota because of a strained quadriceps, which he sustained in his first game back after an abbreviated stint rehabbing a broken ankle. The Yankees panicked when the already skimpy lineup was further decimated by midweek injuries to Travis Hafner and Brett Gardner. So they called on the venerable captain, even though he had played just 22 innings in four minor league games. Hey, Jeter is 39. He cant outrun father time. And he shouldnt have been put in a position where he had to leg out infield hits. Dave Hodge, TSN : My thumb is down as I try to make sense of the Blue Jays inability or unwillingness to sign their first round draft pick, California high school pitcher Phil Bickford. Instead of turning pro with the Jays, Bickford will attend college at Cal State Fullerton. I dont pretend to know how good a prospect he is, but the Jays didnt select Bickford with the 10th overall pick thinking he was ordinary. They didnt choose him with the intention of not signing him. So why didnt they or why couldnt they? They wont say. They are the only team that failed to sign their first round pick. So I scratch my head with my thumb… pointed down. Cheap Hoodies From China Discount NFL Shirts Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Fast Shipping China Jerseys Stitched Jerseys ' ' '