guy thats a perfect fit for our organization." MacKinn

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - David Backes had four goals and Brian Elliott stopped 23 shots for his second shutout of the season to give the St. Louis Blues a 6-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist while Jaden Schwartz also scored for the Blues, who have won their past two. Its crazy. Weve gone years without a hat trick and now we have six, Backes said. I dont know how to explain it, but you wont hear anyone complaining about having hot nights like that. Five guys (with hat tricks), that says something about how different guys are stepping up every night. Mike Smith allowed all six goals on 39 shots for the Coyotes, who have lost two of three. The shots were 32-14. Thats not a goaltender problem; thats a people-in- front-of-them problem, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. Stastny scored his goal at 7:57 of the first period to give the Blues a 1-0 lead as a turnover by Arizona to the right of its net was taken advantage of by Stastny for his eighth goal of the year. Backes then scored the next four goals to tie a career-high he set on April 2, 2009 against Detroit. Skating on the power play, the Blues made it a 2-0 game when Backes buried a nice setup from T.J. Oshie at the left side of the net at 6:15 of the second. It was Backes on the power play again just over a minute later as he rushed in the Arizona zone and shot the puck into the left corner for a 3-0 lead. Backes capped the hat trick with 5:07 to play in the middle period as he finished off a rush play with a wrister from the left circle, and he made it a 5-0 game just 3:15 into the third when he crashed the net and tapped it an Alex Steen pass. Schwartz scored just under three minutes later on the power play to cap the scoring. Game Notes Elliott has 27 career shutouts ... St. Louis hosts San Jose on Thursday ... Arizona hosts Winnipeg on Thursday ... The Blues have won six straight games in Arizona ... It was the sixth hat trick for St. Louis this season. Tigers Jerseys China .com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and four-time Australian Open titlist Roger Federer were among Mondays fourth-round winners at Melbourne Park. Detroit Tigers Shirts . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ .C. -- The Bobcats announced theyve signed centre Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract. Cheap Tigers Jerseys . The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot. Wholesale Tigers Jerseys . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. DENVER -- As a kid, Nathan MacKinnon admired the game of his idol, Sidney Crosby. He even had posters on his wall of the Pittsburgh Penguins star. MacKinnon grew up with constant comparisons to his boyhood hero, especially since they were from the same hometown and had a similar scoring panache. Now, MacKinnon gets a chance to carve out his own identity after the teenager was the first pick of the draft by the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Much like Crosby eight years ago, MacKinnon will be counted on to turn around a franchise, one that finished last in the Western Conference in 2012-13 and missed the playoffs for a third straight season. No pressure, MacKinnon insisted. "I dont think anybody expects me to tear up the league and get 100 points as an 18-year-old," MacKinnon said at his introductory news conference on Monday. "I just want to help out and have a strong role and contribute as much as I can." To ease MacKinnons transition into the NHL, new Colorado coach Patrick Roy has already decided hes going to pair the rookie on the third line with Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie. That way, MacKinnon can be mentored by the veteran players. "I want him to have fun," Roy said. "Theres going to be enough pressure on him anyway. I know hes going to deal well with it. At the same time, its important for him to feel comfortable. "We need to give him time to adapt and just feel comfortable." Since being picked, MacKinnon has received congratulatory texts from teammates Matt Duchene and captain Gabriel Landeskog. Hes also heard from Crosby, the player he grew up respecting so highly. "That was so cool," he said. MacKinnon was the first player drafted No. 1 overall out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since Crosby in 2005. Fittingly, hes only the third 17-year-old taken No. 1 overall in the draft since 1988, joining Joe Thornton (1997) and Crosby. There was a time when MacKinnon constantly heard about how he was going to be the next Crosby. The last few years, though, the comparisons have slowed down. Either that or hes simply tuned them out. "I realize that I wasnt going to be Sid and I am going to be a different player than him," said MacKinnon, who turns 18 on Sept. 1. "I wanted to create my own path. Were from the same area -- if I wasnt from there those comparisons wouldnt be made." The 6-foot, 182-pound MacKinnon actually sees himself being more similar in style to Jonathan Toews, the Chicago Blackhawks captain who just led his team to the Stanley Cup crown.dddddddddddd Like Toews, MacKinnon prides himself on being solid on both ends of the ice. Thats why Colorado was so drawn to the youngster, picking him over defenceman Seth Jones, who slid to No. 4 and was picked by Nashville. "(MacKinnon) wants to be a difference maker, and he is," said Joe Sakic, the executive vice-president of hockey operations whos in charge of the Avalanches restoration project. "I dont believe (pressure) is going to affect him one bit. Hes lived under pressure his whole minor hockey and junior career. Hes a hockey player -- he doesnt worry about pressure. "He cant wait to get on the ice and play to the best of his ability." He cant wait to get back on the ice, period, especially now that the draft is over. The last time MacKinnon picked up his stick was when he led the Halifax Mooseheads to their first-ever Memorial Cup last month. He had quite a tournament, too, recording 13 points on his way to being named the MVP. Asked if that performance at all swayed the Avalanche to use the top pick on him, Sakic said: "Anybody that watched him play there realized, on the biggest stage, he was by far the best player. "He was always rated right up there," Sakic added. "We did our homework. We had our internal meetings and thats the guy we all felt is a cant-miss kid, a guy thats a perfect fit for our organization." MacKinnon certainly doesnt rattle. Not on the ice or in the presence of two Hall of Famers. He posed for pictures standing between Roy and Sakic, hardly even intimidated by the moment. "That," he said, "was so cool." Now, its back home to work on his game. In a few months, he will be back in the Mile High City for training camp. Just where hes going to live as a rookie remains undecided. MacKinnon might reside with an Avalanche player to begin his career, the same way Duchene once shared a roof with Adam Footes family. But that hasnt been worked out yet. "This is the way I envisioned things all my life -- to play as an 18-year-old," MacKinnon said. "Pretty cool to hear that they have confidence in me, that I can make the jump and contribute. Its a big role as an 18-year-old. I have a lot to learn. I know that." NOTES: The Avalanche drafted seven players on Sunday, including five defencemen. ... Roy wants to play Ryan OReilly, Duchene and P.A. Parenteau on one line, along with Landeskog, Paul Stastny and newly acquired Alex Tanguay on another. ' ' '