ay night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss."I dont believe

ST. LOUIS -- Backup goalie Petr Mrazek kept the injury-riddled St. Louis Blues down heading into the playoffs with his second career shutout in a 3-0 victory for the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. The Blues had been in contention for the No. 1 overall seed but lost their last six and missed a chance at taking the Central Division with Colorado clinching on a tiebreaker before playing at Anaheim Sunday night. Minus three of their top five scorers, their top faceoff man and two top defencemen, they were shut out for the second straight game and third time during the slump. Justin Abdelkader scored twice, Riley Sheahan added a goal and Pavel Datsyuk had two assists for the Red Wings, who are locked into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will play Boston. The Blues set a franchise record with 52 wins but are the third seed in the Western Conference entering a first-round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. Theyre scuffling to say the least with the franchises longest losing streak since a seven-game skid from Dec. 26, 2009 to Jan. 7, 2010, and theyve mustered five goals the last six games. The Red Wings, who rested Jimmy Howard, Daniel Alfredsson and Johan Franzen, were 3-1 against Boston. The Blues were 3-2 against Chicago. Mrazek is 2-4 this season and has three career victories, one of them in his NHL debut in St. Louis on Feb. 7, 2013. He bested the Blues Ryan Miller, who has lost his last five decisions. T.J. Oshie (head), David Backes (foot) and Alex Pietrangelo (undisclosed) led a long list of scratches for the Blues. Oshie has 60 points, Backes 57 and Pietrangelo 51. The Red Wings were outshot 7-4 in the first period, but took the lead on Abdelkaders deflection at 13:30. Near the midpoint of the period, an apparent goal by Tomas Tatar was waved off by a goaltender interference on Joakim Andersson, who slashed Millers stick seconds earlier. Sheahan scored for the third straight game on the counter-attack with his ninth overall making it 2-0 at 16:19 of the second and Abdelkader made it 3-0 with another deflection in the third. Notes: Blues D Jay Bouwmeester played in his 717th consecutive game -- the longest streak in major pro sports -- and was the only St. Louis player to dress every game. ... Miller is 2-9-2 against Detroit. ... The Red Wings are preparing for their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. Nike Shox Gravity Canada . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Air Force 1 Sage Low Canada . Over the course of his career Glenn is 79-71-1 in 151 starts for a .526 career winning percentage. Since becoming a Stampeder, he has elevated his play and raised his stock around the league. http://www.airforce1canadasale.com/nike-...che-canada.html. -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Air Force 1-100 Canada . Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. Air Force 1 Canada Sale . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss."I dont believe in building through free agency." Argos general manager Jim Barker uttered those words during an interview with TSN 1050 radio just prior to the CFLs annual free agent frenzy. If you turn back the clock Barker is true to his word. Last February the only free agent the team added was LB/DE James Yurichuk. He proved his worth as a situational player who excelled on special teams, but it was far from being the kind of deal that captured the attention of more than just the die-hard fan. This may be a similar season in terms of who the Argos bring in according to Barker. "I do believe in plugging holes (via free agency) and trying to find that right guy thats going to bring our club up a notch," Barker noted. The bigger question may be what the club does about three specific players who may opt to not return to Toronto, Pat Watkins, Robert McCune and Swayze Waters. Watkins, a league all-star at cornerback last year, would be the toughest to replace. Hes also been the hardest to find. "Honestly we have not been able to get in touch with him. He doesnt return our calls, which is a bad thing," chuckled Barker. "If a guy doesnt want to be in Toronto then god bless him and good luck. Were persistent. Were sending players to his house, doing all those kind of things to try and run him down. But Pat is one of those guys who is very elusive. Its not a shocking development for us. Its possible hes just involved in something and not worried about it." Swayze Waters led the CFL in punting average and was virtually automatic on field goals down the stretch and is looking at returning to the states. "Hes tried out for a couple of NFL teams," Barker told TSN 1050. "Every indication hes given us is that hes coming back to Toronto if he comes back to the CFL." The Argos are preparing for the scenario where Waters makes an NFL team, and last week signed LSU grad Josh Jasper. Robert McCunes worth was evident in the teams loss to Hamilton in the Eastern Final. The middle linebacker, who was third in the league with 99 tackles, missed the game with a shoulder injury. It seemed every time Henry Burris scrambled, he ran right where McCune would have been. "With Robert were kind of waiting," said the GM. "Obviously Robert had a great year for us. Hes 34 years old. Thats a decision that were in the process of making, to which direction were going to go with him." If the Argos and McCune were to part ways it would leave the team down a couple of middle linebackers, as Jason Pottinger was selected by Ottawa in the expansion draft. Barker has a replacement all picked out, someone who may not be thought of as an MLB. "Shane Horton. Thats his natural position." Barker said, tthen may have tipped his hand about McCunes future.dddddddddddd "(Horton) played out of position playing rush end last year. Hes going to be a very, very good middle linebacker." Barker added he feels that at 215 pounds, Horton is big enough to play in the middle. Herve Tonye-Tonye, a non-import who just completed his rookie season, can also play the inside. As far as non-imports are concerned, it may be an interesting free agency period because of the recent expansion draft. Stocking the Ottawa RedBlacks took its toll on the existing teams rosters, so there will be a desire to restock the shelves with fresh talent. Barker commented on a few of the Canadians on the Argos that are on the verge of free agency. Chad Rempel, long snapper: "Chad worked out with Tampa Bay (NFL). He wants to give that a chance until thats exhausted." Zander Robinson, tight end/fullback: "Zander loves being in Toronto and loves how weve used him in the offence. Hes a valuable guy for us, but hes also exploring NFL opportunities." David Lee, defensive end: "Is a guy that had a real good year for us. I think he wants to try the free-agent market. Its his first time going through that and I think hes a guy that wants to go out and see what the market is all about." Mike Bradwell, wide receiver. "I think were really close. He loves being in Toronto." Coaching Moves/Tryout Camp: The Boatmen lost several coaches in the off-season. Special teams coordinator Mike OShea left to become the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while defensive coordinator Chris Jones took over the head coaching job with the Edmonton Eskimos. Jones also took a handful of assistant coaches with him. Barker says there will be announcement about the new-look staff in the immediate future. "Were excited about what our staff is going to look like" said Barker. "Scott (head coach Milanovich) will be announcing those (soon). Hes come up with a couple of guys who have great CFL experience.” Barker spoke to TSN 1050 from Atlanta, where the Argos were hosting a tryout camp. Over 60 players were in attendance and Barker was happy with what they found. "There were two players that were going to attempt to sign" said the GM. "Were pretty excited." If those players head north in June theyll attend training camp. Where that will be is still anyones guess. The team will not be back at the University of Torontos Erindale campus and at present are homeless. Where are they heading? "Those are questions for (Executive Chairman and CEO) Chris Rudge. "I know that theres some different things going on with York University," said Barker. "Other than that, Im not privy to those things.” ' ' '