DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche grabbed headlines with their fast start this season. The St. Louis Blues are proving to be a good story, too. Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves, David Backes had a goal and an assist and the streaking Blues beat Colorado 4-1 on Wednesday night. Alexander Steen scored his 20th of the season and Jaden Schwartz also had a goal for the Blues, who have won five straight. It was their first victory in Colorado since April 12, 2009. "I cant tell you the last time we won in this barn, so obviously coming here, its big getting two points," said Chris Stewart, who was playing for Colorado when St. Louis last won in Denver. "I think I was on the receiving end last time this team won in this barn, so its a big two points." The Blues lead the NHL with 18 wins more than a quarter of the way through the season. Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 shots and Patrick Bordeleau scored for the Avalanche, who had won three in a row. Colorado coach Patrick Roy was angry after the game with what he considered a double standard. Roy, hired by the Avalanche from the Quebec Major Junior League last summer, took some criticism earlier this season for talking to opposing players during the game. He took issue Wednesday with St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock. "I was very mad at the end because Ive been jabbed by different coaches around the league, especially Hitchcock when he said thats junior, stop talking to players and talking to the referee," Roy said. "But I saw a guy on the other side who was talking to players and was also talking to the referee. He got the referee even (angry). Seems to me theres different rules for everybody in this league. "I guess the old guys are allowed to do whatever they want and I guess us, because were younger, we cant say anything. Im a little (mad) about that." Colorados 17-5-0 start was a franchise best this deep into the season, but the Blues have been the better team lately. They have won 10 of 12 and earned points in 11 of those games. "We are sticking to the way we play. We have been for the last little while," Steen said. "Pucks are bouncing our way, we are taking care in our own end and our goaltending has been phenomenal." St. Louis is 4-1 in one-goal games during its recent run and has averaged 3.4 goals. "Our 5-on-5 play is getting better and our special teams have really carried us," Hitchcock said. One of the wins in that stretch was a 7-3 victory over Colorado on Nov. 14, which came in the middle of a three-game skid for the Avalanche. St. Louis dominated that game from the start of the second period, and that continued Wednesday. The Blues had the first seven shots, and goals by Backes and Steen in the first 6:10 of the game gave them a quick two-goal lead. Backes scored when he redirected T.J. Oshies pass on a rush 2:46 into the first period. Steen made it 2-0 with a power-play goal, which tied him with Washingtons Alex Ovechkin for the overall NHL lead. "We havent had good history in this building the past few years, so we needed to set the tone," Backes said. "Oshie makes a great pass and I found a piece of it and it found a hole." After being outshot 9-1 to that point, Colorado pushed back and got on the board when Bordeleau stuffed in a rebound midway through the first. The Avalanche had several chances to tie it, but Schwartzs short-handed goal with 1:48 left in the period made it 3-1 and stopped Colorados momentum. "We lost the game in the first 10 minutes," Matt Duchene said. "If we played a little better in the first 10 there, even giving up that shorty late in the first period there we go into the next period with a 2-1 deficit, its a different game." The Avalanche failed to mount a comeback in the final two periods. They were held to 14 shots in the last 40 minutes, with four coming in the final 5 minutes of the game. They had two on a power play and two more after pulling Varlamov for an extra skater, but Stewart sealed it with an empty-net goal with 1:44 left. "In general, we played a really sound game," Hitchcock said. "We managed the puck properly, we just did a lot of things good. We had a lot of guys on top of their game." NOTES: Blues C Derek Roy had two assists. ... Avalanche C Paul Stastny missed the game due to back spasms. ... Duchene returned to the lineup after missing three games with an oblique strain. ... Steen has 99 goals as a member of the Blues. ... St. Louis short-handed goal was its first of the season. It also was the first short-handed goal allowed by Colorado. Cheap Vapormax 2019 China . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Nike Air VaporMax 2.0 Floral Pure Platinum+Arctic Pink-White . The 2010 batting champ showed what he can do when hes mostly healthy. Gonzalez homered, doubled and singled in his return to the lineup, and the Colorado Rockies snapped a five-game losing streak with a 13-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-v...-clearance.html. The Swiss won on the fastest run-time tiebreaker after the four-racer teams tied 2-2. Wendy Holdener and Reto Schmidiger won their final heats against Julia Mancuso and Tim Jitloff, respectively. Cheap Vapormax 2 . Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game is also avialable on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg at 7pm ct. Nike VaporMax Plus Bleached Aqua Black+Bleached Aqua-Vivid Sulfur . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- J.B. Holmes was a 3-foot putt away from winning the Wells Fargo Championship when he backed away to size up the situation. This wasnt about pressure. He was just happy to be there. Nearly three years removed from brain surgery, Holmes was in a far better place Sunday at Quail Hollow. His 3-foot bogey putt gave him a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over Jim Furyk, capping a remarkable comeback from a health issue that wouldnt be classified as the garden variety in golf. Not many other guys keep a piece of their skull in a container in their closet. "Just enjoying the moment," Holmes said. "You dont get that very often, so getting up and thanking God for letting me have the opportunity to do it. Whether I made it or not, just enjoy being there." He made it more stressful than he needed, with two bogeys on the last three holes and an 8-foot par putt on the other. Jason Bohn had the best chance to catch Holmes, one shot behind until pulling a 4-iron into the water on the par-3 17th and making double bogey. Phil Mickelson never had a chance, missing four putts from the 4-foot range and closing with a 76 to finish out of the top 10. It was the third PGA Tour win for Holmes, and by far the sweetest. Three years ago, he began to feel dizzy, and it wasnt much longer when he was diagnosed with structural defects in the cerebellum known as Chiara malformations. He had brain surgery -- twice. The first time was to remove a piece of his skull. The second time was from an allergic reaction to the adhesive that was holding the titanium plate to the base of the skull, causing severe headaches. If that wasnt enough, he injured his left elbow from hitting too many golf balls in a rush to return. Holmes spent a year getting more cortisone shots that he cared to remember, and when he broke his ankle while roller blading for exercise last year, he used that time to have elbow surgery. "Its been a long journey for me," Holmes said. "Ive had some ups and downs. Its a great feeling to be out there and to get one done." Holmes made enough key putts to allow for some mistakes at the end. He ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn, including a 30-footer on No. 11 that opened up a two-shot lead. He gouged a fairway metal out of the rough on the par-5 15th to set up a 6-foot birdie putt that stretched his lead to three shots. Perhaps the biggest putt of all was an 8-foot par save on the 17th hole. That kept his lead at two shots, and he needed it. Instead of playing an irron off the tee, he drove into the right rough, came up well short of the green and chipped weakly to 45 feet.dddddddddddd Furyk was watching on TV in the locker room when Holmes knocked in the bogey putt to finish at 14-under 274. Martin Flores, in his first time playing in the last group, fell too far back with a three-putt bogey on the 13th. He made bogey on the 18th for a 72 and was third, the best finish of his PGA Tour career. Bohn also bogeyed the 18th for a 70 to finish fourth. Bohn received a bad time on the 16th hole -- one more would have been a one-shot penalty -- and said he let it get to him. "I didnt feel comfortable with the wind starting to gust up a little bit, and I went ahead and hit it anyhow in a situation that I probably would have backed off in," Bohn said. "So Im more disappointing in myself and the way that I handled that than the golf shots that I hit." Still, the biggest disappointment might have been Mickelson. He was in great shape going into the final round, two shots out of the lead, and the two players ahead of him stalled at the start. Instead, Mickelson matched his highest final round on the PGA Tour since The Barclays in 2012. And it was an old nemesis -- short putting -- that did him in. Mickelson three-putted from 15 feet on No. 8. He missed a 3-foot par putt on the 11th, a 4-foot birdie putt on the 14th and four-putted from 30 feet on the 16th. "I had two great rounds and I had two pathetic rounds this week," Mickelson said. "The greens putted perfectly, even though I didnt." The challenge came three others, with a series of eagles that injected some drama into Quail Hollow, if only briefly. Furyk chipped in for eagle from off the 15th green and then closed with three straight pars for a 65 to sit in the clubhouse at 13-under 275. Bohn holed out a sand wedge from 95 yards on the par-5 10th hole that disappeared into the cup on the third bounce. He also chipped in for birdie on No. 12. Flores chipped in for eagle from short of the 10th green that allowed him to tie for the lead, but only until Holmes made a short birdie putt of his own on No. 10. Holmes ran in the long birdie putt on the next hole for a two-shot lead, and he stayed in control the rest of the way. Holmes still has that container with a piece of his skull somewhere in his closet. He doesnt use it as inspiration. Hes not even sure where it is. So when asked if he would put the trophy from Wells Fargo next to it, Holmes chuckled. "Ill put the skull in the trophy," he said. ' ' '