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CHICAGO -- Colorado is in the mix for one of the top playoff seeds in the Western Conference, and first-year coach Patrick Roy thinks the Avalanche are one of the NHLs biggest surprises. Tyson Barrie scored a tiebreaking power-play goal with 7:10 left in the third period, and the Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Tuesday night for their third straight win. Colorado reached the 40-victory mark faster than any team in franchise history. It also improved to 3-1 against the Blackhawks this season and moved within one point of the Stanley Cup champions for second in the Central Division. "Our objective at the start of the season was to surprise the world of hockey," Roy said. "Today, I guess were making it even more interesting. Were one point behind these guys with one game in hand." Barrie got open in the left circle and one-timed Erik Johnsons perfect cross-ice feed high past Corey Crawford on the glove side. It was Barries second game-winner against Chicago this season, following an overtime goal against the Blackhawks on Jan. 14. "He put it right in my wheelhouse and I was able to get everything on it," Barrie said. "You always want to put it upstairs. I was lucky to beat Crawford there." Paul Stastny completed the scoring with an empty-netter with 32.6 seconds left. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon got an assist on Stastnys 20th goal, extending his point streak to 12 games, tying Wayne Gretzkys record for an 18-year-old set in 1979-80. Barrie scored for the second straight game as Colorados defencemen continued to contribute offensively. The Avalanche got four goals from defencemen in a 6-3 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. Ryan OReilly and Maxime Talbot also scored for the Avalanche, who are 17-6-1 since New Years Eve. OReilly has three goals and three assists in his last four games. "I think we know what weve got in here," Barrie said. "Weve got a great group of guys. Its a lot of fun to play." Ben Smith and Jonathan Toews scored for Chicago, which was without veteran forward Marian Hossa. Toews has three goals in his last two games. Hossa left Saturday nights 5-1 victory over Pittsburgh at Soldier Field with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss two to three weeks. Brandon Saad moved up again to take Hossas spot on the right side of Chicagos top line with Toews and Patrick Sharp. The Blackhawks outshot Colorado 38-21, and Chicago coach Joel Quenneville thought that statistic reflected the play on the ice for most of the game. "I think we outchanced and outplayed them," Quenneville said. "I didnt like any of the goals that went in tonight. It was one of those games." Chicago also lost ground to St. Louis, which beat Tampa Bay 4-2 and is all alone in the Central lead, three points behind Anaheim for the top spot in the conference. "We lost a lot of ground," Quenneville said. "A four-point swing." Chicago and the much-improved Avalanche could meet in the opening round of the playoffs under the NHLs new alignment. "I would say 80 per cent, if not 90 per cent, said at the beginning of the year the Avalanche will miss the playoffs," Roy said. "Its not done yet, but were certainly in good shape right now." Colorados Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves. Crawford had 17 stops in the Blackhawks first game at the United Center since a 3-1 loss to Winnipeg on Jan. 26. The Blackhawks outshot Colorado 11-3 in a scoreless first period, but didnt generate many prime chances. Talbot put the Avalanche in front 2:49 into the second when he got his stick on Johnsons low shot from the right point. Positioned in the right circle, Talbot barely ticked Johnsons wrister, but it was enough to direct the puck between Crawfords pads. The Blackhawks turned up the pressure after falling behind, outskating the Avalanche and forcing turnovers. Varlamov helped keep Chicago off the board with several sharp saves, including point-blank stops on Toews and Peter Regin. Smith and Chicagos solid fourth line tied it at 1 with 3:08 left in the second. Capping some work along the boards with Brandon Bollig, Smith cut into the left circle and fired a shot past Varlamov with Avalanche defenceman Jan Hejda screening. OReilly snapped off a low shot from the right circle that slipped between Crawfords pads at 1:23 of the third to put Colorado ahead 2-1. Toews replied with a power-play goal at 7:17. After slipping to the right side of the net, Toews took Sharps feed and fired it past Varlamov to complete a slick passing series. NOTES: The Blackhawks acquired D David Rundblad and D Mathieu Brisebois in a trade with Phoenix before the game. Rundblad will join the Blackhawks and give them eight defencemen on the roster. Brisebois will report to Rockford of the AHL. Chicago parted with a second-round selection in this years draft to complete the trade. ... Crawford wore his black leg pads against Colorado. His favourite set, custom white models, disappeared from Soldier Field after Saturdays game. Air Jordan From China . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7. Wholesale Authentic Jordans .C. - Blair Jones scored the eventual winner in the third period as the Abbotsford Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Oil Barons 3-2 in American Hockey League action on Friday. http://www.cheapairjordanfreeshipping.com/ . Carling Bassett-Seguso was a world No. 8 almost 30 years ago. Currently 13th, Bouchard is assured of equalling that when the next rankings are released Monday. Wholesale Jordans .Dawson also birdied two of the last four holes to reach 12-under 132 on TPC San Antonios AT&T Canyons Course. He won his only title in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in 2002 in the Web.com Tours LaSalle Bank Open.Im not going to lose any sleep, believe me, Dawson said. I used to be a perfectionist, but my attitude now is to play like Im in the pro-am. Cheap Authentic Air Jordan . As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. The Games in southern Russia, which run from Feb. 7-23, are being staged amid unprecedented security and under global warnings of danger.DETROIT -- Justin Verlander knows he isnt going to make a sixth straight All-Star team. A few more performances like the one Wednesday might mean hes heading in the right direction, however. Verlander overcame a pair of long home runs in the first inning and left with a comfortable lead after the sixth as the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 9-3 for a three-game sweep. Verlander (7-7) started the day looking like the pitcher who has been searching for his mechanics for most of the season. Coco Crisp began the game with a shot over the access tunnel down the right-field line, and Brandon Moss went even deeper into the right-field stands with two out. That, though, was the last time the As scored off the pitcher who has dominated them in each of the last two postseasons. Verlander wasnt sharp, allowing nine hits, but he didnt walk a batter. "I didnt make a big adjustment, I just got more into my rhythm," he said. "My changeup wasnt good, but I was able to throw my slider to lefties, where usually thats just fastball and curve." With a .500 record and a 4.71 ERA, even Verlanders years of dominance arent going to get him to Minnesota later this month for the All-Star festivities. "Im not going this year -- I can pretty much guarantee that," he said. "I didnt have a good first half, and I know that." "Its going to be the first time I get that weekend off in a while. It will be nice to get that time where I dont have to tax my arm. Ive put in a lot of extra work this year, trying to find my mechanics, so the rest will be good," he said. Torii Hunter hit three RBI singles and capped a six-run burst in the sixth inning. The three-time AL Central champion Tigers won for the 11th time in 13 games. The division leaders reached the halfway mark with a 47-34 mark. Oakland still has the best record in the majors despite its stumble at Comerica Park. The Tigers have eliminated Oakland from the post-season in each of the last two years. Detroit won this years season series 4-2, but with both teams leading their divisions, theres aa chance of a fourth October meeting since 2006.dddddddddddd "We won three of four here last year during the regular season, but they turned the tide on us this time," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "This wasnt a very good series for us -- getting swept never feels too good -- but we do want to play them again this year." If there is a third matchup, the As wont expect this version of Verlander. "For guys like that, there is a regular-season version and a playoff version," Moss said. "I guarantee you that when playoff time comes, hes going to be dominant." Hunter started at designated hitter for the first time in his two seasons with the Tigers. Hunter, who turns 39 on July 18, came into the game hitting .185 in his last 32 games and has struggled badly in right field. The Tigers had a rough time, too, going 9-20 in late May and early June. "I think it was really good for our team to go through some of those tough patches," second baseman Ian Kinsler. "It taught us a lot about what type of team we are, that we could come out of that thing and still be one of the best teams in baseball." Jesse Chavez (6-5) struggled for the second straight start, giving up five runs in five-plus innings. Reliever Jim Johnson, who replaced him, allowed four runs while only getting one out. "We got the lead in the first, and I gave it back," Chavez said. "Thats the biggest thing. As a starter, when you get the lead, you want to hang on to it." NOTES: Victor Martinez sat out with soreness in his side, but Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said it was purely precautionary and that he should be back at DH on Thursday. ... DH Yoenis Cespedes (hamstring) and C Derek Norris (back) both returned to the lineup for Oakland. ... The As return home for a series with Toronto, with Sonny Gray (7-3) scheduled to face R.A. Dickey (6-7). ... Detroit remains home for a four-game weekend series with Tampa Bay. Max Scherzer (9-3) is scheduled to pitch the opener against Erik Bedard (4-5). ' ' '