PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby all but said Saturday hes not yet close to returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup. Cheap Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys . Crosby was cleared for full contact during practice on Oct. 13, and has worked out regularly since then. But the Penguins have been the NHLs least-rested team since the season began -- Saturdays game against New Jersey was their 10th in 17 days -- so they have had little time for practice. Until the Penguins get some time off, Crosby will remain out with the concussion that has kept the NHLs marquee player out of games since the first week of January. "I think I need to get in some contact, more than just one bump in a morning skate," said Crosby. "I think its got to be a few days of that. So whenever we can get some of those days together, and hopefully I respond well to that, then Ill be much closer than I am right now." Pittsburghs first break of more than two days without a game will occur Oct. 30-Nov. 2. The following week, they will be off for five days from Nov. 6-10. When Crosby finally feels he is ready -- and has showed his doctors he hasnt been affected by hitting -- Crosby said he will be back. The opponent and the date, he said, wont matter. "Its been a long time, so Im just looking forward to whenever that is," Crosby said. The Penguins managed to get at least one point out of seven of their first nine games, even while being without Crosby since Jan. 5 and star centre Evgeni Malkin for all but three games. Defenceman Brooks Orpik (abdominal surgery) and forward Dustin Jeffrey (knee) also were out the first eight games before returning Thursday. Malkin was ruled out of a fifth consecutive game Saturday due to right knee soreness. The former NHL scoring champion had surgery to repair two torn ligaments in the knee more than eight months ago. "Weve kind of dealt with this (injury situation) a little bit to start the year. I think weve handled it really well," said Crosby. "Obviously the more guys we get healthy, the better. But I think whatevers happened, we seem to respond really well. So I think we just want to keep playing the same way." James Neal has carried the Penguins offensively, accumulating six goals in the last six games and seven overall. By contrast, he scored only once after being traded to the Penguins by Dallas in late February. "Hes got a great shot and hes been using it," Crosby said of Neal. "Hes been making every one count. When guys are out, other guys need to step up and hes done a great job of that." Defenceman Kris Letang, who returned Saturday from a two-game suspension for boarding, also has been an offensive force with a goal and six assists in six games. Crosby was expected to centre a line with Neal once he is healthy but, as well as Neal is playing, Crosby said he is reluctant to break up a successful unit. "Ive been watching him for a long time now, so Ive got a pretty good idea of the way he plays," said Crosby. "(Id be) excited if that opportunity comes to play with him. But I think when a guys scoring like that, I dont think you want to think about playing with him. Whoever hes playing with, keep him with them and hell keep it going." Neal began the season on a line with Malkin and Steve Sullivan and, more recently, has played with Sullivan and veteran centre Richard Park. Cheap Kansas Royals Jerseys . Oleksiak, who also signed on to play with Saginaw in the Ontario Hockey League this week, was taken 14th overall by the Dallas Stars in the NHL Entry Draft last month. The 67", 240 pound native of Toronto played for the NCAAs Northeastern University Huskies last season, scoring four goals and 13 points in 38 games as a freshman. Cheap San Antonio Spurs Jerseys . Consensus among Canadian players is that they enter Tuesdays first-place showdown with the Americans as the clear underdogs following a shootout loss to the Czech Republic on Saturday and a white-knuckle, come-from-behind win against Slovakia on Monday. http://www.arsenalsocceronline.com/authentic-mathieu-flamini-arsenal-fc-jersey/ . -- Canada was minutes away from advancing at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, until a last-gasp equalizer from Panama dashed its hopes. Nick Perry Womens Jersey . That focus kept him right in step when it counted. Arrieta pitched eight innings of five-hit ball Wednesday night, and the Baltimore Orioles ended Ivan Novas 15-game winning streak with a 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees. Air Jordan 11 Legend Blue . Charlottetown scored four times in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the defending champion Halifax Mooseheads on Friday. ST. LOUIS -- Mike Smith stopped 161 shots in a row before finally letting one get past him. The rest of the Phoenix Coyotes took it from there. "Hes been so big for us," captain Shane Doan said after the Coyotes took the Pacific Division lead with one game to go with a 4-1 victory over the suddenly beatable St. Louis Blues on Friday night. "We wanted to give him a little break. "It was nice to give him more than one goal to work with." Patrik Berglunds rebound goal in the first period ended Smiths shutout streak at 234:25 and tied it at 1, but Smith was perfect the rest of the way. The Coyotes won their fourth in a row and extended the Blues season-worst winless streak to four games in St. Louis home finale. "We didnt play the way we wanted to and we kind of got away from our game," defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said. "Thats kind of been our trend the last little bit and weve got to find a way to get it back on track." Keith Yandle, Radim Vrbata and Mikkel Boedker also scored for Phoenix, and Antoine Vermette had two assists. The Coyotes, whove won the last four by a combined 14-1, can win the first division title in franchise history with a victory in the regular-season finale Saturday night at Minnesota. Smith made 31 saves for the Coyotes, who have a one-point lead over Los Angeles and San Jose. The Kings and Sharks will play Saturday night in San Jose, with one team guaranteed to earn two points. The Coyotes will get the third seed in the Western Conference if they win their finale, but will be the seventh or eighth seed if they lose. "Its a division title but more importantly, its home ice in the playoffs," coach Dave Tippett said. "Weve been talking about this for a long time, that we want to build to be a playoff team." Brian Elliott, whose scoreless streak ended at 241:33 in a shootout loss to Detroit on Wednesday, had 28 saves for St. Louis. The Blues were the first team to clinch a playoff spot and could still win the Western Conference with a win Saturday at Dallas along with a Vancouver loss at home against Edmonton, but are 3-4-4 in their last 11. "Theres no more talking now," captain David Backes said. "Were at Game 82 tomorrow, lets go out there and do what we know we have to do. Either we commit to this team game the way we have to be successful or were going to be talking like this in more scrums. Cheap Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys. " The Blues finished a franchise-best 30-6-5 at home, but with a pair of blowout losses in the last three, also falling 5-2 to lowly Columbus last Saturday. A sellout crowd showed its frustration in the third period, with a beer bottle and a hat tossed onto the ice after Jamie Langenbrunner and Michal Rozsival tangled. For the third straight game, coach Ken Hitchcocks postgame remarks were brief and to the point. "This is what happens when you play with skill ahead of work," Hitchcock said. "Their level of defensive and checking commitment confused and frustrated our players. "We wanted the game to be easier and it wasnt." Phoenix avoided a season sweep by St. Louis after getting outscored 11-3 in three losses, including a 4-0 setback at home March 25. The Coyotes killed seven Blues power plays. Smith took a blow to the head from teammate Rotislav Kleslas leg in the second period but continued without a beat after getting medical attention in the net for a few minutes. After the game he said he felt fine. "I think we played more to our identity tonight," Smith said. "I think we were happy obviously with the outcome but moreso the way we played and how we won. "It was nice to get back playing a gritty game, one were going to have to play down the stretch." Yandle scored his first goal in 11 games on the Coyotes second shot, hitting the top corner with a drive from beyond the left faceoff circle at 2:13. Berglunds 19th goal tied it late in the period and the Blues outshot the Coyotes 11-0 the last 11 minutes of the first period, appearing to build some momentum. Phoenix regained control early in the second, beating Elliott on consecutive shots by Vrbata from the slot and Doan on a rush for a 3-1 lead about 7 1/2 minutes in. Vrbata has 34 goals, the most for the Coyotes since Jeremy Roenick had 34 in 1999-2000. The Blues missed a chance to climb back into it, coming up empty with 1:48 of a two-man advantage late in the period. Notes: Doan has 20 goals and 46 points in 64 career games against the Blues. ... Elliott and Smith fell well short of the NHL record of 332:01 set by Brian Boucher of Phoenix in 2003-04. ... The Coyotes are 32-1 when leading after two periods. ... Smith won for the first time in four career starts in St. Louis. ' ' '