NEW YORK -- The young and pesky Colorado Avalanche are starting to look up in the Western Conference playoff race. Back in the East, the slumping and veteran-laden New York Rangers have their focus squarely behind them. Semyon Varlamov made 41 saves, and rookie Gabriel Landeskog scored the deciding goal in the Avalanches 3-1 victory over the Rangers on Saturday night. Varlamov was the ultimate difference for the Avalanche, who moved into seventh place in the tight Western playoff race. New York lost for the fifth time in seven games, and their once seemingly comfortable lead on top of the East is nearly gone. Landeskog gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead in the second period, and Varlamov made it stand up as the team finished a 2-0-1 Eastern road trip. The Avalanche, who moved ahead of idle Phoenix, beat the Rangers and Buffalo, and earned a point with a shootout loss at New Jersey in a span of four days. "To get five out of six points is huge for us," the 19-year-old Landeskog said. "We knew it was going to be a big road trip against good teams, and we just kind of took it one game at a time. Thats the way weve got to do it coming down the stretch and have fun with it." This recent stretch has been anything but fun for the Rangers, who still have the second-most points in the NHL, but are only two ahead of the surging Pittsburgh Penguins, who have won 11 straight. "We cant get discouraged," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. The Rangers lost their second straight, and for the fifth in seven games. The Penguins, who beat New Jersey earlier Saturday to close within two points, can get even with the Rangers with a win Sunday in Philadelphia. Colorado leads Phoenix by two points, but the Avalanche have played two more games than the Coyotes. The next three teams -- Calgary, Los Angeles and San Jose -- are squarely in the hunt, too. "If we stay in the playoff picture, those teams still have to win their games, too," Colorado coach Joe Sacco said. "Its a tight race. Its competitive, its fun. Were trying to enjoy it, but at the same time there is obviously some pressure that goes along with it. "Our young group has responded very well, for the most part." Defenceman Matt Hunwick got the Avalanche even in the first period after Mats Zuccarello gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Henrik Lundqvist returned from a two-game absence caused by the flu and made 18 saves in the loss. Paul Stastny added an empty-net, power-play goal with 13.1 seconds left to make it 3-1. New York also got back captain Ryan Callahan (bruised foot) and defenceman Michael Del Zotto (hip), but it wasnt enough. The Rangers have lost two straight at home, after winning six in a row there, and have three games remaining on a seven-game homestand. They had their chances against Varlamov, but only got one puck past him. Brandon Dubinsky ripped a drive at him seven minutes into the third, but Varlamov went down in a split and made a lunging grab with his glove. "I think their goalie kind of saved the day for them," Lundqvist said. "We played really well. We created a lot of chances. "If we just get another goal, maybe two more goals, I think wed all sit in here and feel pretty good about ourselves." Later in the period, the Rangers had golden opportunities during a power play. Zuccarello hit the post with a drive, then got stuffed in front before Brad Richards was also denied from in-close. Another advantage in the final five minutes also proved fruitless as New York went 0 for 5 on the power play. "You look at the shot discrepancy, its pretty easy to figure out," Sacco said of the wide margin in shots. "Five power plays, 10 minutes of killing penalties. Five-on-five, if we couldve played the game more on that level, then it wouldve been a little bit closer." Despite dominating with a 26-13 shots edge through 40 minutes, the Rangers trailed 2-1 going into the third. Landeskog gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead with his 21st goal -- tops among NHL rookies -- at 9:51 of the second. "It was nice to see it squeak in, and I definitely kept that puck," Landeskog said. "It was unbelievable. It was probably one of the best buildings we played in this year. It was extremely loud out there, which is always a lot of fun." The Avalanche had control of the puck more in the second period than the first and deftly created several turnovers by the Rangers that either thwarted New York chances or set up opportunities for Colorado. New York surely was frustrated to be in a 1-1 tie through the first period, despite having a 16-6 edge in shots. "I knew it would be a tough game coming in here with the crowd and the noise," Varlamov said. "Its always very hot here, and I sweat a lot. I got more comfortable as the game went on." Zuccarello, in his fourth game back with the Rangers since being recalled from the AHL last week, netted his first of the season 10:43 in. The 5-foot-7 winger worked his way to the front of the net, got his stick on Dan Girardis shot from the right wing boards, and steered it between Varlamovs pads -- even with defenceman Erik Johnson leaning on his back. It was Zuccarellos first goal since March 6, 2011 -- a span of 16 NHL games -- and the seventh of his career. The goal also was the first in three games scored by someone other than the potent line combination of Marian Gaborik, Richards, and Carl Hagelin, who had netted the past seven. Notes: The Rangers were without C Artem Anisimov (shoulder) and D Steve Eminger. ... D Tim Erixon was recalled from Connecticut of the AHL and was in the Rangers lineup. ... Colorado is 10-2 against the Rangers in the last 12 meetings. ... The Avalanche have allowed only one man-advantage goal in nine games (20 of 21). Kenny Stills Youth Jersey .ca! 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If preseason stats could be taken at face value, one could have fun cobbling together yet another Washington Redskins quarterback controversy, this one involving a pair of rookies. Ndamukong Suh Womens Jersey . Louis Cardinals will leave the friendly confines of Busch Stadium for a bit as they begin a three-city, nine-game road trip tonight with the first of three straight games against the NL Central-rival Houston Astros from Minute Maid Park.SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball. Thats exactly what they did best Sunday night against short-handed Sacramento. Ty Lawson scored 27 points and Wilson Chandler had 20 for the Nuggets, who used their fast-paced philosophy to beat the struggling Kings 125-117. Following an emotional home win over Indiana on Saturday and a late-night flight to Sacramento, the Nuggets played the up-tempo game that was encouraged for years by George Karl and has continued under rookie coach Brian Shaw. Denver shot nearly 52 per cent, made 10 3-pointers and bothered the Kings enough at the defensive end to force 16 turnovers — many of them contributing to Denvers 33 fast-break points. It was a season high allowed by the Kings, who have had trouble all season slowing down opponents. The Nuggets are 12-2 this season when scoring at least 110 points. "We come out and run and play with energy, thats our game," Lawson said. "If we dont do that, were not going to win many games." It was the second consecutive victory for the Nuggets, who went ahead late in the third quarter and never trailed again. Denver was coming off a 109-96 victory over the Pacers, who have the best record in the NBA. The Nuggets (22-21) now return home for games against Charlotte, Toronto, the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee. "Its the first time this year we have followed up a good win with another one," Shaw said. "If we take care of business at home we can really build some momentum." The Kings, who have dropped three straight and five of six, played their second consecutive game without leading scorers DeMarcus Cousins (ankle sprain) and Rudy Gay (Achilles strain). The two combine for nearly 43 points per game and are day to day. Chandler scored seven points in the fourth quarter and Kenneth Faried finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets. Timofey Mozgov added 14 points, while Nate Robinson and Randy Foye had 12 apiece. "Were starting to come around as a team," said Chandler, who made three 3-pointers and added five of Denvers 28 assists. "Were getting used to each other. We have 10 or 11 guys who can play and we dont lose a thing, no matter who is on the court." Isaiah Thomas had 22 points and eight assists for Sacramento, and Marcus Thornton scored 19. Ben McLLemore added 18 points, Jason Thompson had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Derrick Williams scored 12.dddddddddddd "We never got defensive in the game tonight," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Both teams shot the ball the exact same field goal percentage (51.9 per cent). We were not going to outscore that team. We put up 117 points and yet everyone is worried about Rudy Gay and DeMarcus being out. I havent been worried about our offence once this year." Denver didnt have a field goal in the final 3:30 of the game, but stayed on top thanks to its foul shooting. The Nuggets made 14 of 19 free throws down the stretch, most of them in the final 3 minutes. A pair of free throws by J.J. Hickson gave Denver a seven-point lead. Robinson made one of two attempts at the line with 1:02 left, putting the Nuggets up 119-113. Lawson hit two free throws and Chandler made four straight, increasing the lead to 10. "We just couldnt get any consecutive stops in the fourth quarter," McLemore said. "We would get a stop here, but not consecutively. What happened was that we turned the ball over too much tonight. Thats what allowed them to score 125 points and 58 points in the paint. It was us not defending and turnovers." Leading by two points, the Nuggets opened the fourth quarter with a surge, taking a 111-102 lead on a 3-pointer by Robinson. But Denver went scoreless for more than 3 minutes before Lawson scored for a 113-107 advantage. Lawson gave the Kings all sorts of trouble in the third quarter, scoring 12 points to help Denver take a 95-94 lead into the fourth. Thornton scored 10 for the Kings. The Nuggets ran off eight unanswered points to open an eight-point lead in the third. But the Kings countered with a 15-2 run, including seven points from Thomas and six from Thornton, to pull ahead 80-75 at the 4:36 mark. Foye had 12 first-half points and Lawson 11 for Denver, which led 65-59 at halftime. McLemore scored 10 off the bench for the Kings, who had 12 turnovers that led to 20 points. NOTES: Thomas made a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter to extend his streak to 37 games, the second-most in franchise history. Mitch Richmond holds the team record with 39 consecutive games with a 3 during the 1996-97 season. ... In a fast-paced opening half, the Kings shot 59.5 per cent and Denver was at 54.5 per cent. ... Denver made 31 of 40 free throws. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '