and Graeme Souness believes their young side will push Leicester

DENVER - The Colorado Avalanche cant squander any more points if the hope to return to the post-season. Semyon Varlamov was the reason they picked up two against Nashville.Varlamov made 23 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and Colorado beat the Predators 3-0 on Friday night.Jarome Iginla, Maxime Talbot, and Gabriel Landeskog had goals for the Avalanche, who earned an important win in their pursuit of a playoff berth.Colorado is trying to stay in the thick of the race after a slow start to the season. The Avalanche are two points behind Calgary for the second wild-card position in the Western Conference but they have played one more game than the Flames.Every game right now is important, every point, Varlamov said after his 17th career shutout. Lots of teams battling for the playoffs. We have to be ready every night.Colorado improved to 8-3-3 in its last 14 games and has moved into fifth place in the Central Division. The Avalanche earned three of a possible four points against the division-leading Predators.Were focusing on the next game, Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. Thats all.Nashvilles Marek Mazanec made 25 saves in his first start of the season.The Avalanche didnt capitalize on an early power play but scored 26 seconds after Nashville returned to full strength.OReilly put a shot on goal from the half boards, and Nathan MacKinnon tried to stuff it past Mazanec. The puck leaked through to the front of the crease where Talbot flipped it into the open net at 13:49 of the first.It was Talbots fourth goal of the season.Nashville had two good scoring chances in the second period. Gabriel Bourque had a breakaway, but the puck slipped off his stick before he could get off a shot.Later in the period, rookie Filip Forsberg went in alone on Varlamov, but the goalie made the save to keep Colorado in the lead.We had a couple of chances, especially in the second period when we could have gotten it to 1-1, Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. Filip hit a crossbar, and Bourque made a good move, but the puck just slipped off his stick. Maybe its a different game at that point.Iginla scored an insurance goal at 5:54 of the third.Colorado again couldnt convert on a power play, but just 6 seconds after it expired, Matt Duchene fed Iginla from behind the net. His one-timer beat Mazanec.I got a great pass from Dutch and a screen right in front from (Cody McLeod), Iginla said. I dont think the goalie saw it.Iginla has 60 points in 55 career games against the Predators.I guess against some teams you seem to get a few better bounces and have a bit more success, he said. Fortunately tonight it went in.Varlamov took care of the rest. It was his second shutout of the month, but this one came with less of an effort. He faced 54 shots in blanking Chicago on Jan. 6.Defensively, I thought we were sharp, Roy said. Its nice to give Varly a performance like this. Im not saying it was an easy shutout, but its nice for him to have an easier game where we dont give up that many shots and not many scoring chances. I hope were going to do that all the time from now on.The Predators pulled Mazanec for an extra skater with 2:15 left, and Landeskog scored a minute later to seal the victory.NOTES: MacKinnon had two assists. ... Iginlas goal was the 1,200th point of his career. ... Predators C Mike Ribero was ejected at 6:33 of the third. ... The Avalanche recalled D Stefan Elliott after D Erik Johnson had right knee surgery that will sideline him for 3-to-8 weeks. ... Nashville G Pekka Rinne is expected to miss up to three weeks because of a sprained knee. Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys . The game marks the rare occasion when two homegrown running backs, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions, will start in the West Divisions battle for a Grey Cup berth. Felix Potvin Jersey . Both sides of the deal have formally announced acquisitions: TFC introduced Jozy Altidore as a designated player on Friday, while their counterparts announced a three-and-a-half-year deal with Jermain Defoe. http://www.officialmapleleafspro.com/John-tavares-maple-leafs-jersey/ . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. Tiger Williams Jersey . - Gary Kubiak is John Elways No. Mitchell Marner Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Im sure youve received many emails wondering what your take is on the Spezza goal that looked like Neil blatantly kicked it in while standing directly in the middle of the crease where, you know, usually a goalie is to make a save but couldnt be due to Neil being there! Thanks! Jon - Westfield, MA Jon: Lets first ask Henrik Lundqvist what he thought of the scoring of the Sens second goal with .Its the football equivalent of a hockey team losing its entire blue line. The first six players at one position are injured, and now its a case of next man up. For the Toronto Argonauts, its the receiving corps that has been decimated by injuries. Chad Owens and Andre Durie were one-two in the CFL in receptions last season, Jason Barnes was a favourite target in the red zone, John Chiles was one of the best deep threats in the league and all of them have missed at least the last three games. Add to that, rookie Terrell Sinkfield missed the last game, while last week in Montreal fellow first-year Anthony Coombs was injured, likely for the season. Import Jarred Fayson is also injured. The only good news on the receiving corps is that Sinkfield is expected to play Tuesday night as the Argonauts host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. As for the rest of the injuries, head coach Scott Milanovich gave an update Monday afternoon. On Anthony Coombs shoulder injury being season ending, "I think so" said Milanovich, "The last report I got (Sunday) is it looks like hes going to have surgery, which would put him out for the year." As for when the others would return, "I think Jason Barnes is the closest," continued the coach. "Maybe (the August 23rd game in) Edmonton possibly. I think next week would be a stretch because of the five day week. Pretty much everybody else, Chad and Durie, Im hoping for, thinking Labour Day." Would a Durie, Labour Day return from a broken shoulder surprise the coach? "Im not counting on it yet," said Milanovich. "Chads probably closer than Dre is. A couple of weeks ago Dre said he was feeling great, and then its kind of gone back and forth with him." Chiles hamstring injury has been frustrating for all involved. He made the trip to RRegina two weeks ago, but was scratched just a couple hours before kickoff.dddddddddddd He didnt travel to Montreal last week and the coach is somewhat surprised the speedster isnt back in the lineup. "A little bit, yes. He practiced day one this week and then felt like he couldnt go or he was going to run the risk of pulling it." Milanovich then joked "I was never fast enough to worry about having a hamstring injury, so I have a tough time relating to injuries like that." The Argos finally scored two touchdowns in the same game last week in Montreal, something they hadnt done in the previous three. The prevailing school of thought among outsiders is that its just a case of waiting for the injuries to heal and all offensive ills will be cured. Ricky Ray is hoping thats the case. "To a certain extent, yes," said the quarterback. "Were hoping to get these guys back and to be able to have the guys that you rely on out there to play, but were not just saying that and thinking that, were expecting to win. These young guys that are filling in are very talented guys and now that weve been playing together for a few weeks its time for just to get a little more comfortable and be able to execute better and win some football games." Tuesdays game will be a tough one for the offence against a very talented Bombers defence, led by defensive coordinator/mad scientist Gary Etcheverry. One other note about the receiving corps, Trent Guy has been added to the roster. He wont play Tuesday, but may be in the lineup Sunday against British Columbia. Guy was with the Argos a year ago, and the club may be hoping that he will contribute the way Mo Mann has. After not playing for a year and four games, Mann has 11 catches for 137 yards in the two games he has played this season. ' ' '