who is 38, was asked if he would play well into his 40

EDMONTON -- There was plenty of post-Olympic rust to go around, but none seemed to stick to Darcy Kuemper in the Minnesota Wilds net. Kuemper made 21 saves to earn his second career shutout as Minnesota returned from the Olympic break on a winning note, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Thursday night. "We did a real good job, we were aware of the situation and everyone was focused tonight," Kuemper said. "It was just a solid team game tonight. We had seven days of practice. You just use the first two practices to get the fundamentals back and then you worry about the next game. I stuck to my game and obviously the team played great in front of me." Mikael Granlund, Stephane Veilleux and Dany Heatley scored for the Wild (32-21-7) who won their third game in a row. "I think thats our biggest strength, to have a good defensive game," Granlund said. "I thought we played good defensively and Kemps had a good game in net. We didnt give them too much." Wild head coach Mike Yeo said his team played far from perfect, but they will take the win anyway. "I dont think that we played this game at the level that we headed into the break at and I think thats normal," he said. "I was impressed with the detail and the structure in a lot of areas, but I think our puck work can get a little better in some areas too." The Oilers (20-34-7) have lost two in a row after winning five of their previous six. "It was pretty embarrassing," said Edmonton forward David Perron. "Nothing was going right for us. We couldnt generate any offence and our defence wasnt good. It was an awful game." It was the fifth time this season that the Oilers have been shutout at home and eighth time this season they have failed to score in a game. "Thats not how we wanted to come back from the break at all. It seemed like there was a lot of rust on our team," said Oilers forward Taylor Hall. "Whether that was the break or whatever, it doesnt really matter. They had the same break that we did and we just didnt play well." Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins thought neither team really looked that good on their return to action following the long break. "That was an ugly hockey game, I thought for both teams," he said. "It was quite amazing watching this game the number of players falling down with nothing going on around them and passes going behind players. It was firmly two teams coming off of a long break." The game started with a bang as Oilers forward Matt Hendricks checked Wild defenceman Nate Prosser in to the boards in the first minute of play. Prosser was helped to the dressing room and did not return until the second period. Minnesota got revenge for the hit by taking a 1-0 lead a minute later as Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens was caught out of position as Zach Parise fed the puck in front to Granlund who had an empty net to put his teams first shot of the game into. Each team only accounted for six first period shots apiece, with Edmontons best chance coming late in the period when a high bounce flipped off of Kuempers back and landed in the crease before being sent to safety by Jared Spurgeon. Kuemper made a big save of his own seven minutes into the second as he was quick to come across and rob Jordan Eberle at the side of the net on the tail end of an Oiler power play. Minnesota made it 2-0 midway through the second period as Erik Huala fought off Oiler Anton Belov behind the net to send a backhand to a primed and ready Veilleux who blasted a one-timer from the top of the circle past Scrivens for just his second goal of the season. The Wild took a three-goal lead midway through the third as Charlie Coyle made a nice play to swing out from behind the net and find Heatley in front, who lifted his 12th of the season over a sprawling Scrivens. Notes: Both teams saw some success before the pause in the NHL schedule as the Oilers were 5-1-1 in their previous seven games, while the Wild were 4-1-2 in their last seven. Edmonton only allowed 12 goals during that seven-game stretcha The Wild have had a great deal of success against Edmonton in recent years, coming into the game having won five of six and 14 of its last 17 versus the Oilers, including seven of their last eight appearances in Edmontona Minnesota forward Mikko Koivu is reportedly close to returning but remained out with an ankle injury for Thursdays gamea Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom returned from an abdominal injury dating back to Jan. 30, but served as the backup to Kuempera It was Edmontons only home game in all of February. The Oilers last home date was on Jan. 29 when Scrivens set an NHL record for most saves in a shutout with 59 in a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Sharksa Oiler forward Nail Yakupov took a shot to the right ankle from teammate Justin Schultz in the third and did not return. Cheap Balenciaga Shoes China . Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30 saves for the shutout. Balenciaga Shoes Clearance . JOHNS, N. http://www.wholesalebalenciaga.com/ . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Balenciaga Shoes Cheap Womens .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. Balenciaga Shoes Cheap Sale .J. -- The New Jersey Devils are so bad in shootouts, coach Pete DeBoer doesnt mind seeing his team take chances in the five-minute overtime.HOYLAKE, England -- Tiger Woods was an early arrival to the British Open with hopes of avoiding an early departure. Woods has played only two competitive rounds in the last four months because of back pain that led to surgery. Thats why he chose to get to England a day earlier than usual -- Saturday -- to get acclimated to links golf at Royal Liverpool. Its nothing like he remembers from his two-shot victory in 2006. Hoylake was brown and dusty that year, and the ball was bouncing along at such speed that Woods hit only one driver the entire week. That was on the 16th hole, and the shot wound up on the 17th fairway. He still made birdie. "The golf course is a little bit softer than what it was in 06," Woods said on Tuesday. "Ive played three practice rounds now and have had three different winds. So thats been helpful to be able to see the golf course in different conditions." As an example of the change, Woods pulled out a driver on the par-5 fifth hole with the wind in his face. His tee shot landed in the fairway. That he already has played three practice rounds has been encouraging. Woods missed the cut at Congressional in his return to competition three weeks ago, though he was pleased that he felt no pain from March 31 back surgery. He even has been to the gym twice in the last couple of days. Woods played 12 holes on Saturday and a full 18 on Sunday and Tuesday, taking a break Monday to work out and then go to the practice range. "Its one of the reasons why I came over a little earlier," he said. " I went to Geneva for a day with Rolex, but I came here a day earlier than I normally would to have an extra day in there, as well as possibly taking a day off, if need be. And it worked out." As for his goals? They havent changed. When asked what would be a reasonable result in his first major of the year, Woods replied, "First. "Thats always the case." The back surgery forced him to miss the Masters for the first time, and then the U.S. Open. The last time Woods had this much time off with so little competition before a major was in 2010 when he returned from the chaos in his personal life.dddddddddddd He tied for fourth at the Masters. It might help that he at least has won at Royal Liverpool, even if the course has changed dramatically. Woods has changed, too. His victory eight years ago produced more raw emotion than ever for Woods. It was his first major since the death of his father, Earl, two months earlier. He sobbed on the shoulders of his caddie and then his wife. Woods now has a different caddie and he is divorced. "My life has certainly changed a lot since then," Woods said. "That was a very emotional week. As you all know, I pressed pretty hard at Augusta that year, trying to win it, because it was the last time my dad was ever going to see me play a major championship. And then I didnt play well at the (U.S.) Open -- missed the cut there miserably. And then came here and just felt at peace. I really, really played well. On Sunday, I really felt calm out there. "It was surreal at the time. Ive had a few moments like that in majors where Ive felt that way on a Sunday. And that was certainly one of them." The others were at the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 shots; the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which he won by 15 shots; and 2000 British Open at St. Andrews, which he won by eight shots to complete the career Grand Slam. Woods has won the career slam twice more since then, running his total to 14 majors by winning the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 despite not having played in two months because of torn ligaments in his left knee and a double stress fracture in his left leg. He said that victory, with the odds against him, should be a reminder not to count him out. And hes not ruling out his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus and his 18 majors. Woods, who is 38, was asked if he would play well into his 40s and even his early 50s if it meant a chance to break the Nicklaus benchmark. "Hopefully, I have it done by then. But Im really looking forward to that cart," he said, referring to Champions Tour players being allowed to ride in a cart. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '