Coming off a disappointing loss to Dallas

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Mike Smith stopped 30 shots and the Phoenix Coyotes became the first team to shut out the Chicago Blackhawks this season with a 2-0 victory Friday night. Coming off a disappointing loss to Dallas, the Coyotes charged at the Blackhawks following a pregame ceremony honouring the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Keith Yandle scored 69 seconds in and had an assist on Radim Vrbatas goal late in the second period. Smith made it stand up with some tough saves late in the third period, closing out his second shutout of the season after rocker Alice Cooper played a three-song set during intermission. Antoine Vermette extended his career-high point streak to nine games on Yandles goal in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd. Chicago had impressive victories in sweeping the two Southern California teams this week, but struggled offensively without leading scorer Patrick Kane, who left to attend his grandfathers funeral. The Blackhawks allowed two power-play goals after killing off 32 of 33 penalties the previous 10 games. They couldnt solve Smith and now head into the Olympic break off their first shutout since Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals against Boston last June. The Coyotes have been agonizingly inconsistent, playing well against good teams and struggling against teams further down the standings. Phoenix beat rival Los Angeles 3-0 in one of its best games of the season and followed that with a loss to Buffalo, which has the leagues worst record. The Coyotes bounced back to beat Pittsburgh, then lost on Tuesday to Dallas, a team they are jostling with for a playoff spot. They got off to a fast start against the Blackhawks, which came to the desert with 84 points, second-most in the NHL. Yandle triggered it. He was fired up by the 1980 U.S. Olympic teams appearance, fist-bumping every player as they went by the bench. Yandle, left off the current U.S. Olympic team, used that energy to score a power-play goal 69 seconds into the game on a hard slap shot from near the blue line. After one shot in the opening 14 minutes, the Blackhawks turned up the pressure late in the first period and early in the second. Smith stood his ground during Chicagos flurries and had stellar sequence late in the second period, when he slid over to stop a redirected shot by Jonathan Toews, then stopped a point-blank shot by Patrick Sharp, who stood in disbelief for a few seconds before looking back at the Coyotes goalie. A few minutes later, Smith ended up on his backside in the net with his mask lying in front of him after being run over by Brandon Saad. Defenceman Michal Rozsival was called for an unsportsmanlike after the play to give Phoenix a 5-on-3 and Vrbata capitalized quickly, beating Corey Crawford with a wrister from the slot. Cooper kept the vibe going during the second intermission with "Im 18," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Schools Out," and Smith made the shutout stand with some tough stops, including a nifty glove save on Saad after Chicago pulled Crawford for an extra attacker. NOTES: Ten members of the Miracle on Ice team were present for the pregame ceremony and current Olympians on the Coyotes and Blackhawks also were recognized. ... Coyotes C Martin Hanzal missed the game due to an illness. ... Chicago D Johnny Oduya missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Vermette has eight goals and four assists during his point streak. Green Air Max 90 China . After two months of mediocrity, perhaps the Washington Nationals have turned the page. Strasburg struck out 11 in seven innings Wednesday night and the Nationals kept the Philadelphia Phillies bats quiet yet again in an 8-4, rain-interrupted win. Wholesale Air Max 90 China . Hes just beginning to get similar results. The right-hander struggled after winning the honour in 2008 and 2009, but a retooling of his game has begun to pay off and has the San Francisco Giants thinking about the Lincecum of old. http://www.cheapairmax90china.com/ .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Black Air Max 90 China . Three pitches later, he was hugging Mike Napoli at home plate after his teammates winning home run. Napoli and Ortiz hit consecutive homers with one out in the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox rallied past Minnesota 2-1 Wednesday, sending the Twins to their fifth straight loss. Cheap Air Max 90 China . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 16 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings snap a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Chicago Bulls 99-70 on Monday night.BOSTON -- Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez ambushed and gunned down two men after a chance encounter inside a nightclub nearly two years ago, prosecutors said Thursday in an indictment that places the gun in his hands weeks before he signed a five-year, $40 million contract and went on to catch 51 passes and score five touchdowns during the 2012 NFL season. Hernandez was already jailed in connection with a mans 2013 shooting death and was indicted anew on two counts of first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the July 2012 killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. A third man was wounded in that attack. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in the killing last year of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd, whose body was found in an industrial area near Hernandezs home in North Attleborough. He was released by the Patriots last summer after being arrested in Lloyds death, and his lawyers said he looks forward to proving his innocence of the new charges. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley would not say whether prosecutors suspected a link between the two cases beyond their accusations of Hernandezs involvement. According to Conley, the night of the 2012 shootings unfolded when Hernandez and an associate went into the Cure Lounge in Boston at about the same time as the other men. The prosecutor would not describe their encounter but said there was no evidence Hernandez knew the victims. After the men left, Hernandez followed in an SUV and pulled up alongside them as they were stopped at a red light in Bostons South End, Conley said. "Aaron Hernandez fired a .38-calibre revolver multiple times from the drivers side of his vehicle into the passengers side of the victims vehicle," killing de Abreu and Furtado, Conley said. The case remained unsolved for months, but following Lloyds killing, Conley said, the SUV was found in Bristol, Connecticut, where Hernandez grew up, and the gun used in the double shooting was recovered from a person with ties to Hernandez. Previous court documents said the vehicle was found at the home of Hernandezss uncle.dddddddddddd A grand jury heard testimony from more than 24 witnesses and examined more than 80 pieces of evidence before returning the indictments, Conley said. He said Hernandezs notoriety played no role in the investigation. "This was never about Aaron Hernandez," he said. "This case was about two victims who were stopped, ambushed and senselessly murdered on the streets they called home." Hernandez is looking forward to his day in court, said his lawyers, Charles Rankin and James Sultan. "It is one thing to make allegations at a press conference and another thing to prove them in a courtroom," they said in a statement. The Patriots had no comment. De Abreu and Furtado were close friends who attended school and served in the military together in Cape Verde before coming to the United States, said lawyer William Kennedy, who represents their families in a $6 million civil lawsuit against Hernandez. "They were two young men who had come to this country to make a better life for themselves ... and they were cut down in really the prime of their life," he said. Hernandezs cousin Tanya Singleton was charged with criminal contempt of court. She was given immunity to testify before the grand jury but refused, Conley said. Singletons lawyer, E. Peter Parker, called her prosecution "aggressive and unnecessary." He said Singleton, who is being treated for breast cancer, has suffered a number of health setbacks since being jailed more than six months ago. Hernandez was expected to be arraigned on the new charges in Suffolk Superior Court next week. He is expected to be tried first in the Lloyd case. His lawyers filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the first-degree murder indictment against him in the Lloyd slaying, saying prosecutors hadnt shown enough evidence to support it. Also Thursday, a man described by prosecutors as Hernandezs "right-hand man," Ernest Wallace, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in Lloyds death. He had previously denied an accessory charge. AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen contributed ' ' '