owa. But what Chicago really wants is for Ramire

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Flyers have gone from a team fighting for a playoff spot to one of the NHLs most dangerous contenders. Scott Hartnell and Brayden Schenn both scored in the second period, and the Flyers rallied to beat the Western Conference-leading St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Saturday for their fifth straight win. Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds added goals in the third period, and Steve Mason made 32 saves to help Philadelphia improve to 12-2-1 in its last 15 games and maintain its hold on second place in the Metropolitan Division. "I think we showed the league we can play with everyone and we can beat everybody," Voracek said. "Its going to give us some more confidence." The Blues clinched a playoff berth despite the loss, the first Western Conference team to do so, as a result of Phoenixs 4-2 loss to Boston later Saturday. St. Louis Jaden Schwartz opened the scoring 6:23 into the game, finishing a 2-on-1, short-handed opportunity after taking a feed from Kevin Shattenkirk. Schwartzs wrist shot from close range went under Masons glove. The Blues again missed a chance to secure a playoff spot. One point would have made St. Louis the first Western club to qualify for the post-season. Ryan Miller made only 15 saves and lost for the second time since being acquired by the Blues from Buffalo on Feb. 28. Miller was beaten 4-0 by Chicago on Wednesday in a game in which he was pulled after allowing four goals on 27 shots. He is 7-2-1 with St. Louis. The Blues went 0-for-7 on the power play. "Our level of determination in the offensive zone isnt what its going to need to be to beat great goaltending," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Were going to have to find a way to get to a much higher level of compete in the offensive zone." The Flyers dominated the second period when they erased a 1-0 deficit. Hartnell tied it 57 seconds in when he finished from right in front of the crease after a cross-ice pass from Voracek. Miller appeared to try to stop the pass and was caught slightly out of position. Hartnell fired a wrister high into the open side of the net. Schenn put Philadelphia ahead 2-1 when he scored off a rebound with 6:36 left in the period. Simmonds took the initial shot after receiving a pass from Schenn. The rebound went right to Schenn, who put a backhander high over the sprawling goalie. "(Simmonds) hit me in a good spot trying to go through my arm, and it pops up (to Schenn)," Miller said. Mason preserved Philadelphias one-goal lead with a pair of strong saves on Derek Roy with nine minutes remaining during a power play. Schwartz took the initial shot, and the rebound went to Roy, who was stopped by Masons pads on his first attempt and the goalies glove on the second. "I was able to reach back and keep swatting at it," Mason said. "Saves that needed to be made." Voracek provided a cushion when he beat Miller high to the stick side with 4:19 left. Hartnell stole the puck along the boards, fed it into the right circle to Claude Giroux, who passed it the open Voracek. "Were really playing like a team right now and thats why were successful. It really is," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Were coming. Our team is getting to where we need to get to to be successful." Simmonds sealed Philadelphias latest win when he scored into an empty net with 2:54 remaining. "Were proving were a good hockey team," Mason said. "Were beating the teams that, come playoff time, youre going to have go through to get to the ultimate goal." Flyers winger Steve Downie was lost for the game with an upper-body injury after a collision with St. Louis Patrik Berglund early in the game. Downie had his head turned when he skated into Berglund near the boards at centre ice. Downie missed four games this season after sustaining a concussion during a fight on Nov. 2. The Flyers said he would be re-evaluated on Sunday. Giroux had four of Philadelphias 10 penalties. His eight penalty minutes matched one-quarter of the total (32) he had this season before Saturday. NOTES: St. Louis LW Magnus Paajarvi returned after missing three games because of an upper-body injury. The Blues remained without D Jordan Leopold (ankle) and RW Vladimir Tarasenko (hand). ... It was the first meeting between the teams since Oct. 22, 2011, when the Blues won 4-2 in Philadelphia. They will meet again on April 1 in St. Louis. ... After playing with a plain white mask in his first nine games with St. Louis, Miller unveiled a music-themed mask on Saturday. ... Blues RW T.J. Oshie, who entered with a team-best 54 points, went to the locker room with 11 minutes remaining after blocking a slap shot from Simmonds but later returned. . The Flyers announced after the game that LW Michael Raffl signed a multiyear contract extension. Jordan Pickford Jersey . In an interview with La Presse this week, the five-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time NHL scoring leader specifically took aim at wingers Thomas Vanek and Max Pacioretty, saying they cant show up in a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final and come up empty in Game 6. Custom England Soccer Jerseys .com) - The Golden State Warriors have started another winning streak and theyll try to pad it Tuesday night when they head to Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Jordan-Pickford-England-Jersey/ . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. David Beckham England Jersey . Speaking with TSN 1050 following Brendan Shanahans introductory press conference, the Leafs GM also addressed the clubs perceived leadership issues and the type of working relationship that can be expected within Torontos front office. Raheem Sterling England Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto won at Denver and Utah, but lost in Portland and Sacramento. The Kings loss was the most recent game for the Raptors.DES MOINES, Iowa - Manny Ramirez has been called everything from a World Series MVP to a cheater. The disgraced slugger is hoping to add "mentor" to his resume. The 42-year-old Ramirez, a two-time champion with Boston and a two-time offender of Major League Baseballs rules against performance-enhancing drugs, joined the Triple-A Iowa Cubs as a player/coach on Thursday after signing with Chicago in late May. Ramirez is expected to play one or two times a week for the organizations top affiliate in Des Moines. But Ramirezs biggest responsibility will be to work with the Cubs most promising prospects — and hes already got some simple advice for them. "Do the right thing, bro. Follow the rules. Thats it," Ramirez said Monday. That was often a problem for Ramirez when he was starring in the big leagues. Drama has always seemed to follow Ramirez, a happy-go-lucky but enigmatic slugger who clashed with managers, teammates and front office personnel during a 19-year major league career that included 555 home runs and 12 All-Star selections. But Cubs president Theo Epstein, who spent years dealing with Ramirez as the general manager of the Red Sox, said Monday in an interview with Boston radio station WEEI that he believes Ramirez is a changed man. "Manny gave me as many problems as he gave anyone, probably besides (former Red Sox manager Terry Francona) in his time in Boston. Hes responsible for most of the grey hairs on my head. So its not something that we entered into lightly," Epstein said. "But people do change. I talked a lot to Manny, and he seemed like a completely different guy... hes grown for the better. Hes open and honest about all the mistakes hes made in the past and he wants to fix that by being a positive influence on young players," he said. Ramirez spent the last month working on his swing in Arizona, even though Epstein said that the club had no plans to add him to tthe major league roster.dddddddddddd But Epstein said that hes received glowing reports about Ramirezs attitude and work ethic from those in the organization whove worked with him so far. "When you love the game and you want to help young players and give them your testimonial and the things that you went through so they dont go through that, its easy," Ramirez said. "When you come here and youre helping young players grow up and see them go to the next level, I think thats such a joy for yourself, to come and help somebody else. It doesnt matter who you are. Its who youre going to be," he said. Ramirez, whose trademark dreadlocks have been replaced by an outgrown Mohawk, was scheduled to hit sixth and serve as the designated hitter on Monday night for Iowa. But what Chicago really wants is for Ramirez to share the wisdom that made him such a great hitter with his younger teammates. Many of the cornerstones of the Cubs rebuilding effort are now under the guidance of Ramirez, and perhaps shortstop Javier Baez will benefit most from Ramirezs tutelage. Baez, a 21-year-old Spanish-speaking native of Puerto Rico, is considered one of the games brightest young prospects. But hes struggled some at Iowa, currently hitting .239 with 11 home runs through 71 games. Arismendy Alcantara, a 22-year-old second baseman from the Dominican with an .893 OPS, and third baseman Kris Bryant are among the other high-profile prospects the Cubs are hoping Ramirez can reach. "Theres no one better to teach hitting," Epstein said. "He could always burn me on it, and wed release a minor league coach, a minor league player. But I dont think thats going to happen. I think if he helps one of our many talented young hitters in the organization. ... it will be worth it. And help one kid avoid a mistake off the field by using himself as an example, it will be worth it. Hes doing a great job so far." ' ' '