The St. Louis Blues will try to put the defending Stanley Cup champions on the ropes when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals on Monday. The team will be without David Backes however, after the Blues captain left Game 2 early in the third period after a hit from Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook. Patrik Berglund will take Backes spot in the lineup. St. Louis has jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series thanks to a pair of victories on home ice. Both games have gone beyond regulation, with the Blues beating Chicago 4-3 in triple overtime on Thursday before taking Saturdays OT battle by the same score. The Blackhawks won their second Stanley Cup title in four years in 2013, but the reigning champs need to turn things around on home ice in Games 3 and 4 or they could face an early exit from this springs postseason. Chicago did lose in the opening round in consecutive seasons after winning the Cup in 2010. Chicago had an excellent opportunity to tie the series on Saturday, as the Blackhawks overcame an early 2-0 deficit in Game 2 to grab a 3-2 edge in the third period. However, Vladimir Tarasenkos power-play goal tied the game with just 6.4 seconds remaining in regulation and Barret Jackman scored 5:50 into OT to hand St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the series. The Blues now have a commanding hold on the best-of-seven series heading into Mondays Game 3, though Blues goaltender Ryan Miller said he knows its been a lot closer than that. "The way these games have gone, you have to respect the fact that Chicago was a shot away in both of these games, too," said Miller. "Thats the weird part about hockey." Chicago snapped a lengthy shutout streak by Miller to get back in Saturdays game. But after three Chicago Blackhawks defensemen scored three straight goals against Miller, one of them took a series-changing penalty that the Blues exploited for the comeback victory. Brent Seabrooks charging major due to a check against Blues center David Backes led to Tarasenkos tying goal in the closing seconds of the third period. Millers shutout streak of 119 minutes and 27 seconds since allowing three goals on seven shots in the first period of Game 1 was snapped when Duncan Keith scored with 2:35 left in the second period to get the Blackhawks on the board. Seabrook and Michal Rozsival then beat Miller 1:45 apart in the third period to give the Blackhawks the 3-2 lead, but Chicago was later done in by Seabrooks game misconduct with 4:51 left in regulation. Skating near full speed, Seabrook checked Backes in the face with his right shoulder, sending him head-first into the corner boards and sparking a scrum between the teams as Backes tried to get back on his feet. The St. Louis captain left the game after the hit and did not return. The fallout from the hit continues into Mondays game, as Backes status for Game 3 is up in the air. Seabrook, meanwhile, was suspended three games for the illegal check and defenseman Nick Leddy expects to enter Chicagos lineup in his absence. Initially it appeared Chicago may survive Seabrooks penalty and win Game 2. The Blackhawks killed off an initial 46-second 5-on-3 and were seconds from escaping with the win before Tarasenko beat Corey Crawford to the near side with a long shot from above the right circle. "Youre right there -- six seconds away," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The other game was tough losing it with a buck and change (left) but today was brutal." The Blues converted only one of their nine power-play opportunities in the game, but they made that one goal count. After the break, Jackmans winner from the left boards squirted in between Crawfords legs with Max Lapierre creating a screen in front. Chris Porter and Kevin Shattenkirk scored first-period goals to give the Blues the early lead. Miller ended with 25 saves. "The way these games have gone, you have to respect the fact that Chicago was a shot away in both of these games, too," said Miller. "Thats the weird part about hockey." Crawford stopped 27 shots in the loss for the Blackhawks, who have received five of their six goals in the series from defensemen. Chicago hopes to regroup at the United Center, where it posted an impressive 27-7-7 record this season. That included a 2-0-1 record against the Blues during the five-game season series. The Blackhawks, of course, are no stranger to mounting postseason comebacks. Chicago trailed Boston 2-1 in the Cup Finals a year ago before winning three straight to take the series and also overcame a 3-1 deficit to eliminate Detroit in the 2013 Western Conference semifinals. Game 4 of this series is scheduled for Wednesday at the United Center. In addition to Backes, the Blues also could be without forwards Patrik Berglund (sprained shoulder) and Brenden Morrow (bruised foot) on Monday. Berglund has yet to play in this series and expects to be out again in Game 3, while Morrow sat out Game 2 and is questionable for this evenings test. Tomas Vokoun Jersey . - Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. https://www.panthersjerseycheap.com/.Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Scott Mellanby Jersey . Terrance Broadway threw for 227 yards and Hunter Stover kicked three field goals as the Ragin Cajuns won an unprecedented fourth straight New Orleans Bowl with a 16-3 triumph over Nevada. Denis Shvidki Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen.DETROIT - A runaway title in a division of behemoths, then an unexpected sweep against a trio of Cy Young winners.For Nelson Cruz, Buck Showalter and this unheralded bunch from Baltimore, the question now is: Whats next?Cruz sliced a two-run homer for his latest big post-season hit, and the Orioles held off the Detroit Tigers 2-1 Sunday to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time since 1997.Bud Norris outpitched David Price in Game 3 of the AL Division Series. The Tigers scored in the ninth inning and put the tying run on second with no outs, but Orioles closer Zach Britton escaped the jam to lift Showalter into his first LCS in 16 seasons as a big league manager.This is fun to watch. Believe me, Im happier than you can imagine, Showalter said. But most of it comes from getting to see the players get what theyve put into it.Baltimore opens the ALCS on Friday at home against Kansas City. The Royals won the season series 4-3.Weve got a lot to go and were grinding, outfielder Adam Jones said. If we play as a team, we can do anything.So often an afterthought in the rugged AL East, the Orioles won their first division title since 1997 this year, dispatching the second-place New York Yankees by 12 games a€” and last-place Boston by more than double that margin. That put Baltimore up against another of the games most star-laden rosters, and Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander and the Tigers couldnt manage a single win.Cruzs homer Sunday was his 16th in post-season play, including eight against the Tigers. He was the MVP of the 2011 ALCS for Texas in a six-game victory over Detroit.Cruz spent much of this past off-season without a team after serving a 50-game suspension last year for violating baseballs drug agreement.He knows things were self-inflicted, Showalter said. He really wanted to re-establish himself, and we thought that we could provide a real good opportunity for him, and the sky might be the limit.Norris pitched two-hit ball for 6 1-3 innings, and Andrew Miller got five straight outs to keep the shutout going.Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez opened the ninth with back-to-back doubles off Britton. Bryan Holaday struck out after a failed bunt attempt, and Showalter made the unconventional decision to put the winning run on base by intentionally walking Nick Castellanos.That meant the bottom of Detroits lineup would have to come through. The Tigers sent up Hernan Perez a€” who had five at-bats in the regular season a€” to pinch hit, and he bounced a 96 mph fastball into a 5-4-3 double play. It was Brittons second save of the series.Cruz led the majors with 40 homers this season, and the Orioles topped baseball with 211. It was his two-run homer in the first inning of the opener that set the series tone, and he came through again in the sixth inning against Price. CCruzs drive cleared the wall in right, about 2 feet to the left of the foul pole.ddddddddddddot bad for a guy the Orioles signed in late February. Cruz turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer that would have kept him with Texas a€” but he ended up having to settle for an $8 million, one-year contract with Baltimore that included $750,000 in roster bonuses.Cruzs powerful bat enabled the Orioles to withstand season-ending injuries to Manny Machado and Matt Wieters, as well as Chris Davis 25-game suspension for an amphetamine violation.If you tell me before the series were going to sweep, I dont believe it, Cruz said.Detroit won its fourth straight AL Central this year. But after reaching at least the ALCS the last three seasons, Detroit couldnt make it there this year. The Tigers remain without a World Series title since 1984 a€” a drought one year shorter than Baltimores.Its disappointing. You feel like you let the fans down and you feel like you let the organization down, said Brad Ausmus, who replaced Jim Leyland as Detroits manager after last season.Detroit acquired Price at this years trade deadline, adding another impressive arm to an already-formidable rotation. Max Scherzer, Price and Verlander are the ALs last three Cy Young Award winners, and the Tigers started them all in this series. Verlander and Cabrera have combined for the last three MVP awards.No use against a Baltimore team that had already surprised most of baseball with a 96-win regular season.We got beat. Theres all there is to say, Scherzer said. We got outplayed in the series in every facet.After dropping the first two games of the ALDS in Baltimore a€” the second thanks to an eighth-inning collapse by the bullpen a€” the Tigers returned home to a fairly subdued crowd at Comerica Park.In the third, Don Kelly was on second with one out when Torii Hunter hit a grounder to the left side. Kelly was caught between second and third and tried to slide headfirst back to second. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop initially dropped the throw from shortstop J.J. Hardy, then quickly picked up the ball and tagged Kelly.An umpire supervisor said through Major League Baseball spokeswoman Phyllis Merhige that Schoop was still in the act of fielding the ball, so it was not obstruction.It was probably more incidentally than anything else, going after the ball, Ausmus said. I dont know that anything could be done in that situation.TRAINERS ROOMDetroit OF Rajai Davis was out of the starting lineup with a pelvic strain. He lined out as a pinch- hitter in the seventh. Tigers C Alex Avila left in the sixth after taking a foul ball off the mask.UP NEXTBaltimore reached the ALCS in 1996 and 1997, losing to the Yankees and Cleveland. The Orioles went 3-4 against Kansas City this season and 4-2 against the Angels. ' ' '