Campus Maximus » They werent shooting the ball terribly well and t

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby left little doubt about who remains the best player from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Thats fine by Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. At the moment, theyll settle for one of the best records in the NHL. Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned aside 34 shots and the surprising Avalanche edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 on Monday night to improve to 8-1 on the young season. "Its a new season, new attitude," Giguere said. "I would have believed being over .500 (early) but not 8-1." Believe it. Gabriel Landeskog scored the games only goal 5:26 into the second period and Giguere made it stand to post his second shutout in 11 days. The 36-year-old handled the Boston Bruins on the road on Oct. 10 and might have been even better against the Penguins. It helps to have a coach who knows a thing or two about keeping the puck out of the net. Hall of Famer Patrick Roy is thriving in his first season on the bench and his young team -- along with its not-so-young backup goaltender -- is thriving. The Avalanche have allowed just 12 goals in nine games. "Yes, our goaltenders have been outstanding (and) everybody is talking about our team," Roy said. "Everyone is part of our success right now. Its a 23-man story." The first professional meeting between MacKinnon and Crosby failed to produce fireworks, not that Crosby didnt try. He pumped a season-high seven shots at Giguere and played more than 26 minutes. MacKinnon, by comparison, produced two shots in 10:54 of ice time as the Avalanche spent a large portion of the night relying on their penalty killers. Pittsburgh went 0 for 7 on the power play, generating numerous scoring chances but not a goal. "We did a lot of good things and probably deserved better," Crosby said. "Thats how the game works sometimes. Sometimes you dont deserve them and you find a way to win and tonight we deserved better and didnt find a way to win." MacKinnon spent most of his childhood growing up in Crosbys considerable shadow in the town of about 25,000 hard against the Atlantic Ocean. He followed a similar path to the NHL, playing on the same junior team Crosby once starred for and showcasing prodigious talent as a playmaker. Taken with the drafts top pick nearly a decade after Crosby, MacKinnon has a goal and six assists through his first nine games, a pace not too far off the one Crosby set during his rookie season in 2005-06. Crosby said before the game hes hardly surprised at how well MacKinnon has fit in but the two brushed aside any talk of a battle for local bragging rights, perhaps because their arrivals into the NHL couldnt be more different. Unlike Crosby, whose presence almost single-handedly revitalized a sagging franchise, the 18-year-old MacKinnon is not viewed as a saviour, but a piece of what is quickly becoming a compelling puzzle. The Penguins dominated the early going, but had nothing to show for it as four power plays went to waste. Buzzing Giguere constantly, Pittsburgh peppered the veteran from all angles. The 11-4 advantage in shots didnt even include the dozen Gigueres teammates blocked before they even made their way to the net. Colorado steadied itself in the second period and caught a bit of a break when the puck made its way to Landeskog shortly after he exited the box after serving a hooking penalty. He skated into the Pittsburgh zone and fired a wrist shot from the right circle that handcuffed Marc-Andre Fleury and sailed into the net for his third goal of the season. "I couldnt see it," said Fleury, who finished with 13 saves. "The guy was going blocker side and (teammate Brandon Sutter) tried to get the puck going one way and it went the other way." It was enough to send the Penguins into the dressing room trailing at home after two periods for the first time this season. The Avalanche felt comfortable enough with the lead to sit back and frustrate the Penguins. It worked. Giguere was spectacular at times, no more so than when he robbed Chris Kunitz with a glove save at the end of a 2-on-1 break with less than 8 minutes remaining. Pittsburgh continued to press but Giguere never budged. Neither did the players in front of him on a night the Avalanche blocked 22 shots. "You have to give them credit," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "They had more than Giguere get in the way tonight." NOTES: Pittsburgh D Kris Letang skated with his teammates on Monday morning, but remains out with an undisclosed lower body injury. Coach Dan Byslma said the Norris Trophy finalist is nearing a return ... The Avalanche scratched D Nick Holden, D Tyson Barrie and F Cody McLeod ... The Penguins are off until Friday, when they host the New York Islanders. The Avalanche head home to play Carolina on Friday. Cheap Astros Jerseys China . Sijsling, ranked 74th in the world, was leading 6-0, 4-1 when his Italian opponent called it quits after just 39 minutes on court. In a match pitting together two qualifiers, Michal Przysiezny of Poland defeated local favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) for only his second Tour win of the season. Cheap Mike Scott Jersey . -- One shot came out of bottom of a cactus, the other from the base of a desert bush with rocks scattered around it. http://www.cheapastrosjerseys.com/. The teams were scoreless for most of the first two periods before Canada scored three times in a span of less than four minutes. Sarah Potomak opened the scoring on the power play. Wholesale Astros Jerseys .James scored 29 points, including 16 in the first quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers broke a four-game losing streak with a 106-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. Cheap Astros Jerseys .com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday.ISTANBUL - Canada is out of medal contention at the FIBA womens world basketball championship after dropping a 63-52 decision to Australia in the quarter-finals Friday.Miranda Ayim of London, Ont., led Canada with 11 points and seven rebounds while Edmontons Katherine Plouffe added 10 points and Kia Nurse of Hamilton scored eight. Erin Phillips scored 16 points to lead the Australian attack.The Canadians were coming off an impressive 91-71 qualification win over the Czech Republic, but couldnt match that output against a deep Australian side.We werent the same team at the offensive end tonight, Canadian head coach Lisa Thomaidis said on a conference call. Certainly Australia had something to do with that. It wasnt just all of us not showing up by any means. They were tough defensively.Australia (4-0) led 26-20 before scoring 10 of the final 14 points of the half, capped by another three by Leilani Mitchell just before the buzzer to take a 36-24 advantage into the break.Canada (2-3) got within 10 in the third quarter on consecutive three-pointers, but could get no closer as Phillips took over.ddddddddddddWe did a good job on them defensively for the most part, Thomaidis said. They werent shooting the ball terribly well and they gave us chances. The door was still open for us to come out and take it from them. But again, just a hard time putting the ball in the hoop and scoring any easy buckets.We didnt have any easy ones tonight. Spain advanced to the semifinals with a 71-55 win over China. In the late quarter-finals, host Turkey faces Serbia and the United States meets France.While they wont be contending for a medal, the Canadians did meet their goal of finishing in the top eight. Canada will play in classification games on Saturday and Sunday and can still finish as high as fifth overall. Our world ranking is No. 9 right now, Thomaidis said. So anything we can do to help raise our world ranking and garner more respect and notoriety on the world scene, thats always going to be great for Canada and this team moving forward. Canada finished 12th at the last world championship in 2010.— With files from The Associated Press. ' ' '