Die Chilluminati » point-blank shot by Patrick

St Helens head coach Keiron Cunningham insists Leeds Rhinos poor start to the season does not mean they will be easy to beat in Fridays Super League clash at Headingley, live on Sky Sports. The defending champions have lost four of their five league matches so far this year and also suffered a heavy defeat to the North Queensland Cowboys in the World Club Challenge.They looked to have turned a corner when narrowly beating Huddersfield Giants 20-16 a fortnight ago, but they were then swept aside 28-6 by Wigan Warriors last weekend. St Helens, on the other hand, are fourth in the table with four wins from five, including a 44-4 demolition of Wakefield Wildcats in their last outing.But Cunningham said: I dont think theres ever a good time to go to Headingley. Huddersfield went there a couple of weeks ago and nearly got the game, but Leeds are Leeds and they fight to the end and they end up picking up the two points.Leeds have gone to Wigan and they have been outstanding for 60 minutes or whatever it was, and then Wigan have got some tries towards the end of the game.We know what Leeds have got to offer and we know the challenges ahead of us as a team. Wigans John Bateman scores in the 28-6 win over Leeds last weekend We know what Leeds are going to do. They have not changed the way they play for a couple of years now, so Leeds are going to play that expansive type of game, and at the end of that you have got a Ryan Hall or a Kallum Watkins or somebody running around the ball who is going to put someone through space - [Adam] Cuthbertson and all those middles offloading.We know what Leeds do; its about us and how we deal with that.Leeds will be boosted on Friday by the return of skipper Danny McGuire, Joel Moon, Carl Ablett and Brett Delaney.McGuire has been sidelined since the opening game of the season, while Moon and Delaney missed last weeks loss at Wigan with hamstring injuries. Ablett suffered an ankle injury in the defeat at Widnes in February. St Helens swept aside Wakefield Wildcats in their last outing However, second row Jimmy Keinhorst misses the game with a calf strain picked up against Wigan and Leeds are still without Tom Briscoe, Ashton Golding and Stevie Ward.For St Helens, Jack Owens returns for injured winger Adam Swift, while Travis Burns and Andre Savelio are also included.Leeds: Carl Ablett, Rob Burrow, Adam Cuthbertson, Brett Delaney, Beau Falloon, Brett Ferres, Keith Galloway, Mitch Garbutt, Ryan Hall, Ash Handley, Zak Hardaker, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Danny McGuire, Joel Moon, Anthony Mullally, Brad Singleton, Liam Sutcliffe, Josh Walters, Kallum Watkins.St Helens: Kyle Amor, Travis Burns, Matty Dawson, Joe Greenwood, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Shannon McDonnell, Tommy Makinson, Jack Owens, Dominique Peyroux, Greg Richards, James Roby, Andre Savelio, Lama Tasi, Luke Thompson, Jordan Turner, Atelea Vea, Alex Walmsley, Luke Walsh, Jon Wilkin. 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 trigggered it.dddddddddddd 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. ' ' '