BOSTON -- Derek Roy blew a chance to end the game in the first minute of overtime. Then St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock gave him a chance to make up for it. Roy scored once in regulation and added the clincher in the fourth round of the shootout on Thursday night to lead the Blues to a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. Roy, who hit the crossbar on a breakaway in sudden death, didnt make the same mistake when he got another chance to win it. "I usually look at body language on the bench, and Roysie was perked up he wanted to go," Hitchcock said. "So we had him go." Jaroslav Halak stopped 27 shots in regulation, two more in overtime, and three in the shootout as St. Louis won for the fourth time in five games and continued the hottest start in its history. David Backes also scored for the Blues, and NHL points-leader Alexander Steen converted their other shootout goal after going the entire game without a shot. Gregory Campbell and Carl Soderberg scored for Boston. Tuukka Rask made 24 saves and forced Roy to put one off the crossbar on a breakaway in the first minute of overtime. "I knew I could get him on that shot, and I thought I picked it perfect, and I hit crossbar," Roy said. "I wanted to redeem myself in the shootout, and Coach put me out there. ... It shows that hes got confidence in me going out in the shootout. "I just wanted to help my team win the game, and Im happy to do that and be put in that position to do that." Soderberg broke in alone in the last 15 seconds of overtime, but he meekly shot the puck into Halaks pads just before the final buzzer. That sent the game to a shootout, and Boston took an early lead when Patrice Bergeron beat Halak over his shoulder to make it 1-0. T.J. Oshie, David Krejci and Jarome Iginla all missed before Steen poked it through Rasks pads to tie it 1-1 after three tries apiece. Chris Kelly missed for Boston in the first extra round, and Roy went in quickly, skidded to a stop and then went around Rask to poke the puck in for the winner. "He told guys on the bench that he was going to do the move, and did it and got away with it," Hitchcock said. After Roys shot went in, Rask slammed his stick against the goal post and continued hammering it into the ice as he skated off to the locker room. It was the Blues 15th win in 21 games this season, giving them 33 points -- the most in the NHL. The Bruins had won six of their previous seven games and taken over the best record in the Eastern Conference. "Theres a lot of similarities" between the teams, Backes said. "I dont know if we quite have a 6-foot-9 defenceman, but theres tough to play against forwards, and teams that are disciplined and stick to the game plan. "You saw a couple of breakdowns tonight, and they all ended up in the back of the net." Each team had just one penalty in the game, and Bruins coach Claude Julien said he thought his team played well enough to win. "I thought it was a real fun game to watch," he said. "Everything, from my end, except for that extra point that I thought we should have had." The Bruins scored late in the first when Blues defenceman Ian Cole fell in his own end, allowing Boston to keep the puck in the zone. Torey Krug slid it over to Campbell, who tried to one-time it, but sculled it off the heel of his stick. The slow-moving puck seemed to confuse Halak and went into the net off the corner of the post. But the Blues tied it just 37 seconds later, when Roy wristed the puck toward the net from the left point. Stewart tried to deflect it near the circle, missing the puck but knocking a defenders stick away. Another Blues player tried to get a stick on it in the crease but it also eluded him as he was taken down by Boston defenceman Matt Bartkowski. Instead, the undeflected puck went right through Rasks legs to make it 1-all with 9 seconds left in the period. St. Louis took a 2-1 lead late in the second when Kevin Shattenkirks wrist shot from the point was deflected into the net by Backes. It was Shattenkirks 100th career assist. This time it was the Bruins turn to answer quickly. About 2 1/2 minutes after the Blues took the lead, Reilly Smith fed the puck from behind the net to Soderberg in the slot, and he beat Halak to tie it 2-2. NOTES: Hall of Famer Bobby Orr took part in a ceremonial puck drop. John "Pie" McKenzie, another member of the Bruins 1970 and 72 Stanley Cup championship teams, was also in attendance. The 1970 team swept St. Louis in the finals. ... The Bruins called up D Kevan Miller to fill in while Adam McQuaid and Dennis Seidenberg are out with undisclosed injuries. Miller made his NHL debut. ... St. Louis finished a three-game road stretch. The Blues split the first two, losing to Washington and beating Buffalo by 4-1 scores. ... The first penalty of the game was called with 1:54 gone in the third period. ... Steen entered the night tied for the NHL lead with Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby at 26. Oakland Athletics Shirts . With the union re-formed, negotiations with owners will resume Friday on the remaining issues that would be in the collective bargaining agreement, according to a person familiar with the plans. Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . The Toronto Blue Jays star won his second consecutive Hank Aaron Award as the most outstanding offensive performer in the AL on Monday after votes by fans and a panel of Hall of Famers were tallied. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ .com) - Jahlil Okafor erupted for 25 points and 20 rebounds as No. Athletics Jerseys China . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Oakland Athletics Pro Shop .J. -- New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is going to start the off-season training program with a surgically repaired left ankle. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills defensive tackle Alan Branchs future with the team was in jeopardy even before he was arrested and charged with drunken driving, coach Doug Marrone said Monday. "A lot of things factor in decisions, dont get me wrong, but the main factor was performance. Not even close," Marrone said a day after the Bills cut the eighth-year player. "He didnt perform well." Branch did not attend any of the Bills voluntary spring practices, and then reported to training camp out of shape by failing his conditioning test. Once cleared for practice, Branch spent much of the preseason working with the third-stringers. The last straw came early Saturday, when Branch was arrested after a state trooper noticed him vomiting out the drivers side door of his vehicle in suburban Buffalo. Police say Branch failed a field sobriety test and had a blood-alcohol content of .14 per cent. The legal limit is .08 per cent. Later in the day, Branch did not join the Bills for their home game against Tampa Bay. Marrone referred to what happened as "poor decision" on Branchs part. "We wished him well, and hopefully it changes for himm," Marrone said.dddddddddddd "But at the end of the day, decisions for players not to be here are based on not being able to help us win." Branch has not spoken publicly since being arrested, and is due back in court Friday. Messages left with his agent, Blake Baratz, have not been returned. The Bills signed Branch to a three-year contract extension in December after he had a career-best 39 tackles in 16 games. On Monday, the Bills cut 11 players, including fourth-string quarterback Dennis Dixon, to trim their roster to 75 players a day before the NFLs deadline. Dixon finished last season on the practice squad and never threatened during training camp to contend for a backup job ahead of Jeff Tuel and Thad Lewis. Also released were running back Ronnie Wingo, safeties Derek Brim and Jajuan Harley, receivers Tori Gurley and Chris Summers, offensive linemen Macky MacPherson and J.J. Unga, and defensive tackle Damien Jacobs. Veteran kicker Dan Carpenter and punter Brian Moorman secured their jobs after second-year kicker Dustin Hopkins and rookie punter Jake Dombrowski were released. ' ' '