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MONTREAL - Defence was the hot topic for Montreal Impact this week and it was only fitting with the Columbus Crew in town. The Crew scored nine goals in three games - a pair of wins and a loss - during a recently completed three-game homestand. Now they face an Impact team that is tied with Houston with an MLS-worst 45 goals conceded this season. Listen to the match live on TSN Radio 690 Montreal tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The last-place Impact (4-15-5) face the fourth-place Crew (8-8-9) at Saputo Stadium on Saturday night looking to improve their overall defensive play, not just the back line anchored by veteran Matteo Ferrari. The Impact were feeling good about last week, which started with a 1-0 win at home over Chicago to end a seven-game losing run and a 3-2 victory in El Salvador in CONCACAF Champions League play. But it ended with a 4-2 defeat on the road to the New York Red Bulls that had coach Frank Klopas stressing defence at practice this week. "Weve got to keep working without the ball," said Klopas, whose team left gaping holes for the Red Bulls attack once it relinquished the lead. "The more compact we are defensively, it will make things more difficult for other teams. "Thats why, when we fell behind (to New York), it didnt play to our strengths." Red Bulls star Thierry Henrys brilliance was the main cause for that, as he erased the 1-0 lead Dilly Duka produced with his first goal for Montreal with a prescient header. Henry calmly poked in another and MLS scoring leader Bradley Wright-Phillips added two more around Andres Romeros late goal. Fatigue was a factor with the Impact playing three times in eight days, but defensive lapses have been a problem all season for Montreal. Klopas said when he was named coach last winter that the aim was to allow 10 fewer goals than the 49 conceded in 2013. That objective wont be met, and there are 10 games left in the regular season. And now they face Columbus, which has gifted nine-goal scorer Federico Higuain masterminding an attack that gets goals from many sources, including Ethan Finlay (six goals) and Justin Meram (five). There is also six-foot-seven forward Adam Bedell to contend with. "Players like Henry and Higuain, you cant stop them, you can just try to control them," said Impact captain Patrice Bernier. "You just need to be aware of them on the field and dont let them hurt you." The Impact are 1-5-1 against the Crew, including a 2-1 loss in Columbus in July, in three MLS seasons. The teams are 1-1-1 in Montreal. The Impact hope their game is picking up as the end of the season nears. New designed player Ignacio (Nacho) Piatti was promising in his first week with the club, and 38-year-old striker Marco Di Vaio is finding his range with three goals in his last three games. With Andres Romeo, who has scored in consecutive games, having a solid season at midfield, the Impact see themselves as a better team than their record shows. "I still believe we have a really good team, we just havent got the results this year," said defender Heath Pearce. "And with 10 games remaining in the season, we want to go on a run and put up a significant amount of points." Crew defender Eric Gehrig thinks so, too. "Were not going to look at the points they have or the stats they have," Gehrig told his teams website. "Were going to look at what they have on the field. On their best day, theyre a very good team, one of the best teams in the League." While the Impact have scored only 25 goals in 24 games, second lowest ahead of Chivas USAs 21, they feel that Piattis arrival gives them a dynamic offence. "We have more attacking options, with more players who are dangerous around the goal," said Di Vaio. "The hardest part is to try to control the game now. "If we can stop the other team from scoring, we know now that we can find the goals." The Impact may have Pearce and fullback Eric Miller back from injury to give them extra options at the back. They also signed Nigerian centreback Gege Soriola this week. Romero is to play his 50th game for Montreal. The Crew lost a top player last week when Costa Rican international defender Giancarlo Gonzalez was sold to Palermo of Italys Serie-A. Cheap KD Shoes Wholesale . On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. Cheap KD Shoes China .C. -- Lucy Li made two double bogeys, a triple bogey and finished her historic round at the U. http://www.wholesalekdshoes.com/. Braves reliever David Carpenter was also fined for throwing at Rockies outfielder Corey Dickerson in the same game, which featured several ejections, including Colorado manager Walt Weiss. Discount KD Shoes .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. Cheap KD Shoes Free Shipping . - While a fast-paced offence has become more of a fixture in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs can still grind out games when needed.NEW YORK -- Alex Ovechkin has earned the NHLs first star of the week honours after scoring a league-high five goals and helping the Washington Capitals maintain their spot in second in the Metropolitan Division. Los Angeles goaltender Martin Jones was named the second star, while Nashville goalie Carter Hutton earned the third star. Ovechkin began the week with his third four-goal game -- and 13th career hat trick -- including the tying goal with 32.4 seconds left in regulation, in a 6-5 shootout victory over Tampa Bay. Ovechkin scored the tying goal with 47.9 seconds left in regulation, in a 5-4 shootout win over Philadelphia. Ovechkin has a career seven game-tying goals in the final minute of regulation -- three more than any other player since Ovechkin entered the league in 2005. The Capitals (18-12-3, 39 points) earned five out of a possible six points on the week. Jones poosted a 3-0-0 record with a 1.dddddddddddd00 goals-against average, .972 save percentage and one shutout to help the Kings (22-8-4, 48 points) move into second in the Pacific Division and third in the League standings. The 23-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., native made 31 saves for his second consecutive shutout in a 6-0 victory over Montreal, then extended his shutout streak before allowing a second-period goal in a 3-1 win over Toronto. He capped the week by recording 37 saves in a 5-2 win over Ottawa. Hutton compiled a 3-0-0 record with a 1.33 goals-against average and .960 save percentage to lead the Predators (16-14-3, 35 points) to their second three-game winning streak of the season. The 27-year-old from Thunder Bay, Ont., allowed one goal in both a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers and a 3-1 victory over Dallas. Hutton then posted 36 saves in a 3-2 win over San Jose. ' ' '