BERLIN -- Arjen Robben scored a hat trick as Bayern Munich routed Schalke 5-1 on Saturday to extend its Bundesliga lead to 20 points, a league record after 23 games.Maurice Richard Jersey . David Alaba opened the scoring with a deflected free kick in the third minute, Robben chipped in his first in the 15th, Mario Mandzukics header made it 3-0 in the 24th, and Robben claimed his second in the 28th, with a fine finish inside the far post. "It was embarrassing what we delivered in the first half," Schalke captain Benedikt Hoewedes said. "We had much too much respect." It was utter dominance from Bayern in the first half, with more than three-quarters ball possession, 409 completed passes to Schalkes 65, and a successful pass rate of 91 per cent. "The first half was the worst I have ever seen from us," Schalke coach Jens Keller said. His side improved after the break, and pulled one back through former Schalke player Rafinhas own goal off a corner in the 64th. Robben claimed his third from the penalty spot in the 77th, after Kyriakos Papadopoulos was sent off for conceding the foul on Mandzukic. TV replays showed it was a harsh decision. "It was fun today," Robben said. Schalke was beaten 6-1 at home by Real Madrid in the Champions League midweek, and sporting director Horst Heldt said, "Altogether it was a disastrous week." Bayern stretched its league record unbeaten run to 48 games after its 15th win in a row -- also a league record. Earlier, Borussia Dortmund took advantage of Bayer Leverkusens freefall by beating Nuremberg 3-0 at home to move to second. Leverkusen lost 1-0 at home to Mainz for its fifth consecutive defeat across all competitions, its eighth from 10 games. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored with his heel in the 37th minute for Mainz, which was simply cleverer than the home side. "Theres a big concern that well miss all our targets," said Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller, whose side faces an uphill challenge to overturn a 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and is already knocked out of the German Cup. Second-half goals from Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski and Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave Dortmund a comfortable win after a difficult first half. "We were often running around after them," Nuremberg striker Josip Drmic said. "They showed us how to do it and used their chances." Werder Bremen beat Hamburger SV 1-0 in the leagues 100th northern derby to leave its rival mired in the relegation playoff place. Augsburg drew with Hannover 1-1 and Eintracht Braunschweig drew with Borussia Moenchengladbach by the same score. Nuremberg keeper Raphael Schaefer made a host of saves to ensure a frustrating first half for Dortmund, and Tomas Pekhart hit the post for the visitors. The home side got off the mark in the 51st when Schaefer saved Lewandowskis header from Nuri Sahins free kick, and Hummels followed-up on the line. TV replays showed Lewandowski was marginally offside. The Poland striker hit his league-leading 15th goal in the 64th, when Mkhitaryan played him through to pick his spot. Mkhitaryan rounded off the scoring with seven minutes remaining to round off a successful week for Dortmund, which beat Zenit St. Petersburg 4-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday, after losing 3-0 to Hamburg the weekend before. "It was a tough piece of work," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. "Nuremberg will certainly get enough points (to escape relegation)." The same cannot be said of Hamburg. After beating Dortmund in new coach Mirko Slomkas first game in charge last week, the side slumped to its ninth defeat in 10 games. "Well fight against relegation to the last day," Hamburg defender Marcell Jansen said. The game was delayed for several minutes in the second half due to flares among the home fans. Goalkeeping mistakes were responsible for both goals in Braunschweig. Moenchengladbach scored in the 25th when Braunschweig keeper Daniel Davari turned Raffaels corner into his own net. The home side equalized in the 52nd when Marc-Andre ter Stegen -- who is reportedly joining Barcelona at the end of the season -- allowed Filip Daems back pass slip behind and into the goal. Maurice Richard Canadiens Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens goaltenders dogs Motty ("short for Mozart") and Duke got loose overnight. Jean Beliveau Jersey . Liverpool is at the top at Christmas for the first time since 2008 after scoring 42 goals. Only Manchester City has been more lethal in front of goal, with the team — a point behind Liverpool and Arsenal in third — scoring 51 goals in 17 games.Thomas Vanek broke out of his scoring slump with the Montreal Canadiens in a big way. The Habs hope their recently-acquired winger can stay hot on Thursday night in a home matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Catch the action on TSN Habs starting at 7:30pm et/ 4:30pm pt. The Canadiens acquired Vanek from the New York Islanders prior to the trade deadline in an effort to upgrade their offense for a playoff push. However, Vanek failed to score a goal in his first five games with Montreal, held to just a single assist. The two-time 40-goal scorer finally broke out in Tuesdays big 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, netting a hat trick to spoil Patrick Roys return to Montreal. Roy made his first appearance in Montreal as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and received a warm reception early in the game before Vanek stole the show. "It was unbelievable," Vanek said of his three-goal night. "This place is electric." Brandon Prust had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have won three in a row. Travis Moen and Dale Weise also lit the lamp, while Carey Price made 25 saves. Prust will sit out tonights contest with an upper-body injury after skating for only 10 minutes at Thursdays morning skate. Ryan White draws into the lineup in his place. Montreals current win streak has it tied for second place with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. That is three ahead of the fourth-place Toronto Maple Leafs. Columbus is also pushing for a plaayoff bid as it sits two points behind the New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Travis Moen Jersey. The Blue Jackets are also even with the Washington Capitals with 76 points, but have two games in hand to hold the current tiebreaker for the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets were riding a seven-game point streak going into Tuesdays home matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes and fell in defeat 3-1. Columbus was nearly shut out before Boone Jenner lit the lamp with 50 seconds to go, deflecting Ryan Johansens shot past Carolina goaltender Anton Khudobin. Still, the Blue Jackets fell to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up three goals on 20 shots through two periods, while Curtis McElhinney did not face a shot in the third period during his relief appearance. Columbus outshot Carolina 19-0 in the third period. "We attempted 79 (shots) -- 47 were on net," said Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. "It seemed like we had some quality chances. We hit a couple posts. We had our opportunities." The Blue Jackets activated forward Jared Boll from injured reserve on Wednesday. He had missed the past 45 games due to a torn ankle tendon suffered in late November. The 27-year-old scored one goal and racked up 38 penalty minutes in 21 games before suffering the injury. The Blue Jackets have lost both of their previous meetings with the Canadiens this season, including a 5-3 loss in Montreal on Oct. 17. cheap jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
