Der Fremde » The Canadiens travel to Buffalo

Its been two years since the BC Lions hoisted the Grey Cup and Wally Buono handed the head coaching reigns to Mike Benevides. Since then the Lions have entered each season with one of the most talented rosters in the league before falling short of expectations. Two years is a short time to be sure, and its not like the Lions cant supply excuses for their shortcomings since 2011 – Travis Lulays shoulder injury last year – but in the ultra-competitive and impatient world of professional sports, the pressure is on. Bad teams feel pressure to be better; good teams feel pressure to be the best. And dont forget the added burden of a potential home field for the Grey Cup and the three-year streak of Grey Cup champs winning at home. The Lions were smart in acquiring veteran leader and “quarterback 1A” Kevin Glenn from the Ottawa Redblacks during the CFL Draft for the fifth-overall draft pick. The price was a little steep for a player few figured would actually end up with Ottawa for the upcoming season, but with Lulays shoulder still a talking point, Glenn provides quality insurance at the most important position. BC has opted for younger projects at QB behind Lulay the past couple years but the Glenn acquisition makes sense for a team that cant get derailed for even a short period of time, should Lulay miss games – for whatever ailment – this season. Especially with Thomas DeMarcos selection in the Expansion Draft, Glenn gives the Lions peace of mind at one of their most worrisome areas for 2014. Another solid move, adding to a position of strength, was the free agent signing of Jamall Johnson. Johnson returns to BC after five seasons in Hamilton, his last a down year after being asked to play in the middle, and joins a frightening linebacking corps that already includes Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill. BCs task in once again entering the year as one of the most talented teams on paper is replacing receiver Nick Moore and a number of large bodies on the offensive line. Not to diminish Moores impact, but the Lions receiving corps still has enough burners, and more importantly, added Canadian content, that Lulay – or Glenn – shouldnt feel frustrated for lack of quality targets. The line however, may have to rely on more youngsters than would be considered ideal. The good news is their young contingent on the offensive line is talented and the unit is still anchored by perhaps the best left tackle in the game in Jovan Olafioye. While theyve fallen short of the Grey Cup the past two years, the Lions still qualified for the postseason those years, and were just a win away from a return trip in 2012; so it feels strange to suggest the team enters the season under pressure to do more. That reality is part testament to how well the Lions organization is run, but as is the case with all good teams, being good only counts for so long; greatness sticks. Like the Argos and Riders before them, look for the Lions to go all out in 2014. Notes Parting Ways After a long tenure with the Lions as an offensive coach and coordinator, Jacques Chapdelaine left the Lions early in the off-season, the coach and team mutually agreeing to part ways. It was certainly a big shakeup on Benevides staff, getting rid of the offensive mainstay of 10 of the past 11 years. Up and coming offensive mind Khari Jones replaced Chapdelaine as well as taking on the QB coach role. Expansion Draft The Lions search for a backup quarterback began anew after the Ottawa Redblacks selected Thomas DeMarco, who gained solid experience filling in for an injured Travis Lulay In 2013, in the first round of the Expansion Draft. BC also lost guard Matt Albright and DT Andrew Marshall to the Redblacks. Free Agency With the least amount of players to hit the free market, the Lions were one of the least active teams during the free agency period. They did lose promising receiver Nick Moore to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers however, but made a splash on the other side of the ball when they brought back linebacker Jamall Johnson, who last played for the Lions in 2008, from Hamilton. Retirements The Lions offensive line took a number of big hits this off-season with the retirements of three big pieces. Veteran centre Angus Reid was the first to announce his retirement. The 13-year veteran was a three-time West Division All-Star and one-time league All-Star. Not long after tackle Ben Archibald retired. The two-time All-Canadian spent the past three seasons in BC. Then late in the off-season Patrick Kabongo joined the two in retirement. The nine-year vet was a one-time West Division All-Star. CFL Draft The Lions traded out of the first round in order to solidify their backup quarterback situation by grabbing Kevin Glenn from the Redblacks for the fifth-overall pick. The team had two picks in the second round, grabbing OL Tchissakid Player from Northwestern State and FB Pascal Lochard from Laval. With their final five selections the Lions took LB Casey Chin from Simon Fraser in the third round, DL David Menard from Montreal in the fourth round, WR Alexander Fox from Bishops in the fifth round, DL Dylan Roper from Simon Fraser in the sixth round, and RB Guillaume Bourassa from Laval in the seventh round. Khalif Mitchell Returns One of the most enigmatic players in the league the past few seasons made his return to BC late in the off-season after a year with the Toronto Argonauts. Khalif Mitchells talent and impact at his DT position are unquestionable, but his return to the Lions was surprising after Mitchell seemingly burned a lot of bridges on his way out of BC a year ago. 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The American secured his first back-to-back ATP match wins since June to leave Tsonga relying on his performance at next weeks Paris Masters to clinch one of the final three places for the season-ending event in London. Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals. Cory Spangenberg Jersey . Canada will host Japan in a World Group first-round match in 2015. It will be a rematch of their first-round clash last year when Japan defeated Canada 4-1 to reach the World Group quarter-finals for the first time in its history.MONTREAL -- Tomas Plekanec had no problem Saturday night shutting down Sidney Crosby. Plekanec was matched up with Crosby, and kept the Penguins star without a point as the Montreal Canadiens edged Pittsburgh 3-2 at the Bell Centre. "You want to make sure hes not on the score sheet, and thats what weve done," said Plekanec. "When hes not on his game, when the game doesnt go his way, hes frustrated. "Thats what you want to accomplish. We wanted to get under his skin and make sure he wasnt on his game. When Crosbys slashing guys, jumping guys, you know hes off his game." Crosby had four shots on the night, a minus-1 rating, and finished with a 22 per cent success rate from the face off circle. Plekanec said Crosby trash-talked all game long. "He was talking all the time," said Plekanec. "I didnt say anything. I was just listening. Im a good listener." Unlike Crosby, the Czech forward scored on the night, his seventh of the year, and finished 16 for 21 from the face-off circle. "Every aspect of his game was excellent," said head coach Michel Therrien of Plekanecs performance. "Hes a smart player. Hes playing the right way. Hes always in a good position on the ice. Hes doing a lot of good things. Im confident putting guys like that on the ice. "Its always a challenge to face the leagues best player, but he was up for the challenge." Pacioretty scored twice for the Canadiens (13-9-2) to extend their win streak to three games, and Carey Price made 29 saves, including a big one on Crosby early in the first period. "When you make a couple of stops early, it definitely helps you get comfortable," said Price, who now has a 2.05 goals-against-average and a .935 save percentage. "Were just trying to get a win. In order to do that, we have to play well against (Crosby). But they have a lot of other guys who can put the puck in the net." Pittsburghs (15-9-0) James Neal, beat Price twice in the third period. With the score 3-0 early in the final period, Neal reduced the deficit when he rifled a shot over Prices glove and intto the roof of the net on the power play.dddddddddddd He added another late in the game, sidestepping Price and sliding his fourth of the year in the back of the net on the backhand at 17:07. Despite the two third-period goals, Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma thought Price was the difference in the end. "In the third period, in the last four minutes, we had some flurries around the net, some pucks in there, and he was strong," said Bylsma. "We werent able to crack him there. In the first period, he gave us three or four real good saves that were the difference." After a scoreless first period, Pacioretty scored his sixth of the year at 1:53 of the second to put the Habs ahead 1-0. Pacioretty intercepted a weak clearance by Pens defenceman Olli Maatta in the neutral zone, skated across the blue-line, and snapped a quick, low shot off the post and in. "They go in sometimes, and sometimes they dont," said Pacioretty. "And when youre feeling good, they do. I have that shot in my bag, and when Im doubting myself, it probably doesnt go in. But Im feeling good right now." Plekanec added to the Canadiens lead when his wrist shot beat Marc-Andre Fleury between the legs, and Pacioretty scored his second of the game, the eventual game-winner, a minute later after stealing a bouncing puck from Evgeni Malkin on the Pens blue-line. Fleury made 26 saves for the Penguins. Montreal has now outscored its opponents 12-6 during its three-game win streak. The Habs are coming off a 3-2 victory against the Capitals on Friday in which they scored three times in less than five minutes in the first period to secure the victory. The Canadiens travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Wednesday. Notes: This was the first of three matchups between the Habs and Penguins this season. The teams meet again In Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. ... Sidney Crosby leads the league with 30 points. a P.K. Subban leads the Canadiens in points with three goals and 17 assists. a Habs defencemen have now gone seven games without scoring. a Pittsburgh sits first in the Metropolitan Division. ' ' '