Freischaltung » r-state rivals Iowa (home, Oct. 8

CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Blues knocked the Chicago Blackhawks out of the playoffs last season with a one-goal victory in Game 7 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.Now, the Blues are back in Chicago to open the season against their division rivals.Starting off against St. Louis, its a good reminder for us to not forget what we went through and how we went down in Game 7, Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews said. Theyll be hungry, too. Obviously, both teams want to prove themselves again.Theres obviously a long way to go before we get back to playoff hockey again, but nonetheless, these games are always going to be important.And intense.In last years seven-game playoff series, six games were decided by a single goal. The same held true for three of the teams five meetings during the regular season. Both teams topped 100 points during the regular season, but neither achieved their ultimate goal as Chicago was bounced in the first round of the playoffs and the San Jose Sharks eliminated the Blues in the conference finals.This time around, some familiar faces will not be present for the rivalry. Former Blues captain David Backes signed a free-agent deal with the Boston Bruins, and St. Louis promoted defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to wear the C on his sweater.Meanwhile, Blues goaltender Jake Allen will assume a clear-cut No. 1 role in net after the team shipped goaltender Brian Elliott to the Calgary Flames.Allen went 26-15-3 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in 47 games during the 2015-16 campaign. He exited the Blues final preseason game because of an apparent injury but said he felt fine heading into the season opener.A couple days off was nice just to get back to 100 percent and ready to go, Allen told NHL.com. I knew in the back of my mind that I should be good to go on Wednesday. It was just doing the proper steps to be ready.Blues coach Ken Hitchcock decided to return for a final season behind the bench. His successor already has been named: former Minnesota Wild coach Mike Yeo, who will serve as Hitchcocks assistant this season before taking over next season.The Blackhawks said goodbye to several key contributors during the offseason, including feisty forward Andrew Shaw (traded to Montreal) and young playmaker Teuvo Teravainen (traded to Carolina). Top-six forward Andrew Ladd left as a free agent to sign with the New York Islanders.Veteran defenseman Brian Campbell, who won a Stanley Cup championship with the Blackhawks in 2010, is back with the Blackhawks on a one-year deal. He will provide depth and experience on the blue line, which also will feature newcomer Michael Kempny.Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is notorious for changing his line combinations at a moments notice, but look for Toews to anchor the teams top line to start the season. He will be joined by Richard Panik on the left wing and Marian Hossa on the right wing.The second line contains even more firepower as left winger Artemi Panarin and right winger Patrick Kane will try to replicate last seasons dominance alongside center Artem Anisimov.Goaltender Corey Crawford is back in net for Chicago and is expected to start against the Blues.St. Louis likely will counter with left winger Robby Fabbri, center Paul Stastny and right winger Alexander Steen on its top scoring line. Next will be the combination of left winger David Perron, center Jori Lehtera and right winger Vladimir Tarasenko.Toews said he and his teammates embraced the challenge of facing St. Louis in the seasons first game.We might as well get right into it, Toews said. We know theres going to be tough games all year. Joe Pepitone Yankees Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Joe Torre Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. https://www.cheapyankees.com/3131g-kyle-higashioka-jersey-yankees.html . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. Billy Martin Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Jacoby Ellsbury Yankees Jersey . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. MINNEAPOLIS -- The transition in head coaches at Minnesota from Jerry Kill to Tracy Claeys has been subtle, save for a contrast in personality and size.Claeys had one big target for change, though. The offensive line needed to be restored as a power. Road graders was the label he used to describe the type of players desired up front.Jonah Pirsig and the rest of the returners received the message after their 6-7 season a year ago.Offensive linemen have just really bought into the fact that we need to be bigger and we need to be stronger to kind of change the culture, the senior right tackle said, adding: Were only going to see good things from that.With junior college transfers Vincent Calhoun and Garrison Wright joining Pirsig in the starting five, the Gophers will be bigger. Obsessive work in the weight room over the winter and spring has drawn rave reviews, so the group is stronger. Will it be better?Theres no question that theyve made a lot of progress, Claeys said.In 2015, the Gophers were second-to-last in the Big Ten in scoring, third-to-last in yards and fourth-to-last in rushing. Claeys fired offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Limegrover, picking Jay Johnson and Bart Miller as dual replacements. The five up front, of course, will go a long way toward senior quarterback Mitch Leidners success.I know theyve outworked everybody in the entire country, as far as that goes, Leidner said. They straight grind.Here are some other key angles to follow for the Gophers:LEIDNERS HELPERSWith Shannon Brooks hobbled by a foot injury, Rodney Smith will take the lead at running back following a promising freshman year for both of them. Senior Drew Wolitarsky is the only proven wide receiver. Tight end Brandon Lingen, named a captain as a junior, will likely be Leidners go-to guy.Its been an incredible thing to try to help lead this team in maybe some different capacities than I wouldve before, Lingen said.SECONDARY SCRUTINYSpeedster Jalen Myrick, who was second on the team laast season with three interceptions, will lead an inexperienced collection of cornerbacks with Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray in NFL camps.dddddddddddd. Safety Damarius Travis has returned for a fifth year after a hamstring injury in the 2015 opener led to a medical redshirt. Myrick and Travis will be counted to maintain the secondary as a team strength.One bonus for the defensive backs is that Jay Sawvel, their fiery former position coach, has replaced Claeys as defensive coordinator.Hes not only yelling at us, Travis said. Hes yelling at everybody.SEASON OPENERThe Gophers host Oregon State Sept. 1, their now-annual Thursday night lid-lifter. After kicking off last season with a 23-17 loss to TCU, ranked then No. 2 in the nation, the Gophers ought to have a smoother start. The Beavers finished 2-10 last year, including 0-9 in Pac-12 play, and allowed an average of 37 points per game that ranked 113th out of 127 FBS teams.KEY GAMESThe Big Ten opener at Penn State on Oct. 1 will be a big test, as will the Nov. 12 trip to Nebraska. For the Gophers, though, rare are the games more important than border-state rivals Iowa (home, Oct. 8) and Wisconsin (road, Nov. 26). The Hawkeyes are the defending Big Ten West Division champions, and the Badgers have beaten Minnesota 12 straight years. The Gophers have lost 10 consecutive games at Wisconsin since winning there in 1994.PREDICTIONBy trading TCU for Oregon State on the nonconference slate and swapping East Division crossover opponents Michigan and Ohio State for Maryland and Rutgers, the Gophers are set up for a significant jump from their 5-7 regular-season finish that got them to a bowl game only because there werent enough eligible FBS teams to fill the spots. An 8-4 record with a 5-4 mark in the Big Ten, now on a nine-game schedule, is a safe bet for 2016. Nine or 10 wins wouldnt be unrealistic, either. ' ' '