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CALGARY – The Vancouver Canucks hope to put the disastrous John Tortorella era further in the past when they open their 2014-15 season on the road Wednesday against the Calgary Flames. Wholesale Vans For Sale . The Canucks are aiming to hit the restart button after missing the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2008. As a result, Tortorella was axed from the head coaching position after only one season in Vancouver and general manager Mike Gillis also joined him on the unemployment line. Gillis, of course, was the man who made the ill-fated decision to fire head coach Alain Vigneault after the 2013 campaign and replace him with Tortorella. All Vigneault did in 2013-14 was take over the reins for Torts with the New York Rangers and lead the Blueshirts to the Stanley Cup Finals. Jim Benning, who replaced the fired Gillis, hopes he has done enough to retool the Canucks and get the club back to the postseason for the sixth time in seven years. The new GM finally pulled the trigger on a Ryan Kesler trade, sending the forward to Anaheim for depth and draft picks, while also signing star goaltender Ryan Miller to take over the No. 1 netminding position following Roberto Luongos trade at last seasons deadline. Benning also installed Willie Desjardins as Tortorellas replacement behind the bench and the rookie NHL coach will be tasked with developing a cohesive unit from the new faces and the old standbys, including the Sedin twins, who are out to prove a down 2013-14 season was merely an aberration. Vancouvers defensive depth is a big question mark heading into the season and the club could be even thinner on the blue line if Kevin Bieksa misses tonights game. Bieksa is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is a game- time decision for the season opener. You want to play on opening day, I definitely would like to play, but you also have to be smart, Bieksa told his clubs web site. Playing one game and then sitting for four or five is not smart and not good for the team. A lot of factors to consider but its Game 1 and theres a lot of games this year. The Flames, meanwhile, are in rebuilding mode and missed the playoffs last season for a fifth straight spring. Considering it plays in the stacked Western Conference, Calgary figures to have an uphill battle at making the postseason in 2014-15. Calgary is coming off a 77-point season, the lowest for the club since it notched just 75 in 2002-03. But just because the Flames are young and inexperienced doesnt mean they are pushovers. President Brian Burke, general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Bob Hartley have an exciting young nucleus to work with and they want it to be one that gives maximum effort and doesnt quit. Hartley certainly saw that last season, when Calgary matched an NHL record with 49 one-goal games. And while Calgary look for its young guns to gain valuable experience and deal with the free agency loss of Mike Cammalleri, the front office filled holes with solid veterans, adding wingers Mason Raymond and Devin Setoguchi, defenseman Deryk Engelland and goaltender Jonas Hiller. Those new faces join the rest of the veteran leadership, guided by defenseman and captain Mark Giordano as well as Curtis Glencross, Jiri Hudler and Matt Stajan. The Flames youth movement is led by Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund and T.J. Brodie. Joining the parade of talented youngsters is Johnny Gaudreau, a 21-year-old former Boston College standout who made Calgarys roster out of training camp. The forward better known as Johnny Hockey won the coveted Hobey Baker Award as the NCAAs top hockey player in 2013-14. Gaudreau expects to play in his second NHL game tonight after debuting with the Flames late last season. Sam Bennett, the fourth overall pick at the 2014 draft, also could have made his NHL debut tonight for the Flames if not for a shoulder injury. Calgary fears the 18-year-old forward may need surgery and its unclear how long he will be sidelined. Hiller will get the call in the season opener for Calgary. He went 29-13-7, 2.48 GAA and .911 save percentage in 50 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season and hopes to bring stability to Calgarys crease. Vancouver dominated the Flames last season, winning all five meetings while outscoring Calgary by a combined 17-8 margin. The Canucks have won seven straight and 10 of 12 in the series overall and have claimed the last three encounters at Calgarys Scotiabank Saddledome. TSN Game Notes VAN was 5-0-0 vs CGY last season, winning twice past regulation VAN has won 7 straight vs CGY, 3 of the games in CGY 9th opening season match up between teams, last time in 2009 CGY: 0-3-1 last 4 openers final 17 games in 13-14, 12-5-0, 31/34 on PK, 58GF 88.8% home PK in 13-14, best in league Gaudreau 1G in 1 career NHL game, vs VAN VAN: 0-3-2 last 5 openers ranked 12th out of 14th in the West on the road last season (.451pts%) H Sedin final 12 road games, 0G, 3A Miller 2 career starts in CGY last Dec /2010 (lost both, 5GA in each) Line Combinations Calgary Flames Forwards: Glencross -Colborne – Hudler Raymond – Backlund – Bouma Gaudreau -Byron – jones Bollig – Stajan – McGrattan Defence: Giordano – Brodie Russell – Engelland Smid – Wideman Goalies: Hiller Ramo — Vancouver Canucks Forwards: D.Sedin – H.Sedin – Vrbata Higgins – Bonino – Burrows Richardson – Vey – Kassian Dorsett – Matthias – Hansen Defence: Hamhuis – Sbisa Edler – Tanev Stanton – Weber Goalies: Miller Lack Balenciaga Outlet . Sixteen teams have moved on. Sixteen teams have gone home. Under Armour Outlet Clearance . — Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Royals had scored just eight runs during a four-game losing streak, and were preparing to face former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke and the power-packed Los Angeles Dodgers. Perfect time to end that slump, eh? Jeremy Guthrie pitched into the eighth inning, Jarrod Dyson drove in two runs off Greinke and the Royals held on to beat the Dodgers 5-3 on Monday night in their first meeting in nine years. „Dont ask me why we had success tonight,“ Royals manager Ned Yost said drily. Dyson, the Royals No. 9 hitter, went 3 for 3 and stole two bases. Salvador Perez hit a solo home run, and Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar — two of the players acquired by the Royals in the trade that sent Greinke to Milwaukee in December 2010 — drove in a run apiece. It was an offensive outburst considering the Royals had lost three of their last four games by 2-1 scores, squandering solid pitching performances by their starting rotation. „There was never any panic,“ said Guthrie, who gave up two runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings to win his third straight start. „We lost a couple of close games. We recognize a couple things go our way we would have won a couple of them.“ Greg Holland served up a homer to Adrian Gonzalez in the ninth before earning his 22nd save. Hanley Ramirez drove in the other two runs for the Dodgers, who are visiting Kansas City for the first time since they were swept in a three-game set in 2005. In his third start against his former team, Greinke (9-4) was battered for a season-high five runs and 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings. He had allowed two runs over 15 1-3 innings in his previous two starts against the Royals, one with the Brewers and the other with the Los Angeles Angels. „I thought he was OK,“ Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. „There were a few balls where you could see where he was trying to go one place and it didnt end up there. I know a couple of those were to Dyson. I think some of the balls were trying to get to a different part of the plate and didnt get there.“ The Royals pounded Greinke almost from the start, Perez belting the first pitcch of the second inning over the wall in left field for a 1-0 lead. Discount Under Armour Shoes. Then with two outs, Escobar singled and went to second on a wild pitch before heading home when Dyson dumped a single into left field. Dyson made it 3-0 in the fifth when he scored on Cains single to right. The Royals finally knocked Greinke from the game in the fifth, this time after Perez started the inning with a double. Greinke fought back to get two outs, but Escobar hit a triple into the right-field corner and Dyson tacked on another RBI single to make it 5-0. That hit ended Greinkes night. As he departed the mound, fans showered him with a chorus of boos, clearly recalling how the right-hander once demanded to be traded from their team. „I was pretty rude on the way out. They have every right to be mad at me,“ Greinke said. „Its been awhile. Its been four years, so its been awhile. Theyve moved on by now and so have I. At least team-wise. The fans might be different.“ Meanwhile, those same fans were waiting to give Guthrie a standing ovation. The right-hander faced the minimum number of hitters through four innings, needing just four pitches in the second and five in the fourth. Gonzalez and Matt Kemp finally hit consecutive singles to start the fifth, but Guthrie calmly wiggled out of that jam. It wasnt until Miguel Rojas and Justin Turner hit singles and Ramirez one-hopped a double over the outfield wall to make it 5-2 in the eighth that Guthrie finally left the game. Wade Davis finished the inning, and Holland cleaned up the ninth to preserve the win. „Its a funny game. You go against a guy like Zack Greinke whos had so much success this year,“ Yost said. „We strung some hits together along with some outstanding pitching weve had the last five or six starts, its a big win for us tonight.“ NOTES: LHP Clayton Kershaw was the NL player of the week after his no-hitter against Colorado. He starts for Los Angeles on Tuesday against Royals LHP Danny Duffy. … Kemp extended his hitting streak to 11 games. … Guthrie struck out five without a walk. … The Dodgers had won seven straight interleague ‚ ‚ ‚