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For the first time since 1973, there is just one Canadian team in the NHL post-season. The Montreal Canadiens represent the nations only hope of ending a 21-year Stanley Cup drought, and thats a long shot. Across the rest of the country, disappointment reigns. "Its not fun, for sure," said Calgary Flames forward Mike Cammalleri, who spent parts of three seasons with Montreal. "The players on the team, I can tell you for sure, feel it. It weighs a lot on you, no doubt. "Thats part of also what makes it so special to play in a Canadian market. When it goes the other way, theres no more rewarding feeling." Playoff hopes slipped away at different times during the 2013-14 season for Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary, culminating Tuesday night when the Leafs were the final team eliminated. Change has already come for some clubs and more is on the way. Flames general manager Jay Feaster, Canucks GM Mike Gillis and Jets coach Claude Noel have already lost their jobs as part of this lost season. And already, Vancouver hired Trevor Linden and Toronto brought in Brendan Shanahan to oversee what comes next. The biggest collapse has been by the Canucks. All seemed well at the start of 2014 for the perennial contenders who came within one win of capturing the Stanley Cup two seasons ago. Daniel and Henrik Sedin had new four-year contract extensions, and a 10-1-2 December had Vancouver in playoff position. Then the bottom fell out. Seven losses in eight games to start January brought signs of trouble. Mercurial coach John Tortorellas infamous attempt to enter the Flames locker room after a brawl made things worse. In March, Gillis blamed injuries and the locker room incident for the Canucks free fall that also included trading goaltender Roberto Luongo to Florida less than a year after sending Cory Schneider to New Jersey. Now Gillis is gone and Linden must pick up the pieces. Shanahan gets to do the same in Toronto, where the Leafs fell apart down the stretch, losing eight straight games in regulation. What seemed like a bright future when they nearly upset Boston in the opening round of last springs playoffs has turned murky. Goaltender Jonathan Berniers groin injury March 13 began the spiral, and even Berniers return couldnt stop the Leafs from disappearing from contention. Unlike the Canucks, the Leafs didnt begin firing people immediately. Instead, they hired Shanahan away from the league office. Ottawa also made the playoffs last season and now is on the outside. Like Toronto, the Senators fell apart in March, a six-game losing streak the most damaging. High-profile addition Bobby Ryan, acquired in a trade with Anaheim, played much of the season in pain before finally having sports hernia surgery. The playoffs might have been unreachable from the outset for the other three Canadian clubs: Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. The Jets third season in Winnipeg ended like the first two: early. Not even a midseason coaching change from Noel to Paul Maurice made much difference. "Its been a difficult year, where we are, where weve come from, everything weve been through," winger Blake Wheeler told The Canadian Press. No expectations were placed on the Flames in a hard-core rebuilding year under new president of hockey operations Brian Burke. They had 10 players make their NHL debut this season, as coach Bob Hartley was tasked with instilling a work ethic in a young team. Edmonton, despite so many recent top draft picks — Sam Gagner, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov — has yet to meld that talent. Popular coaching hire Dallas Eakins couldnt work much improvement, especially on defence, and the Oilers once again will be among the early choosers in the draft. For now, other than in Montreal, Canada is the Not So Great White North on the hockey landscape. Erik Johnson Jersey .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. Jonathan Quick Team USA Hockey Jersey . - Josh Sterk scored twice to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 7-1 rout of the Ottawa 67s in Mondays Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.hockeyauthenticusaonline.us/Ryan-McDonagh-Jersey/. Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Kyle Palmieri Jersey . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. Brian Rafalski Team USA Hockey Jersey .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal.TORONTO – The first-place Blue Jays hit the halfway mark of the season with 45 wins and a two-game lead on Baltimore in the American League East, territory unfamiliar to a franchise still waiting for its first playoff game since October 23, 1993, the night Joe Carter walked off Mitch Williams into World Series lore. "Im proud of the way the guys played," said manager John Gibbons. "It was kind of a so-so start and we kicked it in there in the month of May and put ourselves in a good position. Now, you know, we just need to do that again in the second half or even improve on that but Im very, very happy with the effort and the way the guys have been playing baseball. Its that simple." You wont find a Mission Accomplished banner hanging in the clubhouse. The expectation is much greater. "Has it met it yet? No," said Casey Janssen. "Our expectation is to make the playoffs and win the World Series and were not there yet. Weve got a long way to go. I think everyone believed we could be this type of team but were not throwing a party yet, we know that. We know theres a ton of talent here and its the AL East so anything can happen." Despite a recent downturn in offensive production, through 81 games Toronto continues to sit in the top seven of most major categories. The club sits first in the majors with 104 home runs. Its fourth with a .262 batting average and .331 on-base percentage. The on-base plus slugging percentage of .767 ranks third and its 272 walks are seventh. The most pleasant surprise and biggest disappointment reside on the same spot: the pitchers mound. The pleasant surprise: Blue Jays starters lead the American League with 35 wins (a number not reached until the 135th game last season) and the staff ERA of 3.87 is best in the AL East. The biggest disappointment: the bullpen, the ray of sunshine in a stormy 2013 season, has compiled baseballs fourth-worst ERA (4.48). Its a target for improvement. "I think there are some times when weve got to be better in the bullpen," said Gibbons. "Weve got to shore that up a little bit. Its like anything, consistency over the whole pitching staff and hopefully you stay healthy enough." The Blue Jays have been fortunate to remain relatively healthy, dealing with injuries theyve been able to cover. Maicer Izturis was a backup infielder. Brandon Morrow wasnt pitching well when he got hurt. Colby Rasmus missed 33 games with a hamstring strain and the Jays got by with an Anthony Gose-Kevin Pillar platoon in centerfield. The medical staff is now doing the dance with Jose Bautista as he deals with a hamstring probleem, which could be made worse if rushed.dddddddddddd Bautista will run sprints on Saturday morning and depending on how he feels, could be available to at least pinch hit on the weekend. QUIET TIME FOR JANSSEN Wondering where closer Casey Janssen has been these days? Hes around. He just hasnt pitched much due to a lack of save opportunities. Since notching his 12th save of the season on June 15 in Baltimore, Janssen has appeared twice. He mopped up the epic, 14-9 comeback win on June 20 in Cincinnati. He threw the ninth inning of a 6-6 game against the Yankees on June 24 and got the win when the Blue Jays walked off. It can be difficult for relievers when they go through a period without consistent work. "I feel like saves come in bunches at times," said Janssen. "You get opportunities to pitch maybe in a lopsided game one way or another if it gets to be too long. Sometimes there are times when you dont get in but you get up. Im one of those guys that always has relied on my command and I guess it comes a little more natural to me than others." Janssen has 12 saves in 14 opportunities this season. "Sometimes the rest is good, knowing that the tough stretch is going to come at some point," said Janssen. Expect Janssen to get into a game before the weekend is over, regardless of whether Toronto has a lead of three or less. Janssen speaks to pitching coach Pete Walker about his schedule, who relays the message to manager John Gibbons. If Janssen goes four or five days without action his arms reaction to its diminished workload becomes less predictable. "You wonder if your arms going to be a little cranky or if its going to be super fresh," said Janssen. "Sometimes you feel great when you get the rest and sometimes youre kind of knocking the dust off a little bit." Remember that Janssen had an abbreviated spring training thanks to stiffness in the back of his pitching shoulder. He didnt appear in a Grapefruit League game until the final week of March. Then, in Montreal, he strained his left oblique and didnt make his season debut until May 12. Its been a build for Janssen, who anticipates being able to pitch on three consecutive days, if needed, as the importance of each game ramps up. "I feel like Id love to do it and Id love to have the opportunity to do it," said Janssen. "I think a lot of those three in a rows depend on how the first two went and the stress level of those innings. My goal is to be able to pitch in every opportunity possible, especially as the season gets further along and as this division and the race gets tight and everything like that." ' ' '