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TORONTO -- Scott Milanovich doesnt want the Toronto Argonauts to completely forget their dismal start to the 2014 CFL season. Womens Reggie Wayne Elite Jersey Two Tone . Toronto opened the campaign with a lopsided 45-21 road loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. On Saturday, the Argos host a Saskatchewan Roughriders squad that registered 10 sacks in a 31-10 dismantling of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in its season opener. "Take nothing away from Winnipeg but I think we were embarrassed with the way we performed and should feel like weve got a lot to prove (Saturday)," the Argos head coach said Friday. "I know Im looking forward to kickoff to see if we can get this bad taste out of our mouth. "I dont know if you ever really let one like that go. Those happen from time to time but they need to stick with you a little bit." The upstart Bombers, who posted a league-worst 3-15 record in 2013, dominated the Argos. Quarterback Drew Willy threw for 308 yards and four TDs while running back Nic Grigsby rushed for 122 yards. Winnipeg also recovered two fumbles, with Demond Washington returning one for a TD. Toronto was also flagged 22 times. The defending Grey Cup-champion Riders were very impressive in their opener. Former Toronto defensive end Ricky Foley had three sacks as the defence held Hamilton to just 114 net offensive yards. Newcomer Anthony Allen -- replacing departed Grey Cup MVP Kory Sheets -- rushed for 158 yards and a TD and also had a touchdown catch. So effective was the run game that Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant only threw 22 passes, completing 15-for-136 yards and two TDs. Torontos revamped defence -- it has just four returning starters -- will have four new faces against Saskatchewan. Cornerback Vincent Agnew, safety Jermaine Gabriel, linebacker Antwaun Molden and defensive tackle Marcus Thomas all get the nod as cornerback Matt Ware, linebacker Jamie Robinson and safety Matt Black go on the injured list while defensive lineman Greg Romeus is placed on the practice roster. Running back Jeremiah Johnson goes to the injured list, with Anthony Woodson (practice roster) replacing him. That means sophomore Curtis Steele and rookie Anthony Coombs -- Torontos 14 first-round pick from the University of Manitoba -- will share tailback duties. "Its a great opportunity for us to see how much weve improved in one week playing the champs in our building," Milanovich said. "They (Riders) are going to get some plays but the other thing you look for is how are we going to react to adversity? "When you have that many new guys like we do now, part of it is fun because you dont know whos going to be the person whos going to take the leadership reigns of this team. Im really anxious to see who thats going to be. Hopefully its several guys." However, Milanovich said its important to keep Saturdays game in proper perspective. "Win or lose, this game isnt going to define who we are in three months," he said. "Everybody, myself included, gets caught up in what happens today and what happened last week and theres no avoiding that but I try not to lose sight of the big picture. "Even if we win the game if we didnt improve and build towards becoming a better team by the time October and November roll around, it doesnt matter. To me, that was the biggest difference in my two seasons here as the head coach. Even though we were below a .500 club in 2012 we improved every week throughout the season and by the end of the season were playing well. Last year we were leading the East probably most of the way but I dont think we made the incremental improvements we did the year before so I dont know if we got any better while other teams were getting better." In 2012, Toronto won its final two regular-season games to finish second in the East Division with a 9-9 record before mounting its Grey Cup-winning run. Last year, the Argos were first with an 11-7 record before losing to Hamilton in the conference final. Saskatchewans Corey Chamblin -- the CFLs coach of the year in 13 -- said Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray, who had a league-record 77.2 completion average last year, will present the Riders defence with plenty of challenges. "At the end of the day were going to play a different style football team, especially with the quarterback," he said. "This is a more seasoned quarterback than the one we played (Hamiltons Zach Collaros). "We didnt get a lot of looks, we just played fast. But with this quarterback its going to be tough. Youre going to have to play fast and do some things you dont usually do to keep Ricky off his game." Ray was 27-of-38 passing for 283 yards and two TDs against Winnipeg but Toronto rushed for just 42 total yards and had the ball less than 24 minutes overall. However, Ray said there are the things the Argos can do to help limit Saskatchewans pass rush. "You try not to hold on to (the football) too long to give those guys extra seconds to get in there," he said. "Another thing is weve got to be balanced, weve got to be effective with our run and pass game to keep those guys off balance and guessing about whats going to be coming. "We also want to try and get a lead . . . to make sure youre not having to throw on every down because youre behind." Not much has separated Saskatchewan and Toronto the past two years as theyve split their regular-season series 2-2. "Even the year we won it I thought they were very, very close," Milanovich said of the Riders. "Its a very good football team, our guys know we can match up with them and have the ability to compete with them and win the game. "I certainly hope they know that. Were going to have to play well, certainly, to do it." Durant expects a more fundamentally sound Argos squad Saturday. "I dont think theyll give up any easy plays," he said. "Theyre going to make us earn everything we get." Hakeem Nicks Jersey . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Youth Johnny Unitas Elite White Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.The surging Montreal Canadiens attempt to earn a rare victory in Washington when they visit the Capitals at Verizon Center. You can watch the game on TSN at 7pm et/4pm pt and listen to the game on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal. After starting the month of November on an 0-3-1 slide, the Canadiens have recorded wins in three of their last five outings (3-1-1). However, Montreal has also lost four of six and seven of its past 10 games in Washington. With the Canadiens playing on back-to-back days, Peter Budaj will get the start tonight while Carey Price is scheduled to play Saturday against Pittsburgh. Budaj is 0-2-1 with a 2.95 goals against average in four career outings against the Capitals. Montreal turned in its best offensive performance of the season in its most recent trip to the ice, setting a season-high in goals with Tuesdays 6-2 home victory over Minnesota. Max Pacioretty scored the first three goals of the game to notch his second career hat trick and lead the way in the rout of the Wild. Pacioretty had just two goals in 12 games this season before more than doubling his total with Tuesdays outburst. The American winger fired a career-high 10 shots on goal against the Wild. "Ive missed a lot of good opportunities lately and it started getting in my head that I couldnt score," Pacioretty told his teams official website after the game. Michael Bournival, Daniel Briere and Alex Galchenyuk also lit the lamp for the Canadiens, while Carey Price made 25 saves for the win. Montreal, which is playing three of its next four games on the road, is just 1-3-0 as the visiting team in November. The Capitals will try bouncee back after having their momentum halted the last time out. Mens Black Dwayne Allen Elite Jersey. The Capitals had won three in a row and scored four times in each game during that hot streak before getting dealt a 4-0 home loss by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. It marked just the second time this season Washington had been blanked and the first time since the New York Rangers recorded a 2-0 win in D.C. on Oct. 16. Washington also was outshot by a wide 40-18 margin in Wednesdays loss, which ended a six-game home winning streak for the Caps and dropped them to 8-4-0 at the Verizon Center this season. The club hadnt lost on home ice since the 2-0 setback versus the Rangers last month. While Marc-Andre Fleury needed only to make 18 stops to record the shutout for Pittsburgh, Capitals netminder Braden Holtby turned aside 36-of-40 shots in a losing effort. The Pens fired 32 shots at Holtby through the first two periods alone and held a 3-0 edge after 40 minutes of action. "Theres lots of ways to lose games, and thats not really one way you want to do it," Washington head coach Adam Oates said after the disappointing effort. Washington could get a boost from the return of defenseman Mike Green on Friday. The offensive-minded blueliner sat out the past three games with a lower-body injury, but expects to play tonight. Green has 11 points -- all assists -- in 19 games this season. The Caps hope Green can help them get back in the win column tonight in the finale of a three-game homestand. Washington has had tons of success against the Canadiens in recent years, winning two straight and eight of the past nine overall meetings between the clubs. ' ' ' |
