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OTTAWA, Ontario -- Mike Babcock had it written down back in May.Not in stone, mind you, but certainly the idea of putting Sidney Crosby between Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron was born a long time ago -- the first thing that the Team Canada head coach wanted to tackle ahead of the World Cup of Hockey.By now you dont need to ask why. For whatever reason, it has proved a chore for Team Canadas coaches at the past two Olympics to quickly find wingers who jelled with the best player in the world.Crosby thinks the game at such a high level, does things on the ice that are so above the norm, that finding wingers who can mesh with him has been a difficult mission.Babcocks idea born months ago is looking brilliant so far, that Marchand-Crosby-Bergeron line looking like a thing of beauty through the first week of camp and their one game together Friday night.So content is Babcock with that line that he said after Saturdays 5-2 win over Team USA that part of the reason he sat Crosby for that game is that he already knows what he has in that line and wanted to focus on trying to find other combinations in the second pre-tournament game.Babcock is about forward pairings, such as the Crosby-Bergeron pairing; other pairings that so far have been untouched include?Jonathan Toews with Logan Couture and?Ryan Getzlaf with John Tavares. There have been moving parts around them.The coaching staff is under the gun to figure out all these lines with just one more pre-tournament game left, Wednesday in Pittsburgh against Russia (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).A lot of people overlook the way the coaches do it, veteran winger Rick Nash, outstanding for Canada in both the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, said in a phone conversation with ESPN.com on Sunday. Its a tough job for them to find the pieces that fit, and at least in the tournaments that Ive played in, they always seem to find it sooner or later.The New York Rangers star certainly wishes he were here playing again for his country. He found nice chemistry with Toews in Sochi. Nash also had a front-row seat to Babcocks trying line combo after line combo around Crosby.Hes the best player in the world, and its just a matter of finding the fit, a guy that complements his game and vice versa, Nash said. I dont know, its a different thing, hes so good at finding open ice, and the puck comes to him so easy. Its just finding guys that can sort of just stay out of his way and help his game instead of hurt it.So preoccupied with figuring out Crosbys line was Canada that it is absolutely why Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Chris Kunitz made the Olympic team for Sochi. Problem was, once Kunitz got to the Olympics, the pace and game were too high for him, and he found himself taken off Crosbys line as the tournament went on.As for Marchand, a player who some fans were surprised to see make this team, Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong was confident that if the experiment on the Crosby line didnt work out, the Boston Bruins winger would still have a place on the team where he could have an impact.So far through two pre-tournament games, Marchand has stood out the most for Team Canada, and perhaps thats because he wanted to make a statement early.The opportunity for Marchand in the World Cup is to use the best-on-best event to shed his tag as being just an agitator.I definitely have the agitator name, and it stuck with me for a while, he said Saturday night after the win over Team USA. Which is fine; its what I had to do to get in the league. But nowadays I want to be a player. Being in an event like this can show that theres more to my game than agitating. I try to be an overall player like Bergy, obviously not to his ability, but Im trying. Hes a great role model, a guy Ive looked at for a number of years now.Bergeron had a quick answer a few days ago when asked in his native French what he would tell people who view his Bruins teammate Marchand just as a pest, as an agitator and nothing more.The first thing Id mention is that he scored 37 goals last season, Bergeron said in French. But after that, his talent, the way he retrieves pucks on the forecheck, his backcheck, hes really on the puck. He gets under the skin of other players, thats part of his game, but hes also very talented.That 37-goal season, in Bergerons mind, was a whole other step for Marchand.He earned his way on this team with the way he played last season, Bergeron said. He took a big step forward. Hes improved year to year, but last season he became truly an elite player in my mind.But this whole first-line experiment doesnt work, of course, without the comfort that Team Canada has in reuniting Bergeron with Crosby, a partnership that has its roots back to the 2005 world junior tournament.Although Bergeron didnt start the 2014 Olympics alongside Crosby because I think the coaching staff was a bit worried about his foot speed on the bigger ice, eventually they found each other like two magnets.Hes such a versatile player, he can play with anyone, that guy, Nash said of Bergeron.What makes it so unique to play with Crosby?Hes always the kind of guy thats thinking one step ahead of the play, Bergeron said. His vision is incredible.With Sidney, its about how you position yourself because hes a guy that can make plays that can surprise; like maybe youre not expecting him to come out of the corner with the puck when theres two or three guys on him, but he does it. So part of it is realizing he can do things like that. Ivan Rodriguez Jersey . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Texas Rangers Jerseys . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. http://www.texasrangersshop.com/rangers-nolan-ryan-jersey/ . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Adrian Beltre Jersey . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Hunter Pence Jersey . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers have a brand new state-of-the-art arena, but it doesnt feel like home just yet.The Oilers played four preseason games at the new, 18,500-seat Rogers Place. But its not enough time to get used to a new ice surface, new boards and all of the idiosyncrasies of a new arena that give a team its home-ice advantage.The brand new arena is part of a $614 million downtown revitalization project that also includes a community arena, a Winter Garden common area and transit corridor.The opponent for Wednesdays home opener will be the Oilers fiercest rival, the Calgary Flames. Both teams missed the playoffs in 2015-16 -- in fact, the Oilers havent been to the playoffs since they lost to Carolina in the 2006 Stanley Cup final.For the Battle of Alberta to get back to what it was, you need the teams to get back in the playoffs, Flames defenseman Mark Giordano said. I think both teams are optimistic with their young players. Obviously, itll be exciting. That first one is going to be a fun one, we get to go into a new building and theyll be excited.The one advantage for the visiting Flames -- and any team that travels to Edmonton in the first couple of months of the regular season -- is that Rogers Place still feels new to the home team.I think were starting to get it figured out, Oilers goalie Cam Talbot said. I think everyone knows that there will be some bounces here that arent going to be favorable, sometimes off the boards the puck comes off pretty quick. The ice gets pretty bad near the end of the period and the puck is just bouncing everywhere.So, while the new arena has luxury suites, a loge level where food is brought right to the fans tables, and a home dressing room that looks like the ready room of the Enterprise, the one negative is the choppy ice.Remember that the Oilers old arena, Rexall Place, was consistently hailed for having the fastest, smoothest ice in the NHL. So, there might be an adjustment period for offensive stars like 2015 No. 1 overall draft pick Connor McDavid and his projected first-line mates, Jordan Eberle and Milan Lucic.According to Talbot, the Oilers will need to adjust to a surface where simple passes can hop over sticks and lead to turnovers.You just have to take it iinto account that the ice is going to be bad and make the simple plays, he said.ddddddddddddOilers center Leon Draisaitl agreed.Itll take a little while, for sure, Draisaitl said. We were in the other rink for so long, so it will take a little while to make this our home. But were really on a good way here, were on the right track. I can just feel it will be a great home for us.But the Oilers can look to the New York Islanders, who moved to the Barclays Center last year and sported an excellent 25-11-5 home record. Growing pains can be overcome.Roster news came fast and furious during the day before the season opener.The Oilers signed defenseman Eric Gryba to a two-way deal. Center Anton Lander, who scored just once in 61 games for the Oilers last season, was placed on waivers this week. Left winger Matt Hendricks and right winger Iiro Pakarinen will start the season on injured reserve.The Flames came to terms Monday with left winger Johnny Gaudreau (30 goals, 48 assists last season) on a new, six-year, $40.5 million contract. Calgary waived Brandon Bollig, the left winger who scored twice in 54 games the previous season.The Flames also sent right winger Linden Vey, who played 41 games for the Vancouver Canucks last season, down to its American Hockey League affiliate in Stockton, Calif.Kris Versteeg, who spent the preseason with the Oilers on a tryout basis, could play in Wednesdays game -- as a member of the Flames. The veteran right winger signed a one-year deal with Calgary immediately after deciding not to sign with Edmonton. Oilers coach Todd McLellan said the club offered Versteeg a deal, but the winger turned it down.The Flames also added defenseman Nicklas Grossmann, who played 58 games for the Arizona Coyotes in 2006-07.Earlier in the week, the Oilers signed defenseman Kris Russell, who played 198 career regular-season games for the Flames between 2013-16.Theres no friends on the ice, Flames center Matt Stajan was quoted as saying on the teams website. We wish him well. But come Wednesday, were enemies.After the teams face each other in the opener, they head to Calgary for Fridays rematch. ' ' '