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MONTREAL -- Troy Smith is ready to hear Anthony Calvillos name mentioned every time he lines up at quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes. The Heisman Trophy-winning pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through last season, will be the clubs first opening-game starter other than Calvillo in 15 years when Montreal plays its first game of the 2014 CFL regular season at Calgary on Saturday. They are massive shoes to fill, with Calvillo having retired in the off-season as the leagues all-time passing leader. "Ill never stop hearing those references," Smith said this week. "I think its great to be mentioned with a great name like that. "I havent done nearly the things he has, and just holding onto his coattails a bit has been fun so far. But as a man, I definitely want to make my own path. Thats why Im here." Smith takes over the key position on a team that was a powerhouse for most of Calvillos time behind centre, but which has been sliding in recent seasons. And even though they remain well-stocked with top talent at many positions, the Alouettes are perceived as a team in decline. Last season was a disaster, with the inexperienced Dan Hawkins fired as head coach only five games into the season, followed shortly by a season-ending, and career-ending, injury to Calvillo. They finished 8-10, tying their worst record since they returned to Montreal after a 10-year gap in 1996, and lost to Hamilton in the East Division semifinal. This season hasnt started well either, with team architect Jim Popps bid to keep the head coaching as well as general managing job turned down. Tom Higgins, who was out of coaching since 2007, was named the new head coach, but the offensive co-ordinator he hired, Rick Worman, was fired midway through training camp. Then the club lost both its pre-season games, including a 26-10 setback at home against expansion Ottawa in which they failed to score a touchdown with new OC Ryan Dinwiddie calling the plays. Smith was not sharp while playing just over half of that game, but neither were backups Tanner Marsh and Alex Brink. All three got starts last season, with Smith emerging as the most promising to take over the top job. Now he has to play well enough to keep it. "I dont look at it as a transition year," said Popp. "That was last year. "Theres going to be a transition, but we were faced with this starting in Game 6, and we played two thirds of the year without Anthony Calvillo, knowing he probably wasnt coming back. "We had four different quarterbacks that won games and the team realized they could win without Anthony. That was a big hurdle. Its a little nerve-wracking, but like with all great players you lose, you just have to march on. Its not so much to replace that guy, but to find someone you can win with. How great theyll be, well find out." There were two main positives to come out of the off-season. One was the return of Larry Taylor, who gives them a kick return threat they havent had in recent seasons. Another was the signing of former NFL star receiver Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson, who so far looks to have a positive influence on and off the field. The 36-year-old Johnson has been out of football for two years, but Popp said he showed up in shape and has been a "great fit." "I think he can do great things for us," Popp said. "Every time we play somebody, their attention is on him, and not on S.J. Green and Duran Carter. So if hes an attention grabber and everyones talking about him, great. Chads used to that. And Chad, with each game and experience he has in this league, is only going to get better as the season goes along." Smith will have an impressive set of receivers with Green, Carter, Johnson, Taylor, Brandon London, Eric Deslauriers and the repatriated Dave Stala. Gone are Jamel Richardson, who had a knee injury and was cut, and veteran Arland Bruce. "Weve got the best receiving corps in the league," said Popp, who is particularly high on Carter, the son of former NFL great Cris Carter, who gained 909 yards in only 12 games after making his CFL debut in August. "All I say is CFL, enjoy what youre watching because youll be watching him in the NFL next season, Hell have the majority of NFL teams after him, and were not talking about as a third or fourth receiver. He can go in and have an impact like Cam Wake. Hes at that level." There is a first-rate running back in Brandon Whitaker and a solid offensive line anchored by left tackle Josh Bourke, despite the retirements of Scott Flory and Andrew Woodruff and the departure of Michael Ola to the NFL. The defence lost starting middle linebacker Shea Emry to Toronto, but should remain among the leagues best under defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe with veterans like rush end John Bowman and linebacker Chip Cox leading the unit. The Alouettes kick teams have been weak for the last three seasons, including when Marc Trestman was head coach and didnt name a full-time special teams co-ordinator. But they looked good both on returns and kick coverage in the pre-season and they may be a key area of improvement. Taylors ability to avoid the first wave to pick up extra yardage should be a bonus. It will likely take some time for the offence to jell. And if it turns out that Smith doesnt have what it takes to be a regular CFL starter, it could be a long season indeed. Starting the campaign against Calgary, followed by a home game against B.C., should give Higgins and idea of what it will take to re-establish Montreals reputation as a Grey Cup contender. "Every indication is that Troy Smiths going to be our guy, but sometimes there are growing pains," said Higgins. "If you look at Anthonys career, at the start it wasnt as stellar as it was at the end. "All that being said, (Smith) comes with good intangibles. Hes from a good program. Hes got the system down. Practices are going good. So lets see him get measured up against the best." Nike Air Max 270 Just Do It White . Thornton emerged as one of the leagues best defensive ends against the run in 2013. The former undrafted free agent from Division II Southern Arkansas led Philadelphias linemen with 78 tackles and had one sack. Nike Air Force 1 Just Do It Canada . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/nike-just-do-it-shoes-canada/air-max-plus.html .C. - Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek says guard Goran Dragic will return to the starting lineup against the Charlotte Hornets after missing the last two games with a strained back. Vapormax 2020 Canada . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. Vapormax Flyknit 3 Cheap . - Leon Draisaitl scored a hat trick as the Prince Albert Raiders stormed past the Swift Current Broncos 5-2 in Western Hockey League action Tuesday.BROSSARD, Que. - Brian Gionta knows what happened the last time the Montreal Canadiens opened a playoff series with a pair of wins on the road. It was in 2011, and the Boston Bruins stormed back to win on a Nathan Horton shot off a defencemans leg in Game 7 overtime. Before that was 2006, when the Canadiens took the opening two games in Carolina only to drop the next four, partly through losing star centre Saku Koivu to a series-ending eye injury from an accidental high stick by Justin Williams in Game 4. Both times, the team that came back to beat the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup. After taking their opening two games of this years playoffs with wins of 5-4 and 4-1 over the Lightning in Tampa, Fla., Gionta doesnt want history to repeat itself. "Its huge, but at the end of the day, we fell into that trap against Boston a few years back," the Canadiens captain said Saturday. "We won two games in their building and we came back and let off the gas a bit. "So we need to make sure that our focus is on (Sunday) night and make sure we do what we did in the first two games." Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is set for Sunday night at the Bell Centre, where a wall of sound from the 21,273 spectators is expected to greet the Canadiens. They didnt skate after a late-night flight home from Tampa, but the message from the coach Michel Therrien and his staff was about taking care of business on home ice. "We all understand that the farther you get in the playoffs the more difficult the games are to play," said Therrien. "Were glad were back at home, but I like our focus. "We have a business mentality. Its about preparing ourselves for (the next game)." Therrien has much to be pleased about. His team has had the edge on the Lightning for all but the first period of Game 2 on Saturday night, when strong goaltending from Carey Price kept the game scoreless until Montreal took control in the second frame on a power-play goal from David Desharnais and Rene Bourques first of the game. Brendan Gallagher and Bourque added goals in the third before Teddy Purcell got one — on a power play plus the goalie pulled for an extra attacker — at 18:01. The Desharnais goal broke a nine-game drought for the Montreal power play. They have also been getting scoring from all four lines. EEight different forwards have scored goals, which takes some pressure off the top unit of Desharnais, Max Pacioretty and Thomas Vanek.dddddddddddd Desharnais got his first goal in 12 career post-season games, while Paciorettys assist on the same tally was his first point in six career playoff games. The line combined for 22 shots in two games, so it should produce more as the playoffs go on. The Canadiens also took advantage of the absence of Tampa Bays injured top goalie Ben Bishop by beating Anders Lindback eight times in two games and adding another against Kristers Gudlevskis — the Latvian who made 55 stops in a 2-1 loss to Canada at the Sochi Olympics. Gudlevskis let in one goal on three Montreal shots. And they held Tampa Bay star Steven Stamkos to two goals, both in Game 1, and no assists, although the gifted sniper has nine shots on goal. So the Canadiens are in good position to win a playoff series for the first time since goalie Jaroslav Halaks heroics got them to the Eastern Conference final in 2010. But they know how far away that goal is. All-time, the Canadiens are 49-5 when leading a best-of-seven series 2-0, but have lost three of the last four times in that situation. "Theyre going to make adjustments," said Gionta. "Its the playoffs and youve got to try to read what theyre going to do, make adjustments on the fly, and see what happens. "I thought we did a fairly good job of that (Friday) night. We need to do it again." Giontas line with centre Lars Eller and left-winger Bourque has been particularly solid. Eller entered this years post-season with two assists in eight career games, but now leads the team with a goal and two assists. Bourque was a target for fans all through a sub-par regular season with nine goals in 63 games in which he was made a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. He sat out five straight games in March. He may get a warmer reception after two solid games in Tampa, including his first career playoff game with more than one goal. "Since hes back in our lineup, before the playoffs, Rene Bourque was playing the way we expect him to play," said Therrien. "We dont judge players only on goals and assists. "What I like is that hes engaged in the game. Hes physical. Hes going hard to the net and he got rewarded." ' ' '