TORONTO - The 2014-15 NHL campaign kicks off with the leagues oldest rivalry, as the Toronto Maple Leafs open the season by welcoming the Montreal Canadiens for Wednesdays clash at Air Canada Centre. The NHL regular season gets underway Wednesday with a four-game slate, beginning with another edition of the leagues signature rivalry. The historic foes met five times in 2013-14 with the Canadiens claiming three of the battles. In addition to winning the last regular-season series against Toronto, the Canadiens also made it to the Eastern Conference finals last spring while the Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons. Being the most decorated franchise in NHL history, the Canadiens once deemed a season to be successful only if it ended with a Stanley Cup title. But times have changed thanks to the onset of the salary cap era, so last seasons surprising run to the conference finals made 2013-14 an unqualified success for the Habs. Montreal swept Tampa Bay in the opening round before pulling off a seven-game upset of the Boston Bruins in the East semis. The party ended, however, when the New York Rangers downed the Habs in six games to win the conference title. Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin didnt fiddle with his roster too much this summer, with his biggest move coming in the trade which sent Danny Briere to Colorado in exchange for fellow forward P.A. Parenteau, who is questionable for Wednesdays game with a lower-body injury. Bergevin pulled off another minor move right before the start of the season, acquiring bulky forward Eric Tangradi from Winnipeg on Sunday in exchange for goaltender Peter Budaj and Patrick Holland. Tangradi will begin the season with Montreals AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Montreal ended last season without Carey Price, but the clubs No. 1 goaltender is ready to go for 2014-15 and expects to get the start tonight. Price went down with a knee injury in the conference finals and was sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs. The Habs core that is still relatively young, as a handful of its best players -- P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, to name a few -- enter this season at 25 years old or younger. It will be interesting to see if last springs excursion to the conference finals was a sign Montreal is on the right track, or merely an illusion. Its fun to see the guys loose and excited for the start of the season, but there are 29 other teams that are also anxious to start the season, Subban said on Tuesday. Its a fresh start. Its an opportunity to see progress and have success. While Montreal hopes to prove last season was no fluke, Toronto certainly is aiming for a fresh start after ending 2013-14 with losses in 12 of its final 14 games. The late-season swoon cost the Maple Leafs a shot at the playoffs, and front office upheaval followed the disappointing campaign. Shortly after the season ended, the Leafs named Brendan Shanahan as the teams president and alternate governor. The Hall of Fame winger left behind a job as the NHLs director of player safety to try and help his hometown team get back on the right track. While the Leafs havent made major changes to the look of the team since Shanahans arrival in April, the club did hire 28-year-old advanced statistics wunderkind Kyle Dubas to serve as Torontos assistant general manager, a move that could signal the beginning of the end for current GM Dave Nonis. Head coach Randy Carlyle also could be on borrowed time. With Toronto bringing back most of its roster from last season, the 2014-15 campaign could be one of evaluation for the Leafs as the franchise tries to transition out of its recent downturn. Of course, the Eastern Conference seems wide open at the start of the season, so making the playoffs in 2015 should be within the clubs reach. High-scoring winger Phil Kessel returns for the Leafs after leading the club in both goals and points for the fifth straight season in 2013-14, notching 37 tallies and 80 points. While Toronto doesnt need to worry about Kessels production, the club absolutely needs forward David Clarkson to perform at a higher level this season. Clarkson, a 30-goal scorer with New Jersey in 2011-12, signed a seven- year, $36.75 million deal with the Leafs in the summer of 2013 only to put up an embarrassing 11 points (5G, 6A) in 60 games. Clarksons nightmare season began with him serving a suspension for leaving the bench to join a fight in a preseason game. Although Clarkson broke an orbital bone below his right eye following a fight with Buffalos Cody McCormick during this years preseason, he could be ready to go for tonights season opener. Last year was just something I cant explain to you, Clarkson recently told his clubs official web site. It was the toughest thing and Im ready for whats ahead. Toronto forward David Booth, who was signed to a one-year, $1.1 million deal in the offseason, will not be able to make his Maple Leafs debut tonight due to a fractured foot suffered in the preseason. The injury could keep Booth sidelined until late October. Defenseman Cody Franson also will miss the season opener with a bruised left knee. The Maple Leafs expect to go with Jonathan Bernier over James Reimer in net tonight. Bernier enters 2014-15 as the clear top option in Toronto after going 26-19-7 with a 2.69 goals against average and .923 save percentage. Reimer, meanwhile, is in need of a comeback season following a campaign in which he posted a 12-16-1 record and sported a dismal 3.29 GAA. Bernier, who was acquired from Los Angeles in a trade during the summer of 2013, outplayed Reimer for the starting job early on in 2013-14 before suffering a knee injury in mid-March. Reimer and the Leafs lost the next five games and when Bernier returned on March 25, the club dropped three more in a row. Montreal has won four of six and five of the past eight encounters in the series overall and the Canadiens have taken five of the last seven meetings in Toronto. The Leafs were much better at home than on the road last season, sporting a 24-16-1 record at Air Canada Centre in 2013-14. Montreal had a solid 23-15-3 road record last season. Following tonights season opener, Toronto is off until hosting Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Habs, meanwhile, are scheduled to play the second test of a season-opening four-game road trip tomorrow night in Washington. Line Combinations Toronto Maple Leafs Forwards: van Riemsdyk - Bozak - Kessel Lupul - Kadri - Kozun Winnik - Holland - Frattin Komarov - Santorelli - Clarkson Defence: Phaneuf - Robidas Gardiner - Rielly Percy - Polak Goalies: Bernier - starting Reimer Projected Scratches: Leivo, Ashton, Booth (foot), Franson (knee) TSNs Game Notes: Canadiens at Maple Leafs - 7PM 15th all-time season opener between teams (both teams, first game of season) 6th straight year opening season match up, TOR (4-0-1) won 4 straight MTL 3-2-0 vs TOR last season (TOR 2-2-1) 3 of 5 games between teams decided by 1G in 13-14 (one other game 2G with EN) TOR: 5-0-2 last 7 season openers 3/18 on PP vs MTL last season best home PP last season, 25.2% 2-5-0 final 7 home games in 13-14 Kessel (5G, 10A) PTS in 9 of past 10GP vs MTL Bernier 17-9-1 at home last season, 2.77GAA, .917sv% MTL: Lost 2 straight openers on the road (both vs TOR) 4/16 on PP vs TOR last season 6-1-1 final 8 road games in 13-14, 1/25 on PP Pacioretty (3) tied for lead league in hat-tricks in 2013-14 Price 1-2-0 past 3 starts in TOR, 4.65GAA, .855sv% Albert Pujols Angels Jersey . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start. Jared Walsh Angels Jersey . Rosbergs time of 1 minute, 33.185 seconds at the Bahrain International Circuit was a quarter of a second faster than Hamilton, who had to abandon his final flying lap after running wide at the first corner. https://www.cheapangels.com/403j-lee-smi...y-angels.html.Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St. Tim Salmon Jersey . Bozak and Clarkson suffered the injuries in pre-training camp workouts, according to Carlyle, who said they made "small amounts of improvement" from Friday to Saturday. After the players were deemed less than 100 per cent by doctors after Thursdays medical testing, the Leafs held them out of on-ice testing and are being cautious. Cam Bedrosian Jersey . - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday. When it came to sport, Nelson Mandela had the ability to inspire even inspirational figures and leave global stars completely star-struck. The anti-apartheid leader, former South African president and Nobel Peace Prize winner died on Thursday at the age of 95, prompting a vast outpouring of tributes from the worlds best-known athletes and top sporting bodies. Muhammad Ali, himself a role model for so many, said Mandela inspired others to "reach for what appeared to be impossible." "What I will remember most about Mr. Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge," Ali said in a statement through his foundation. Pele wrote, "He was my hero, my friend." Tiger Woods called his meeting with Mandela in 1998 "inspiring times." "Its sad for everyone who got a chance to not only meet him, but Ive been influenced by him," Woods said. Usain Bolt posted on Twitter: "One of the greatest human beings ever." The NBAs LeBron James said: "In his 95 years, he was able to do unbelievable things not only for South Africa but for the whole world." As much as sportsmen and women loved Mandela, he in turn loved sport and appreciated its enormous potential to do good. Nowhere more than in his own country, where he famously used the 1995 Rugby World Cup to knock down the last barriers of apartheid. "A remarkable man who understood that sport could build bridges, break down walls, and reveal our common humanity," International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said in a statement to The Associated Press. The IOC would fly the Olympic flag at half-staff for three days for Mandela, he said. Bach later choked up while speaking about when he met Mandela in 1996 and asked the former political prisoner if he felt hatred toward the apartheid regime that imprisoned him for 27 years. "His immediate response was no but he saw the doubt in my eyes," Bach said on Friday. "You dont believe me? he asked. I can tell you why. If I hate I would not be a free man anymore." Bach wasnt the only one to show his emotions. Gary Player paused while speaking at a golf tournament in South Africa to compose himself and wipe away tears. "When you think of a man going to jail for all those years for doing the right thing, not the wrong thing, its hard to comprehend that a man can come out and be like that," Player said. "He was an exceptional man, just exceptional." FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he and world football were in mourning at Mandelas passing and ordered that the 209 flags of its member countries at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland also be flown at half-staff. "It is in deep mourning that I pay my respects to an extraordinary person, probably one of the greatest humanists of our time and a dear friend of mine," Blatter said. From a cricket test in Australia to basketball games in the United States, and a golf tournament in the wilderness of South Africa, Mandela was remembered by players and fans across sport with moments of silence. A keen amateur boxer and runner in his youth, Mandela understood the intricacies of rugby, football and cricket, the most popular sports in his country, but even games and players the South African wouldnt have been familiar with were touched by him. "Nelson Mandela was one of the most powerful and inspirational leaders in the world and a great friend of the NBA," league commissioner David Stern said, "... and while we mourn his passing, we know that his legacy andd quest for equality will endure.ddddddddddddquot; Sport was never far from Mandelas mind. He was there -- often the driving force -- when South Africa returned to the Olympic family, won rugbys World Cup, won footballs African Cup and earned the right to host FIFAs World Cup in 2010, the first in Africa. It was fitting that Mandelas last appearance for an adoring public was when he greeted fans in a packed stadium on the outskirts of Soweto ahead of the 2010 World Cup final. "When he was honoured and cheered by the crowd ... it was as a man of the people, a man of their hearts, and it was one of the most moving moments I have ever experienced," Blatter said. A string of Spains World Cup winners from that year and Portugals Cristiano Ronaldo all tweeted messages of condolence, with many including photographs of themselves with Mandela. Global superstars Woods and David Beckham both made a point of meeting him when they travelled to South Africa. Woods came out of his audience with a copy of the mans autobiography and Beckham was almost reverent in their 2003 meeting. "We have lost a true gentleman and a courageous human being," Beckham said on his Facebook page. "It was truly an honour to have known a man who had genuine love for so many people." South African golfer Ernie Els said that from around 1996 onwards Mandela would call him every time he won a tournament and they once exchanged gifts after Mandela visited him at a tournament near the ex-presidents Johannesburg home. "Ive still got that picture in my office in the U.S.," Els said. "He was just the most amazing person I have ever met." But Mandelas interest in sport wasnt just for the grand occasion and the photo opportunity. Recalling his first conversation with a still imprisoned Mandela in 1986 and away from the media spotlight, former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser said Mandelas first question was about cricket and the man regarded as that sports greatest player. "His first remark to me, after hello, was ... Mr. Fraser, is Donald Bradman still alive?" Fraser later brought him a bat signed by Bradman. Crickets finest batsman had written "in recognition of a great unfinished innings" for Mandela on the bat. What Mandela did at that 1995 Rugby World Cup final is one of sports defining moments and enshrined in the new South Africas conscience. By pulling on the green and gold jersey of the Springboks, the national team previously all-white and associated with the apartheid regime, Mandela signalled to all South Africans that they should unite. His presentation of the trophy to the Springboks blond captain Francois Pienaar provided a lasting image of reconciliation that politics just couldnt match. "It was our privilege to have lived in this country during his lifetime," South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins said. After 1995, Mandela commonly referred to the team that had previously been boycotted abroad for its associations with apartheid as "my beloved Springboks." Current Springboks captain Jean de Villiers said: "His presence at a test match just lifted the crowd and energized the team -- it is actually hard to describe." Even for New Zealands losing rugby captain on that famous June day in 1995, Sean Fitzpatrick, Mandelas effect was too momentous not to appreciate. "Afterwards, when we were driving back to our hotel crying, to see the sheer enjoyment of everyone running down the streets ... black, white, colored, whatever they were, just arm in arm celebrating sport," Fitzpatrick said. "He saw the bigger picture." ' ' '