The Vancouver Canucks (27-17-3) open the February portion of their schedule with their first meeting of the season against the Minnesota Wild (22-20-6). Patrick Russell Jersey . These teams will see plenty of each other in the next few weeks as three of the Canucks next nine games are against the Wild (after today they meet February 9th in Minnesota and again February 16th at Rogers Arena). New defenceman Adam Clendening is expected to make his Canucks debut today. He arrived in town Friday night and practiced with the Canucks yesterday paired with Luca Sbisa and saw time on the point on the second unit power play along with Dan Hamhuis. It appears Clendening will replace Yannick Weber. If that’s the case, the Canucks will have their youngest blueline of the season (Chris Tanev turned 25 in December, Sbisa turned 25 on Friday, Clendening 22 & Corrado 21). Derek Dorsett practiced with the Canucks yesterday for the first time since leaving Tuesday’s game against Anaheim after a collision with Ryan Kesler. The hard-nosed winger is a possibility to return to the line-up today. Five different Canucks scored in Friday’s 5-2 win over Buffalo. It was the first time the Canucks have scored more than four goals in a game since a 7-1 romp over Arizona on December 22nd. Nick Bonino scored the game winner on a second period power play. The goal was his team-leading fifth game winner of the season, but just his first power play goal as a Canuck. The Canucks scored an empty net goal on Friday and were also assessed a too-many men on the ice penalty. In both cases, that marked the 11th time this season they have hit the scoresheet in such fashion – the Canucks lead the league in both categories. There is no word on who will start in goal for the Canucks today. Ryan Miller has started the team’s last six games. Miller is 4-3 lifetime against the Wild while Eddie Lack is 1-0-1 with both games coming after the Olympic break last season. The Canucks and the Wild are two of three teams in the NHL this season with leading point-getters who are in single digits in goals (Daniel & Henrik Sedin 9+31=40 & Jason Pominville 9+29=38). Arizona’s Keith Yandle is the other. The Wild are here off a 1-0 win in Calgary on Thursday. Devan Dubnyk stopped 30 shots for the shutout and Zach Parise’s team-leading 20th goal of the season in the first period stood up as the winner. The Wild have won both of their games since the All-Star break giving up just one goal in the process. They are 4-1-1 in their past six games which follows a stretch in which they won just 2 of their previous 14 games (2-8-4). Dubnyk has started six straight games since being acquired from Arizona in mid-January. He’s 4-1 with the Wild with 2 shutouts a 1.66 GAA and a 93.1 save percentage. Dubnyk made 35 saves and blanked the Canucks 5-0 while with Arizona on November 14th at Rogers Arena. He also allowed three goals in relief duty in a 7-1 loss to the Canucks on December 22nd. The league’s ice-time leader Ryan Suter (average 29:29 a night) did not practice yesterday and is questionable with a lower body injury. Suter has just one goal on 94 shots this season (shooting percentage of 1.1%). Winger Justin Fontaine (groin) will not play today. Former Canuck Keith Ballard has been out since December 10th with a concussion and facial injuries. The Wild is 26th in the NHL on the power play (15.4%) and 28th in the league on the road (11.4%) scoring nine of its 25 PPG this season away from home. Kevin Lowe Jersey .3 seconds remaining, and No. 7 North Carolina held off a resilient No. 25 Virginia team, 54-51, on Saturday. John Henson contributed a double-double with 15 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-4, 12-2 ACC), who have won five straight and 10 of 11. Markus Granlund Jersey . The Austrian ski federation said Morgenstern was "conscious and well responsive" and his condition would be monitored in the intensive care unit of a Salzburg hospital for the next 72 hours. The federation said it was "way too early" to judge Morgensterns chances of competing in Sochi, and that an update on his condition was not expected before Monday. https://www.cheapoilers.com/1865s-mike-smith-jersey-oilers.html . Villa has already confirmed his short-term deal and the Daily Mirror reported early Tuesday that Lampard will join him as both build up match fitness ahead of moves to the new Major League Soccer franchise New York City.If there was any lingering doubt Montreal was not a proper football town, the events of the previous 48-hours must surely have dispelled them. Thursday lunch time, following recent shuttle diplomacy and negotiations, the Montreal Impacts founding owner Joey Saputo was announced as a major partner of the new ownership group of fabled Italian club Bologna. Only five other Serie A clubs have amassed more Scudettos (Serie A Titles) Quite some rise for the recently turned 50-year old Saputo, who cut his football teeth in the early 1980s as the Saputo Groups lead contact for their sponsorship of NASLs Montreal Manic. The announcement from Bologna came hot on the heels of Wednesdays launch for the Montreal Canadiens of Club 1909 - a worldwide marketing initiative which is broadly based along similar lines of Manchester Uniteds highly successful global strategy. You can be guaranteed as part of the process Canadiens owner Geoff Molson would have reached out to good friend Joey Saputo, to get his advice on Club 1909. Montreal is now a city with two owners with ambitious plans to reach well outside the local market place, as ways for their teams to benefit in their respective codes and leagues. Quite remarkably, just like the Habs, Bologna was also founded in 1909. Who though could have scripted that when Saputo and Nick De Santis travelled to Bologna in early 2012 to watch Marco Di Vaio play and to sit down with the Serie A marksman to negotiate becoming the Impacts original Designated Player, that less than three-years later, Saputo would return to the Italian city to purchase a club Di Vaio is so highly revered at. It was exactly this time last year that with rumours swirling Di Vaio was on his way back to Bologna that the Impact announced the MLS MVP candidate would indeed be returning for 2014. Now we know that with Di Vaios appointment to the new management structure at the Stadio Renato DallAra the 38-year old had much more than retirement on his mind when just two weeks ago the Impact announced their top scorer was hanging up his boots at seasons end. Di Vaio will have played a pivotal role in bringing together Bolognas previous ownership group with Saputo and his partners. New York Lawyer Joe Tacopina will take up the role of Bologna President. Impacts International Business Director Nick De Santis whho traveled back to Bologna with Saputo early this week has also been named to Bolognas management team. Oilers Jerseys 2020. It would seem the purchase of an Italian club was the natural progression of the Impacts flirtation with Italian football, which dates back well over a decade. They have had a long standing relationship with Fiorentina, and only late last month Saputo and De Santis were in Turin to meet with members of the Agnelli family, owners of Juventus. Saputo made it very clear in the media conference call his investment in Bologna was a personal one and not an investment for the Impact. From the purchase, the Impact will certainly benefit, primarily on the football side. This will not just be limited to the Academy but also for FC Montreal, the clubs reserve team which begins play in USL PRO next season and also for the senior team. The two clubs front offices will also benefit. With many Italian clubs in precarious financial positions, much can be learned from the MLS business model. Having already agreed a €7m [$10m] payout to the previous regime, Bolognas new ownership group has committed to inject €13m [$18m] into the club. Relegated last season, Bolognas immediate focus and priority is to return the club to Serie A. Eight games into a forty-two game season they are just a point out of top place. You can expect at the conclusion of the MLS season, Di Vaio will have his work cut out for him as the Rossoblu weigh up their options in the January transfer window and look to add players to best position themselves in their push for promotion. Before that, comes Saturday afternoons match for the Impact against Toronto FC. Di Vaio traveled to Toronto from Bologna earlier today. Having scored two very well taken goals in the Impacts penultimate home game of the season against the playoff bound Revs last Saturday afternoon. One of the top scorers in the modern era of Serie A will bring the curtain down on his professional career a week Saturday. It all started for Di Vaio, a native Roman, back in 1993 with his hometown Lazio and will end in Montreal at what is sure to be a sold out Saputo Stadium against the best story in MLS this season, DC United. Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel Toronto FC Vs Montreal Impact Live on TSN 690 – Saturday Kick Off 2:00pm et / 11:00am pt ' ' '