CALGARY - The Vancouver Canucks hope to put the disastrous John Tortorella era further in the past when they open their 2014-15 season on the road Wednesday against the Calgary Flames. The Canucks are aiming to hit the restart button after missing the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2008. As a result, Tortorella was axed from the head coaching position after only one season in Vancouver and general manager Mike Gillis also joined him on the unemployment line. Gillis, of course, was the man who made the ill-fated decision to fire head coach Alain Vigneault after the 2013 campaign and replace him with Tortorella. All Vigneault did in 2013-14 was take over the reins for Torts with the New York Rangers and lead the Blueshirts to the Stanley Cup Finals. Jim Benning, who replaced the fired Gillis, hopes he has done enough to retool the Canucks and get the club back to the postseason for the sixth time in seven years. The new GM finally pulled the trigger on a Ryan Kesler trade, sending the forward to Anaheim for depth and draft picks, while also signing star goaltender Ryan Miller to take over the No. 1 netminding position following Roberto Luongos trade at last seasons deadline. Benning also installed Willie Desjardins as Tortorellas replacement behind the bench and the rookie NHL coach will be tasked with developing a cohesive unit from the new faces and the old standbys, including the Sedin twins, who are out to prove a down 2013-14 season was merely an aberration. Vancouvers defensive depth is a big question mark heading into the season and the club could be even thinner on the blue line if Kevin Bieksa misses tonights game. Bieksa is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is a game- time decision for the season opener. You want to play on opening day, I definitely would like to play, but you also have to be smart, Bieksa told his clubs web site. Playing one game and then sitting for four or five is not smart and not good for the team. A lot of factors to consider but its Game 1 and theres a lot of games this year. The Flames, meanwhile, are in rebuilding mode and missed the playoffs last season for a fifth straight spring. Considering it plays in the stacked Western Conference, Calgary figures to have an uphill battle at making the postseason in 2014-15. Calgary is coming off a 77-point season, the lowest for the club since it notched just 75 in 2002-03. But just because the Flames are young and inexperienced doesnt mean they are pushovers. President Brian Burke, general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Bob Hartley have an exciting young nucleus to work with and they want it to be one that gives maximum effort and doesnt quit. Hartley certainly saw that last season, when Calgary matched an NHL record with 49 one-goal games. And while Calgary look for its young guns to gain valuable experience and deal with the free agency loss of Mike Cammalleri, the front office filled holes with solid veterans, adding wingers Mason Raymond and Devin Setoguchi, defenseman Deryk Engelland and goaltender Jonas Hiller. Those new faces join the rest of the veteran leadership, guided by defenseman and captain Mark Giordano as well as Curtis Glencross, Jiri Hudler and Matt Stajan. The Flames youth movement is led by Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund and T.J. Brodie. Joining the parade of talented youngsters is Johnny Gaudreau, a 21-year-old former Boston College standout who made Calgarys roster out of training camp. The forward better known as Johnny Hockey won the coveted Hobey Baker Award as the NCAAs top hockey player in 2013-14. Gaudreau expects to play in his second NHL game tonight after debuting with the Flames late last season. Sam Bennett, the fourth overall pick at the 2014 draft, also could have made his NHL debut tonight for the Flames if not for a shoulder injury. Calgary fears the 18-year-old forward may need surgery and its unclear how long he will be sidelined. Hiller will get the call in the season opener for Calgary. He went 29-13-7, 2.48 GAA and .911 save percentage in 50 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season and hopes to bring stability to Calgarys crease. Vancouver dominated the Flames last season, winning all five meetings while outscoring Calgary by a combined 17-8 margin. The Canucks have won seven straight and 10 of 12 in the series overall and have claimed the last three encounters at Calgarys Scotiabank Saddledome. TSN Game Notes VAN was 5-0-0 vs CGY last season, winning twice past regulation VAN has won 7 straight vs CGY, 3 of the games in CGY 9th opening season match up between teams, last time in 2009 CGY: 0-3-1 last 4 openers final 17 games in 13-14, 12-5-0, 31/34 on PK, 58GF 88.8% home PK in 13-14, best in league Gaudreau 1G in 1 career NHL game, vs VAN VAN: 0-3-2 last 5 openers ranked 12th out of 14th in the West on the road last season (.451pts%) H Sedin final 12 road games, 0G, 3A Miller 2 career starts in CGY last Dec /2010 (lost both, 5GA in each) Line Combinations Calgary Flames Forwards: Glencross -Colborne - Hudler Raymond - Backlund - Bouma Gaudreau -Byron - jones Bollig - Stajan - McGrattan Defence: Giordano - Brodie Russell - Engelland Smid - Wideman Goalies: Hiller Ramo -- Vancouver Canucks Forwards: D.Sedin - H.Sedin - Vrbata Higgins - Bonino - Burrows Richardson - Vey - Kassian Dorsett - Matthias - Hansen Defence: Hamhuis - Sbisa Edler - Tanev Stanton - Weber Goalies: Miller Lack Jalyn Holmes Vikings Jersey . Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. That beat the mark of 3,047 set only one week earlier by Westerns Will Finch, a Hec Crighton finalist. Randy Moss Vikings Jersey . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. http://www.officialauthenticvikingsshop.com/authentic-randy-moss-jersey.html . The Toronto Blue Jays star won his second consecutive Hank Aaron Award as the most outstanding offensive performer in the AL on Monday after votes by fans and a panel of Hall of Famers were tallied. Trevor Siemian Jersey . Coverage on TSN is underway now while action resumes on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. TSN GO also offers TSN subscribers bonus online coverage, with live streams of all four venues. Mike Hughes Jersey . With the union re-formed, negotiations with owners will resume Friday on the remaining issues that would be in the collective bargaining agreement, according to a person familiar with the plans.Missouri States most complete effort of the season came up three points short. Cleanthony Early had 22 points and 14 rebounds and No. 6 Wichita State rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit, knocking off Missouri State 72-69 in overtime on Saturday night. The Bears near-upset came just six days after an embarrassing 32-point loss to a 6-10 Loyola-Chicago team that has since lost two straight games. "I thought our guys played until the last second on the clock. We had an opportunity, and thats all you want against a team like that," Missouri State coach Paul Lusk said. "It hurts for our guys, because they played (hard). Theyre down right now, and they should be when you play that hard. "Thats the thing about Wichita State. They play hard. And we matched it. But weve got to get better." Fred VanVleet scored 12 of the Shockers last 13 points, including a game-tying free throw with 8 seconds left in regulation. He put Wichita State up for good with a short jumper with 1:25 left in overtime, and added two free throws with 8.8 seconds left in overtime to put the Shockers up 71-68. Early made a free throw with 1.4 seconds left to put the Shockers up 72-69, and stole a Missouri State inbounds pass at half court with 1.1 seconds left to seal the comeback for Wichita State (17-0, 4-0 Missouri Valley). "In those types of situations, youve just got to keep grinding out the game," Wichita State sophomore Ron Baker said. "Getting some stops is a big thing, but then youve got to go score on the offensive end. If you can do those two things, youre going to come back." VanVleet added 16 points, and Baker scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. Austin Ruder led Missouri State (12-4, 2-2) with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Jarmar Gulley had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Bears, and Marcus Marshall also scored 15 points. The third-largest home crowd in Missouri State history (10,776) roared with approval as Missouri State shot 65 per cent in the first half and rolled to a 42-24 halftime lead. "We finally executed against an elite team," Ruder said. "Weve kind of given a couple games away against higher-level teaams (losses to Louisville and Virginia), but I thought it was important that we battled.dddddddddddd "Obviously we should have got the win and we were expecting to win, but were looking forward to next time." But the Bears missed their first eight shots to start the second half as the Shockers opened with a 7-0 run to get back in the game. It was a 46-35 Bears lead when Ruder hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to spark an 8-0 run that gave Missouri State its largest lead at 54-35 with 11:48 to play. But Wichita State responded immediately, using full-court pressure to force four Missouri State turnovers in two minutes to power a 16-2 run that closed the gap to 56-51 with 7:30 to go. It was 60-55 with less than four minutes left when Ruder hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put Missouri State up eight, but Wichita State again rallied, closing within 64-63 on VanVleets layup and free throw with 47.7 seconds left. VanVleet missed the second of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left and the game tied at 64, and Missouri States Dorrian Williams missed a fallaway jumper at the buzzer that would have won it for the home team. "Its the first close game weve had, to be honest," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "Weve had some games where we made some plays down the stretch to win by five or whatever ... but as far as a game really being in doubt, this is by far the toughest game weve had." Missouri State couldnt have asked for much more out of the first half. The Bears shot 65 per cent from the field, including 8 of 14 from 3-point range, and Gulleys layup at the buzzer put Missouri State up 42-24 at the break. Wichita native Gavin Thurman, a little-used Missouri State reserve who hadnt played in four of the Bears past five games, sparked the first-half run with nine points on 4 for 4 shooting. "They shot the cover off the basketball, especially in the first half," Marshall said. "It didnt look good. "We knew these games would happen, and this was certainly one of them. We just made one more play." SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri States most complete effort of the season came up three points short. 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