Steve Downie with a big return to the Colorado lineup, Jonathan Bernier strong in his Maple Leafs debut, Detroit dominated a 2-1 game and more. 1. After missing nearly all of last season after wrecking his knee, Avalanche RW Steve Downie posted a Gordie Howe Hat Trick (goal, assist, fight) against Anaheim. Downie skated alongside Matt Duchene and Ryan OReilly on Colorados top line, before tangling with Ryan Getzlaf will 1:07 remaining in the third period of Colorados 6-1 win. In leagues that count PIM, Downie is potential gold -- one of three (Steve Ott and Scott Hartnell are the others) to have at least 100 points and 500 penalty minutes since the start of the 2009-2010 season. 2. Speaking of Ryan OReilly, he looked great moving to the wing from centre, generating six shots on goal and playing 19:47. OReilly has 75 points in 110 games over the past couple seasons, but if he sticks with Duchene, that could present an opportunity to raise his offensive output. 3. Jonathan Bernier made his Maple Leafs debut, in Philadelphia, Wednesday and stopped 31 of 32 shots for the win. While Im among those who think that the Maple Leafs will have a hard time matching their percentages from last season, if 25-year-old Bernier is ready to take a step forward, then he and James Reimer could conceivably give Toronto above-average goaltending and that would be half the battle. For now, it appears as though the Leafs have a competition in crease. 4. Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists in his NHL debut, setting up LW Jamie McGinn. It was an impressive first game, though MacKinnon could use work in the face-off dot, where he was 2-for-14 (14.3%) on draws. 5. Maple Leafs C Dave Bolland notched a pair of goals at Philadelphia, and while the Leafs juggled lines, Bolland spent more time with Nikolai Kulemin and Joffrey Lupul. 5. Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov delivered a strong performance, turning back 35 of 36 Ducks shots, missing a shutout by seven seconds on a late goal by Jakob Silfverberg. If the Avalanche are going to rise up this season, its not going to be on the forwards scoring, its more likely going to be because of an improvement in goal. Consider, Varlamov had a .903 save percentage last season, but if he managed a .918 save percentage on 1600 shots (approx. 55 starts), that would make a 24-goal difference. Maybe not enough to get them to the playoffs, but enough to make the Avs competitive. 6. Maple Leafs C Nazem Kadri isnt getting any free passes early in the year. After playing 17:38 against Montreal opening night, Kadri played only 11:53 at Philadelphia; he played more than 12 minutes in 46 of 48 regular-season game last season. Kadri did see some time between Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel -- an intriguing offensive combination -- but played nearly as much with Mason Raymond and Troy Bodie, so it wasnt a banner night. 7. Detroit dominated Buffalo, taking 80% of the shot attempts when the score was close yet, aside from a pair of goals 36 seconds apart in the middle of the first period, they couldnt get anything else past Ryan Miller. Digging deeper on that 80% number, according to www.extraskater.com, the Wings top two lines didnt surrender a shot attempt against when the score was close. 8. Amid that territorial domination, however, the Sabres did get to within a goal in the third period when rookie LW Zemgus Girgensons lifted a rebound over Jimmy Howard. Girgensons was one of five rookies playing for the Sabres and the two defencemen, Rasmus Ristolainen and Mark Pysyk, tied for the team lead with three shots on goal. Ristolainen also had a turnover that led to Detroits second goal, but its rough business when your 18-year-old defenceman gets stuck out there against Pavel Datsyuk. 9. Flyers C Claude Giroux played 26:02 against Toronto, more than he played in any game last season, though he topped 27 minutes six times in 2011-2012. While Giroux, Brayden Schenn and Scott Hartnell didnt have great possesion stats against the Maple Leafs, Philadelphias second line -- Vincent Lecavalier, Matt Read and Jakob Voracek -- was dominant. 10. With Toronto D Mark Fraser reportedly hobbling after a foot injury, it seems likely that rookie D Morgan Rielly will get to make his NHL debut soon. Too soon to place expectation on Rielly as an offensive contributor, but with Fraser hurt and both Paul Ranger and Jake Gardiner struggling at times in the first two games, there may be an opportunity to move up. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Trevor Siemian Vikings Jersey . TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then. Brian ONeill Jersey . Didnt need any help this time. Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night. http://www.officialauthenticvikingsshop.com/authentic-jalyn-holmes-jersey.html . - Joao Plata scored twice in the final 24 minutes, including the winner in stoppage time, to help Real Salt Lake remain unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the winless Chicago Fire on Saturday night. Sheldon Richardson Jersey . On Thursday, a judge said Varlamov could be released if he posted $5,000 bond and be allowed to travel with the team but he was ordered to stay away from his girlfriend, among other restrictions. Custom Minnesota Vikings Jerseys .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. HOUSTON -- Oakland rookie Matt McGloin was so good in a victory over the Houston Texans that it raised questions about whether Terrelle Pryor will get his job back when hes healthy. The undrafted free agent threw three touchdown passes in his first NFL start and the Raiders extended Houstons franchise-record skid to eight games with a 28-23 victory on Sunday in coach Gary Kubiaks return from a mini-stroke. Oakland coach Dennis Allen evaded the question when asked if McGloin would remain the starter when Pryor has recovered from a knee injury. "Listen, heres what Im going to do -- Im going to enjoy this win, all right," Allen said. "Were going to go back and well evaluate. But he definitely did a very good job today." McGloin was 18 of 32 for 197 yards. Houstons Case Keenum, also an undrafted free agent, was benched after Houstons offence stalled in the third quarter. McGloin threw touchdown passes of 5, 16 and 26 yards to help the Raiders score their most points of the season. "There is always more to prove and more to do," McGloin said. "I think I got off to a good start, but we will see." Kubiak wasnt on the sidelines, instead coaching upstairs from the booth on doctors orders two weeks after collapsing at halftime of Houstons game against Indianapolis. He benched Keenum for Matt Schaub with Houston trailing by 11 points. Houston cut the lead with two field goals in the fourth quarter and had a chance to take the lead late. But Schaubs pass to Andre Johnson on fourth down from the 8 was broken up in the end zone. Johnson and Schaub were yelling at each other on the field after the play and the screaming match continued on the sidelines, a clear indication of the frustration on a disappointing team that was supposed to contend for a Super Bowl. Johnson said the argument came because the receiver "messed up" and didnt finish the play. "We just exchanged some words," he said. "Its just heat of the moment. Once we came in the locker room, we talked about it, left it alone so Im not worried about that. Me and Matt have played a lot of football together." Schaub also brushed off their disagreement. "Its just emotions, emotions of the game, a culmination of a lot of things, but stuff well keep between us," Schaub said. Kubiak replaced Keenum with Schaub after Houstons first three drives of the second half all ended in punts. Schaub was terrible early this season and hadnt played since Oct.dddddddddddd 13, after he was benched following an injury. Keenum threw for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Schaub had 155 yards passing. Kubiak wouldnt say who would start next week. Houston punted on Schaubs first drive before settling for a 26-yard field goal on the second when the offence stalled after getting a first down at the 10. A 30-yard field goal cut the lead to 28-23 with about eight minutes remaining. Rashad Jennings, who was filling in for the injured Darren McFadden, extended Oaklands lead to 28-17 when he plowed over D.J. Swearinger and rumbled 80 yards for a touchdown with 2:26 left in the third quarter. It was the longest run of his career and he finished with 150 yards rushing. The Raiders regained the lead when Mychal Rivera grabbed a 26-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-17 in the third quarter. Keenum scrambled to escape the grasp of Lamarr Houston and launched a 42-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Graham to cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter. Houston tied it at 14 when Keshawn Martin let a punt bounce off the grass and his chest before scooping it up and dashing 87 yards for a touchdown about three minutes before halftime. It was the longest punt return for a score in franchise history. Randy Bullock made his first field goal of 50 or more yards with a 51-yarder to give Houston a 17-14 lead just before halftime. Graham had the ball stripped by Charles Woodson and fumbled after a catch on Houstons first drive. Phillip Adams recovered it and 26 yards. McGloins first career touchdown came when he hit Denarius Moore on a 5-yard slant to put Oakland up 7-0. Houstons second miscue came when Keenum threw his first career interception as he was being hit by Stacy McGee. It broke a streak of 105 pass attempts without an interception for Keenum. The Raiders immediately took advantage of the error when McGloin connected with Rod Streater for a 16-yard touchdown on the next play to make it 14-0. NOTES: Former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush were on the field before the game and the younger Bush did the coin flip. ... McGloin is the 17th quarterback to start for the Raiders since the start of the 2003 season. ... Oakland defensive tackle Daniel Muir and right guard Mike Brisiel both sustained knee injuries and Allen said hell know more after they have MRIs. Cheap Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys WholesaleDiscount Basketball JerseysCheap NHL Jerseys AuthenticCheap Baseball Jerseys Free ShippingCheapest College Jerseys SaleCheap Football Jerseys ChinaNike NFL Jerseys CanadaWholesale NHL Jerseys From ChinaMLB Jerseys Outlet CanadaWholesale NBA Jerseys Canada StoreCheap Soccer Jerseys ChinaCheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '