At Tuesdays pre-match press conference, Toronto FC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen attempted to explain to the English media the difficulty of having to play a mid-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur at this particular time of the year. Dante Exum Jazz Jersey . “It would be like us playing a game in the Christmas period when youre third in the league and youve got Man City to play on Saturday,” he said. The timing couldnt be much worse. The Champions – Sporting Kansas City - are due in town on Saturday, as Nelsens team moves through its busiest month of the MLS season with seven league games during the month of July. Hes already without some of his key players through injury, including captain Steven Caldwell and starting right back Mark Bloom. But whatever problems are posed by playing the extra game, I agree with Michael Bradleys assessment of the situation. International friendlies are of benefit to Major League Soccer and the growth of the game in North America. While they are certainly far from ideal, they are here to stay, and they have an important role to play. For a start, Wednesdays game against Tottenham is about much more than welcoming international opposition. This match is part of a four-year marketing and commercial deal struck between the two clubs as part of Jermain Defoes transfer. For both Toronto FC and Spurs, its about the bigger picture. Soccer is a global game, and a big part of achieving success is about building and managing relationships, not just within your own league, but around the world. As Toronto FC – and MLS as a whole – aims to continue its rapid growth, international friendlies are an important piece of the puzzle as they provide an opportunity to get a wider circle of attention both in the local community, across North America, and in other countries as well. From a playing perspective it can also have a positive impact. Its a chance for some of the squad players to get a competitive game, and for some of the clubs youngsters to test themselves against a standard of opposition they wouldnt usually face. In 2010 when Toronto FC played Bolton Wanderers at BMO Field, the Man of the Match was a young teenager who hadnt even signed a professional contract at that stage. Doneil Henry has gone on to become a first team regular with the club who has aspirations of playing in Europe. That Bolton match was an early stepping stone for the Canadian international. As he sat alongside Spurs star Christian Eriksen and manager Mauricio Pochettino at BMO Field on Tuesday, Henry said: “This is where I want to be and where I want to play one day. I just want to learn and show what I can do.” So this match is another opportunity for him to prove himself. We likely wont see much of Torontos leading players against Spurs. Ryan Nelsen needs to be cautious, and rightly so. He will give some of his starters 45 minutes, and rest others completely. But for a number of men within his squad this game will provide a chance to shine and it will be interesting to see if they can take it. Tottenham arrived in Toronto on Monday direct from Seattle where they tied the Sounders 3-3 in an entertaining game in the first game of their three-match North American tour. They are without their World Cup players who have been given extra time to rest, and last years leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor who is recovering in London following a mild bout of malaria. But young Danish star Christian Eriksen is expected to see his first action of preseason as Spurs continue to prepare for the Premier Leagues opening weekend in mid-August. Last year Spurs finished sixth in the English top flight, but are under new management with a new direction after Mauricio Pochettinos arrival from Southampton. Eriksen was pretty blunt when asked what Tottenham will need to improve upon this season, with consistency the theme. “We had some really good games and some really bad games,” he said. “For us its about being more stable and also getting points against the big teams.” Watch Toronto FC vs. Tottenham Hotspur live tonight on TSN at 7pm et/4pm pt. Karl Malone Jazz Jersey . Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. Tony Bradley Jersey.com) - Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.WASHINGTON - Dustin Tokarski gets the start in goal for the Montreal Canadiens tonight as they look for a second straight win to start the season against the Washington Capitals. For the Caps, new head coach Barry Trotz is making his debut behind the Washington bench. You can listen to all the action on TSN Radio 690 beginning with the pre-game show at 5:30pm et. The Canadiens are beginning the season on a four-game road trip and were able to pick up a win in Wednesdays opener in Toronto. Tomas Plekanec had two goals, including the game-winner off a defensemans skate with 42.9 seconds remaining that gave the Habs a 4-3 win over the rival Maple Leafs. We played the game that we wanted to in the offensive zone, and were happy about the win, said Plekanec. Obviously, it was the first game of the season in Toronto. Were happy we were able to come away with the two points. Montreal, which lost to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals last spring, snapped a four-year losing streak to the Maple Leafs in season-openers. P.A. Parenteau notched two assists in his Montreal debut after coming over from Colorado during the offseason in exchange for fellow forward Danny Briere. Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban each posted a goal in the victory and Alexei Emelin also chipped in two assists. Carey Price stopped 24 shots for the win, but will get Thursday night off as backup Tokarski gets his first start of the season. Tokarski took over the reins for Price in last years conference finals when Price went down with a season-ending knee injury and did a superb job of keeping Montreal in the series even if New York went on to win the set in six games. Tokarski was a surprise replacement for Price in the playoffs since it was Peter Budaj who was listed as No. 2 on the depth chart at the time of the injury. Budaj saw action in 24 regular season games in 2013-14 compared to only three appearances for the 25-year-old Tokarski. However, Montreal traded Budaj to Winnipeg before the start of the season, clearing the way for Tokarski to take over the backup role. The Canadiens are making one line-up change for tonight, adding Travis Moen in place of Dale Weise. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and by just three points, the Capitals shook things up again by not renewing the contract of general manager George McPhee and firing head coach Adam Oates. It wasnt a total makeoover as Washington stayed within to replace McPhee by promoting Brian MacLellan from his assistant general manager role, while Oates was canned after two seasons and replaced with the respected Trotz. Jae Crowder Jazz Jersey. The Capitals are banking that Trotz is finally the defensive mind that the franchise needs and scooped him up after his 15-year run as coach of the Nashville Predators came to an end. Defense and Trotz went hand-and-hand in Nashville as the club always seemed to find a way into the playoffs despite missing the kind of explosive offense that fuels the Capitals. It will be interesting to see how Trotz handles a player like Alexander Ovechkin, an offensive talent that has won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the leagues leading goal scorer four times but finished last season at minus-35, third-worst in the league. Washington has seemingly struggled for season after season trying to improve its defense and only had a goal differential of minus-5 last season, but that meant little after the club just missed out on a playoff spot. The Capitals defensive group saw the addition of one of the top free agent blueliners of this past offseason, Matt Niskanen, who signed with Washington for seven years and $40.25 million. MacLellan also gave Trotz a gritty veteran piece at the blue line in Brooks Orpik, who should have a tough time living up to his five-year, $27.5 million deal. While Niskanen and Orpik will debut tonight for the Caps, fellow defenseman Mike Green expects to be a game-time decision for Washington due to an upper- body injury. Braden Holtby expects to get the start in net tonight and the 25-year-old goaltender could be one of the biggest benefactors of the coaching change. Holtby struggled when Oates had him change his positioning and game plan between the pipes and that led to his goals against average rising from 2.58 the previous season to 2.85 in 2013-14. Holtby went 2-0 in two games against the Canadiens last season and is 5-0 with a 0.98 GAA in five career outings versus Montreal. The Caps won two of three against Montreal last season and have taken four of five and 10 of the past 12 meetings. The Canadiens have dropped eight of their last 12 games in D.C. The Canadiens will continue their season-opening trek Saturday in Philadelphia before closing the swing Monday in Tampa. Montreal will play its first home game next Thursday against the Boston Bruins. Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Flames Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Stars Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Oilers Jerseys Cheap Florida Panthers Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Cheap Wild Jerseys ' ' '