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TORONTO -- James van Riemsdyk tugged at the Toronto Maple Leafs logo on his chest, mimicking the celebration P.K. Subban made after an overtime goal two nights earlier. That wasnt a coincidence. Van Riemsdyk was on edge after some taunting from the Montreal Canadiens defenceman but waited until after scoring the game-winning goal Saturday night before letting that emotion show through. It was tension that was building throughout a 5-3 Leafs victory that was a showcase for the rivalry. "Im usually not one to engage in stuff like that, but I was a little bit fired up," van Riemsdyk said. "It just kind of happened." Those are the things that happen when the juices are flowing and emotions are heightened as they were for this game between the Leafs and Habs. Of the 19,667 fans in attendance, more than a few were cheering for Montreal, and it made for a much more raucous atmosphere than usual at Air Canada Centre. "If you dont get shivers and chills on Toronto-Montreal on a Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada, either in Montreal or Toronto, then I dont think you understand the true meaning of the game here in Canada," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said after his teams season-high fourth consecutive victory. With the teams trading chances back and forth, it was an excellent example of what the NHL is supposed to offer. And even though eight total goals were scored, neither the Leafs Jonathan Bernier (30 saves on 33 shots), nor possible Canadian Olympic starter Carey Price of the Habs (25 saves on 29 shots) could be faulted. Instead, this was a case of two offences getting the job done. Before van Riemsdyk scored the game-winner at 14:27 of the third, Cody Franson, Phil Kessel and Mason Raymond also scored for the Leafs (25-20-5), while Brendan Gallagher, Brian Gionta and David Desharnais scored for the Habs (27-17-5). "Were a team that was pushing the pace and we were skating well," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "Individual mistakes cost games. Thats where its disappointing. We give goals. Theyre not even supposed to be scoring chances." But scoring chances were readily available. Toronto centre Nazem Kadri had two of the games best passes, setting up Franson for the Leafs first goal and then Raymond for his on the power play. It was a breakout night for Kadri, who has been the subject of criticism and trade rumours lately. "I wanted to come out and have a big game," Kadri said. "Obviously the magnitude of this game was huge. For us to chase that top spot in the division is still a realistic goal for us." The Leafs victory moved them to within four points of the third-place Habs. They still trail the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins by seven points and have played three more games. But when the focus was on one game against rival Montreal, the Leafs brought close to their A-game. Carlyle called their start by far the best of the season, while Gionta wasnt thrilled with how he and his teammates responded. "The first 10 minutes we were fairly slow getting going, but after that I thought we did a good job of forcing the play and getting some good chances," Montreals captain said. "Its definitely a tough one to lose." It wouldve been a tough one for the Leafs to lose after their strong start and considering the emotional investment. "That was a statement game for this team," Kadri said. "Its the Montreal Canadiens. Theyre one of the better teams in the conference and obviously theyre ahead of us in the division, as well. The rivalry speaks for itself. We wanted to come out here, home ice, and give these fans something to cheer about." Montreal fans had something to cheer about early thanks to stellar goaltending from Price, who kept the Habs in the game despite being out-shot by a wide margin. Chants of "Carey" became jeering ones later on when Leafs fans got on him, loud enough that the goalie at the other end could hear them. "The crowd was pretty amazing tonight," Bernier said. "It felt like a playoff game." No Leafs players were alive the last time the Leafs and Habs met in the playoffs -- 1979. Only Montreals Gionta, Andrei Markov, Daniel Briere and Francis Boullion had been born by then. But a lack of recent playoff history didnt seem to hurt Saturday night, thanks in part to Subban skating by the bench after Gallaghers goal and giving the Leafs some motivation. "He was saying some stuff to our bench and we werent thrilled about that," van Riemsdyk said. "Its hockey. Hes got to do what hes got to do -- hes a great player, its fun to play against players like that. Obviously theres some emotions that were flying around out there." Subban did not speak to reporters after the loss. He was a central topic of conversation in hockey circles since his celebration of an overtime goal against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night brought some criticism. Subban flashed the crest on his jersey a few times before going down the tunnel. Don Cherry said on "Hockey Night in Canada" that "all (Subban) does is pump up the other team." "He has to stop that stuff," Cherry said. "Its absolutely ridiculous." Van Riemsdyk wouldnt even go that far, choosing instead to show Subban up after scoring his 19th goal of the season. "If they wanted to play that game, then well play it, too," van Riemsdyk said. Van Riemsdyk insisted popping his jersey wasnt a pre-meditated act. Instead, it was the release of a build-up of emotions that went beyond just redirecting Tyler Bozaks pass past Price. Asked earlier in the day about goal celebrations, van Riemsdyk said that he preferred an understated approach. His teammates didnt mind when he veered from that just once. "Obviously you get excited when you score," Kadri said. "Thats on JvR -- he likes scoring goals, so more power to him." NOTES -- Joonas Nattinen made his NHL debut for Montreal and played 1:45, all in the first period. Nattinen replaced Rene Bourque, who was a healthy scratch. ... Toronto called up Troy Bodie from its AHL affiliate to replace the injured David Clarkson. Cheap San Francisco 49ers Jerseys Online . Pace had a career-high 10 sacks for Rex Ryans defence-- second only to Muhammad Wilkersons 10 1/2 -- in his sixth season with the Jets. The 33-year-old outside linebacker was an unrestricted free agent. Stitched San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, are in the drivers seat as they open the final series of the regular season, but they face a large task in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies. http://www.cheap49ers.com/. No such luck. Wiggins owned the end of Parkers impressive homecoming. The Kansas star scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, outplaying Parker down the stretch and helping the fifth-ranked Jayhawks knock off No. San Francisco 49ers Jerseys Outlet . "For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury," said general manager Doug Wilson in a statement. "Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. Authentic San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . Phoenix originally signed Barbosa to a 10-day contract on Jan. 8 after Eric Bledsoe injured his knee and then signed him to another 10-day deal.Bill Foley is not Jim Balsillie, and the prospective owner of a Las Vegas expansion franchise isnt following the same path that got the former BlackBerry mogul blacklisted by the NHL.Several years ago Balsillie tried (and failed) to move the Nashville Predators to Hamilton and even went so far as to list season tickets for sale against the leagues wishes. When he wanted to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, the NHL preferred bankruptcy to his ownership and went to court to keep him out.Foley doesnt have a long history with the NHL, but his efforts to deliver hockey to Las Vegas have been in lock step with what commissioner Gary Bettman wants. So far, the millionaire businessman has asked for and received permission to run a season-ticket drive and isnt pressuring for anything more.Im an ex-Army guy. I follow orders, Foley said in a phone interview over the weekend from his home in Northern California. Weve been very careful in our meetings with the NHL administrative staff, just trying to make sure that we do things in the proper fashion. Were not pushy, were not demanding.Foley is trying to go about this the right way as the league and owners have many questions about the unique nature of the tourism-heavy Las Vegas market. But dont mistake that for the 70-year-old believing the city cant handle a pro team.To the contrary: Foley is in this to win it because he sees the growing business community in Las Vegas and its employees as the perfect audience for the NHL.Nevada and Las Vegas in particular are no longer what they were 50 years ago or 40 years ago: a gambling city, kind of a weigh station in the desert, Foley said. A number of software companies, development companies have located in Las Vegas. ... Those companies and those people who work for those companies, thats our target. Those are the people that we want to have come to these games.A schedule of NHL games in Las Vegas is at least 22 months and many steps away, including the completion of an arena being built by AEG and MGM on the strip and eventual approval by the board of governors. The arena is a question of when, but league approval requires a two-thirds vote and is not a sure thing.The first step is a season-ticket drive that is expected to measure the level of interest Las Vegas locals have in supporting a professional hockey team. The league is eager to see the results.I think what the ownership group is looking for, and ultimately what I think what would be important to the board, is that local people in Las Vegas are going to support this franchise, not just the local businesses, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last week in Boca Raton, Fla. Because Im not sure it’s the same thing.It wont get going in earnest until early 2015, but Foley said as of Saturday and through only two days of the initial website launching that 1,500 people had already given their name, phone number and email address to express interest in buying season tickets.Thats without any advertising beyond Bettman announcing Foley had been given the go-ahead to launch the ticket drive and the ensuuing buzz and publicity from it.dddddddddddd In hockey circles the idea of going to Las Vegas is glamorous, and locally the notion of finally attracting a team in one of North Americas major four sports leagues is enticing.Being the first of those leagues to break into Las Vegas is also intriguing.If the theory is that a market can support a professional sports franchise, by being first you know when theres only so many dollars in a market, youre getting those dollars committed to you as opposed to having to compete with somebody else for those dollars, Daly said.To bring the NHL to Las Vegas, Foley could partner with the Las Vegas-based Maloof family, which previously owned the NBAs Sacramento Kings. Though he lives part-time in California and Whitefish, Mont., and has business ventures in Jacksonville, Fla., Foley and his associates seem to grasp the intricacies of the Las Vegas market.With that in mind, Foley said the upcoming ticket drive is expected to include some seats in half-season and quarter-season shares just to make sure that we hit the demographics properly in Las Vegas. Like True North in Winnipeg did after it was awarded the Atlanta Thrashers, Foley said his group would offer NHL-average ticket prices ranging from around US$40 to $120 with the mid-point being somewhere around $62 to $65.Winnipeg is different on a host of fronts because they were really selling tickets and they already had a real season-ticket base, Daly said.Suites, including so-called bunker ones available along the glass, are expected to sell out extremely quickly, Foley said. The goal of the season-ticket drive is to show theres a base of fans to fill the rest of the seats.We feel like if we can demonstrate the strong local support for a team, that will go a long ways toward convincing the NHL or persuading the NHL that hockeys viable in Las Vegas, Foley said. Our mission is simply that. It doesnt really go beyond that. Were trying to rally the Las Vegas community behind this concept.The arena, a 20,000-seat state-of-the-art facility, is scheduled to open in spring of 2016.Itll be as good as it gets in terms of hockey visibility, Foley said. The arena is being designed around not just concerts and fights and so on. Its being designed around hockey.Thats a big plus, especially considering one of the other front-runners for expansion, Seattle, doesnt have an arena that could house an NHL team. Even Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the New York Islanders are moving next season, has an awkward setup for hockey, including the overhead scoreboard hanging over one blue-line.Quebec City has the sparkling Quebecor Arena set to open this fall, but Bettman has urged Nordiques fans and others not to assume that building is a guarantee of getting an NHL team. It doesnt hurt, but Quebec appears to be behind Las Vegas, at least right now, in the pecking order.Foley isnt apologizing for being at the front of the line.Were just focused on Las Vegas, he said. 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