Hamilton was last in the league with 65 allowed, s

WINNIPEG - A few rare smiles crossed Dustin Byfuglien’s face as reporters crowded around him after practice Tuesday.The Winnipeg Jets defenceman is enjoying a season thats brought him accolades from the NHL and praise from his teammates and coach for being a special player.The NHL’s first star of the week after collecting six points in four games, Byfuglien will take part in the league’s all-star game in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend.The recognition is coming during a season he says has him feeling more confident and settled in his personal and professional life.Byfuglien was married last summer to long-time girlfriend Emily Hendry, and in early December head coach Paul Maurice moved him from forward to his preferred position on defence after injuries felled a number of blue-liners.I think making her my wife finally has helped out and made things good, he said with a smile. I think just all around. Just going back to defence, I just like getting out of my bed and just going to work. It’s something that I enjoy and just kept going with it.The Jets (25-14-8) are on a four-game win streak as they get set to host Columbus (20-21-3) on Wednesday for their last game before the all-star break. They hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, five points ahead of Calgary.The 29-year-old Byfuglien said there’s absolutely no doubt he’s playing better defence than in the past.Former Jets head coach Claude Noel had moved Byfuglien to forward in early January 2014. When Noel was fired a few days later and replaced by Maurice, the new coach kept him in that spot.Byfuglien noted the Jets have been playing different systems with Maurice and that’s had an impact on everyone.As a team we’ve changed our game so much, he said. The way we play, and the way we played back then, it’s way different. We feed off each other and you can make plays.And the six-foot-five, 260-pound Byfuglien has been making plays and putting up points.In 47 games, he has 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points. But 20 of those points have come in the 21 games he’s played defence since Dec. 5.He’s unlike anyone, Jets forward Blake Wheeler said of Byfuglien. He’s special in a lot of ways.That includes Byfuglien’s physical presence, but also his instincts on the ice and the way he reads plays and intercepts pucks, Wheeler explained.He’s been dominant since he’s been back on (defence) especially, and he’s been a huge reason for our success.Byfuglien hasn’t really changed this season, but he may be feeling better about the way his game is viewed, Wheeler said.I think he’s just comfortable now and I think he feels appreciated, he said. I think he felt under-appreciated before, you know, with a lot of the things he does and the things he tries to do.It can be frustrating as a player to come to work everyday and, kind of, it’s almost like a puppy. You hit him on the head and he keeps coming back for love, and if you don’t get it, it can sometimes wear on you a little bit.I think this year he feels appreciated, he feels like what he does is impactful on what we’re trying to do as a team.Byfuglien said he’s been following what Maurice has told him to do since he switched back to defence.Little things. Doing what I do and not get out of the game plan, Byfuglien said. Just stick with it and everything will just come.The player fans love to call Big Buff has also turned up his physical game.Rookie defenceman Ben Chiarot has been paired with Byfuglien and said the veteran is helping him make the transition. His friends and family ask him what Byfuglien is like and he tells them he’s a fun guy who likes to joke around on and off the ice.He also enjoys watching Byfuglien’s physical game.He’s so strong and so much bigger than everyone else, he just manhandles guys out there, Chiarot said. It’s like he’s playing with kids sometimes, so that’s fun to watch and it’s been impressive to see.Maurice said it might not be fair to say Byfuglien is exceeding his expectations on the blue-line.There’s never been a doubt that he’s a special player, he said. He can really do whatever he sets his mind to do.What the future holds for Byfuglien really depends on how having all the defencemen healthy will affect the minutes played, he said. The Blue Jackets contest may feature the return of defenceman Jacob Trouba, who’s missed 16 games with an upper-body injury. Trouba practised Tuesday and is awaiting medical clearance. He’s the last of four key defencemen to return after the rash of injuries.I’m in no hurry to get him out of there by any means, Maurice said. He’s a defenceman right now and he’s one of the best in the league right now so there’s no need to change that.Note: The Jets and CFLs Blue Bombers announced Tuesday that they were unable to finalize a date to host the Heritage Classic outdoor game at Investors Group Field next season and are very hopeful that a date can be secured early in the 2016-17 season. Fake Diamondbacks Jerseys . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Wholesale Diamondbacks Jerseys . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/ . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. Diamondbacks Jerseys 2020 . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too. Arizona Diamondbacks Gear . Then again, he really was at his home away from home. "It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night," Shields said after pitching Kansas City past the San Diego Padres 8-0 Wednesday.A couple of teams coming off disappointing efforts in their respective season openers get together tonight as the Montreal Alouettes entertain the B.C. Lions. Catch the game as the first half of a doubleheader on TSN and TSN GO at 7pm et/4pm pt, with radio coverage available on TSN 690 in Montreal and TEAM 1040 in Vancouver, followed by the Edmonton Eskimos hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 10pm et/7pm pt. The Als figured to have some struggles early on with the change in quarterback, but no one could have foreseen their awful effort against Calgary in the opener. Troy Smith did little with his opportunity to make Montreal fans forget all about Anthony Calvillo. In fact, it would not be surprising if Calvillo was besieged by requests to reconsider his retirement after the lackluster performance by the new starting quarterback for the Als in their 29-8 setback at Calgary last weekend. Smith was largely ineffective as he completed just 18-of-41 passes for 154 yards, was sacked four times and tossed an interception. Many of his throws sailed over the heads of receivers, and at no time did Smith make an effort to show off his running ability, perhaps the latter was in an effort to keep him from getting injured in the very first game of the season. Running back Brandon Whitaker was credited with 59 yards on 12 carries, while Steven Lumbala scored a one-yard touchdown on his only carry of the contest, one that came at the end of the meeting following a defensive penalty. The debut of former NFL superstar receiver Chad Johnson was uneventful as he caught just two passes for 20 yards, but he wasnt the only Montreal player guilty of having little influence on the outcome. As a group, the Alouettes generated a mere 175 yards of offense and while they were far from an offensive juggernaut a season ago, they did manage to put up 322.5 ypg. Charged with 12 penalties, for a loss of 120 yards, didnt help matters for the Als, but that was just one aspect of the game that needs to be cleaned up moving forward. Defensively, Montreal surrendered 425 yards and did little to capitalize on the fact that Calgary was hit with a dozen penalties for 129 yards. While the Alouettes were completely blown out of the water, British Columbias meeting against visiting Edmonton immediately afterward on Saturday evening started off well enough, before spiraling out of control, en route to a 27-20 defeat. Kevin Glenn tossed a couple of first-quarter touchdowns for the Lions in that clash, but after that he was barely heard from as the club registered just two field goals by Paul McCallum the rest of the way. BC ran only 65 plays partly because Glenn was picked off four times and suffered four sacks as he completed 18-of-28 passes. The pressure on the signal-caller was never ending, as his four picks were more than half of his entire 2013 total of just seven. Andrew Harris, who ran for 37 yards on 11 attempts, also caught six balls for 102 yards in an effort to keep the Lions in the mix against Edmonton. Then again, Harris did fumble on the final offensive play of the game. On a more positive note, the Lions did manage to limit the Eskimos to less than 300 yards of offense, but even that went by the wayside in the loss. The squads split their two regular-season matchups from last year as the home team came up big. First, the Als slipped by BC during Week 9 action by a score of 39-38, as Sean Whyte knocked through the game-winning field goal in the waning moments in order to offset five field goals by his counterpart, McCallum. Three weeks later, British Columbia returned the favor with a resounding 36-14 decision, as Travis Lulay threw one TD and ran for another in order to offset a trio of interceptions. As far as the series record is concerned, BC is ahead by a count of 35-32-1 when taking into consideration only regular-season meetings dating back to 1961. The Lions have won two of the last three encounters, including a 36-14 decision at home back in September of 2013. These teams will meet once more during thhe regular season a little over two weeks from now in Vancouver.dddddddddddd Watch the Eskimos take on the Tiger-Cats in the second half of a doubleheader on TSN at 10pm et/7pm et. Edmonton, AB - After winning a total of just four times all of last season, the Edmonton Eskimos shoot for half that number in just the second week of the 2014 campaign as they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night. Edmonton, which won just once through the first 10 games of 2013, got off on the right foot this time around thanks to a convincing 27-20 victory versus British Columbia at BC Place last weekend. Mike Reilly threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns for the Eskimos and new head coach Chris Jones. The quarterback converted 22-of-35 pass attempts and was intercepted once. Receiver Adarius Bowman finished with nine catches for 105 yards, one of his best performances in years. Calvin McCarty and Fred Stamps also registered majors in the outing. Edmonton scored points in every quarter, yet the squad generated a mere 295 yards of total offense on 84 snaps, partly due to the fact that the Eskimos had to deal with 13 penalties for a loss of 93 yards on the evening. Defensively, Edmonton held the Lions to just 283 yards on 65 plays, all without the services of J.C. Sherritt who remained on the injured list. The linebacker, who missed several games last season, set the CFL single-season record for tackles two years ago with 130. Sherritt should be back on the active roster this week, but that does not guarantee that he will see game action. While the Esks were setting in motion the start of what will hopefully be a successful season, Hamilton was being beaten up by Saskatchewan in a rematch of last years Grey Cup. In November of last year, the Roughriders dominated the Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium by a score of 45-23, and Sunday night saw a similar performance from both sides as Hamilton took it on the chin once more in a 31-10 rain-soaked final. In 2013, the Cats had the luxury of riding the arm of Henry Burris, the leagues top passer with close to 5,000 yards, but he has since been moved a couple of times and now plays for the newest team to the league, the Ottawa RedBlacks. Now they are relying on free agent Zach Collaros to provide some stability at the position, something that was not found in the opener. Granted, the poor weather conditions may have had something to do with the lackluster play of Collaros, as he completed 19-of-33 passes for 159 yards and a score, but considering the protection he was given along the offensive line, you really cant put all the blame on him. Although, being sacked a mystifying 10 times does indicate that perhaps Collaros was holding onto the ball a bit too long. Unfortunately, it appears the sack issue may be a continuing trend from last season when Hamilton was last in the league with 65 allowed, second-most on that list was Edmonton with 60. Producing only 201 yards of total offense in the opener, there were times when the Tiger-Cats could not get out of their own way. The squad fumbled the ball four times, losing possession twice, and was flagged for an incredible 17 penalties for a loss of 148 yards. Sam Giguere stepped up and posted a game-high six receptions (a career high) for 46 yards, while Luke Tasker reeled in a four-yard scoring pass for the program midway through the final period. One bright spot for the Hamilton defense was rookie tackle Bryan Hall who made three tackles, registered one sack and forced a fumble during the setback. Dating back to 1961 and taking into consideration only regular-season meetings between these two clubs, Edmonton is ahead by a count of 54-30-1, winning two of the last three and four of the last six matchups overall. However, Hamilton is the one that came out on top in the most recent encounter last August, when kicker Grant Shaw delivered a 45-yard single as time expired in a 30-29 road triumph. The teams are also set to meet in Hamilton during Week 13 play this season. ' ' '