During the 2013-14 season, Jim Benning studied the Vancouver Canucks from afar. Mavericks Jerseys From China .Months later, the former general manager of the Boston Bruins is unsure what went so drastically wrong for a franchise that only three years prior had represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup final.For whatever reason, Benning told the Associated Press, last year things didnt go as scripted.Vancouver finished fifth in the Pacific Division, 12th in the Western Conference, and did not qualify the playoffs for the first time since 2007-08.The punishment for missing the playoffs was harsh. GM Mike Gillis, coach John Tortorella and his top assistant, Mike Sullivan, were fired. In place of Gillis and Tortorella are Benning and Willie Desjardins, who are tasked with returning Vancouver to the playoffs.With the Canucks set to begin their season Oct. 8 in Calgary, here are some things to watch for:POWER PLAY: The Canucks learned what the New York Rangers had long known: Tortorella and Sullivan arent the remedies for a malfunctioning power play. Vancouver had the second-worst man advantage in the West a€” and fourth-worst in the NHL a€” last season, despite the presence of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler and Jason Garrison.YOUTH MOVEMENT: By his own admission, Benning and the hockey operations department could make difficult verdicts about the construction of the team prior to the start of the season due to the play of prospects Bo Horvat, Nicklas Jensen, Hunter Shinkaruk and Linden Vey in preseason.Theyve given our group energy through the exhibition (season). These guys have scored, so its creating interesting scenarios and its going to make some tough decisions in the end, Benning said. Theyve had strong camps.NEW DESJARDINS: The disconnect between Tortorella and his team was evident on the last day of the Canucks 2013-14 season. The coach wanted the roster gutted, while his charges thought tweaks needed to be made in order for the team to qualify for the playoffs. Vancouver believes there will be more unity in 2014-15 with Tortorella replaced by Desjardins.Willie is the type of personality that the players all want to work hard for him, Benning said. Everywhere hes been, hes got buy in from players. He respects the players. He gets them to compete hard, to work hard every night. I think with his personality and the type of players and team (we have), its a good fit.KEEP ON ROLLING: Tortorella favoured a philosophy in which top players were overloaded with ice time. That will change under Desjardins, who told reporters in September that the Canucks want to play with four lines. To that end, Vancouver added forwards Radim Vrbata Nick Bonino and Derek Dorsett, and defenceman Luca Sbisa, to add depth to Vancouvers skaters.We want to get back to who we are, Benning said. Thats a hard working team when (we) dont have the puck (and) when we do have the puck, have the ability to use speed and skill to create scoring chances and take the puck to the net.CHARACTER CANUCKS: One intangible players, coaches and executives stress as being vital to a teams success is character. Benning is no different, as he praised the substance of the players he brought in this off-season.Theyre all hard-working, character guys, Benning said. We brought in skill players in Radim Vrbata and Nick Bonino. Derek Dorsett (is a) guy who will do whatever needs to be done to help the team. Luca Sbisa is a physical, stay-at-home defenceman. I would say the one quality they all have is that theyre all high character players. Jalen Brunson Jersey . An unconventional night for Texas-El Paso nearly led to the Miners getting a huge upset. Down by 14 with 2:21 left, the Miners went on a frantic closing spurt that fell just short, and UTEP was beaten by No. Ray Spalding Jersey . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. http://www.cheapmavericksjerseyschina.com/ . Therrien would not confirm his lineup for the game, but he did have the same line combinations practicing together for the third straight day which is usually a pretty good indication of what the lineup will be.PHILADELPHIA -- Kyle Kendrick and his offence were in sync for the first time in a while. Ryan Howard had five RBIs and Kendrick pitched sharply into the seventh inning to snap his 10-game losing streak as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 9-0 Monday. A day after Dodgers right-hander Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter against the Phillies, leadoff man Ben Revere started with a single for the first of Philadelphias 12 hits. Kendrick (1-5) allowed six hits over 6 2-3 innings to earn his first win since last Aug. 6, a span of 16 winless starts. His best performance since that skid came against the top offence in the majors. The Rockies are first in runs (262) and batting average (.291), but have been shut out in two straight games. Kendrick had several strong starts during his losing streak but didnt get much run support. He also had some poor outings when the offence produced. "It was tough. It was a grind," Kendrick said. "I tried to keep games close, pitch deep and give us a chance. Some of those wins and losses are out of your control." Jhoulys Chacin (0-4) gave up four runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. He has lost five straight decisions dating to last season. "I felt fine and my pitches were moving pretty good," Chacin said. Mike Adams relieved Kendrick and fanned Troy Tulowitzki with two on to end the seventh in a 4-0 game. Antonio Bastardo and Justin De Fratus finished off the seven-hitter. The key for Kendrick was getting through the first inning scoreless. He didnt allow a run in the first for the first time in five starts after giving up nine total runs in the opening frame in his previous four outings. "I didnt have my best command, but I made pitches when I needed to," Kendrick said. "No runs is all that matters." Chase Utley got the Phillies going in the fourth by reaching on an infield single with two outs. He advanced to secondd on a wild pitch and scored when Howard lined a single to right, snapping Philadelphias 15-inning scoreless streak. Kostas Antetokounmpo Jersey. Howard was 0 for 17 before the hit. "We got good pitches to hit and we jumped out early," Howard said. "Our approach was similar. Sometimes when a guy is on, hes on. You can have a bad day yesterday, but next day is a fresh start." The Phillies hustled out a run in the fifth. Domonic Brown walked and sprinted to third on Carlos Ruizs single to left. Two outs later, Revere dove headfirst into first base to beat out an infield single and give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Kendrick escaped a two-out jam in the sixth, retiring Josh Rutledge on a foul pop to leave runners at second and third. Howard connected in the sixth, sending a drive into the right-centre stands for his eighth homer and a 4-0 lead. Utley hit an RBI double in the seventh and Howard followed with a two-run single. Pinch-hitter John Mayberry Jr. capped the scoring outburst with a two-run shot. "It was a good bounce-back game for us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It was good to see Kendrick was solid against a good lineup." NOTES: Phillies lefty Cliff Lee was not cleared to start throwing and will be re-evaluated in three days. Lee has an elbow strain and was placed on the disabled list last week. "Its definitely better, but its still there," Lee said. "No sense in rushing it." ... Chacin didnt have a wild pitch this season before throwing three in the fourth inning. ... Charlie Culberson made his third straight start for injured Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado. ... Colorado was shut out for the third time this season. ... Matt Beech was the last Phillies pitcher to lose 11 straight decisions. His streak went from Aug. 13, 1996, to Aug. 2, 1997. ... LHP Jorge De La Rosa (5-3) goes for the Rockies against LHP Cole Hamels (1-2, 4.30 ERA) on Tuesday night. 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