It appears Sidney Crosby wanted to make sure Jonathan Toews was good with him taking the captaincy for Team Canada in Sochi. Stephen Curry Warriors Jersey . According to CSNChicago.com, Detroit Red Wings and Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock said the Pittsburgh Penguins captain wanted the go-ahead from the Chicago Blackhawks captain before accepting Canadas captaincy for the upcoming Olympics. "When we were taking about it, Sidney wanted to make sure it was OK with [Toews], just for the fact he won a couple of Cups,” Babcock said after the Wings morning skate ahead of Wednesday nights game with the Blackhawks. "Hes held in high regard, to say the least, and hes a huge part of the reason why they win as much as they do." Toews, for his part, thought Crosbys gesture was a flattering one. "For Sidney to ask guys for approval, I dont think he needed to do that, but it shows the kind of guy he is," Toews said. Toews went as so far as to suggest that Babcock revealed this discussion just to be polite. "Everybody knows Sidney is the guy," said Toews. "Im just honored to be in the conversation for the captaincy. One way or the other, Im excited to accept a role like that. If its more of a leadership role, Im excited for the challenge." Babcock believes that Toews would have made for a deserving captain, as well. "Hes earned the right to be a captain with Canada: two Cups, Olympic gold," said Babcock. "I dont know what else hes won. It seems more than that. Hes a pro who does it right every day. Hes a 200-footer. To me, hes an impressive, impressive man." Toews and Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber will serve as alternate captains for Canada next month in Sochi. Draymond Green Swingman Jersey . The good news; it took until the end of June to have really poor back to back games. But those pre-World Cup break thrills and spills, with seven goals in two away games feels like much more than two-and-a-half weeks ago. Festus Ezeli Jersey . - Vicente Sanchez and Deshorn Brown scored from penalties two minutes apart in the second half to lead the Colorado Rapids to a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer on Saturday. DENVER -- Patrick Roy was quite calm and even ****ed a few jokes as his team went through a light workout. No signs of stress at all. Of course, the first-year Colorado Avalanche coach has been in a few pressure-packed Game 7 situations as a Hall of Fame goaltender -- 13 to be exact. His players? Not as much experience. A dozen had never been to the post-season before this year. And yet Roys hardly fretting over his teams emotional state heading into a decisive final game Wednesday night against the Minnesota Wild, with the winner moving on to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. On the contrary, Roys reminding his youthful team of one simple thing: Enjoy the moment. "How good is this?" Roy said. "Theyre excited about it and they should be. ... Were playing Game 7 in our building, in front of our fans." In this series, home ice is a pretty big deal. All six games in this tightly contested matchup have been decided during the waning moments, with the home team capturing each one. Wild coach Mike Yeo has a stirring pregame speech all prepared for just the occasion, a few well-chosen words to put into his players ears before they hit the ice and hear the clamour of the crowd. Care to share the highlights? "Then it wouldnt be very inspirational," Yeo joked. Minnesota will try to neutralize the noise with another sizzling start. The Wild have scored the first goal in four of the games. "(Game 7s) are the best and also the worst," Yeo said. "You have so much on the line -- the players laying it all out there, the passion and the energy of the building and the fans. Theres just so much at stake." Avs forward Maxime Talbot stressed "having fun" to rookie Nathan MacKinnon, whos tied with Zach Parise for most points (10) in the NHL playoffs so far. Talbot knows the butterflies will be present for players such as MacKinnon -- and its something to embrace. "Thats why we play the game," said Talbot, who scored twice in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final to lift Pittsburgh to a 2-1 win over Detroit. "Thats the coolest thing about hockey. As much experience as you havve, you have to take these butterflies and turn them into excitement and energy, and thats definitely the feeling I have right now. Stephen Curry Blue Jersey. quot; Roy believes that Game 7 will hinge on, what else, the goalies. Semyon Varlamov won a team-record 41 games in the regular season, breaking the mark held by Roy. The goalie nicknamed "Varly" has faced a barrage of shots in this series, coming up big in several games. "Varlys always the brick out there," Talbot said. "We know hes going to make the big saves." The same can be said of Darcy Kuemper, who has a 1.53 goals- against average since stepping in for Ilya Bryzgalov in Game 2. Although Kuemper cant ever remember playing in a Game 7, he said that Mondays game -- a 5-2 win in which the Wild sealed it and extended the series by scoring two empty-net goals -- was good practice. "Now, both teams are in the situation," Kuemper said. "So theyre going to be a little bit more desperate than they were last game. Weve been through it before, so we should be pretty calm and confident with it." The intensity level is something the Wild are embracing. They know its going to be a hostile environment, but its not as if the Wild have been blown out inside the Pepsi Center. No, the Avalanche have needed to rely on some late magic, pulling Varlamov for an extra skater in Games 1 and 5, get big late goals and to send it into OT, where they found a way to win. "We feel good about the way weve been playing," Parise said. "Hopefully, we can get a win here." Colorado received a boost last game with the return of Matt Duchene from a knee injury. The teams leading scorer in the regular season is still rounding into shape, but with every shift hes getting back his quickness. "This is just another game," Duchene said. "Thats how you have to treat Game 7s." The previous time the Avs were in a Game 7 was 2003, when they were eliminated by the Wild in Roys last game. "Thats not going to have a big effect on our team," Roy said, smiling. "Because there are not that many players from then that are still with us." cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys Ray Ban Outlet Michael Kors Outlet Michael Kors Sale Cheap Michael Kors ' ' '