BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Matt Moulson thought he had a sure goal in the third period during a Buffalo Sabres power play until the long stick of Shea Weber appeared as the last moment to deflect away the puck from his blade.It wasnt a sexy play. But it saved a goal. There were many of these little, smart plays from Shea Weber in his opening performance as a Montreal Canadiens defenseman, the 31-year-old playing a game-high 24:04 while posting a plus-3 and adding an assist, his wrist shot from the blue-line deflected by Brendan Gallagher for the insurance goal in a 4-1 win Thursday night.Weber is rarely going to dominate the SportsCenter highlight package like the player he was traded for often does -- so dont look for the end-to-end rushes of P.K. Subban.No, these two guys have polar opposite games, which is why comparing them this season is going to be in the eye of the beholder.I mean, people are going to talk about it all the time, but thats not for me to listen to or worry about, Weber said after Thursday nights game, when asked yet again about the trade. Im about this team here, the Canadiens. Weve got a great group, and Im looking forward to being part of it.Many Habs fans were beside themselves when Habs general manager?Marc Bergevin sent away the popular Subban last June to the Nashville Predators, and many in the media world who questioned the deal, too.But its uncanny how its nearly impossible to find a GM or a coach around the league who can say anything bad about it from Montreals perspective.It is a fair trade for both sides, a Western Conference GM said via text message Thursday night. Top right-shot defense. Montreal gets some cap relief in order to sign [Carey] Price at some point. Nashville gets a younger player but carries cap recapture liability if he retires. Fair trade.Added a Western Conference coach: Interesting trade. I believe this was a trade made more about culture and chemistry than it was about who has more talent. Short-term team culture win for Montreal, long-term talent win for Nashville.Calling a deal a win for both teams is often a cop-out, but what if this is potentially what this trade turns out to be? Subban should be a wonderful fit on a Predators team coached by Peter Laviolette, who preaches the type of up-tempo game that should benefit his skills.The Habs, meanwhile, clearly had leadership/character issues last year as their season went into the abyss without Price in net. Theyve addressed that and then some in Weber.Im sure theyre both going to be very good players for their teams, Gallagher said Thursday night. With us, it was a good move in the sense we needed what Sheas going to bring to our locker room, the presence that he has. Its a good addition to our team. P.K.s going to go there and be P.K. Im sure hes going to have success there as well. Its just a matter of two clubs making a move to benefit their team. Theres trades that can be a win for both sides. For us, we definitely feel like were happy with the trade. We hope Nashville is too.As one member of the Habs organization said, just the way Weber already had handled himself day-to-day, business-like, has had an impact on the team. And there he was last Sunday inviting the team over to his place in Montreal for a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner to watch the Toronto Blue Jays playoff game.I thought Shea, right from Day 1, has come in, the presence that he brought to our locker room has helped us in so many areas, off the ice, on the ice, everywhere, said Gallagher. In our offensive zone, defensive zone. Hes so effective. Hes so controlled, the way he handles the game. He was physical tonight, got his shot through, being a factor that way. Were very excited to have him, and its certainly nice to have him on your team and not have to play against him.As he stood there for the anthems Thursday night, I wondered if he was thinking for a moment about his mother, who past away in August 2011 of brain cancer but who had a huge impact on his life. Tracy Weber would have surely been proud of her son wearing the bleu, blanc et rouge for the first time.I always think about her, Weber said. Shes always going to be part of my life. She raised me to be who I am.The stoic Weber isnt one for too many words. He lets his actions do the talking. His personality and character are going to be felt in the Habs dressing room for years to come.One suspects there might be a Norris Trophy or two in Subbans future with the Predators, which will only serve to further fuel the debate of this trade.But there is no looking back for the Habs, who got the kind of leader they desperately wanted.
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Justin Faulk Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler will qualify for the first U.S. mens Olympic golf team in 112 years when the final rankings are released July 11.According to officials at the Official World Golf Ranking, which the International Golf Federation uses to fill out the Olympic field, no American competing in this weeks Scottish Open can surpass Fowler for the fourth and final spot on the U.S. roster.The PGA Tours Greenbrier Classic was slated to be played July 7-10 and would have been the final American-based qualifying event, but that tournament was canceled due to deadly flooding in West Virginia.On the womens side for Team USA, Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis are qualified for the Olympics if the rankings hold to form a week from now. However, this weeks U.S. Womens Open could cause volatility.American Gerina Piller, No. 16 in the world rankings released Monday, would have to move up at least one spot to punch her ticket to Rio. Thats because both the womens and mens 60-player fields are filled out by two golfers per country from the world rankings, unless a nation has four or more players inside the top 15. In that case, only the top four can make their national squad.Of the four American men, only Watson has said unequivocally that he will be in Rio for the Olympics. On Satturday afternoon during the television broadcast of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Johnson said that, as of that moment, he is planning on being in Rio.dddddddddddd.Spieth and Fowler are still assessing the situation surrounding security issues and the well-publicized Zika virus. The mosquito-borne disease, which has been linked to severe birth defects, was the reason cited Sunday night by Japans Hideki Matsuyama?when he became?the latest player to withdraw his name from Olympic consideration.In all, 11 men so far are skipping the Olympics, including world No. 1 Jason Day (Australia) and No. 4 Rory McIlroy (Ireland) along with major champions Adam Scott (Australia), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Graeme McDowell (Ireland) and Vijay Singh (Fiji). In addition, Shane Lowry (Ireland), Marc Leishman (Australia) and Branden Grace (South Africa) have said they wont be Rio-bound in August.Lee-Anne Pace, who was the highest-ranked South African at 37th in the world, is the only woman who has said she wont compete in Rio.If any of the qualified American men were to withdraw, next on the list are Patrick Reed (ranked 13th) and Matt Kuchar (15th). ' ' '
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