nada head coach wanted to tackle ahead of the World Cup of Hockey.By now you dont need to ask why. For whatever reason, it has proved a chore for Team Canadas coaches at the past

OTTAWA, Ontario -- Mike Babcock had it written down back in May.Not in stone, mind you, but certainly the idea of putting Sidney Crosby between Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron was born a long time ago -- the first thing that the Team Canada head coach wanted to tackle ahead of the World Cup of Hockey.By now you dont need to ask why. For whatever reason, it has proved a chore for Team Canadas coaches at the past two Olympics to quickly find wingers who jelled with the best player in the world.Crosby thinks the game at such a high level, does things on the ice that are so above the norm, that finding wingers who can mesh with him has been a difficult mission.Babcocks idea born months ago is looking brilliant so far, that Marchand-Crosby-Bergeron line looking like a thing of beauty through the first week of camp and their one game together Friday night.So content is Babcock with that line that he said after Saturdays 5-2 win over Team USA that part of the reason he sat Crosby for that game is that he already knows what he has in that line and wanted to focus on trying to find other combinations in the second pre-tournament game.Babcock is about forward pairings, such as the Crosby-Bergeron pairing; other pairings that so far have been untouched include?Jonathan Toews with Logan Couture and?Ryan Getzlaf with John Tavares. There have been moving parts around them.The coaching staff is under the gun to figure out all these lines with just one more pre-tournament game left, Wednesday in Pittsburgh against Russia (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).A lot of people overlook the way the coaches do it, veteran winger Rick Nash, outstanding for Canada in both the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, said in a phone conversation with ESPN.com on Sunday. Its a tough job for them to find the pieces that fit, and at least in the tournaments that Ive played in, they always seem to find it sooner or later.The New York Rangers star certainly wishes he were here playing again for his country. He found nice chemistry with Toews in Sochi. Nash also had a front-row seat to Babcocks trying line combo after line combo around Crosby.Hes the best player in the world, and its just a matter of finding the fit, a guy that complements his game and vice versa, Nash said. I dont know, its a different thing, hes so good at finding open ice, and the puck comes to him so easy. Its just finding guys that can sort of just stay out of his way and help his game instead of hurt it.So preoccupied with figuring out Crosbys line was Canada that it is absolutely why Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Chris Kunitz made the Olympic team for Sochi. Problem was, once Kunitz got to the Olympics, the pace and game were too high for him, and he found himself taken off Crosbys line as the tournament went on.As for Marchand, a player who some fans were surprised to see make this team, Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong was confident that if the experiment on the Crosby line didnt work out, the Boston Bruins winger would still have a place on the team where he could have an impact.So far through two pre-tournament games, Marchand has stood out the most for Team Canada, and perhaps thats because he wanted to make a statement early.The opportunity for Marchand in the World Cup is to use the best-on-best event to shed his tag as being just an agitator.I definitely have the agitator name, and it stuck with me for a while, he said Saturday night after the win over Team USA. Which is fine; its what I had to do to get in the league. But nowadays I want to be a player. Being in an event like this can show that theres more to my game than agitating. I try to be an overall player like Bergy, obviously not to his ability, but Im trying. Hes a great role model, a guy Ive looked at for a number of years now.Bergeron had a quick answer a few days ago when asked in his native French what he would tell people who view his Bruins teammate Marchand just as a pest, as an agitator and nothing more.The first thing Id mention is that he scored 37 goals last season, Bergeron said in French. But after that, his talent, the way he retrieves pucks on the forecheck, his backcheck, hes really on the puck. He gets under the skin of other players, thats part of his game, but hes also very talented.That 37-goal season, in Bergerons mind, was a whole other step for Marchand.He earned his way on this team with the way he played last season, Bergeron said. He took a big step forward. Hes improved year to year, but last season he became truly an elite player in my mind.But this whole first-line experiment doesnt work, of course, without the comfort that Team Canada has in reuniting Bergeron with Crosby, a partnership that has its roots back to the 2005 world junior tournament.Although Bergeron didnt start the 2014 Olympics alongside Crosby because I think the coaching staff was a bit worried about his foot speed on the bigger ice, eventually they found each other like two magnets.Hes such a versatile player, he can play with anyone, that guy, Nash said of Bergeron.What makes it so unique to play with Crosby?Hes always the kind of guy thats thinking one step ahead of the play, Bergeron said. His vision is incredible.With Sidney, its about how you position yourself because hes a guy that can make plays that can surprise; like maybe youre not expecting him to come out of the corner with the puck when theres two or three guys on him, but he does it. So part of it is realizing he can do things like that. Jordan 3 For Sale Cheap Real . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Cheap Jordan 3 Free Shipping .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. http://www.cheapairjordan3.com/ . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Cheap Wholesale Jordan 3 Shoes . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Cheap Air Jordan 3 From China . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night.The St. Louis Cardinals continue their reign atop the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings. With the leagues best record and run differential, there isnt any reason to change. Moving back into second spot, the Detroit Tigers climb four spots. Its remarkable how strong Detroits pitching has been, considering that Cy Young winner Justin Verlander has been their third or fourth-best starter. Atlantas pitching has been strong, too, especially now that Kris Medlen, last years second-half ace, has put together a few strong starts. The Braves are up form 10 to seven this week. The Dodgers have moved from 21 to 18 and while their 7-5 record in the last dozen games is only slightly promising, the numbers put up by rookie phenom Yasiel Puig (13 H, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .464 AVG, 1.447 OPS) are part of thhe reason for L.ddddddddddddA. getting bumped up a couple of spots. Among the teams falling down, Baltimore dropped four spots, from eight to 12, not for any grand reason, but being outscored by 10 runs in June is enough to knock them down. A 5-6 record in their last 11 games contributed to the Arizona Diamondbacks falling from seven to 14. Losing six of seven also contributed to the New York Mets falling from 20 to 26. The Toronto Blue Jays are inching up the rankings, climbing a couple spots to 24, sadly matching their highest ranking since their lofty third-place ranking in the preseason. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '