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BROSSARD, Que. - Lars Eller feels the Montreal Canadiens are right about where they hoped to be at the midpoint of their NHL schedule.The Canadiens (26-12-2) are in a battle for top spot in the Eastern Conference with 54 points heading into their 41st game — halfway through the 82-game schedule — on Saturday night against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.They are ahead of a year ago, when they had 50 points at the halfway mark to finish fourth in the conference with 100 points. Then came a surprising run to the conference final before they were stopped in six games by the New York Rangers.The challenge for the rest of the season to be to stay among the lead group in the east, which includes Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, the rising New York Islanders and Detroit. Mentally, its the challenge of going out every night and taking pride in wanting to be right up there with the best and not be satisfied, said Eller. Weve got a lot of young bodies.There are going to be times when were a little bit tired, but its the same for the other teams so I dont want to use that as an excuse. In the long run, its about not being satisfied and challenging yourself to be the best you can be every night during the course of 82 games.Their performance last season raised expectations for the Canadiens. Theyve met them so far, even if the team is widely considered to be still a top player or two away from being a Stanley Cup contender.Theyve had scoring from three lines instead of the two that got most of the goals last season. The defence has so far held up well. And 27-year-old Price is having his best season.I dont think we put too much pressure on ourselves, said Eller, who has scored seven goals while continuing his strong defensive play as the third-line centre. We expect a lot of ourselves.Once we get to the playoffs, its a totally different thing. Well talk about that when we get there. Were just trying to do as well as we can in the regular season.General manager Marc Bergevin gambled in the off-season on moving out several veterans so younger players could take on more leadership.Instead of naming a captain, the club put forward Max Pacioretty and defenceman P.K. Subban among a group of four alternate captains along with veterans Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov, while giving goalie Carey Price similar status without a letter on his jersey.It has worked out well so far.Pacioretty, the team scoring leader with 17 goals and 32 points, Subban and Price are among a core of players in their 20s who will likely form the heart of the team for the next several years, along with Eller, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais and a few others.But extensive changes were made last summer and into this season.Gone from last seasons team are backup goalie Peter Budaj, defencemen Josh Gorges, Douglas Murray and Francis Bouillon and forwards Brian Gionta (the former captain), Daniel Briere, Rene Bourque, Travis Moen, George Parros, Ryan White and late-season pickup Thomas Vanek.Newcomers are rearguards Tom Gilbert and Sergei Gonchar as well as forwards Manny Malhotra, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Jiri Sekac. Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu was recently called up from AHL Hamilton and looks likely to stay. The same may happen with forward Sven Andrighetto. And Dustin Tokarski, who replaced the injured Price in the playoffs, is the new backup.Another step came when coach Michel Therrien finally moved Galchenyuk, used mainly at left wing since he was drafted third overall in 2012, to centre on the top line with Pacioretty and Gallagher. To date, he is adapting well to the raised responsibility. And surprisingly, former top line centre Desharnais is thriving as a winger on the third unit.Were a little younger team than last year, said Therrien. The younger guys are well supported by veterans like Markov, Gonchar and Plekanec. Theyre learning to become leaders, to do good things on the ice. So far, its going pretty well and well continue in that direction.Another improvement has been on faceoffs, where the addition of specialist Malhotra looks to have had a ripple effect. Malhotra has won 61.9 per cent of his draws, while Eller went from 53.2 per cent last season to 57 per cent and Plekanec has gone from 48 per cent to 50.6 per cent. Only Galchenyuk lags at 46.2 per cent.However, Malhotra, who may no longer have 82 games in his system, was a healthy scratch twice in recent games and may be again against Pittsburgh. On Friday, prospect Christian Thomas was recalled from Hamilton. Andrighetto got most of the work at centre on the fourth line with Thomas and Michael Bournival on the wings.Therrien would not confirm that Thomas will play, but said that while he is not specifically looking for more goals, he wants more offensive zone time from the fourth unit.Its a long season, said Therrien. Its a marathon.Whats important to me is that we get better every week. Thats our focus. Its a challenge to make the playoffs. We understand theres lot of good competition and every game is tough. Discount Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Gear .That means, of course, that John Wall beat the Spurs for the first time ever — within weeks of his first wins in head-to-head games against nemeses Chris Paul and Derrick Rose. http://www.cardinalscheap.com/. In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Online . 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. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Outlet . LOUIS -- To stay a step ahead of goaltenders, T.ST. LOUIS -- Francisco Liriano wasnt feeling well. First came a nosebleed, then the Pirates pitcher felt dizzy at the plate before flying out to end the second inning. Liriano was getting hooked up to an IV to deal with flu-like symptoms when the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen stepped up big-time in a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday that snapped a four-game losing streak. Waiting to be taken out in the third inning, the lefty was bent over, hands on his knees. "I just feel dizzy, weak and dizzy," Liriano said after the game. "I dont know. I just feel sick." Gaby Sanchez had two RBIs in a four-run fourth inning and five relievers combined to work seven strong innings, with key outs from rookie Stolmy Pimentel and Jared Hughes against Yadier Molina. "Pimentel pitched as big an inning as weve had pitched for us all year in the third," manager Clint Hurdle said. "You had 40-plus on their feet, a 3-2 count on Molina, on jersey day. "To get the swing and miss and then carry it deeper, a big-time push from Stolmy." Matt Holliday had an RBI double for the Cardinals, who have mustered five runs in their last six games. They got three hits and a run after Liriano left and got beat by an over-shifted defence, too, when Matt Adams lined out to shortstop Jordy Mercer stationed right behind the second-base bag with a man on third in the seventh. "Were just not clicking," said leadoff man Matt Carpenter, who was 0 for 3 with two walks. "Were having good at-bats, guys are competing, but stuff just isnt falling in for us. "Its just the way its going right now." Molina was a bust on his jersey giveaway day, striking out with the bases loaded to end the third against Pimentel (2-0) and popping out with runners on second and third to end the fifth against Hughes. He entered batting .431 during a 15-game hitting streak. Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata each added an RBI off Tyler Lyons (0-2) in the fourth, with the first four runners reaching safely after the lefty opened with three perfect innings.dddddddddddd Tabata totalled three hits and is a career .345 hitter at Busch Stadium. "He continues to find a way to find hits in this ballpark," Hurdle said. "Hes really been a solid offensive ballplayer for us here." The Pirates have scored seven runs while Liriano was in the game in his six starts. They jumped into gear the inning after the lefty was taken out en route to just their third win in their last 10 games. "That one inning obviously changes the whole day," Lyons said. "The one inning, thats a killer." Hurdle said there were no health concerns at the start of the game and noted, "the first two innings were pretty crisp and clean." "It just snowballed on him," the manager added. Pittsburgh also has struggled offensively, totalling four runs during its losing streak, and got shut out 1-0 in the series opener Friday. "We got some key hits that we havent been getting," Gaby Sanchez said. "We were finally able to put something together and get some runs across. It was good to get the lead and stay ahead." Liriano walked Lyons to start the third and was behind 3-0 against leadoff man Matt Carpenter before meeting with a trainer on the mound, and then departing. Tony Sanchez added a two-run single in the ninth off Eric Fornatoro after striking out his first three at-bats. NOTES: Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (4-1, 1.46) is set to work the finale against Edinson Volquez (1-1, 1.93) after tweaking his right knee in his last start. ... Adams made an outstanding diving catch at 1B to rob Pimentel of an opposite-field line drive hit in the fifth. ... Jhonny Peralta hit his 300th career double off Justin Wilson in the seventh. ... 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