Media » The Ducks power play continues to slump

MONTREAL -- Sebastien Vettel will be in a daunting spot when he lines up directly behind the all-but unbeatable Mercedes AMG duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton for the start of the Canadian Grand Prix. The defending champion saw his streak of three straight pole positions in Canada come to an end in qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Instead, Vettel will start on the second row when the race begins Sunday in what is forecast to be near-perfect 27C weather. The German posted the third-quickest lap for Red Bull, while Rosberg edged Hamilton for the pole. Vettels time of one minute 15.548 seconds on the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was more than a half a second behind the two Mercedes, who have dominated F1 since the introduction this year of turbo engines. "Im always confident when I step in the car that its good enough to make it, so well have to wait and see," Vettel said. "In terms of fighting with the car, its still not where I want it to be, still not yet behaving the way I prefer. "Its not like last year when I was stepping into a dream car and everything was smooth and perfect. This year, were not tickling the right spots yet." The 26-year-old Vettel won the last four F1 championships for Renault-powered Red Bull, and took the chequered flag at the Canadian Grand Prix for the first time last year. But how times have changed. The Mercedes team has now claimed all seven pole positions to go with victories in all six F1 races this season. And the long straightaways leading to tight turns and chicanes on the Gilles-Villeneuve track seem to fit the Mercedes package to a tee, with its superior engine power and solid braking. "It was very tight between third and sixth, so Im happy I got the last lap right," said Vettel, who finished ahead of a pair of Mercedes-powered Williams cars driven by Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. The second Red Bull piloted by Daniel Ricciardo was sixth. "Its good to start third, right behind the Mercedes. Well see what we can do from there in the race." Rosberg won the day when he put up a best lap of 1:14.874 late in the last of three qualifying sessions and Hamilton fell short by less than a 10th of a second on his final run. "Nico did a better job today," said Hamilton, without a trace of the sullen behaviour he showed after coming second to Rosberg in qualifying two weeks ago in Monaco. There, Hamilton felt he was cheated out of a chance to win pole position when Rosberg pulled off late in qualifying, drawing a yellow caution flag. The two have since talked it over and announced that the animosity brewing since the start of the season was over and that they are friends again. Whether the truce holds will be seen when they start side by side on the front row for the race. Rosberg will have the upper hand if he keeps the lead. It may he tough for Hamilton to overtake on the tight track. "Its not that easy, especially with Nico so fast," said Hamilton. "Overtaking is going to be very difficult -- to overtake the same car as mine, especially when were so close in pace. "Ill do what I can. The thing is to try to get as many points as we can." In Monaco, where it is all-but impossible to overtake, Rosberg ended Hamiltons four-race winning run and took a four-point lead in driver standings. "I know its a track where hes really strong, so Im all the more happy that it worked out," Rosberg said of his teammate. "Having won the last race, it just helps a bit. "Lewis had that winning streak and to bring that to an end was important." Rosberg sees the race going the same way the others have, with the two Mercedes battling one another for the victory and the rest of the grid fighting it out for third spot. But Hamilton said his team cant be cocky, especially on a tricky, slippery track known for mishaps and upsets. "I dont think its just between the two of us," said Hamilton. "In qualifying, Sebastian wasnt as close as perhaps they might be, but their pace was good in the last race and I anticipate that theyll be quite strong. "So we definitely cannot disregard Sebastian or Red Bull. We need to be cautious still, and make sure we keep pushing." Red Bull and Renault were left scrambling with the engine change, while Mercedes came up with the best package of engine and car. The new 1.6-litre engines are decidedly quieter, without the high-pitched whine of past F1 cars, and theyre slower. Qualifying times were more than two seconds slower than last year, when Vettel took the pole in 1:12.425. It is still early in the 19-race season, and there is a small chance someone will find a way to close the gap with Mercedes before it is over. "Theyve been very dominant the first couple of races, but we are working hard," said Vettel. "Were completely motivated and we have a strong belief in ourselves. "I think thats the reason weve been so successful the last couple of years. So, rest assured, we wont give up." Vettel matched his best qualifying result this season, while both Bottas and Massa had their best placings. Massa has started no better than seventh on the grid and his best race finish was sixth. Cars were sliding on the slick surface both in the morning practice session and in qualifying. The first 20-minute qualifying ended with 16 seconds left when Marcus Ericsson crashed his Caterham, bringing out the red flags. Earier, Pastor Maldonados Lotus stopped on the track, ending his qualifying early. Esteban Gutierrez did not take part in qualifying after crashing his Sauber in practice. Fake Penguins Jerseys . -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. Pittsburgh Penguins Store .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/. Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. Stitched Penguins Jerseys . He even addressed his group of relievers Sunday morning. Dustin McGowan made those worries a nonfactor, at least for a day. McGowan pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer as the Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2. Pittsburgh Penguins Pro Shop . The team announced the moves before Sundays game against Houston. Shaw was 1-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 43 games for the Diamondbacks. Bergesen was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Friday.CALGARY -- Mikael Backlund scored twice and added an assist Wednesday night as the Calgary Flames jumped out to a 4-0 first period lead and cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Up 2-0, Backlund set up Cammalleri in the slot for a power-play goal at 11:28. The quick shot past Jonas Hiller made it three goals on five shots and resulted in coach Bruce Boudreau pulling him from the game, replacing him with Frederik Andersen. The change did not change the games momentum, however. Two minutes later, Backlund scored his 15th goal of the season on a wrist shot that slipped past the rookie goaltender. Backlund added his second of the night 1:31 into the second period, this time shorthanded. Firing a wrist shot past Andersen as he broke in alone off the wing, it was the Flames second short-handed goal of the night and league-leading 11th of the season. Backlund has four of them, tying him for top spot with Bostons Brad Marchand and Tampa Bays Tyler Johnson. Mark Giordano, TJ Galiardi, Ladislav Smid and Corban Knight with his first NHL goal also scored for Calgary (26-33-7). The Flames scored more than five goals in a game for the first time this season. Andrew Cogliano with his 20th goal and Nick Bonino scored for Anaheim (43-16-7). Winless in their last four (0-2-2), the Ducks continue a three-game road trip Friday night in Colorado. Anaheim continues to lead the Pacific Division by two points over the San Jose Sharks but the Ducks squander the game in hand that they held. The Flames entered the night tied for the league-lead in one-goal games. The unusual blowoout offensively for the home side was embraced by the crowd announced at 19,829, who gave the team a boisterous standing ovation after the first and second periods and once again when the game ended.dddddddddddd Up 6-2, the crowd got one last treat when Knight, from nearby High River, scored his first NHL goal with 1:57 left in the game. There were signs early that it wasnt going to be Anaheims night. After peppering Flames rookie goalie Joni Ortio with a couple shots in the opening minute only to come away empty, Calgary made its first shot count when Giordanos slapshot hit the shaft of Kyle Palmieris stick and re-directed into the top corner on Hiller at 3:39. Bad luck for Anaheim was followed by some bad play. After Backlund was robbed on a two-on-one short-handed breakaway, the same penalty kill produced a three-on-one shortly after with Galiardi finishing off a neat set-up from Paul Byron at 7:10. Making his fifth start in a row, Ortio had 20 saves to improve to 3-3-0. In relief, Andersen finished with 16 saves. Hiller was tagged with the loss to fall to 26-10-6. Notes: Calgary LW Curtis Glencross (ankle) returned after missing 29 games. He played on a line with Galiardi and Brian McGrattan.. Anaheim D Ben Lovejoy (ill) did not play. Also scratched for the Ducks was LW Matt Beleskey.... It was only the third time this season the Flames have scored five goals in a game... The Ducks power play continues to slump. After going 0-for-2, Anaheim is 2-for-35 in its last 11 games... Calgary scored four goals in the first period for the first time since Feb. 13, 2013. ' ' '