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TORONTO – Marcus Stroman grinned at the recounting of that aha moment in his last start. It was the fifth inning and his Blue Jays were leading Texas 2-0. Stroman had struck out Rougned Odor and induced a groundout from Robinson Chirinos. Hed gone to a full count with on-base machine Shin-Soo Choo. The 3-2 pitch was a sinking fastball. The opposing reactions told the story. Stroman turned, struck a pose with a glare and retreated to the dugout. Choo looked flummoxed at the plate, staring back at the umpire with confusion. This reporter, from an angled vantage point, wondered if Choo disagreed with the call. He didnt. The pitch had cut the heart of the plate. He was confused. "Just something Ive been working on," said Stroman of the sinker. It must be nice. When Stroman throws fastballs, theyre predominantly four-seamers. He can "spin" the ball with the best of them, as baseball people say in reference to his devastating array of curveballs and sliders. Stromans changeup continues to develop. By the time hes through, Stroman could be a five-pitch guy. More importantly, in the immediate, is Stromans barreling onto the scene not just as a piece of the starting rotation but as a frontline guy. The sample size is small but take a look at four of Stromans last five starts, excusing the hiccup he had on a Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim earlier this month. On June 23 at home against the Yankees: Eight innings, one earned run on three hits, a walk and seven strikeouts. This start was made more impressive by the fact the Yankees were the first team to see Stroman for a second time and the first had been less than a week earlier when he struggled in the Bronx. On June 28 at home against the White Sox: Six and two-thirds innings, two earned runs on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Stroman wasnt physically on the mound when a run against crossed. He left the game with a 2-0 lead, two on and two outs in the seventh. Dustin McGowan promptly entered and gave up a three-run home run to Dayan Viciedo, saddling Stroman with a no-decision in a game the Jays would eventually lose 4-3. On July 4 on the road in Oakland: Seven innings of scoreless ball on three hits, three walks and seven strikeouts. The offence didnt score any runs that day and the Jays eventually lost, 1-0. July 19 at home against the Rangers: Seven innings of scoreless ball, four hits allowed and five strikeouts. Do the math and in those four starts, with Stroman still physically in the game, hes allowed one run in 28 2/3 innings. Stroman, whose self confidence has been repeatedly discussed, is willing to admit to some surprise at how well things have gone since he returned to the big leagues and entered the rotation. "Yeah, absolutely," said Stroman. "Its definitely been a ride. Its been extremely fun. Its definitely gone a lot better, because its my first year and I feel really settled in and I feel like I belong." Dont mistake the confidence for arrogance. The 23-year-old knows he has plenty to learn and hes willing to listen. Two veteran teammates in particular have taken Stroman under their wings. One is a pitcher, Mark Buehrle. The other is a hitter, Jose Bautista. Having a guy with 15 straight seasons of 10 or more wins and another with two-time 50-plus home run credentials in your corner doesnt hurt. "Anything from mentality, anything from preparation to, hey, what would you throw in this count, to this hitter or what are you trying to do in this certain situation with guys on base? Just picking their minds like that and theyre more than happy to help out," said Stroman. "Bautista being awesome this year; hell come up to me out of nowhere, even during a game, and say, hey, when Im hitting this is what Im looking for, this is what I see, and this is how Im adjusting in-game and this is how you should attack hitters." Bautista sidled up to Stroman after his commanding performance against the Rangers. The superstar offered some praise. He also suggested areas in which Stroman could improve. Dont leave the kid satisfied. Bautista repeatedly reminds Stroman to be quick with his pace. Fielders appreciate a pitcher who gets the ball back from the catcher and immediately toes the rubber. Stroman has gone from potential trade bait to an irreplaceable member of the staff. Hes making general manager Alex Anthopoulos look good for being hesitant to part with the Duke alumnus. "To be honest, obviously its just rumours and you dont know whats true, whats not," said Stroman. "It wasnt unsettling at all. I was just focused on getting here and dominating and pitching like I know I could. Trades are something thats a part of the game and its not something that can rattle you if you over-think it." Dont worry about Stroman wilting under the brighter lights of important September baseball. If the Blue Jays hang in the division and wild card races, hell be looking forward to getting the ball every fifth day. "Zero intimidation factor. Im pretty confident," said Stroman. "Thats where I want to be. The bigger the moment, I feel like the bigger I get up for the games and the better I play." Wholesake Fake Air Jordan 1 .Ryan Anderson had 14 points for the Pelicans, who trailed 78-63 after three periods before trimming the deficit to 86-83. Jrue Holiday had 13 points and Eric Gordon added 12 for New Orleans.Mike Scott and Jeff Teague each had 11 points for Atlanta. Fake Shoes From China .5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2. https://www.fakeshoes.net/. Never caused problems. Never raised a ruckus. Never got sick or hurt while frolicking in the fields of Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky. Fake Nike Shoes . "Back in 2011, when they announced that the game was coming here, we knew that it was going to be pretty important that we had a good year and hopefully could get into it, let alone win it, so I felt some pressure obviously within for sure," Taman said Monday, less than 24 hours after the Riders won the championship. Replica Shoes . -- For one night, Nick Calathes provided a big reason to believe the Memphis Grizzlies might be able to withstand the loss of Mike Conley on a short-term basis.BOSTON -- Carey Price was all-world in goal and P.K. Subban delivered a double-overtime dagger with a blast from the blue line as the Montreal Canadiens held off the hard-charging Boston Bruins for a wild 4-3 win in the opening game of their second-round playoff series. No wallflower, Subban savoured the spotlight Thursday after scoring two power-play goals and leading all skaters with 33 minutes 49 seconds of ice time. But the slick-skating defenceman with the big shot was also keeping things in perspective. Is there a better feeling than scoring a double-overtime winner, he was asked? "Im sure theres a better feeling," the 24-year-old said after pausing to reflect. "Winning the Cup. "Thats one win for us (tonight) but were going to need a lot more to have the Holy Grail feeling." Job 1 in Game 2 on Saturday is helping Price out more. The Canadiens goalie with ice in his veins faced 51 shots, compared to 33 for Tuukka Rask at the other end. "We cant be giving up 50-plus shots," said Subban. Price deserved the victory after staving off the Bruins comeback the way he did, he added. "When a guys standing on his head like that, youve got to find a way to win. It doesnt matter who it is." Subbans second power-play goal of the game came from the point through traffic at four minutes 17 seconds, silencing the sellout TD Garden crowd of 17,565, some of whom responded by tossing garbage on the ice. Matt Bartkowski was in the box for holding, as he was for Subbans first score. Rene Bourque and Francis Bouillon also scored for Montreal, which outshot Boston 4-1 in the final OT period. Reilly Smith, Torey Krug and Johnny Boychuk had Bostons goals. A smiling Subban, whose ice time can be regulated by coach Michel Therrien depending on performance, said there was a simple reason for his success. "I think that Im always playing my best when I play a lot," he said somewhat mischievously. Subban also loves a big stage, and he delivered Thursday. "A really solid game for us," Therrien said of Subban. Down 2-0 after 40 minutes, Boston came on strong in the third to force overtime. Boston threw everything it had at Price, who kept the Canadiens in it while extending the roller-coaster game. Price combined brilliance with a little luck in holding back the rampant Bruins. "It was a battle," Price said. "It was exactly what we were expecting. We just gutted it out. It was a hard-fought game. It could have gone either way." Boston nearly won it in the first overtime when a puck leaked through Prices pads but somehow deflected off the post through the crease. A pad save by Price saved the day later in the period and the sprawling Montreal goalie robbed David Krejci on a backhand from in close minutes later. Rask stopped Lars Eller at the other end to extend the game. Then Habs winger Brendan Gallagher cleared the puck out of the crease to keep the Bruins out. Boston outshot Montreal 14-6 in the first overtime period for a 50-29 overall edge. The final count was 51-33. "I made some saves but I couldnt make the game-savers as you say," said Rask, whose career mark against Montreal in Boston fell to 0-9. Bruins coach Claude Julien was calm in the face of the loss. "This is just Game 1 here. You dont get frustrated after just one game," said Julien, who had no complaints with the two overtime penalties called against his team. "I didnt mind the way our team played tonight. We had lots of chances. Sure we fell behind 2-0 but we showed some resiliency and came back. I thought we carried the play for the most part." "The only thing is we have to find a way to bury those great opportunities that we had," he added. "Thats probably where there are some regrets." The second overtime opened with Bostons Daniel Paille in the box for tripping but the Habs failed to take advantage. Rask had to be sharp soon after though to glove a Tomas Plekanec shot from the slot. It had looked like Bouillons knuckleball goal at 12:09 of the third would be enough to help the shell-shocked Canadiens stave off the Boston comeback as Montreal went ahead 3-2. But the Bruins continued to throw everything at the Habs and Boychuks slapshot from the point with 1:58 remaining continued Bostons tsunami-like late rally. Smith and Krug had scored early third-period goals to pull Boston even at 2-2 before Bouillons shot from the top of the faceoff circle, on a rare Montreal attack in the period, handcuffed Rask. It was just the third career playoff goal for the 38-year-oldd Bouillon.dddddddddddd. Boston outshot Montreal 14-6 in the third and 36-23 over three periods. Subban and Bourque scored in the first and second periods for Montreal, which made the most of its offensive opportunities while riding the broad shoulders of Price against a Boston team that spent much of the night on attack without much to show for it. Price made a string of key saves, including some keys stops late in the game -- a few of which he didnt know too much about. It was a nail-biting finale, however, as Boston turned the screws on the Canadiens. Smith finally beat Price on Bostons 24th shot, firing a shot from near the boards through the legs of a Habs defenceman and through two players tangled up in front of the Montreal goal at 2:44 of the third period. Subban went to the box for interference 34 seconds later but the Canadiens survived. Only briefly, however. A trailing Krug, on a nice setup from Milan Lucic as his linemates crashed the goal, beat Price with a slapshot at 6:30 on Bostons 25th shot. Montreal was living dangerously as Bruins circled Prices goal like sharks. Lucic missed a near open goal midway through the third only to see Bouillon score at the other end as Montreal crashed the next and the puck found its way back to the defenceman. Both teams were well rested coming in. The Canadiens were off for eight days, having completed a sweep of the Tampa Bay Lighting on April 22. The Bruins last game was April 26 when they dispatched the Detroit Red Wings in five games. Therrien said his team looked rusty from the layoff . But he took solace in the success of his power play, as well as the play of Price and Subban. Montreal holds a 24-9 edge overall in playoff series between the two but Boston has won six of the last nine. Boston.com celebrated the history by publishing a gallery of "30 pictures of Bruins and Canadiens beating the hell out of each other." The game, the opening salvo of the NHLs second round of the playoffs, started at a high pace with few stoppages and the Bruins pressing after taking the ice to a sea of yellow rally towels and trademark over-the-top anthem renditions from Rene Rancourt. Boston pest Brad Marchand, who skipped the morning skate, was back in action and looking to annoy. But Price was up for all-comers, stopping Gregory Campbell in close and making a good glove save on Smith midway as the Bruins came from all angles. The much maligned Montreal power play connected at 11:23 of the first period with Bartkowski off for tripping. Marchand and Patrice Bergeron did their job, majestically killing off the first half of the penalty but the Habs took advantage when the two went off. Subban sent in a wrist shot through traffic for a Montreal lead that went against the run of play -- and came seconds after a pair of in-close saves from Rask It was Subbans fourth game with a point but his first goal since March 23. And it shut up the Boston fans who had been booing him from the puck drop. Montreal was 19th over the season on the power play with a 17.2 per cent success rate, compared to third for Boston (21.7 per cent). The Canadiens went 0 for 23 over the final eight games of the season with the man advantage and scored on only two of 13 chances against Tampa. Krug, trying to play cat and mouse with Price later in the period, hung onto the puck in the slot after a nifty tic-tac-toe passing play in the hope that the Habs goalie would make a move. But the sphinx-like Price waited him out and made the save. Subban led all skaters with nine minutes three seconds of ice time and three hits in the first period, which saw Boston outshoot Montreal 13-10. The Bruins continued to attack early in the second but Montreal doubled its lead on an opportunistic counter-attack after a puck bounced off Krugs foot to Bourque at centre ice. Bourque headed towards goal on a three-on-one and ripped a wrist shot through Rask at 3:38 for his fourth of the post-season. Marchand played as if he had a chip the size of a grand piano on his shoulder, whacking Habs with his stick or offering a glove face-wash. But there was also a sandpaper side to the visitors who looked to take a piece out of towering Bruins captain Zdeno Chara at every opportunity. At times they bounced right off the big man but Chara had a target on his back. Boston pressure resulted in a holding penalty to Josh Gorges with 5:44 remaining in the second. Jarome Iginla had two glorious chances from in close but one was stopped by an amazing Price pad save and the other went wide. Then defenceman Dougie Hamilton rang a shot off the post and Carl Soderberg was denied. ' ' '