ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Patrick Roys fiery personality was on full display in the opening game when the Colorado coach got into a heated exchange with Anaheim, banging his hands again and again on the glass partition until it tilted. That eruption set a tone for the season: The Avalanche werent going to be pushovers. Not with the combustible Hall of Fame goaltender taking over behind the bench. Roy guided this franchise -- the one he led to two Stanley Cup titles as a player -- back into the playoffs by tying a team record with 52 wins. They play Minnesota in a first-round series that begins Thursday. "Patrick is the ultimate winner. He doesnt accept anything less than winning," backup goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. "He did that as a player and hes doing that as a coach. "He does that when he plays golf, he does that when he plays cards, he does everything to win. And that has really translated to our team. He changed the whole mentality in this room, and it shows every time we go out on the ice. We play to win, so its fun to see that." As for that volatile temper, the players insist they rarely see it inside the locker room -- not after a bad period or a tough loss. This is their team, Roy said from the day he was brought on board, and he was there more for support than to scold. He was partnering with them, not ruling them with an iron fist. The breathing room allowed the youthful Avalanche to make some mistakes and learn from them. "They need to have someone who they can come up to and talk," said Roy, whos the fifth coach in NHL history to win 50 or more games in his first season. "Its their system." Roys only previous experience on the bench was serving as coach and general manager of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. So he leaned on his assistants, as well as former teammate turned executive Joe Sakic. Roy has been a little unorthodox in running the team: From pulling his goalie with two, three, sometimes four minutes remaining if theyre down a goal to assembling them at centre ice after a practice and having them all yell "team" at the same time. "If we want to be different than weve been in past years, then we have to do things differently," captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "Its been great to see his point of view on things. You see the team that we are. You see the team that weve become. "At first, you might wonder, Whats going on here? But its certainly working for us." No arguing that. They were 35-0-3 this season when taking a lead into the third period and had the best winning percentage in one-goal games simply because they played loose and with confidence. "Patrick empowers us," Matt Duchene said two weeks ago, before suffering a knee injury that will keep him out for the start of the playoffs. "Sure, he gives us a kick when we need it. But when he knows we need to be treated with a little bit softer (touch) and brought up instead of put down, thats what he does. "Hes very good at sensing the feeling in the room. Hes helped us all achieve what were capable of achieving." Perhaps no one more than Semyon Varlamov, who turned in a career season under the watchful eyes of Roy and goalie coach Francois Allaire, the man responsible for helping turn Roy into one of the best goalies in hockey history. Varlamov won a league-high 41 games this season, breaking the team record held by Roy. "Of course its a big deal to beat Patricks records," Varlamov said. "Hes one of the best goalies in the world." All this from a team that won just 16 games in a lockout-shortened season. "What a season theyve had," Wild forward Jason Pominville said. "Theyve completely turned it around." Really, the only big additions are rookie Nathan MacKinnon and the presence of Roy. "They must have done something right and Patrick must do something right to make that happen," said Pominville, the teams leading scorer. Indeed. The foundation for that transformation was built in Roys very first game in charge when he lost his cool and yelled at Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, pounding on the glass. That was after a 6-1 win, too. Roy was fined $10,000 and reprimanded by the league. Wild coach Mike Yeo jokingly said he plans to "check the partition" between the benches before the playoff series. "This is a team that we have to have a lot of respect for," Yeo said. "Theyre an in-your-face team." Just like their coach. Air Max Baratas Online .C. - Alberta prop Andrew Tiedemann will captain Canada against Uruguay on Friday, the opening day of competition at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship. Zapatillas Air Max Baratas . -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout. http://www.airmaxbaratasonline.es/. This was one of them. Omar Infante homered and tied a career high with six RBIs to carry the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 on Sunday. Air Max Baratas Outlet . In Englands first game since its worst-ever World Cup showing, Roy Hodgsons side rarely looked like scoring against unambitious opposition and the breakthrough in the friendly only came when Raheem Sterling was tripped in the penalty area. Zapatillas Air Max Rebajas . -- Jimmie Johnson has a sixth NASCAR championship in hand and two legends within reach.Leon Draisaitl stands in a unique position. Draisaitl, the Edmonton Oilers No. 3 overall selection who doesnt turn 19 until Oct. 27, is tentatively slotted in the No. 2 position at centre, with only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ahead of him. Fellow 2014 Canadian team picks Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg) and William Nylander (Toronto) will be watched carefully this fall, but none begins so potentially high in the lineup. TSN.ca is monitoring Draisaitls training camp performance closely, with Edmonton bureau chief Ryan Rishaug filing regular reports. Wednesday, Sept. 24 - Edmonton vs. Winnipeg - Draisaitl took a small step backwards Wednesday night with a mediocre performance in Winnipeg. Draisaitl looked sluggish right from the start (perhaps due to an endurance test Tuesday) and was lacking the creativity and poise he displayed in the game against Calgary. Draisaitl finished with one shot on net in 15:45 of ice time and won just five of 17 face offs. He also turned the puck over a number of times, including in the final minute of a one goal game. Five-on-five he generated little in the way of offence. Day 5 Assessment: Continues to work hard, but below average night at both ends of the ice. He was outplayed by fellow youngsters Bogdan Yakimov and Vladimir Tkachev. Tuesday, Sept. 23 - On-ice testing It was the dreaded RHIET (repeat high intensity endurance test) at camp, but Draisaitl looked strong throughout his six sprints up and down the ice. During the practice portion of the day, he skated on a line with Benoit Pouliot and 5-foot-9, 141 pound winger Russian Vladamir Tkachev. All three are expected to play together Wednesday in Winnipeg - the first game for Draisaitl without offensive winger David Perron on his line. Day 4 Assessment Draisaitl made it through the endurance test on two feet with all his equipment on and kept up with his group. Thats a good day for any player. Monday, Sept. 22 - Off-day Sunday, Sept. 21 - Edmonton vs. Calgary Draisaitl made a fantastic play on his first shift, sending a perfect cross ice pass to Marco Roy for the games opening goal. Once again playing on a line with David Perron and Benoit Pouliot, they spent most of the night in the offensive zone, Draisaitl creating several scoring chances with his patience and poise. Draisaitl nearly set up another goal in the second period, forcing a turnover in the offensive corner and finding a defenceman in the high slot who fired wide. Draisaitl saw some time on the penalty kill and the power play, making intelligent plays with the majority of his touches. Defensively he is trying to do the right things, coming back deep into his own zone to help out, and putting himself in good spotts for the breakout.dddddddddddd He saw time on the power play and penalty kill and made intelligent plays with the majority of his touches. He was 8-5 (62 per cent) in the faceoff circle. Day 3 Assessment - An excellent start to his exhibition season. As the pace around him goes up, Draisaitl is having no trouble elevating his game. Saturday, Sept. 20 - Practice It was back to work early for Draisaitl at an 8:30am practice conducted by Dallas Eakins. The entire Oiler braintrust, from Kevin Lowe down to the scouting staff, eyeballed the proceedings from their corner perch. Draisaitl continues to look at ease skating on a line with David Perron and Benoit Pouliot. He handled the puck with confidence during line rushes and made sharp tape-to-tape passes. When practice wrapped up, Drasaitl was directed to the faceoff circle by Eakins for faceoff pointers from AHL veteran centre Will Acton. Day 2 Assessment Overall, a solid day at practice, though Sunday night will be the biggest test yet as he will likely skate in his first NHL exhibition game. Friday, Sept. 19 - First Day On The Ice Draisaitl made the most of an opportunity to play with NHLers David Perron and Benoit Pouliot in a full speed scrimmage. Draisaitls line scored on the games first shift, again in the second half and was by far the best trio throughout the 3-1 win against a team featuring Mark Arcobello and Anton Lander - two players Draisaitl is battling at centre. Draisaitl showed good speed on a backcheck catching winger Nail Yakupov in a foot race and forcing him wide. "He was good, he can distribute the puck, make a play on his forehand and backhand," said head coach Dallas Eakins. "He showed some spurts that he does have some speed. There is room for improvement there, but he shows he can do it and he can certainly move the puck, distribute it and he certainly didnt look out of place on the ice." Day 1 Assessment Overall, it was a good day in which Draisaitl stood out as the best of the centres (No. 1 centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins didnt play). Leon Draisaitl - WHL Statistics Season Team GP G A PTS +/- PIM 2013-14 Prince Albert (WHL) 64 38 67 105 7 24 2012-13 Prince Albert (WHL) 64 21 37 58 22 22 Authentic Nike Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Tennessee Titans Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Washington Redskins Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Denver Broncos Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Green Bay Packers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike New England Patriots Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Oakland Raiders Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Seattle Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Carolina Panthers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Cleveland Browns Jerseys Cheap Cheap Throwback Baseball Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Atlanta Braves Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Baltimore Orioles Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Boston Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Chicago Cubs Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Chicago White Sox Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Cincinnati Reds Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Cleveland Indians Jerseys ' ' '