MONTREAL -- Alexander Radulov was beaming on Thursday night.He was showing his 11-month-old son around the Canadiens digs at the Bell Centre. The expression on Radulovs face as he carried his baby son around in his right arm could have lit up the entire arena.These are good times indeed for the once-banished Nashville Predators winger. Ra-du, Ra-du, the crowd had chanted once again during a Habs power play in Montreals 3-1 win over the?Tampa Bay Lightning.Its been good [here] so far for me and my family, Radulov, 30, said on Friday. Its nice to hear that reaction from the fans. Its big for me obviously, but I have to work hard and keep going. Every time I step on the ice, I have to do something to help the team.Just eight games into the NHL season, it appears that Alexei Kovalev, version 2.0, has surfaced here in La Belle Province. The passionate Montreal fans have embraced the latest version of the misunderstood, enigmatic Russian winger with oodles of talent.Kovalev found new life in his NHL career when he came here years ago. The fans absolutely loved him. This might be happening all over again with Radulov, who is winning over the folks in these parts not just with his offensive flair, but just as much for his dogged determination away from the puck.You learn from things you go through, said Radulov. Its not all about just scoring goals or getting assists. Hockey is about playing both ways. To be a good player, defense, neutral zone, you have to block shots, take a check, whatever helps at that time in a game. The goals and assists will be there if you work hard and do the right job.?And the fans have noticed. People here see if youre working hard, they will respect that,?said Radulov.One person who would have easily predicted Radulovs early-season success in his return to the NHL after four years back in Russia is his former junior coach in Quebec City.I love Alexander Radulov as a person, said Hall of Famer Patrick Roy?in French via email Thursday. Hes a dominant player and dedicated and Im not surprised at all to see his success so far this season.The Habs struck out when they took a flyer on a Russian project named Alexander Semin a year ago. Montreal sent Semin packing rather quickly last December.The Canadiens are banking on a different player his time around. Canadiens general manager?Marc Bergevin talked with a lot of people before signing Radulov to a one-year, $5.75-million deal on July 1.Our guys in Europe really liked his compete level. His skating level was high off the charts, Bergevin said before Thursdays win. For me, personally, that part is very important, the compete level. I think skill is important, but if you have skill and you dont compete, those guys come and go. Theres always a risk, especially for a guy whos been gone (from the NHL) for a while, so the term of the contract was very important.On a day in which some teams once again had to overpay for the top free agents -- as veteran players landed five-, six- and seven-year deals all over the place last July 1 -- the Habs got an impact player on a one-year deal. In todays cap world, thats found gold.As long as he delivers, of course.I think the fact he played in Quebec City helped us sell him on the passion of our fans in Montreal. So far its worked out well, said Bergevin.Radulov said his history with the Quebec Remparts was what he pointed to when Bergevin first approached him about playing in Montreal.The first thing in the meeting with Marc, he was asking if I could handle the pressure here in Montreal, said Radulov. I said, Yeah, I played before in Quebec, I know the French-Canadian people, I had success there. I get that feeling that Montreal is a great place to play hockey, great fans, great organization, Original Six team.Its all about winning here, Radulov continued. Thats why I chose Montreal. I hate losing, too. I want to win. We have a good group of guys with a chance to win.Among that group of guys is an old Predators buddy in Shea Weber. And yes, Bergevin made sure to tap into Webers personal knowledge of Radulov before taking the plunge.Oh yeah, I talked to Shea. He said, Berg, I would (sign him) if you can, said the Habs GM. He said, We grew up together. I think it could work with him. Yeah he put his stamp on it, he did.The Predators and the Habs have some interesting connections this season, dont they? There was so much debate about the Weber-for-P.K. Subban blockbuster. And then you have Bergevin scooping up a player whom Nashville GM David Poile drafted, developed and then brought back a second time from Russia for the 2012 playoffs, an experiment that famously ended with Radulov missing curfew and the Predators self-imploding against the Coyotes in part because of that distraction.When we drafted him, we were looking for a high-end, offensive, talented player, Poile said in a phone conversation earlier this week. There are sometimes some risk with every player when they have that type of skill level. We were really excited when we drafted him, really excited when we brought him over here.But where it breaks off for me is that there was a whole series of things that probably fall under immaturity that didnt allow him to be successful on a consistent basis on our team, added Poile. Youd have to ask him why he went back to Russia in the first place, because I think that hurt him more than anything. I think if he would have stuck it out, my guess is that it would have worked out for us. And him.The second time was real unfortunate, at the most important time of year. We made a decision, and it was the end of our relationship.Seeing a more mature Radulov having this kind of early season success with the Habs? Poile always knew that player was in there. Its why he brought him back a second time.?It turns out that the third time was the charm.Do I wish he would have found the maturity and consistency level with us a few years ago? Absolutely, but it didnt happen, said Poile.When he left Nashville in 2012, Radulov wondered if that was the end of the line for him in the NHL. But he kept the hope -- and the drive --alive.?I wont lie to you, I had a lot of things in my mind, said Radulov. I still believed if I kept working hard back home in Russia and play as good and hard as I can over there, make sure people here see me in case I could come back when I had a chance. Its worked out. Im hoping to play over here for a number of years. Water Bottle Hydro Flask 18 oz Wide Mouth Mint . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. Hydro Flask 64 Oz Wide Mouth . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. http://www.hydroflaskaustralia.com/water-bottle-hydro-flask-coffee-12-oz-coffee-lemon.html . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Hydro Flask Straw Lid 32 Oz . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Water Bottle Hydro Flask Coffee 12 oz Coffee Graphite . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. NAPA, Calif. -- Latavius Murray is counting on more help at running back leading to more big runs of his own this season for the Oakland Raiders.After topping 1,000 yards rushing and going to the Pro Bowl as an alternate while carrying almost the entire running load for the Oakland Raiders last season, Murray believes he can have an even more productive bigger year this season because the Raiders added rookie DeAndre Washington and other potential runners to the mix.Thats going to be the difference this year for me, having somebody to come in and carry the load for a little while and keep me fresh so when I come in I can do better things and have more of those explosive and big runs that I showed I can have, Murray said.Murray got little relief last season when he ranked fourth in the NFL among all backs with 680 offensive snaps. Recently released Roy Helu Jr. was second among Raiders halfbacks with 91 offensive snaps as Oakland was the only team in the NFL that did not have at least two halfbacks play 100 or more snaps.That heavy workload for a player for a player with just 82 carries his first two years in the NFL contributed to Murray having decreased production and late in the season.Murrays yards per carry dropped from 4.8 yards the first eight games to 3.3 over the second half of the season. It also appeared to take a toll in games as Murray averaged just 2.2 yards per carry in the fourth quarter, down more than 2 yards a carry from the first three quarters.I think over the course of the season that it just may catch up to you, he said. There are just going to be those days where obviously Im maybe not as fresh or explosive every single Sunday. Theyve done a great job of getting some other guys in there and showing me this training camp thats the plan for this season and to try to keep me fresh and keep me in a healthy state of mind so I can go out there and be the back I know I can be.Murray finished the season with 266 carries for 1,066 yards and six touchdowns. Oaklands second-leading rusher in 2015 was quarterback Derek Carrr with 138 and fullback Jamize Olawale was the only other player to reach even 100 yards rushing for the season with 110.ddddddddddddThat glaring need for a capable backup runner led the Raiders to draft DeAndre Washington in the fifth round after he rushed for 1,492 yards and 14 touchdowns last season at Texas Tech.Washington has made a good first impression on the Raiders with strong play in camp and a productive exhibition debut. Washington gained 75 yards from scrimmage, juking safety Marqui Christian on a 25-yard run and adding a 32-yard reception to convert a third down.Thats why they brought me in, to create mismatches against opposing defenses, Washington said. On that play, they were guarding me with a d-end so I had to make my money on that play definitely.Washington wasnt the only back who has stood out this summer. George Atkinson had five carries for 97 yards and two scores against the Cardinals and undrafted free agent Jalen Richard has been impressive in practice but sat out the exhibition game with an injury.But with coach Jack Del Rio wanting the Raiders to be a dominant running team after struggling in that area last season, there figure to be plenty of carries to go around for Murray and whoever becomes his backup.I want to have more rushes, Del Rio said. I dont want him to have less. If anything, maybe a little more, but I want him to be more productive. We want other guys to be involved and be able to run it as well. Were working on becoming a team thats capable of running the ball well. We never really, truly established that last year.Game notes The Raiders broke camp Tuesday. They will resume practice at their facility in Alameda after playing an exhibition game at Green Bay on Thursday night. ... Oakland signed free agent TE Jake McGee to replace Gabe Holmes, who could be out for the season with an ankle injury.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '