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SOCHI, Russia - Martin St. Brian Anderson Jersey . Louis gets his chance as Team Canadas 13th forward in the first elimination game of the Olympic tournament. St. Louis is in and Matt Duchene is out against 11th-seeded Latvia, which upset Switzerland to reach the quarter-finals. Coach Mike Babcock expects St. Louis to handle the difficult situation as a veteran player. The 38-year-old says he is ready for the mental and physical challenge. "Its a situation that you fully understand its a possibility you might be in, in these tournaments," he said. "Youre trying to go out there and earn another shift." Canada did not do line rushes during Wednesdays morning skate at the Bolshoy Ice Domes practice rink. If the same lines hold from Tuesday, Sidney Crosby will centre Chris Kunitz and Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf will centre Jamie Benn and Corey Perry, Jonathan Toews will centre Patrick Marleau and Jeff Carter and John Tavares will centre Patrick Sharp and Rick Nash with St. Louis rotating in. "The reality is we dress 13 forwards each game," Babcock said. "One guy hardly gets on the ice. Its a hard, hard situation for people that play 22 minutes. Thats the way it is. Youve got to find a way to help out when you get a chance." St. Louis offers the ability to make a big play at a crucial time, but so do Matt Duchene and P.K. Subban, who are Canadas health scratches. Dan Hamhuis will be the seventh defenceman, leaving Subban out of the lineup for the third time in four games. Babcock said Subban, last years Norris Trophy winner as the NHLs best defenceman, has been "excellent" in accepting his role. "Hes a proud guy. And hes here and he doesnt get to dress," Babcock said. "Nobody is probably thrilled about that. Those are hard decisions that we make, and in the end theyve got to live it." "That doesnt mean theyve got to like it. But youre here to be a good pro and a good teammate and as its not about me and its not him, its about Canada. As long as we all remember that, were fine." Its about Canada is also this teams approach going into Wednesday nights game against a largely-unknown Latvian opponent. Sault Ste. Marie native and Buffalo Sabres coach Ted Nolan is the most known quantity there, perhaps along with 41-year-old defenceman Sandis Ozolinsh. "I know Sandis Ozolinsh played for me and helped me get to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and hes their captain," Babcock said. "Theyre better as a sum than they are as parts." Latvia beat Switzerland 3-1 Tuesday night to set up this date with Canada. Winger Patrick Marleau said he noticed from that game that the Latvians were a very "structured" bunch. "Its not going to be that many breakdowns, so when you do get that opportunity youre going to have to make the most out of it," Marleau said. Babcock came away from the Latvia-Switzerland qualification game impressed with how the underdogs held on. "They had good chances on (Swiss goaltender Jonas) Hiller, but they spent a lot of time in their own zone," Babcock said. "Ted called a timeout, they were all bent over and dying. There was a couple more times I thought they might die. They hung in there, hung in there and battled. "If Im a Latvian Im very, very proud. They competed. Thats all you can ask. Youve got to maximize what youve been given." With the exception of Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons, Latvias only NHL player, most of the team is able to practise together. Theres a benefit in that Latvia can perfect defensive systems to frustrate more-skilled teams like Canada. “Its a team thats similar to the other teams weve played so far, a team that works extremely hard and a team that packs the slot and gives you as little space as possible in that area," Bergeron said in French. "So well have to work very hard and come up with a strategy to get through that system they use." Canadas system involves defending tough and trying to get to the middle of the ice. With Babcock supervising, players worked on power-play and extra-attacker situations during Wednesdays skate. The top power-play unit features Crosby, Tavares and Carter with Sharp and Duncan Keith at the points. The second unit had Toews, Getzlaf and Perry with Drew Doughty and Shea Weber at the points. Through three games, Canada has only four power plays, a point of some frustration. "Hard to get them, eh? We spent half a week practising them, You almost wonder why you spend so much time preparing for them when they never come," Babcock said Tuesday. "I think weve played in the offensive zone for three straight games. When you have the puck, you draw penalties. It hasnt happened." Canada is 1-for-4 on the power play so far. "Maybe we can do a better job of sustaining pressure and wearing them down so it forces the other team to take some more penalties," Marleau said. Carey Price starts in goal for Team Canada, as Babcock announced Tuesday. Roberto Luongo will serve as the backup. "Im just trying to do my job like everybody else," Price said Tuesday. "Im excited. Im grateful for the opportunity." Projected lineup for Team Canadas quarter-final game against Latvia: FORWARDS Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Patrice BergeronJamie Benn - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey PerryPatrick Marleau - Jonathan Toews - Jeff CarterPatrick Sharp - John Tavares - Rick Nash / Martin St. Louis DEFENCEMEN Duncan Keith - Shea WeberMarc-Edouard Vlasic - Drew DoughtyJay Bouwmeester - Alex PietrangeloDan Hamhuis GOALIES Carey PriceRoberto Luongo SCRATCHES Matt Duchene P.K. SubbanMike Smith Harold Ramirez Jersey . With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena. Felix Heredia Jersey . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/311r-ichiro-suzuki-jersey-marlins.html . Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead Chicago to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Monday night.SAN DIEGO -- Centre Nick Hardwick was cleared to work out five days after sustaining a concussion and was a limited participant as the San Diego Chargers practiced for the final time for their divisional-round playoff game at Denver. Hardwick said he was cleared just before practice started late Friday morning. "Well see how we respond in the next day or two and go from there," Hardwick said. "Its always a good step. Were moving in the right direction but well see how you wake up and how the rest of the day goes." Hardwick was hurt in Sundays wild-card win at Cincinnati and replaced by Rich Ohrnberger. He was listed as questionable on the injury report, meaning the Chargers feel he has a 50-50 chance of playing. "Im always confident. How could you not be?" Hardwick said. Hardwick has had concussions before. "Its not ever something you want to be dealing with but its part of football. This isnt my first rodeo," he said. "Well see how we go. No guarantees. You never know how things are going to unfold here. Running back Ryan Mathews didnt practice all week and also was listed as questionable. He left Sundays victory in the third quarter and didnt return. Hes been bothered by the ankle injury since a victory against Oakland on Dec. 22. Mathews rushed for 144 yards in a victory against Kansas City the next week that helped the Chargers earn the AFCs final playoff berth. Mathews was a big reason why the Chargers beat the Broncos in Denver on Dec. 12. He ran 29 times for 127 yards and one touchdown as the Chargers controlled the ball in the 27-20 win. Mathews said his mindset was the same as earlier in the week, that he wants to play. He said he watched practice and took meental reps. Gregg Zaun Jersey. "Im just trying to do whatever I can to help my team," he said of playing through the injury. "Youre always hopeful theyll be able to go play and play like they played the last five weeks," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "They know their bodies better than anybody. Until someone goes on the inactive before the game, you hope theyre going to be out there for you." Rivers said Mathews has "shown that toughness all year long. Obviously, this injury has lingered on and kind of came on the last few weeks, but hes been tough for us all year long. As a running back you battle all kind of nicks and bumps and bruises. Ive been happy for him and us that he didnt have to deal with a fluke collarbone deal or things that you cant battle through, and then he gets an ankle. Hes battling through it though." In 2012, Mathews broke his right collarbone on his first carry of the exhibition season and then broke his left collarbone in December. Also listed as questionable were right guard Jeromey Clary (shoulder), right tackle D.J. Fluker (ankle), wide receiver Eddie Royal (toe) and defensive tackle Sean Lissemore. Clary was limited Wednesday and didnt practice Thursday or Friday. Fluker didnt practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday and Friday. Royal didnt practice all week. Lissemore was limited all week. "Its going to be a tough game," Rivers said. "All winning there a month ago does is it allows us to know it can be done. Other than that, that game means nothing. Theyre the No. 1 seed for a reason Theyve been the best team in the AFC all year long. Were going to have to play our best game to go in there and get a win." ' ' '