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. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Ryan Kesler scored what proved to be the deciding goal midway through the second period to help lift Vancouver over St.Victor Cruz Jersey Animals have played myriad vital roles in Australias armed forces, from faithful companions to trusted guards and early warning systems. Authentic Darren Sproles Jersey . History: the bronze horse head was originally part of an Australian Light Horse memorial in Egypt. [Agencies]  Now, the Australian War Memorial (AWM) has unveiled a new statue to honour them - a bronze horse head, mounted on a tear-shaped granite plinth placed in the memorials sculpture garden. You may have heard of Simpson and his donkey, the Light Horse Brigade, or even know that pigeons were used extensively to transport messages in World War I, but animals often had more than a functional role. Curator of the A is for Animals exhibition, Kate Dethridge, says animals were also important symbols and provided emotional support. Extremely important. I can safely say that any serviceman that came home from either the First or Second World War would be able to vouch for the role that all sorts of animals played, she said. Ms Dethridge says animals companionship and instincts were of particular note. We have a lot of stories of animals, particularly from the Second World War, of animals who would be like an early warning system to soldiers of air raids and that sort of thing, she said. One such animal was Red Lead, the mascot cat of the HMAS Perth in World War II, who had spent several years on board but kept trying to escape when the ship was leaving Fremantle Port. Several days later, the HMAS Perth was destroyed by a fleet of Japanese ships and unfortunately Red Lead went down with the ship, she said Thats just one example that we look at ideas of animals that arent so straight forward, that we usually think of. The exhibition also contains the preserved head of a World War I horse named Sandy, who Ms Dethridge says was the basis on which the new statue is modelled. Its quite beautiful to see that this history of an actual horse from the First World War has come through and is now used in this memorial, she said. AWM assistant art curator Diana Warnes says it has been 10 years since the RSPCA first approached them with the idea of a memorial for animals involved in the Australian armed forces. When the RSPCA approached us to make the memorial, it was decided to include [the bronze horse head] as a core feature of the memorial, she said. The new memorial has been designed by Canberra artist Steven Holland, whose previous work has explored the relationship between animals and humans. Hes been quite a passionate person to have involved in the project over the past 10 years, she said. The bronze horse head was originally a part of a memorial dedicated to the Australian Light Horse Brigade and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in Port Said, Egypt , in 1932 and unveiled by Australian prime minister Billy Hughes. Charles Webb Gilbert won the design competition of the original memorial in 1923, along with a prize of 250 guineas but died before it was completed. During the Suez conflict on December 26, 1956, the statue was attacked and destroyed by Egyptian rioters and later the remaining pieces were returned to Australia and became part of the AWMs collection. Ms Warnes says the complex nature and history of the new memorial gives it greater meaning. Its quite a strong emotive piece and a nice representation for all animals in war and the contribution that theyve made, she said. John Kuhn Jersey . They looked every bit like a rebuilding team after taking a 3-0 lead over the Chicago Blackhawks, only to let it slip away on a special Saturday night at Air Canada Centre. Frank Gore Jersey . Innovation and IP will play a key role to reform Chinas science and technology research and development, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. Authentic Charles Woodson Jersey . Bergeron broke the tip of his right thumb in three places Monday night when he was hit by a slapshot by teammate Dennis Wideman in the second period of a 3-2 loss to the Rangers in New York. He didnt accompany the team to Ottawa, where the Bruins faced the Senators on Tuesday. Vernon Davis Jersey . - Mike Modano could see the Dallas Stars season sliding away over the past week, yet he suspected San Jose would be the ideal place to save it. Authentic Tony Gonzalez Jersey . Julio Cesar Beltran, 18, and Patricia Serrano, 31, each pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree robbery and were given two year sentences by a Los Angeles judge, prosecutor June Chung said. NEW YORK (AP) - Forget about celebration hangovers and short summers, the biggest threat to the Chicago Blackhawks hopes to repeat as Stanley Cup champion might be the salary cap. The cloud that has hung over the NHL since the end of the lockout in 2005 literally shadowed the Blackhawks parade just days after they claimed their first title since 1961 with a six-game win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Gone is 25-year-old postseason hero Dustin Byfuglien, who scored a team-high 11 playoff goals - including five game-winners, top goalie Antti Niemi, and others who provided key roles in the run to the championship. In all, the Blackhawks sent away eight players to get under this seasons salary ceiling of $59.4 million. Everybody was talking about players getting traded and what the team was going to look like next year, while at the same time were trying to enjoy what we just did, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. Its not easy for those guys and its not easy for the rest of our team. Now were at that point where its all behind us: the salary cap, the trades and this and that. Were ready to move forward with the guys we do have. While Chicago was clearly the best team in June, the Blackhawks certainly will face strong claims to that distinction as hockey gets rolling again Thursday when the regular season opens with a five-game slate. Thats the worst part about it, seeing some of your best friends leave, star forward Patrick Kane said. Not that they were some of our best players, but they were obviously instrumental in what we did. If you look at our team this year, its kind of a new team. Its a new challenge. Of course you want to keep that team together, but its just not the way the NHL works anymore. Youve got to make changes. And the rest of the league has noticed. The Detroit Red Wings, the NHLs last repeat champion in 1997 and 1998, might be poised to reclaim the Western Conference title they held the two previous years. They also might have an advantage with a less condensed schedule instead of last seasons jam-packed one that accommodated the long break for the Vancouver Olympics. With Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and ageless defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom healthy and hungry, the Red Wings are happy to slip under the radar and let the Blackhawks carry the burden of the bulls-eye. Detroit was knocked out in the second round by regular-season Western champion San Jose and now seems to have lost some of the intimidation factor. I dont know. I was reading the other day that were not that good, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said with a smile. We are good. I just know that were going to end up with a lot of points. That will be necessary again in the wide-open West, where it took 95 just to qualify for the postseason. Seventh-place Nashville got in with 100 points, and clubs such as the Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes that finished at the bottom of the standings in 2009 all made surprise trips to the playoffs. Its not a whole lot of point differential between eighth and fifth, Kings forward Anze Kopitar said. Its one of those things where we can all thrive on it and take it to our advantage because everything is so close in the West. Pretty much anybody can win. Out East, the Flyers and Montreal Canadiens nabbed the final two places with only 88 points - one more than the ninth-place New York Rangers - but then surged all the way to the conference finals over overwhelming favorites such as the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins. Montreal knocked out powerhouses Washington and Pittsburgh in the first two rounds. Philadelphia ousted Boston to reach the conference finals after trailing the series 3-0, annd then 3-0 in Game 7. Greg Jennings Youth Jersey. The Penguins reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2008 and 2009, splitting the final series with the Red Wings in those seasons, but were stunned in the second round by the upstart Canadiens. The only thing that kept that from being the most surprising result in last seasons playoffs was Montreals comeback from a 3-1 deficit to Presidents Trophy-winning Washington in the first round. I think teams are still hunting us down during the regular season, Capitals defenseman Mike Green said. We did well in the regular season, but once the playoffs came around for whatever reason we couldnt succeed. That might play into our advantage come playoffs. Maybe theyll underestimate us and you never know. Not likely with Alex Ovechkin still lurking in the nations capital. Ovechkin might have the individual statistical edge over Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby - the Washington stars biggest rival - but he hasnt turned that into playoff success. The Capitals have won the Southeast Division for two consecutive years, including posting the NHLs best mark last season for the first time, but they havent gotten as far as even the Eastern Conference finals since Ovechkin came to town after the lockout - the same year Crosby landed in Pittsburgh. Ovechkin and Crosby will be the featured stars in this years Winter Classic in Pittsburgh on New Years Day. The buildup will be even bigger this time with a multipart HBO reality series in advance of the outdoor game at Heinz Field. We have the motivation we need in the organization. We have to realize its time to move forward, Ovechkin said of the Capitals. We have to improve our mentality. We know we can play good offensively, but we have to play good defensively if we want to win. The want to win is always there. The belief that any team can is stronger than ever. Five teams have new hope with new coaches, including four clubs that missed the playoffs; Atlanta (Craig Ramsay), Columbus (Scott Arniel), Edmonton (Tom Renney) and Tampa Bay (Guy Boucher). John MacLean, the Devils career leader in goals, was promoted by New Jersey from the AHL to take over for the retired Jacques Lemaire. The Tampa Bay Lightning dipped into Detroits deep pool of success and hired Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman to be their general manager. That move can only help the development of 20-year-old forward Steven Stamkos, who in his second NHL season tied Crosby for the league lead with 51 goals. With hulking youngster Victor Hedman anchoring the defense, and veteran forwards Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis still providing offensive punch, the Lightning might not be too far away from getting back to an elite level. The hiring of Steve Yzerman has definitely made our team more popular, Stamkos said. Tampa is not your traditional hockey market, but having won the Cup in 04 and having guys like Vinny and Marty there as well as myself, we are a fun team. For the fourth straight year, the NHL regular season is opening on two continents. This time a record six teams are getting started with two games outside of North America: Carolina is taking on Minnesota in Helsinki, Finland; Columbus faces San Jose in Stockholm, Sweden; and Phoenix and Boston are playing a set in Prague, Czech Republic. Everyone will be getting used to a pair of new rules. The ban on blindside shoulder hits to the head, adopted during last seasons playoffs, now carries a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct along with being subject to supplemental discipline. The NHL has also instituted size specific goalie pads. Before this season, the rule provided only for a maximum pad length of 38 inches. Now the rule specifies a maximum limiting distance size for each goalie. ' ' '