SUNRISE, Fla. - Gerard Gallant needed no sales pitch from the Florida Panthers. Hes aware that they have not won a playoff series in nearly two decades, that they missed the playoffs by a mile last season and that they change coaches on an all-too-regular basis. None of that deterred him, either. "You look at their roster, you look at their team, you look at their core players," Gallant said. "I think its a great opportunity and Im looking forward to working with this hockey club." He now has that chance, after being introduced as the 13th coach in Panthers history and the teams eighth bench boss since 2003. Gallant hasnt been an NHL head coach since 2006, but has plenty of experience as an assistant and a very successful stint as the head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His best player there was current Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau, whos considered a key part of Floridas plan to turn things around. "Of course I was excited to hear that news," Huberdeau said of his reaction to Gallants hiring. "Gerard has been a great coach for me. He taught me a lot of stuff when I was in juniors and its because of him that Im in the NHL right now." When Gallant and Huberdeau were paired in juniors, their team won just about every night, or so it seemed. No ones expecting that in Florida, but some parallels will exist from that team and now, Gallant said. "Jonathans a great kid," Gallant said. "I knew the kid for three years and we worked well together. Were going to have 23 players who are going to work hard and compete." Panthers general manager Dale Tallon called the search exhaustive, and the team was linked to plenty of other candidates throughout the two-month process, most notably the likes of Peter Laviolette, Barry Trotz and Dan Bylsma. When he met with Gallant, Tallon expected him to be in a downtrodden mood — the first interview was two days after the Montreal Canadiens, with whom Gallant was an assistant coach the past two seasons, were eliminated from this years playoffs. Instead, Gallant was high-energy, eager, excited. Tallon was impressed. "Ive never heard a negative word said about Gerard Gallant in any capacity in hockey," Tallon said. Its the start of a hectic time for Florida, which holds the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NHL Draft — one they could trade away — and is expected to be a busy player when free agency begins July 1. And Gallant knows very well how quickly things can turn around. When he was hired in Montreal, the Canadiens were coming off a season where they finished with the fewest points in the East. With Gallant on the staff, the Canadiens won a division title in 2012-13, and topped the 100-point mark in the standings last season. The Panthers would enjoy nothing more than him being part of a similar turnaround in Florida. "The league is so close," Gallant said. "The teams are so close together now." J.A. Happ Jersey . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. Jaime Garcia Jersey . In a matter of days, he went from unwanted to wanted, from fired to hired, from discarded by the Philadelphia Eagles with reputation tarnished to rock star treatment and a new fat contract from the Washington Redskins. http://www.officialbluejaysgearshop.com/...on-Kids-Jersey/. It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. Roberto Alomar Jersey .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. Joe Carter Jersey . The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No. MONTREAL -- The Edmonton Eskimos built a big enough lead early in the game that it didnt matter what the Montreal Alouettes did in the second half. After taking a 22-point lead over the Als into the dressing room at halftime at Percival Molson Stadium on Friday night, Edmonton staved off Montreals second-half comeback to hold on for the 33-23 victory. The loss extended the last-place Alouettes losing streak to four games. "We played the first half really well," said Eskimos coach Chris Jones, who spent six years as a defensive coach for the Als, from 2002 to 2007. "If you can mirror the first and second half, that would be great. Unfortunately. We came out flat in the second half and let a good football team hang around. It was closer than what it should have been." With Edmonton leading the Alouettes 30-8 at the half, Montreal was seemingly en route to a third consecutive blowout loss - the Als lost back-to-back games by a combined score of 72-10 coming into Friday. But the Eskimos only scored three second-half points, giving a desperate Montreal side a glint of hope in the process. Down by three scores, Montreal (1-5) put their best drive together at the start of the third quarter. The Als made five consecutive first downs - as many as they converted in the first half - for a 53-yard drive that lasted more than six minutes. But they couldnt find the end zone, and were forced to settle for the field goal. After cutting Edmontons lead to 16, Montreal was given a small lifeline early in the fourth quarter when Eskimos kick returner Jamal Miles dropped the ball after a punt. The fumble was recovered by Montreal at Edmontons 30. After yet another two-and-out, the Als kicked a field goal to make the score 30-17. With their team at the bottom of the standings with the worst record in the Canadian Football League, Alouettes fans let the team know they were unhappy with the decision to go for the three points instead of the touchdown. "That was an excellent call," said Als coach Tom Higgins, defending his teams choice. "Anybody who thinks differently, thats okay, thats their opinion. It was third-and-ten. Two two-point converts? Thats probably not going to happen. It doesnt play to your favour. The decision, in my mind, is absolutely correct." It was all too little, too late for the Alouettes, who finally found the end zone in the games final minute - the teams first touchdown in 12 quarters. Brandon Whitaker scored his second TD of the year at 14:31 of the fourth quarter after completing a 43-yard pass-and-run. "We didnt give up," said Higgins of the second-half attempted comeback. "We didnt beat ourselves, we didnt take foolish penalties, we caught the ball a little bit better, and we were able to get some first downs. We came out and played a lot better, disciplined football, the way it needs to be played." Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly threw for two touchdowns and 208 yards, with 171 of those coming in the first half. Edmontons offense was stagnant iin the second, punting the ball away five times to Montreals two.dddddddddddd The Eskimos held onto the ball for just 12 minutes in the second half. "For whatever reason, we couldnt get anything going offensively in the second half," said Reilly, who threw his only interception of the game after the restart. "We left our defence out on the field way too long. Luckily we did enough to get the win, we built up a good lead in the first half." Now in first place in the West Division, Edmonton (5-1) got off to the quick start it was looking for, as the visiting team opened the score just 2:28 into the game. On a drive that started at their own 51-yard line, the Eskimos moved down the field quickly. After a 20-yard run by Kendial Lawrence, Reilly found his running back all alone on the edge of the end zone for the 35-yard touchdown. After an Edmonton field goal and a couple of singles by Montreals Sean Whyte to make the score 10-2 for the Eskimos, the Als capped off back-to-back drives with field goals of their own to bring it to within two. John White restored Edmontons comfortable lead with a 58-yard run at 4:52 of the second quarter to make it 17-8 - by far the longest run of the game. The TD was Whites second of the season. The Eskimos kept rolling in the second quarter, adding another 10 points before the half. Reilly finished off a 93-yard drive when he connected with Adarius Bowmans diagonal run for the 25-yard score at 12:23. Bowman leads the league with 433 receiving yards. Despite the poor first-half showing by Montreals offence, Higgins decided to keep quarterback Troy Smith in the game. Smith was pulled in the second half of Montreals previous two losses. On Friday, Smith went 8-for-18 and threw for 102 yards in the first half, including a 52-yarder to Duron Carter. Smith, who has started all six games for Montreal this season, ended the match 20-for-45 with 231 yards. With another poor performance, Smiths job could be at risk. "We need to win games, and if its somebody else that can help us out, then thats the way to go," said Smith. "Ive prepared for the worse, and hope for the best. The whole time Im here, Ill continue to do that. There are multiple guys on your team for a reason." The end of the game was marred when linebacker Eric Samuels was taken off the field on a stretcher after taking a hit to the head. Samuels laid motionless on the field for several minutes before showing any signs of consciousness. Notes: The West has now won 14 of 16 inter-divisional matches this season. à Als slotback S.J. Green (ribs) was not in the lineup. à Montreal has yet to win a game this season when trailing after the first quarter (0-4). à The attendance at Percival Molson Stadium was 20,054. à The Alouettes go on the road for the next two games, with games against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the next two weeks. à The Eskimos welcome the Ottawa Redblacks to Commonwealth Stadium next Friday. 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