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TORONTO -- Eric Lindros carved an unprecedented path to hockey stardom, including where the incoming Hall of Famer lived when he entered the NHL.It was about a month into Lindros rookie season with the Philadelphia Flyers that the prodigy asked to move in with veteran teammate Kevin Dineen and his newlywed wife, Annie.And I was like, `Ah, let me go home and talk to my wife about that, Dineen recalled almost 25 years later.Lindros had already bought a townhouse with everything you could ever want, but he was also a teenager in an unforgiving American city. Dineen figures he was probably a little bit lonely.So Lindros spent two years in the Dineens home, flush with dogs and a growing, makeshift family. The unlikely unit ate breakfast and dinner together, and sometimes Lindros and Dineen sneaked into classes at the University of Pennsylvania, where Annie was working toward her masters degree.It was funny in a lot of ways, Dineen said. It was like having a little brother who was much bigger than you.Finally entering the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside Rogie Vachon, Sergei Makarov and the late Pat Quinn, Lindros had an incomparable career on and off the ice. He was a maverick in a sport of rigid rules and a talent on the ice not seen before or since.He was probably the most dominant player during his time in the NHL, longtime teammate Rod BrindAmour said.At 6-foot-4 and more than 200 pounds, Lindros was like a freight train on skates, but with the agility and skills to move like a race car.BrindAmour still remembers hopelessly trying to defend Lindros at his first practice with the Flyers in 1992. Lindros had one hand on his stick as he rushed down the wing but still somehow whipped a wrist shot into the top corner.And Im like, nobody can do that in the NHL, BrindAmour said. And of course, if he wanted to run you over, he could run you through the boards. And then if you wanted to fight, he could fight. There was just nothing that he couldnt really do. And that was impressive because there wasnt really anyone in the NHL that could do everything.Dineen believes Lindros should be remembered as a progressive force. The hockey world could have its opinions, but Lindros stood by his best interests.He gets painted a little bit with the ugly brush because of the stands he took, said Dineen, now a Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach.Lindros twice refused to play for the team that drafted him No. 1 overall. He famously spurned the NHLs Quebec Nordiques in 1991, later saying he didnt want to play for owner Marcel Aubut, and that came two years after he declined to play for Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League -- the club eventually to traded him to Oshawa.Lindros sat out the 2000-01 season waiting for a trade out of Philadelphia following a bitter public spat with general manager Bobby Clarke regarding the treatment of Lindros injuries, including multiple concussions. Compare that to the handling of current stars like Sidney Crosby, whose concussions have been handled by the Penguins with caution.Its not like youre looking to go upstream, Lindros said. The choices that I made were choices that other people had done before me. It wasnt like it was fresh territory.Perhaps not on a case-by-case basis, but the entirety of Lindros off-ice drama is unprecedented among NHL superstars.And still, his career will be defined as much by what it wasnt as what it was.Injuries limited him to fewer than 800 regular season games and retirement at age 34. He has some of the finest seasons ever in the league on his resume, but no longevity to go with it. And of course, Lindros also lacks a precious Stanley Cup title.What could his career have been with good health? BrindAmour thinks Lindros brute, physical style likely would have degraded his productivity with time.Regardless, the powerful Lindros made a dent on the sport. His dominance and distinctiveness cant be denied.Hes one in a lifetime, BrindAmour said. I dont know if youll ever see a player like him because the games changed so much now. The physical part of the game is kind of out the door. No kids growing up are trying to be like that. Its all skill and skating, so I dont know that youre going to see that kind of player again.Fake Brewers Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Bud Selig Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/ . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Chase Anderson Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Eric Thames Jersey . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout.ST. LOUIS -- Jaime Garcia said all along there was no reason to panic.Matt Holliday drove in three runs, Garcia threw eight solid innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 on Friday night.The Cardinals ended a seven-game home losing streak, their longest since Aug. 2-15, 1983. It was their first home win since a 6-3 victory over San Francisco on June 5.Were very confident in ourselves, Garcia said. We have the team, we have the talent. We werent worried. Its a long season.Milwaukee has lost four of five and fell to 13-24 on the road, the second-worst road record in the National League behind the Cincinnati Reds.Garcia (6-6) allowed four hits. He struck out six and walked four. He also beat Milwaukee 7-0 with a complete-game one-hitter on April 14.He was his typical self, Milwaukee infielder Scooter Gennett said. Hes a different type of pitcher. Everything he throws looks the same up there. Its not overpowering, its not crazy movement going on. Everything starts in a general area and moves in a lot of different ways.Rookie shortstop Aledmys Diaz had two hits and reached base three times. He recorded 11 assists, the most by a St. Louis rookie since Stu Martin had 11 assists at second base on June 6, 1936.Diaz missed the previous three games after fouling a pitch off the area around his right eye on Monday. The eye was still red, but the swelling had gone down, so he felt OK to play.With Jaime youve got to be ready, hes a great sinkerball guy, Diaz said. I was ready to go.Garcia was appreciative of Diazs effort.He played pretty well behind me with one eye, Garcia said.Chris Carter hit his 20th homer of the season for the Brewers in the second inning.Holliday highlighted a five-run outburst in the fourth with a two-run single. Yadier Molina, Garcia and Matt Carpenter also drove in runs in thhe inning.ddddddddddddMilwaukee starter Matt Garza (1-1) gave up seven runs, four earned, in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked four.Im getting better every time out, Garza said. My stuff is getting crisper and Im hitting my spots more often, throwing more strikes.Molina had two hits and sits at 1,499 for his career.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny, like Garcia, remained calm during the home-field losing skid.Weve won at home and well win a lot more at home, Matheny said. Hopefully, now we can roll off quite a few in a row.FULL OF MOSSSt. Louis OF Brandon Moss led the major leagues with a .792 slugging percentage in June. He had eight home runs in the month and recorded at least one extra-base hit in 12 of 21 games.BACKES LOVEFormer St. Louis Blues wing David Backes was given a standing ovation when introduced midway through the game. Backes signed a 5-year, $30 million dollar free agent contract with the Boston Bruins earlier Friday.WRITING LEGENDHall of Fame sportswriter Rick Hummel celebrated his 45th anniversary with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday.The press box at Busch Stadium is named in Hummels honor.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: LHP Kevin Siegrist has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with mononucleosis. RHP Sam Tuivailala will replace Siegrist on the roster. Tuivailala was 2-1 with a 5.06 ERA in 29 games at Triple-A Memphis and converted 13 of 16 save opportunities. Siegrist was 5-2 with 2.78 ERA in 35 appearances.UP NEXTRHP Adam Wainwright (6-5, 5.04) will take on Milwaukee RHP Jimmy Nelson (5-6, 3.60) in the second game of the three-game set on Saturday. Wainwright is 12-8 against the Brewers with a 2.32 ERA. Nelson leads the Brewers with eight quality starts. ' ' '