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Vancouver Whitecaps put their good road form to the test once again on Wednesday night when they head east to take on Chicago Fire at Toyota Park, live on TSN. The Whitecaps were disappointed to only tie against FC Dallas at home on Sunday, and will be hoping for a similar performance, but with a better end product against a Chicago side that has only won once at home this season. The Form: The Whitecaps have won just once in their last eight matches, but have only lost twice in 14. They have tied their last three in a row, but in an extremely competitive Western Conference, Carl Robinsons men will need to start turning those ties into wins sooner rather than later if they are to be in the playoff conversation in the fall. The Whitecaps were unfortunate not to take all three points at home to FC Dallas on Sunday. Their finishing was not clinical enough, and, for the fourth-straight match, they were unable to win despite taking the lead in the game. Raul Fernandez also deserves a mention, as his performance in goal for Dallas was a big reason his club left B.C. with a point. On Sunday, the Whitecaps were once again entertaining to watch, setting a new club record with 30 shots, but they were masters of their own downfal,l giving away a penalty to give Dallas a halftime lead. Earlier this season, it was Erik Hurtado who was the main main in front of goal as he found the net in five consecutive matches in all competitions, but right now it is Darren Mattocks. The former first-round draft pick opened the scoring against Dallas. He now has a goal in three consecutive matches for the first time in his professional career. The Big Question: Can Pedro Morales do it again? The Chilean midfielder was magnificent in Sundays draw against FC Dallas. He scored his seventh goal of the season to earn the Caps a point and was involved in the build up to the goal from Mattocks that gave Vancouver an early lead, but his overall performance was spectacular. Morales is a joy to watch and continues to improve as he settles into life in Major League Soccer. Morales had 12 shots against Dallas, which is more in a single game than any other player in the league since the Whitecaps joined MLS in 2011. He had 130 touches in the game, 30 more than any other player on the pitch. Morales has the captains armband following the retirement of Jay DeMerit and he continues to lead by example. When he plays well, the Whitecaps are an entertaining side to watch. Having Morales on the pitch gives them a chance to win any game. The Opposition: Chicago Fire have had a difficult first half of the season, and currently sit eighth in the Eastern Conference, but despite the fact they have only won three games all season, they arent too far away from the playoff places, just four points outside the top five. Former Canadian international Frank Yallop is in his first season as head coach of the Fire and they have been the draw specialists so far, as they have been trying to grow as a team under their new boss. However, in their last match, they produced probably their worst display of the season, losing 5-1 at San Jose Earthquakes. They were unbeaten in four (with one win and three draws) before the San Jose debacle. Rookie Harry Ship has had an excellent season in midfield for the Fire and, with reigning MLS MVP Mike Magee in their ranks, they can always be dangerous going forward. Whitecaps fans will likely see a familiar face in the Fire lineup with former Vancouver midfielder Matt Watson a starter for Chicago in recent weeks. The Line-up: In the last couple of away games, Carl Robinson has utilized the depth within his squad, making a number of changes to ensure his players stay fresh and healthy. After a good performance against Dallas, there seems little need to change things, unless there are injuries to contend with. The Whitecaps have a weekend off ahead of them, so rest shouldnt be as much of a factor for this road trip. The back four has been settled recently and as long as Steven Beitashour is fit, its unlikely there will be any changes. The Whitecaps have lots of options in midfield, but it would be a big surprise if we dont see designated players Matias Laba and Morales in the game from the start - they both came off the bench at Real Salt Lake in the Whitecaps last away game. The Odds: It has to be a draw, doesnt it? The Caps have tied three in a row, including their last two away from home. Theyve now drawn 10 matches this season, which is one fewer than Chicago who lead MLS with 11 draws. The Whitecaps have shown this season they have the ability to score goals away from hom, and the Fire are yet to keep a clean sheet in front of the home fans this season. Chicagos record against Western Conference opposition is also poor with just three points taken from seven matches this season (four losses and three draws). If the Whitecaps are to challenge for a playoff place this season, these are the games they need to be winning. Where to Watch: The Whitecaps at Chicago is live on MLS on TSN on Wednesday night. Join me with Jason deVos and Perry Solkowski at 8:30pm et/ 5:30pm pt. . And Richard Bachman, their rookie goalie, is facing a penalty shot a few seconds after the opening face-off. No pressure, right? Bachman stood his ground against Zack Kassian and saw the puck dribble off the Canuck rookies stick, then settled in and backstopped the Stars to a 5-2 win over Vancouver Tuesday that put Dallas in first place in the Pacific Division. .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. http://www.cheap76ersjerseys.com/. Jets head coach Paul Maurice made the announcement Saturday following the morning skate and confirmed Al Montoya will start in goal against the Dallas Stars on Sunday. . Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013. . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season.With the Senators set to play their first game after the Olympic break and with the trade deadline looming, heres a look at 10 burning questions for the Ottawa Senators heading into the stretch drive. 1. Do the Senators really need to find a winger for Jason Spezza? We are less than a week away from the NHL trade deadline and most experts agree that the Senators need help up front - specifically finding a winger for Jason Spezza. Bryan Murray told reporters last week that he would ideally like to get a winger who has term left on his contract, saying he would prefer to stay away from rentals. While Spezza has struggled at times this season, he did head into the Olympic break on a hot streak - collecting six points in his last three games. Milan Michalek also seemed to be playing his best hockey of the season before the break and if he can return to a reasonable facsimile of his 2011-12 self, the Sens may not need to add a scoring forward on Spezzas wing. Still, the Sens only have three games left before the Olympic break, so it would be a tall order for the Greening-Spezza-Michalek line to convince Murray that they have re-discovered their chemistry. The smart money is on the Senators finding another winger to bring into the mix, but obtaining a rental still may be the most likely scenario. 2. What is the future of Chris Phillips in Ottawa? Chris Phillips becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and there is no doubting the Senators could land a nice return for the veteran blueliner if they moved him at the deadline. The market for a veteran defenceman was set fairly high last year when the Buffalo Sabres received two second round picks from the Los Angeles Kings for Robyn Regehr. However, the Senators have always been hesitant to move a defenceman at the deadline when they are in the playoff race. In 2010 they hung onto Anton Volchenkov, in 2012 they did not move Filip Kuba and last year they kept Sergei Gonchar. All three cases had the exact same outcome: 1. The Senators made the playoffs2. The Senators lost in the first or second round3. The defencemen left the team in the off-season. (Volchenkov and Kuba via free agency, while Gonchar was dealt just before the start of free agency for a late-round pick). Phillips case is a little more intriguing because he is perceived as a legacy player and in the aftermath of the Daniel Alfredsson saga, the organization may be a little more cautious dealing with him. But considering Murray has never moved a defenceman at the deadline before, its hard to see him changing his mind this year - especially with a player with Phillips reputation in this community. Its more likely that Phillips future will be decided in the off-season and if he does want to explore free agency, the Senators could try and use the same approach they did with Gonchar and move Phillips for a draft pick. 3. Should Bryan Murray trade a defenceman at the deadline? For most of this season, the Senators have been carrying eight defencemen on the NHL roster. But Joe Corvo has been essentially sent into exile - having suited up for just two games since the calendar flipped to 2014. Eric Gryba has played his way into the lineup lately, leaving Patrick Wiercioch as the odd man out. The club also has Mark Borowiecki playing in the minors and he appears ready to play at the NHL level right now. Since there are always an abundance of teams who need defencemen at the deadline, Murray could be dealing form a position of strength here. But if he moves someone like Wiercioch, you would have to imagine Murray would be looking for someone with term on his contract - and not simply a rental. 4. Is Cody Ceci ready to play heavy minutes in crucial games? Its ironic that the Sens could be in the position to move a defenceman because two months ago, Bryan Murrays biggest need was on the back end. He pursued Michael Del Zotto from the New York Rangers, but balked when the asking price was too high. Instead, the Senators went for an internal solution with Cody Ceci and the 20-year-old was instrumental in solving the clubs puck-moving woes. But while Ceci was logging more than 20 minutes a night for a while, his ice time was drastically reduced just before the Olympic break. In crucial games against Pittsburgh and St. Louis, Ceci played just over 11 minutes on both nights. Considering those were must-win games on the road, it will be interesting to see how Paul MMacLean uses Ceci down the stretch in some very important games.dddddddddddd 5. When will Jared Cowen go back to being Jared Cowen? In the Canadian hockey rule book it clearly states there has to be a whipping boy for the fans and media each season. This year, nobody has taken as much abuse as Jared Cowen from the Senators faithful. Cowen has not looked anywhere as good as he did during his rookie season in 2011-12, when he established himself as one of the most solid young defencemen in the game. This season has been a struggle for the young blueliner, who is still playing more than 20 minutes a night. This is also the first year of his new four-year contract which will pay him an average of $3.1 million per season. There have been some fans grumbling that Cowen is entering Tyler Myers territory, but its probably too soon to make that comparison. He still looks like he is recovering from the effects of hip surgery from last season and much like Erik Karlsson, it may take him a significant amount of time to return to his old self. But if Cowen can look like the 2011-12 version of himself who was dominant on some nights, the Senators back end will look a lot more intimidating. 6. Will Mika Zibanejad and Zack Smith get enough ice time at centre? Paul MacLean has come back from the Olympic break and announced that Mika Zibanejad will be a centre from this point forward - barring any unforeseen circumstances. So if that is the case, how will MacLean juggle his lines so that his centremen will each get enough ice time to be effective? Spezza and Turris usually play between 18-20 minutes a night and if that trend continues, it would leave roughly 20-22 total minutes to be shared by Zibanejad and Smith. So if Zibanejad were to play 14 minutes, that could leave only six or seven minutes for Zack Smith. Perhaps the solution here is to really roll four lines and centremen who all log close to 15 minutes of ice time each night. 7. Can Craig Anderson continue his strong play? Craig Anderson wont be in the building tonight against the Red Wings, but the Senators netminder will have to be razor-sharp when he does return to the lineup this weekend. He was 6-1-3 in January and had a save percentage of .917 for the month as the Senators crawled back into the playoff race. But if Ottawa wants to cement a playoff berth, they will likely need their No.1 goalie to play at least 17 of the final 23 games and come out with about 12 or 13 wins. Anderson has shown in the past that he can get hot and carry this team and they will need that type of goaltending from him down the stretch. 8. Can Turris and MacArthur re-create their magic? Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur have been the Senators dynamic duo this season, but their production slowed down just before the Olympic break. MacArthur collected just one assist in his last seven games and that forced Paul MacLean to shuffle up their line a little bit. He is keeping Turris and MacArthur together, but he has moved Bobby Ryan off to another line and brought in Erik Condra to play on the wing. 9. Can Bobby Ryan find his scoring touch again? Bobby Ryan still has a team-leading 21 goals, but the winger has been moved away from his regular linemates and has struggled for the past few weeks. Ryan has just five goals in his last 24 games and that pace would make him only a 17-goal scorer over the course of a full season. Ryan may have been battling some sort of undisclosed injury and was even given some time off by MacLean after the Olympic break ended. If he can return to his form from the start of the season - when he scored nine goals in the first 16 games - the Senators will not be so worried about their offensive production. 10. Could Curtis Lazar see any NHL action this season? No player within the Senators organization has seen their stock rise as much as Curtis Lazar in the past few months. Had it not been for an injury in training camp, the teenager could have pushed for an NHL roster spot to start the season in Ottawa. But he is receiving rave reviews for his play with Edmonton in the WHL and is being talked about as one of the most NHL-ready players in the world right now. However, its doubtful that we will see Lazar in a Senators jersey until next fall. His Oil Kings could be primed for a deep run in the playoffs and the Senators would love to see him gain experience at that level before making the jump to the NHL. ' ' '