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Gareth Wheeler of TSN Radio 1050 Toronto offers his Midweek Musings for Match-day 24 in the Barclays Premier League. - Chelseas 1-0 win at the Etihad, spoiling Manchester Citys perfect home record continues to be the talking point of the week. Chelseas prudent defensive record and approach under Jose Mourinho always makes them a contender in all competitions. Tactically, the Portuguese is among the finest managers in the game. His public demeanour remains all over the place, providing fodder for argument. Despite sitting only two points back of Arsenal atop the table and having an easier schedule the rest of the way, Mourinho continues to downplay Chelseas title chances. Assessing the title race, Mourinho explains, "Two horses (Arsenal, Man City) and a little horse (Chelsea) that still needs milk and to learn how to jump. A horse that next season can race." Not sure if were getting the straight goods, straight from the horses mouth. Yes, Chelsea is a team in transformation as Mourinho finds players to ideally play his way. Add a striker and another centre-back for next season, and add the injured Marco van Ginkel into the fray, Chelsea promises to be scary good next season. That being said, Mourinho suggesting Chelsea is on the outside looking in is a fallacy. Mourinho cant believe it to be true. A trip to Anfield is as difficult as it gets away from Stamford Bridge. And his team is undefeated in their last 10. In this analysts eye, Chelsea are favourite to win the league. Downplaying Chelseas chances is an alternative type of psychological warfare. Sir Alex Fergusons Manchester United, who dominated the Premier League for the better part of the last two decades, were always full of belief, publicly and privately stating their intent in the title race. Its shocking Mourinho is using this tact when he has a team of millionaire superstars at his disposal. No matter what he says, Mourinho isnt fooling anyone. At the very least, it keeps things interesting. - City was down two key players in Mondays loss. Centre-midfielder Fernandhino and top striker Sergio Aguero missed the all-important occasion through injury. While Fernandhinos steady approach was missed, it paled in comparison to the void left by Aguero. While Citys other forwards are of high quality, they lack the same game-breaking ability of Aguero. 15 league goals in 15 games is an astounding record. A constant danger inside the box and lethal on his right foot, City lacked the Argentines cutting edge against a team difficult to penetrate. Its no coincidence David Silva is at his best with Aguero on the field. The movement off the ball makes the duo as difficult a combination to play against as any in world football. Matches against Chelsea in the FA Cup and Barcelona in the Champions League in the next two weeks, potentially without Aguero, raises true questions of whether City can truly compete in all four competitions. Aguero is that important. - As Mourinho continues to make a near seamless transition back into English football, David Moyes struggles at Manchester United remain. A 2-1 loss against lowly Stoke City, a team having picked up just one point in their previous six, compounds his problems. Moyes has made 83 changes to his starting XI in league games, 11 more than any other manager in the Premier League. Injuries have been an issue here, but no excuse for such poor form. The lack of involvement and interplay between attacking players was ultimately most disturbing at the Britannia. Michael Carrick being forced to centre-back is one thing, but the attacking players going MIA speaks to Moyes team approach lacking inspiration. Where are the fresh ideas? What is his teams identity? These questions cant be answered. And that is a failure. United are playing an unimaginative, passive, unaware brand of football. One has to wonder if a manager of alternate stature would be faring better at present time with this team. What if Mourinho was at Manchester United? Its difficult to think this same team would be in seventh place under the Portuguese leadership. Its a valid question to ask, as it seemed all along Mourinho wanted the Old Trafford job. And in his autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise of Mourinho and his managerial ability. Ferguson may have seen some of himself in Moyes. But did United need another Ferguson? Better question: can another Ferguson be cultivated in the present day climate? Moyes isnt going anywhere, for now. But its legitimate to question whether Ferguson picked the right successor for a new Manchester United. - Arsenal may be the most under-respected among title contenders. There has been a remarkable consistency in the side. The attacking flair and superior passing remains, even without Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey. The development of the centre-back partnership between Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker has been essential to the exceptional form. The spine of the team is arguably the strongest in the league, led by the duo. Arsenal remain undefeated since January 2012, a stretch of 31 games with Koscielny and Mertesacker both in the starting XI. The next two games are massive for Arsenal and potential title hopes. Back-to-back games at Liverpool and home to Manchester United are true tests. Full points would be a giant step towards ending their 10-year title drought. It would also silence the critics wondering where the January striker signing ended up. - The true importance of a manager will be tested now that Michael Laudrup has been sacked by Swansea City. Laudrup helped build on the accomplishments of Brendan Rodgers at the Welsh club, leading Swansea to their first major silverware in the clubs history and venturing into the previous unchartered territory of the Europa League. Injuries have decimated the team, with last years star player Michu a long-term absentee. The midfield has been torn apart, and the failure to bring back Ki-Sung Yueng off loan from Sunderland raised eyebrows. A vacation to Paris, dressing room turmoil, an uncertain future, and six points from their last 10 matches all contributed to his sacking. Fact remains Swansea have completed almost 600 more passes than any team in the league and still have the top pass accuracy. The stylish football is no fluke. Its progressive and refreshing. Credit Laudrup. With the short-term hiring of Garry Monk, the club is apparently choosing stability over style. A risk, not worth taking. It will be determined in short order the importance of style vs. stability. Id choose Laudrup. Now a relegation fight beckons under the veil of the great unknown. Good luck with that. - The Sunderland climb off the bottom continued with an emphatic 3-0 away derby win over Newcastle. Gus Poyets side is flying, with true competition for places in the side, and a good combination of strength and skill. As for Newcastle, its all gone pear-shaped. The loss of Yohan Cabaye was the first blow. Being without top goal scorer Loic Remy, suspended for three was the clincher. An in-form Remy and consistency from Hatem Ben Arfa will be essential to staying in the top half of the table. Some good news for Newcastle, the teams latest embarrassment, director of football Joe Kinnear has mercifully stepped aside, putting an end to experiment gone wrong from the get-go. Kinnear said hed be judged in the transfer window; he didnt sign one player last summer or in January. He did however state potential transfer interest in a player already at the club during a radio interview. An absolute nightmare. Alan Pardew now solely has to deal with the bad dreams. His team is a mess, again. - West Hams co-owner David Gold is threatening legal action over Andy Carrolls red against Swansea City. Carroll swung recklessly, albeit not making much contact, after challenging for an aerial ball with Chico Flores. Its difficult to judge intent, and if there was, it should always be an automatic sending off. Carroll now faces a three-match ban. Most troubling, West Ham believes Carrolls suspension could make-or-break the Hammers in their relegation fight. Scary thought. Carroll was involved in both West Ham goals last week, but has been an absolute nightmare in front of goal. His performances have been abysmal. And the player often looks lost. If West Ham is relying upon Carroll as saviour, they may as well already punch their ticket to the League Championship. Not good enough. Nicolas Deslauriers Jersey .Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum. Dave Karpa Jersey .In a statement released Friday, the Catalan club said the Brazil stars recovery would be monitored to determine when he can begin training again. https://www.cheapducks.com/. Price was hurt at the start of Wednesdays practice after facing just one shot as the team worked on their power play. He left the ice in discomfort and appeared to be favouring his leg. A Habs source told TSNs John Lu that Price suffered the injury in Sochi and not before the Olympics. Troy Terry Jersey . LOUIS -- Known for his game-managing and defensive skills, Yadier Molina made another statement with his bat. Derek Grant Jersey . And by all indications, the team is expected to select phenom Connor McDavid with their selection. The Buffalo Sabres, who were knocked down to the second overall pick after finishing with the worst regular season record, are expected to take the other generational player in Jack Eichel. ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- Seven wins in a row, and the Abbotsford Heat are still looking for ways to improve. The Heat defeated the Toronto Marlies 6-3 Sunday night in American Hockey League action, which ties a franchise record for consecutive victories. The streak has included overtime, shootouts, comebacks, and on Sunday, a blown lead in the third period. "We look back at each game and know where we havent done so well in certain areas, and known that weve been lucky to win some in this streak as well," said Brett Olson, who scored the winning goal. "Were happy with where were at. But weve just got to keep it all in perspective and learn from each game, and maintain that confidence that when we get in tight situations like this, that we can win." After the Marlies rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the game 3-3 in the third Olson converted a pass from Knight off a Tyler Wotherspoon rush while playing four-on-four at 12:21 of the third period. "Spooner made an unbelievable rush," said Olson of the rookie defenceman Wotherspoon. "He bought time and basically sucked the guy in and was able to kick it out to Knight. Knight fed it through a nice little hole, and I didnt have to do much, to be honest with you. It was right on my tape, and I just had to put it in the open net." It was just the second goal of the year for Olson but a coachs hunch matched him with the Heats leading scorer on that shift. "The big things is, they can get up and down the rink together and they both can share the puck pretty well," said Abbotsford head coach Troy Ward. "Theyve had some chemistry so it was kind of a gut feeling." Knight added a goal and Michael Ferland also had a goal and an assist for the Heat (11-4-1), while Chad Billins, Ben Street and Markus Granlund scored the others. "That was like a playoff-atmosphere game, for the most part," said Olson. "There were a lot of hits, there was a lot of hard work to the net, a lot of puck battles on the walls, just great plays overall." Joey MacDonald made 24 saves for Abbotsford and his most important may have been with four minutes to go when he came across to glove a T.J. Brennan slap shot, a quality save even the Toronto defenceman had to acknowledge with a stick tap.dddddddddddd Josh Leivo, Trevor Smith and Jerry DAmigo scored for the Marlies (6-5-1) while Spencer Abbott chipped in with two assists to extend his point streak to 11 games. Garret Sparks stopped 24 shots for Toronto. Leivo opened the scoring for the Marlies at 8:09 when he took a pass at full speed from Abbott and made a move around a defenceman to beat MacDonald through the five-hole. The Heat tied the game at 17:46 when Greg Nemisz blazed down the right wing and threw a puck to the net. Sparks couldnt corral it and, with Nemisz in the crease, Billins raced in to wrist it past the Marlies netminder for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. The Heat took the lead at 5:02 when Street converted a two-on-one rush with Ferland and Knight made it 3-1 two minutes and 31 seconds later. Ben Hanowski fed the puck to Knight in the high slot as Olson went to the net to provide traffic and Knight placed a hard wrist shot from the top of the circle past Sparks. Toronto cut into the deficit while on a five-on-three power play. Abbott found Smith open at the side of the net and the Marlies captain one-timed it past MacDonald at 11:49. The Marlies tied the game at 6:10 of the third period when DAmigo put one past MacDonald. After blocking a shot at his own blue line, Sam Carrick rushed down the ice and tried to centre for David Broll. The puck found its way to DAmigo at the side of the net with MacDonald sprawled. "They pushed pretty hard and we took a lot of penalties in a row," said Ward. "They scored a nice five-on-three goal. We seemed to be a little bit on edge. Theyre a good hockey team. We would expect that from them. Its 3-1 and with a couple of mistakes its 3-3." Despite giving up a two-goal cushion, the team didnt get flustered, going on to score three more times, including a penalty shot by Granlund and an empty netter by Ferland. The Heat now head on their longest road trip of the season. "Its going to be a long one," said Billins. "But you know, its fun too. Its a good time to really build up the team bonding. Its going to be a battle, but youve just got to take it one game at a time. Weve got to pull off some wins here." ' ' '