Gäste » Daily News reported Saturday

MONTREAL -- The wild fans, the history and the weight of expectations make the Montreal Canadiens a demanding team for any hockey coach, especially those with no NHL experience. But three who were in that position in the late 1990s and early 2000s -- Alain Vigneault, Michel Therrien and Claude Julien -- have gone on to do some impressive things in the NHL. A victory in the Eastern Conference final between Vigneaults New York Rangers and Therrien, in his second stint with Montreal, will put one of them in a Stanley Cup final. Between the three men, they will have been to the final five times. In 2008, Therrien reached the final with the Pittsburgh Penguins, losing in six games to the Detroit Red Wings. In 2011, Juliens Boston Bruins defeated Vigneaults Vancouver Canucks to claim the Stanley Cup. And in 2013, Julien had the Bruins back in the final only to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks. All three have credited the chance they got to coach middling-to-weak Montreal teams with their later success, even if their head coaching prospects were in doubt when they were eventually let go by the Canadiens. "You never know about the future," said the 50-year-old Therrien, whose team is coming off a second-round win over Juliens Bruins. "We learned a lot when we were young and that goes with experience. "Having to deal a lot with you (reporters) is a big part of our job. But it goes through a process. It goes with experience. Myself, Alain, Claude, we were young coaches at the time and we learned a lot. We started in Montreal and, Alain and me, we almost took the same route. We went back to the minors and went back to junior and the American League. "So Im glad for the success (Vigneault) had in Vancouver and New York. That was a great learning experience as a young coach to start in Montreal." There were actually four inexperienced coaches in a row, as Mario Tremblay got it started when he replaced Jacques Demers in 1995. But while Tremblay later worked as an assistant, he never got another head coaching job. In 1997, Tremblay was replaced by Vigneault, a former Ottawa Senators assistant who had been coaching in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Vigneault was replaced midway through the 2000-01 campaign by Therrien, who in turn lost his job to Julien in 2003. Vigneault was out of coaching for two seasons but returned with the junior P.E.I. Rocket before being named head coach of the Manitoba Moose, the Canucks AHL affiliate at the time. He was promoted to the Vancouver job to start the 2006-07 season and promptly took the Canucks to a division title and got the Jack Adams Trophy as NHL coach of the year, beating out Therrien and Buffalos Lindy Ruff. The Quebec City natives Canucks finished first overall in the NHL twice. But a drop-off last season saw Vancouver opt for former Rangers coach John Tortorella while Vigneault signed a five-year deal with New York. Now Vigneaults looking for another trip to the final. "My first NHL gig as a head coach was in a beautiful place, a Canadian city where hockey is passionate, hockey is demanding," the 53-year-old said. "Expectations were always very high, so I learned a lot. "I worked with some great people. It took me six years to get another kick at the can and obviously when I got my other chance, I used my experience in Montreal and my experience of going back to junior and also going to the American League and tried to help my new NHL team the best way I could. Now, this year, the Rangers have given me another opportunity and thats what Im trying to do." When Therrien left Montreal, he got a job coaching the Penguins farm club in Wilkes-Barre and was promoted to the NHL club on Dec. 15, 2005. He was fired suddenly on Feb. 15, 2009, one season after going to the final, in favour of Dan Bylsma. The new coach got Pittsburgh back to the final and avenged the defeat of Therriens team the year before by beating the Red Wings for the Cup. Therrien worked in television while waiting for his next chance, which came when new general manager Marc Bergevin hired him to return to the Canadiens at the start of last season. After Montreal, Julien was hired by the New Jersey Devils, but he also fell victim to a surprise firing late in the 2006-07 season despite a 47-24-8 record. The Bruins snapped him up the following season. Cheap Philadelphia Eagles Gear . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Cheap Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys Online .Y. - Alex Rodriguez paid $305,000 for evidence that could be used in the case involving the Biogenesis of America drug clinic, the Daily News reported Saturday. http://www.cheapeagles.com/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills will head into the regular season short on experience at quarterback after trimming the roster on Friday. Discount Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Custom Eagles Jerseys . -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. CHONBURI, Thailand -- Swede Anna Nordqvist shot a 5-under 67 at the LPGA Thailand on Saturday for a 4-stroke lead over top-ranked Inbee Park and American Michelle Wie. The 27th-ranked Nordqvist sprinkled her third round at the Siam Country Club with four birdies and an eagle on the 10th against a bogey on No. 5. Leading since the first round, the 26-year-old Nordqvist has an overall 11-under 205. She is chasing her first win on the U.S. LPGA Tour since 2009. Park shot 67 and Wie 69. "I think the great players out there, Inbee, Stacy (Lewis), theyve been up there so many times, so they look pretty comfortable out there," Nordqvist said. "For me, its a matter of keep putting myself in those positions and the win will happen eventually." Defending champion Park, playing her first tournament of the season, birdied the opening two holess and Nos.dddddddddddd 10-13, with a lone bogey on the eighth. "I hit a lot of great irons shots out there today, I think I still left four birdies out there," the four-time Major champion said. The 2010 runner-up Wie had an error-free round. "Couple hard pins, couple easy pins. Didnt really take advantage of the par 5s like I wanted to, but I cant really complain about it. Hopefully tomorrow Ill just have a lot more birdies," Wie said. "I really want that win, but Im not going to put the added pressure on myself." Paraguays Julieta Granada (71) was a further stroke behind in fourth. Tseng Yani of Taiwan, winner here in 2011 and 12, carded a 6-under 66 for an overall 5-under 211 and a share of fifth with Americans Cristie Kerr (68) and Lexi Thompson (69) as well as New Zealand teen prodigy Lydia Ko (69). 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