MONTREAL -- Sebastien Vettel will be in a daunting spot when he lines up directly behind the all-but unbeatable Mercedes AMG duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton for the start of the Canadian Grand Prix. John Paxson Jersey . The defending champion saw his streak of three straight pole positions in Canada come to an end in qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Instead, Vettel will start on the second row when the race begins Sunday in what is forecast to be near-perfect 27C weather. The German posted the third-quickest lap for Red Bull, while Rosberg edged Hamilton for the pole. Vettels time of one minute 15.548 seconds on the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was more than a half a second behind the two Mercedes, who have dominated F1 since the introduction this year of turbo engines. "Im always confident when I step in the car that its good enough to make it, so well have to wait and see," Vettel said. "In terms of fighting with the car, its still not where I want it to be, still not yet behaving the way I prefer. "Its not like last year when I was stepping into a dream car and everything was smooth and perfect. This year, were not tickling the right spots yet." The 26-year-old Vettel won the last four F1 championships for Renault-powered Red Bull, and took the chequered flag at the Canadian Grand Prix for the first time last year. But how times have changed. The Mercedes team has now claimed all seven pole positions to go with victories in all six F1 races this season. And the long straightaways leading to tight turns and chicanes on the Gilles-Villeneuve track seem to fit the Mercedes package to a tee, with its superior engine power and solid braking. "It was very tight between third and sixth, so Im happy I got the last lap right," said Vettel, who finished ahead of a pair of Mercedes-powered Williams cars driven by Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. The second Red Bull piloted by Daniel Ricciardo was sixth. "Its good to start third, right behind the Mercedes. Well see what we can do from there in the race." Rosberg won the day when he put up a best lap of 1:14.874 late in the last of three qualifying sessions and Hamilton fell short by less than a 10th of a second on his final run. "Nico did a better job today," said Hamilton, without a trace of the sullen behaviour he showed after coming second to Rosberg in qualifying two weeks ago in Monaco. There, Hamilton felt he was cheated out of a chance to win pole position when Rosberg pulled off late in qualifying, drawing a yellow caution flag. The two have since talked it over and announced that the animosity brewing since the start of the season was over and that they are friends again. Whether the truce holds will be seen when they start side by side on the front row for the race. Rosberg will have the upper hand if he keeps the lead. It may he tough for Hamilton to overtake on the tight track. "Its not that easy, especially with Nico so fast," said Hamilton. "Overtaking is going to be very difficult -- to overtake the same car as mine, especially when were so close in pace. "Ill do what I can. The thing is to try to get as many points as we can." In Monaco, where it is all-but impossible to overtake, Rosberg ended Hamiltons four-race winning run and took a four-point lead in driver standings. "I know its a track where hes really strong, so Im all the more happy that it worked out," Rosberg said of his teammate. "Having won the last race, it just helps a bit. "Lewis had that winning streak and to bring that to an end was important." Rosberg sees the race going the same way the others have, with the two Mercedes battling one another for the victory and the rest of the grid fighting it out for third spot. But Hamilton said his team cant be cocky, especially on a tricky, slippery track known for mishaps and upsets. "I dont think its just between the two of us," said Hamilton. "In qualifying, Sebastian wasnt as close as perhaps they might be, but their pace was good in the last race and I anticipate that theyll be quite strong. "So we definitely cannot disregard Sebastian or Red Bull. We need to be cautious still, and make sure we keep pushing." Red Bull and Renault were left scrambling with the engine change, while Mercedes came up with the best package of engine and car. The new 1.6-litre engines are decidedly quieter, without the high-pitched whine of past F1 cars, and theyre slower. Qualifying times were more than two seconds slower than last year, when Vettel took the pole in 1:12.425. It is still early in the 19-race season, and there is a small chance someone will find a way to close the gap with Mercedes before it is over. "Theyve been very dominant the first couple of races, but we are working hard," said Vettel. "Were completely motivated and we have a strong belief in ourselves. "I think thats the reason weve been so successful the last couple of years. So, rest assured, we wont give up." Vettel matched his best qualifying result this season, while both Bottas and Massa had their best placings. Massa has started no better than seventh on the grid and his best race finish was sixth. Cars were sliding on the slick surface both in the morning practice session and in qualifying. The first 20-minute qualifying ended with 16 seconds left when Marcus Ericsson crashed his Caterham, bringing out the red flags. Earier, Pastor Maldonados Lotus stopped on the track, ending his qualifying early. Esteban Gutierrez did not take part in qualifying after crashing his Sauber in practice. Michael Jordan Jersey .com) - Wayne Simmonds, Scott Laughton and Jakub Voracek each posted a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers thumped the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, on Saturday. Robin Lopez Jersey .I dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games. http://www.authenticbullsauthority.com/dennis-rodman-bulls-jersey-c-8/ .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, I enjoy reading your column - hope you keep it up! In the final seconds of the third period of the Winnipeg/Montreal game, Brendan Gallagher looked like he was attempting to get back on-side. However, as he was starting to skate back, Al Montoya, Zach Bogosian and Jacob Trouba blatantly interfered with his progress. If the referee wasnt around, I would have thought that he just missed it. However, this all enfolded in front of a referee. It seemed the ref either purposely wanted the game to be over, sadistically wanted Gallagher to get roughed up, or favoured the Jets to win! Please explain why it wasnt a penalty and what (if any) you would have done differently. Regards, Lee Hi Lee: I can assure you that none of the three assertions you made were even remotely part of the referees mindset or affected his ultimate decision not to assess a penalty against the Jets. Instead, Brendan Gallagher engaged in a losing battle of will with the referee when he attempted to draw a penalty by embellishing the contact with Zach Bogosian (twice) and Al Montoya. Once a referee suspects a player is guilty of embellishing he does not want to be fooled into calling a weak penalty as a result of any theatrical performance. The battle lines were pretty much drawn at that point when Jacob Trouba came off the Winnipeg bench on a change with Tobias Enstrom. Troubas most direct route to assume his right defense position from the Jets bench placed him on a collision course with Gallagher, who had just picked himself up off the ice after turning on Bogosians stick, reaching his hand to the rafters and doing a reverse fall onto his back! No penalty call was forthcoming at that point. I would have judged the encounters with Bogosian and Montoya no differently than the referee, based on the embellishment that was first initiated by Gallagher behind the Jets net. The next obvious question you will ask is if the referee deemed there was embellishment, then why not assess offsetting penalties? With under a minute to play and the puck dumped down the icce most referees would prefer to let the minor skirmish quickly play itself out and not affect the manpower on the ice when there was no immediate and direct bearing on the play. Scottie Pippen Jersey. That changed in my judgment however, once Jacob Trouba knocked Gallagher to the ice with a slightly buried shoulder and stick placed across the body of the Canadiens pin-ball forward. With the puck in the neutral zone Trouba needed to give way to Gallagher and pass behind the Montreal player to allow him unimpeded exit from the Jets end zone no differently than forward giving way to a D-man backing up at the blue line. That contact by Trouba was deserving of an interference penalty. The previous embellishments clearly witnessed by the referee would certainly cause some doubt as to the legitimacy of any foul committed against Brendan Gallagher so the refs arm remained down. I ask you to watch the play as objectively as possible and freeze-frame the action at key moments during the battles that took place. You should see Gallaghers hands initiate contact with Bogosian behind the net and the changing body posture of both players throughout the engagement. The final shove by Bogosian should not have caused the net to be pushed in an excessively tipped forward position by Gallagher. During and immediately following each player confrontation Brendan Gallagher made direct eye contact with the referee, including verbal appeals for a penalty call. It became a failed mission. Brendan Gallagher had a much more direct route available to him to exit the Jets end zone. He chose a path that ultimately led him into contact with Al Montoya and deep within the goal crease. Following the Montoya elbow push, Gallagher threw his head back excessively and immediately looked at the referee this time and on two more subsequent occasions hoping to see a raised arm. Gallaghers unnatural fall and look back at the ref after tripping over Bogosians stick completed the trifecta! Players that embellish on a consistent basis run the risk of not receiving the benefit of the doubt when they are legitimately fouled. Brendan Gallagher is too effective and too good a player to develop that unwanted reputation from the refs. Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Bucks Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '