Ontario and British Columbia are the traditional lacrosse hotbeds in Canada, but the best professional indoor team in the country right now calls Alberta home. The undefeated Edmonton Rush improved to 5-0 over the weekend, the only National Lacrosse League team yet to taste defeat so far this season. In fact, the Rush are the only Canadian club with a winning record as Toronto (2-3), Calgary (2-3) and Vancouver (2-5) all lag behind Edmonton. "Its early still and you dont want to get too high or too excited but were playing well," said Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan. "Its a process of maturity." Edmontons defence was been exceptional so far, led by Kyle Rubisch. "Hes a bulldog," Keenan said of the two-time reigning NLL defenceman of the year. "He takes away opponents space, he picks off passes and hes a beast when the ball is on the turf. His gap closure is scary good. Guys think they have a step on him or an opportunity to get by him and hes in their face and theyre on their butt. "Hes a shut-down guy. Hes got great vision and good hands, too. He fits our system so well. Hes a good team guy. Were lucky to have him." Meanwhile, Chris Corbeil was named captain when Jimmy Quinlan moved behind the bench as an assistant coach this year. "I loved the kid when I watched him play in junior and I continued to watch him when he was in Buffalo," added Keenan. "Hes a real quality person, a great teammate, and hes super fit. He sets an example on the floor both in games and practices. And hes young, too. "Thats the M.O. of our whole group. Were a young group, but pretty experienced for a team so young -- a lot of Canadian championships (in summer lacrosse), a lot of experience in big-game situations." Rubisch, Corbeil and Brett Mydske were good enough to be on Canadas team that won the most recent world indoor championship. "Weve got all three of them on our back end and theyre three of the best in the business," said Keenan. The whole defence-transition corps has been together for three years now, with the addition this year of Nik Bilic, and that continuity has resulted in a league-best 7.8 goals-against average. Top-notch goaltending is a must in lacrosse and Aaron Bold, who gets most of the starts, and Brodie MacDonald supply it for the Rush. "Hes been awesome," Keenan said of Bold. "Hes made big saves at key times. Last game, Rochester tied the score late and he made two big saves on Dan Dawson in the closing minute of regulation time. Hes really raised the level of his game." Up front, second-year forwards Mark Matthews, who was 2013 rookie of the year after being the No. 1 overall draft pick, and Curtis Knight are maturing impressively in the pro game. The former Whitby, Ont., junior teammates share the team goal scoring lead with 12 each. It was Matthews who scored the overtime winner in a thrilling 8-7 home triumph last Saturday over two-time defending champion Rochester. At six-foot-five, hes a superstar in the making. "Hes got a great passion for the game," said Keenan. "One thing about him Ive found different from so-called premier players is that hes willing to do a lot of the dirty work, too. A lot of his big plays in games are without the ball. Hes willing to do that. I look at (Buffalo forward) John Tavares who is 45 but who can still play because hes changed his game 10 times. You can constantly try to get better, and Mark is willing to do that." Add it all up and it is clear to see that Keenan has been putting a complete package on the green carpet. "Its my fifth year in Edmonton and weve had ups and downs," he said. "This is the first year you feel such positive vibes. You hear people talking about us. Everybody loves a winner. Winning consistently was a problem for us in the past. We were 2-6 at home last season. That was a problem. This season were 3-0 at home so far. You can feel a different kind of vibe in the city -- that theres some belief in us. Again, its early in the season, but theres progress there." Average attendance in Rexall Place is 7,695 through three home games, which is less than what owner Bruce Urban needs to break even. So, everybody in the Rush organization is hoping the winning ways will fill more seats. "We play an exciting brand of lacrosse people should want to see," said Keenan. "Bruce is a committed owner. Weve worked together on finding the right formula and we seem to be getting there. "The tempo of play is so fast these days. We dont designate one or two or three guys as transition players to move the ball quickly up the floor. We expect our entire defence group to contribute that way because we think they are capable of that. Skill levels across the league are phenomenal now and we fit that mould well." Edmonton began NLL play in 2006 but it wasnt until 2010 that the Rush won more games than it lost. Last years 9-7 record was the teams second .500-plus showing, although the 2012 lineup managed to get as far as the title game despite a 6-10 regular season. Winning the Champions Cup that year would have been a colossal upset. Now, Keenans crew looks more ready than most other NLL teams to push Rochester off the top of the heap. Rush players are from either Ontario or B.C. except for defenceman John Lintz, a local who attends the University of Alberta, and faceoff specialist Jeremy Thompson, who is a First Nations player from upstate New York. A home playoff date for the first time in franchise history seems likely come spring. "Weve established a fan base and, to get more people out to games, they just need to see some results," said Lintz. "Getting a home playoff date would be amazing. If we get that, it would really cement us in the eyes of a lot of fans." The West Division leaders play in Philadelphia on Saturday and at Minnesota on Feb. 15. They are at home against Toronto on Feb. 28 and against Vancouver on March 8. A March 14 game in Calgary precedes a March 21 home game against the Buffalo Bandits (5-1), who currently hold down first place in the East Division. Roberto Perez Indians Jersey . Auld made 37 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. It was Ottawas first game without starter Anderson, who is out indefinitely after cutting his hand Wednesday night, and it was evident the team wasnt sure how to deal with the change in goal. Jose Ramirez Indians Jersey . The former Edmonton Oilers defenceman was with the St. Louis Blues in training camp on a professional tryout. Whitney, 30, had four goals and 13 points in 34 games with the Oilers last season. http://www.indianssale.com/indians-trevor-bauer-jersey/. Andrews, Scotland - Oliver Wilson fired a final- round, 2-under 70 on Sunday and he held on to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by one shot. Tyler Clippard Jersey . The Canadiens captain, who underwent surgery on his injured biceps in the off-season, had been skating with the team in a non-contact capacity since last week. Zach Duke Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell.Much of the excitement of opening night in the National Hockey League was muted on Tuesday when Montreal Canadiens forward George Parros was taken off the Bell Centre ice on a stretcher after engaging in a fight with Maple Leafs forward Colton Orr. Parros was hurt when the Toronto player lost his balance and pulled Parros over him to the ice. The Canadiens enforcer landed face first, lost consciousness, and was taken to hospital. On Wednesday, he was diagnosed with a concussion. "You never want to see a guy get hurt like that. Its a scary situation, I just hope hes all right," said Orr, who had already fought with Parros earlier in the game. "Its scary, its not fun to watch. I dont know what else to say," said Canadiens teammate Lars Eller. It was an ugly moment on a night that was otherwise reserved for celebration. But the injury re-opens a familiar question for hockey fans: does Tuesdays incident in Montreal change your feelings about fighting in hockey? Time and time again, NHL players have been polled about whether to ban fighting from the game and time and time again, there has been heavy resistance to removing the fisticuffs. It appears that the image of Parros being removed on a stretcher is still not ennough to sway some hockey opinions.dddddddddddd. "Hockey is a game that needs fighting in it," said Ottawa Senators head coach Paul MacLean on Wednesday after his teams morning skate. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported on Wednesday that while Flyers forward Vincent Lecavalier is sensitive to Parros injury, he says he would still vote in favour of keeping fighting. "Part of the game," Lecavalier told Dreger. Will fighting leave the game anytime soon? TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie gave his opinion on the incident during a post-game discussion with Thats Hockey host Gino Reda. "The culture of hockey is such that the decision-makers - the players, the coaches, the managers, the owners, the administrators - they dont want any appreciable difference to the games," he said. "So the debate will rage on as George Parros recovers from that, but I dont anticipate anything is going to change because it hasnt in the past." Several other fights that produced knockouts and concussions in recent memory have not produced change. Chances are the Parros injury wont either. But does Tuesdays incident in Montreal change your feelings about fighting in hockey? As always, Its Your! Call. ' ' '