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TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan had clearly been itching for the start of the regular season. Wholesale Custom Cardinals Shirts . Like so many other veterans, he had to grind his way through exhibition games in training camp, gradually moving from 11 points in his first preseason game, to 15, to 20 and finally to 34 in the final warm-up game last week.His patience was rewarded Wednesday night as the Olympic gold medalist had 40 points in the Toronto Raptors 109-91 season-opening victory over the Detroit Pistons, his third career 40-point outing and just two off his career high.Preseason (stunk), he said. But youve got to do it and now the real deal is here and youre just trying to catch a rhythm.DeRozan made a career-high 17 field goals on 27 shots and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line, while Jonas Valanciunas was 10 for 15 from the field to go along with 11 rebounds. Valanciunas previous career high was 31, also against the Pistons, on Jan. 12, 2015.According to Elias Sports Bureau, the duo became the first teammates in NBA history with a 40-point game and a 30-point game in a season opener. DeRozan also broke Vince Carters opening-night franchise record of 39 points, set against the-then New Jersey Nets in 2003.I never keep track, DeRozan said of his record-breaking exploits. Somebody always informs me after the game.Valanciunas also played down his accomplishment, despite registering his second career 30-point game, as the Raptors led from the 5:13 mark of the first quarter and never looked back.Eighty-one games to go, he said. We should not get too excited; this is just the start.Tobias Harris had 22 points and Marcus Morris had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the eighth time in their last 11 games against Toronto.Coach Stan Van Gundy was particularly irked with his teams defensive play in losing their season opener for the fifth time in seven years, especially the fact that Detroit was outrebounded 51-40. It didnt help that center Andre Drummond left the court after getting elbowed in the jaw by Valanciunas early in the first quarter, though he later returned.The rebounding was a major concern, he said. (Giving up) 54 points in the paint was a major concern and 29 free throw attempts, so that just means the team took it right at you.TIP-INSPistons: Henry Ellenson, Detroits first-round draft pick last June (18th overall) went scoreless in 2:10 of play, while second-round selection Michael Gbinije (49th overall), had two points in 2:10.Raptors: C Lucas Nogueira (ankle) sat out. . DeRozan started his franchise-record eighth straight season opener, breaking a tie with Carter. . First-round draft pick Jakob Poeltl became the first Austrian to play in the NBA. He finished with two points in 12:47 of court time. . Oct. 26 is the earliest date that Toronto has ever had a home opener. . The Raptors are 13-9 on opening night and have won four straight.HE SAID ITIts one thing to watch somebody on TV and see what he does every single night and actually being there and seeing how effortless it was. It was amazing, he was just getting to his spots, shooting over people and its like, `How does he do that?Rookie Pascal Siakam, drafted 27th overall in June, on the play of DeRozan. Siakam became the first Toronto rookie to start a season opener since Valanciunas in 2012, and rose to the occasion, hauling in nine rebounds to go along with four points in 21 minutes.UNITED NATIONSWith the draft-day additions of Poeltl (Austria) and Siakam (Cameroon), Torontos roster has players representing five countries other than the United States. Valanciunas (Lithuania), Cory Joseph (Canada), Nogueira and Bruno Caboclo (Brazil) round out the group. In their 21 seasons, the Raptors have had players representing 16 countries.ANOTHER DIMENSIONEvery fan at the Air Canada Centre was given a pair of 3D glasses. As the Raptors opened their season some of the players were jumping out of the Jumbotron to highlight some of the more spectacular plays from last season.UP NEXTPistons: Host Orlando on Friday in their home opener. Van Gundy is 6-1 against his former team since taking charge in Detroit.Raptors: Host Cleveland on Friday in an early season rematch of last years Eastern Conference Finals, won by the Cavaliers in six games. Tony La Russa . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Albert Pujols . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. http:///...rsey-large-951q.html . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. CHICAGO -- For the past two-plus seasons, Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling fulfilled his role as Corey Crawfords backup without complaint.Naturally, Darling has bigger dreams of becoming a No. 1 netminder. His recent success as Crawfords injury replacement has reinforced the faith of his coaches and teammates.I think that, being patient, he can become a starter, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.Chicago (17-8-3) leans on Darling again as they host the New York Rangers (18-9-1). The teams play each other twice in the next five days in their only meetings of the season.Darling, 27, makes his fourth consecutive start as Crawford recovers from an emergency appendectomy. He has posted a .940 save percentage in his last three outings and is 8-5-2 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .919 save percentage this season.Crawford could miss a couple more weeks, which means Darling will receive regular work.You find a lot about the goalie, whether he can handle that workload, Quenneville said. Every time hes done it, hes proven that he can do it. I think thats the next step is the real job. Theres not a lot of opportunities to get that job in our league and its very competitive, but I think hes proven that he can play a lot of games.The Rangers pose a tough test for any goaltender. New York leads the league with 99 goals this season and averages 3.54 goals per game. Michael Grabner has a team-leading 13 goals, while Rick Nash and Kevin Hayes have 11 goals apiece.Hayes most recent goal Thursday night lifted the Rangers to a 2-1 victory over Winnnipeg. Harrison Bader. . The Rangers improved to 8-5-0 on the road as they travel to the United Center.Injuries to key players have forced both teams to adjust.The Blackhawks will be without Crawford, captain Jonathan Toews (upper body) and defenseman Brent Seabrook (upper body). The absence of Toews has prompted Quenneville to give more responsibility to center Marcus Kruger.For the Rangers, Nash will miss his second consecutive game because of a groin injury. The 32-year-old likely will miss one or two more games in addition to Fridays contest.Forwards Jimmy Vesey and Matt Puempel also have been out with upper-body injuries.Obviously were missing a couple key elements, but every team in the NHL goes through injuries, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. Like Ive mentioned many times, its an opportunity for some other players to step in and have more ice time and a bigger role.Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be in goal after being given the night off against the Jets. Lundqvist is 12-8-1 with a 2.55 GAA and a .912 save percentage this season. In his career against Chicago, he is 6-2-2 with a 2.19 GAA and a .925 save percentage.Marian Hossa leads the Blackhawks with 14 goals. Hossa is coming off a two-goal game Tuesday in a 4-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. The performance increased Hossas total to 513 career goals, which matched him with ex-Blackhawk Jeremy Roenick for No. 38 on the all-time list. ' ' '