declaring to the league they have the will and right to

The Vancouver Canucks will try to aid their slim playoff chances by snapping a three-game slide when they welcome the Los Angeles Kings for Saturdays clash at Rogers Arena. Vancouver is 0-2-1 over its last three games and has dropped the first two tests of a five-game homestand in regulation. The slide has damaged the clubs already fragile playoff hopes, and the Canucks enter Saturday seven points out of the Western Conferences last postseason berth with only five games left on their schedule. Canucks captain Henrik Sedin is expected back in the lineup tonight after missing four games. The Kings, meanwhile, officially earned a fifth straight trip to the postseason following Wednesdays home win over Phoenix. Vancouver will try to avoid getting swept by the Kings in the season series on Saturday. Los Angeles is 4-0 versus the Canucks this season and has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the clubs. The Kings halted a two-game skid in Vancouver with a 3-2 overtime win at Rogers Arena on Nov. 25. After getting slammed by Anaheim 5-1 to begin this homestand on March 29, the Canucks then dropped a 3-1 decision in Tuesdays tilt against the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 shots to help New York subdue the Canucks on Tuesday. Ryan Kesler had the only goal of the game for Vancouver, while Eddie Lack gave up all three goals on 31 shots in the loss. Lack is expected to get the start this evening. "I thought our team played hard and we had some chances that we just didnt finish," said Vancouver head coach John Tortorella. "I thought we battled real hard and it was a good game." Tortorella went 0-2 against his former team this season, also losing to the Rangers 5-2 in New York on Nov. 30. Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault and Tortorella had switched cities in the offseason after both coaches were fired from their previous jobs. Vancouver fell to 18-13-6 as the home club this season. After tonights game, the Canucks will complete the homestand with tests against Anaheim and Colorado. The Kings have won seven of their last nine games, but the playoff-bound club has dropped two of its past three tilts. One night after clinching its postseason spot with a 4-0 win over the Coyotes, Los Angeles was handed a 2-1 regulation defeat in Thursdays game at San Jose. Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots to help lead the Sharks, who assured themselves of finishing no lower than third in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles is now locked into the third spot in the division and will be the guest in its first- round playoff matchup against either Anaheim or San Jose. Jordan Nolan had the only goal of the game for the Kings. Martin Jones gave up both goals on 21 shots in the loss. Also, L.A. saw defenseman Drew Doughty leave the game in the first period with a possible shoulder injury after checking Tyler Kennedy. Doughty, who was playing in his 199th consecutive game, is questionable for Saturdays tilt. The Kings had an eight-game road winning streak snapped on Thursday. The club is 22-13-3 as the guest this season and is making the second stop on a four- game road trip tonight. TORONTO - The clock continues to tick and there are only minutes now before the current collective bargaining agreement between the CFL and the Players Association expires - but still theres no deal. After almost two days of talks at a Toronto airport hotel, the CFL eventually did increase its financial offer and the union removed any revenue-sharing percentages from its own proposal, but talks between both sides broke down Thursday afternoon. The current CBA expired Thursday at midnight ET. Neither side knows when theyll meet again at the bargaining table, but the union wont stop players from reporting when training camps open Sunday and the league, too, wont stop any player from stepping onto the field. "No we wont [keep players away from the field]," commissioner Mark Cohon told TSN after both sides parted. "We want football to be played. We want them to vote on this best offer that we have for them." "Weve come to the table many times and theyve pushed away," union president Scott Flory told TSN before leaving the hotel to catch a flight. With so much on the line so late, its a frustrating and compelling moment in the immediate future of Canadian football. The sides met for over a 12-hour period Wednesday in the company of a third-party mediator and on the surface, everyone agreed those discussions were beneficial. "We thought we had good talks in the [Wednesday morning]," Flory, a former Montreal Alouettes offensive lineman said. "We had some [talks] without prejudice. We talked freely and we were allowed to discuss issues." "Great conversations [Wednesday] - some important issues that were important to the players - and we came back with some creative ideas," Cohon said. Cohon and his team - chief operating officer Michael Copeland, vice president of football operations Kevin McDonald, Calgary Stampeders president Ken King, Roughriders president Jim Hopson and CFL legal counsel Steve Shamie - presented the union with a base salary cap of $5 million in 2014, along with a clause that stipulated if in the third year of a new CBA (potentially 2016) the leagues aggregate revenues grew by $27 million compared to the previous year, the CFL would be open to renegotiating and possibly raising the salary cap. Cohon later called it the leagues "final offer." "In the discussions the players said to us Were really worried if you have some break-out revenues, some extraordinary opportunities - new TV deal, major, major sponsorship, all of a sudden all your stadiums are full - we want to participate," Cohon said. "We thought that was a major step forward for us." The players representatives at the table - union president Scott Flory, vice presidents Marwan Hage and Jeff Keeping, treasurer Brian Ramsay and CFLPA legal counsel Ed Molstad - tabled a counter proposal before 11:30am ET. It included a $5.8 million cap and $4.8 million minimum cap floor. The players also banished the revenue-sharing percentages from their previous offer, and in its place created a "Revenue Protection Clause." The clause offered the potential for a "fixed cap for a minimum of two years," and if league revenues in the third year - excluding money made from the Grey Cup - increased "more thhan $12 million," the league and union would reopen talks on the salary cap limit or the existing CBA would be void at the end of that season.dddddddddddd "A system where the cap is tied to revenue," Flory said. "They are fixed on fixing the cost of the players. We came up with a system that we thought was incredibly reasonable, where there is a protection for guys. If revenues grow by a certain amount, we are just going to recalibrate the cap." The league met the players after 2pm ET, saying the unions proposal was unacceptable and walked out. "You get to a point in negotiations where you have to look holistically at whats important to our league - we have to protect and continue to try and thrive and build this league," Cohon said. "The reason [talks] broke down is the proposal from the players would set us back. We cant do that." "We tried to accommodate and make a deal because we want to be on the field," Flory said. "We want to play football. It is just clear to the other side that they are going to try and dictate terms to us. We arent willing to accept that." Cohon said the league couldnt accept the players math. "When we put our best offer on the table, which was a significant offer - and by the way we walked in and placed down all of our financials - we broke down each teams P&L (profit and loss) and based upon their proposal over two-thirds of our teams would be losing money," the commissioner said. The players offer also includes non-financial points - including one padded practice per week and the desire to have an independent neurologist on the sideline for every game - and a proposal to reduce contract option years. But differing methods to constructing, setting and growing the salary cap appears a wide gulf right now. The one thing both sides apparently agree on, however, is its up to the players to decide their next move. Union sources told TSN the players are awaiting all strike ballots and reviewing particular provincial labour laws before declaring to the league they have the will and right to strike at any time. Flory told TSN hes encouraging players to report to training camp. Ramsay (Edmonton Eskimos) and Keeping (Toronto Argonauts) are active players and both confirmed to TSN they will report to training camp Sunday. "We hear, we listen - you can see our proposal and the movement weve made...Were telling players to report to training camp. We want to play football," Flory said. Cohon wants the players to vote on the leagues offer. "Its really our final offer. Its what weve mentioned to the players; that is what weve said to the players," he said. "We want them to take this to a vote. We want to hear from the players. "Players are all coming to camp is what we hear - theyre reporting, the rookies are there, and the quarterbacks are there. Guys are flying in. We want them to take this to a vote and let the players speak." As members of both sides left the hotel, the third party mediator - who didnt offer his name or want to comment extensively on negotiations - smiled when asked if he could see some kind of conclusion. "These kind of negotiations usually get done," he said as he walked out the lobby door. ' ' '