For those that have endured a long summer, the wait is finally over. Hockey is back. The NHLs preseason schedule kicks off today with a four-game slate that includes the resumption of the Battle of Ontario. In addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Ottawa Senators, tonights action includes the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Carolina Hurricanes and an ultra-rare doubleheader between the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. While preseason games, especially the preseason openers, will have little impact on who ultimately lifts the Stanley Cup in nine months time, they are crucial opportunities for players to make a name for themselves in the fight for roster spots. Both the Leafs and the Senators have a combination of young prospects trying to land their first NHL jobs and veteran role players fighting for an everyday shift in the league. For the Leafs, tonights action will provide an early look at the progress of prospects Nazem Kadri, Joe Colborne and Matt Frattin, who are all fighting for a spot on Torontos third line. Also expected for tonights game is rookie camp standout and former Ducks first-rounder, Jake Gardiner, who is trying to force his way into consideration for a job on the Leafs already-crowded blue-line. The Senators also have a glut of young talent to be evaluated and, unlike the Leafs, have a handful of roster spots to offer their young guns. The battle between recent high draft picks and last seasons AHL stand-outs is expected to be heated and that battle kicks off tonight in Toronto. Four former first-rounders will begin their fight to stick with the Sens against the Leafs, including forwards Nikita Filatov and Mika Zibanejad and defenders Jared Cowen and David Rundblad. With the exodus of veteran bodies at last seasons trade deadlines, this years Sens training camp boasts the possibility of offering not just jobs to these prospects, but top-tier minutes as well. Tonights games kick off a busy week for the Canadian NHL clubs, with each team playing at least three games in the next seven days. Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto will be the busiest of the Canadian teams over that stretch, playing five games each. Ottawa, Winnipeg and Calgary will each play three games before the end of the week. For a team like Edmonton, the busy schedule offers an opportunity to get a good look at how developing players stack up against their pro counterparts. Edmonton will likely get a good look at all their prospects on Tuesday, as the team plays two games in one evening against Chicago and Minnesota. Toronto, as well, has invited a lot of players to camp - 70 in total. The five games they play this week will allow them to quickly decide where to assign all of those bodies. While no one has ever won or lost the Stanley Cup in September, these games do provide a crucial opportunity for players to make a name for themselves. And, who knows? The next Cup-winning goal scorer could earn his job on the strength of one great game this week. Coach Factory Outlet . - Mixed martial arts fighter and reality show host Jason (Mayhem) Miller was in jail on suspicion of burglary Monday night after deputies responding to reports of a break-in said they found him naked inside a Southern California church. Coach Outlet . -- The Portland Trail Blazers wanted to put Sundays loss to Sacramento behind them as quickly as possible. [url=http://www.official-coach-shop.com/]http://www.official-coach-shop.com/[/ur... . Halpern had four goals and 12 assists for the Washington Capitals last season. The veteran forward, 36, has played 12 NHL seasons for Dallas, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Montreal, and has twice suited up for the Capitals. WASHINGTON -- Amid the postgame delirium on the field, the crushed beer cans and strewn champagne bottles collecting in the grass, pitcher Gio Gonzalez grabbed Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner and steered him toward the gaggle of players celebrating the clubs first NL East championship. "Ted, this is your party!" the effervescent left-hander yelled. Then, turning toward teammates, Gonzalez shouted: "Hey! Whos got the cooler? This is the man, right here!" All in all, 21-game winner Gonzalez and the rest of the first team in 79 years to bring post-season baseball back to the nations capital threw quite a victory party at Nationals Park on Monday night. Thanks to strong pitching from Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harpers burst of energy and Adam LaRoches slugging, the Nationals won enough from April through September that even a loss on the first day of October could not stop them from achieving the sort of success that seemed so far away only a few years ago. "The puzzle came together," the 86-year-old Lerner said, "a little earlier than we expected." Despite being beaten 2-0 by the Philadelphia Phillies, the Nationals earned their first division title since moving from Montreal in 2005, because the second-place Atlanta Braves lost 2-1 at the Pittsburgh Pirates. "This is incredible. The excitement. The joy. The fans. Smiles on everyones faces, the excitement thats going on," Gonzalez said. "Everyone here just witnessed history. Hopefully we can try to continue that journey." Washington, in first place since May 22, leads Atlanta by three games with two to play in the regular season. The Braves loss finished as the top of the ninth inning ended in Washington, and the Nationals congratulated each other in their dugout with hugs, high-fives and spiked gloves. "The way it happened tonight doesnt really matter," said third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the Nationals first draft pick in June 2005. "We put ourselves in that position to have the luxury of having the other team have to play perfect baseball. We played a great 159, 160 games to get to that point, and we should be commended for that." When Michael Morse led off the bottom of the ninth, the PA announcer informed the crowd that the home team was the champion, and when the game ended red fireworks lit the night sky with the Capitol building off in the distance beyond left field. The scoreboard declared "NL East Division Champions." It was the second division crown in franchise history. The Montreal Expos won the NL East in 1981, a strike-shortened season, by beating the Phillies in a best-of-five playoff. When the game ended, the Phillies -- winners of the previous five NL East titles; already eliminated from playoff contention this year -- gathered in the middle of the diamond for regular post-victory handshakes. The Nationals, meanwhile, collected in their home clubhouse for alcohol-spraying. They gathered around general manager Mike Rizzo and dumped bubbly over his shaved head. Harper, who has more homers (22) than years on earth (19), shared some apple cider with LaRoches 9-year-old son, Drake. "Ill remember being in the scrum in the middle of the clubhouse with all the guys, just elated and all together," Rizzo said later, once the excitement had moved out to the field, where some fans stayed to clap and chant. "We live with each other for seven months a year. Culmination of all that emotion and such a successful season forr us.dddddddddddd." On Sept. 20, the Nationals assured themselves of no worse than an NL wild-card berth -- and guaranteed Washington a post-season game for the first time since the Senators lost the 1933 World Series to the New York Giants. But even on that night of success, Washington manager Davey Johnson made clear he wasnt all that interested in merely getting a chance to play in a one-game, in-or-out, wild-card playoff. No, he wanted his team to focus on bigger prizes at hand, including a division championship. With Washington back home from a six-game road trip and on the verge of a big accomplishment, the first roar of the night from the crowd of 35,287 came a few minutes before the first pitch, when a booming voice over the loudspeakers let everyone know that the home teams "magic number is down to one!" Ready to roar, the spectators often rose at key moments, whether their team was at the plate or in the field. Fans also reacted with applause and cheers when the out-of-town scoreboard in right-centre field showed that Pittsburgh had taken a lead against Atlanta in the fifth inning. All in all, quite a contrast from the mostly silent, mostly empty ballparks that were home to Nationals teams that lost 100 games apiece in 2008 and 2009. Then again, those worst-in-baseball clubs earned No. 1 overall picks in the amateur draft that turned into Strasburg and Harper. Rizzo also oversaw a rebuilding of a farm system and two very key additions from outside the organization: Gonzalez, acquired from Oakland for four prospects last off-season; and Jayson Werth, signed away from Philadelphia with a $126 million free-agent deal in December 2010. "These guys have been through a lot. That just goes to show you its not easy. Its not easy getting to this point," Werth said. "Luck plays into it a lot. Youve got to be on good teams -- and Im on a good team." Werth was brought to Washington, in part, to show the club how to win, having been a part of the Phillies perennial division champions and 2008 World Series winners. And so it was somehow fitting that the Nationals title came on a night when they were facing the Phillies. "Made me mad. Yes it did. Very much so. Im a bad loser," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said about watching Washington clinch against his club. "Nobody should be a good loser. Im a bad loser and I always will be." Zimmerman lived through plenty of losses in past seasons, but twice decided to re-sign and stay with a team close to where he grew up in Virginia. As he spoke Monday, Zimmerman wore a pair of white ski goggles around his neck, the better to protect his eyes from the spray of beverages. Not his purchase. Whose? "This is from Werth," Zimmerman said. "Hes been through a few." NOTES: Kyle Kendrick (11-12) pitched seven scoreless innings for the win. John Lannan (4-1) gave up two runs in five innings for Washington. ... Nationals reliever Craig Stammen struck out all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh. ... Harpers No. 34 Nationals uniform ranks fourth among jersey sales this season. MLB and the players union released the list of most popular jerseys Monday. Harper trails No. 1 Derek Jeter of the Yankees, No. 2 Josh Hamilton of the Rangers, and No. 3 Ichiro Suzuki of the Yankees. ... SS Jimmy Rollins was out of Philadelphias starting lineup because of an injured right calf. ... Manuel said reliever B.J. Rosenberg (1-2) will start Tuesday for the Phillies. ' ' '