ARLINGTON, Texas -- While Nick Saban wants to see improvement, top-ranked Alabama was pretty impressive in the opening of its national-title defense -- without a proven quarterback and with Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Derrick Henry in the NFL.That Crimson Tide defense, down four players taken in the first two rounds of the NFL draft last spring, is still physical and dominating, too.On the seasons first Saturday, when two top-five teams lost, freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes to ArDarius Stewart and ran for two more scores in a 52-6 victory over No. 20 Southern California on Saturday night.We got off to a little bit of a shaky start in the first quarter, especially on offense, Saban said. We scored a lot of points, made a lot of big plays, but still our consistency in execution needs to be much improved. ... My focus with our team right now is what can we do better.At least the Tide is 1-0, unlike No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 5 LSU after their losses Saturday. And No. 16 UCLA lost as well.USC coach Clay Helton sees Alabama a little different than Saban after the Trojans were held to 194 yards in their most lopsided loss since a 51-0 setback to Notre Dame in 1966.Obviously one game does not make a season. We played a very good team, said Helton. They played to their potential. The cold hard truth is we did not play up to ours.Stewart was wide open in the end zone behind the secondary when Hurts hit him for a 39-yard score midway through the second quarter that made it 7-3 and put Alabama ahead to stay. They hooked up on a 71-yard touchdown right after halftime for a 24-3 lead, and Hurts later had TD runs of 7 and 6 yards.Hopefully its a statement were still going to fight, still going to play, Stewart said about the teams performance.The season-opening win came at AT&T Stadium -- the home of the NFLs Dallas Cowboys -- was also where the Crimson Tide started their 2012 and 2015 national championship seasons with victories.The Tide are 10-0 in season openers under Saban, including seven non-conference games at neutral sites against Power Five teams that they have won by an average margin of 23 points.THE TAKEAWAYUSC: The Trojans may be targeting their first Pac-12 title since 2008, but they werent ready to compete with the defending national champions.USC was held without a touchdown in a game for the first time since 1997, and for the first time in a season opener since 1960. It was the fewest points since a 10-6 loss to Utah in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl.Junior quarterback Max Browne waited three years for his first start, and had a tough time against the overwhelming Alabama defense. He was 14 of 29 for 101 yards with an interception. It certainly didnt help him that receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had 89 catches for 1,454 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, had only one catch for 9 yards when targeted five times.ALABAMA: While the Tide are still unproven at quarterback after playing two freshmen, the biggest hole on offense was left by Henrys absence. Sophomore Damien Harris showed the ability for some big plays with runs of 46 and 73 yards. He finished with nine carries for 138 yards.STOMP AND YOURE GONESouthern Cal defender Jabari Ruffin was ejected from the game late in the first half when at the end of a punt return he stomped his foot into the groin area of Alabamas Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was on the ground. The play happened right in front of referee Reggie Smith, who immediately threw a flag. When announcing the penalty, Smith said, No. 40 has disqualified himself from the game.POLL IMPLICATIONSUSC: The Trojans will almost certainly be unranked before playing their next game. They still have a lot to prove to voters.ALABAMA: There shouldnt be any questions about Alabama staying the No. 1 team when the new poll comes out Tuesday.UP NEXTUSC: Before facing another top 10 team, the Trojans are home next week against Utah State. They go to No. 8 Stanford for their Pac-12 opener on Sept. 17.ALABAMA: The Crimson Tide play their home opener next week against defending C-USA champion Western Kentucky, a week before their SEC opener at No. 11 Ole Miss. Jose Berrios Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. Tony Oliva Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-blake-parker-jersey/ . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Marwin Gonzalez Twins Jersey . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. Willians Astudillo Jersey . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Its the opening game of the 2014 Eastern Conference finals. Star goalie Carey Price?suffers an injury, and it doesnt look good.Two time zones away in Edmonton, Devan Dubnyk, technically still property of the Montreal Canadiens but on leave, cannot believe the sickest of ironies.I remember watching that game too, and I was like, What the f---. Of course! Dubnyk recalled this week, shaking his head. That was the very day I got home.That day -- May 17, 2014 -- might have been rock bottom of an already awful 2013-14 season.Because the reality is that even if Dubnyk had not pulled the plug on his season and had stayed in Montreal, where he was trying to work his way into the organization, he was in no position to help the Habs.Dustin Tokarski and Peter Budaj were ahead of him on the depth chart. And he was in a place, both technically and mentally, having not played in forever, having had a miserable season ... well, he wasnt going to help anyone.I wasnt dumb. I mean, if I truly thought I would have had an opportunity, I wouldnt have gone anywhere. But it had been such an insane season and I had a 10-month-old son at home. I hadnt seen him for 10 weeks. Im practicing with six guys every day in Brossard, Dubnyk said of the Habs practice facility. Theres more important things I need to be doing in my life right now, and thats being a dad. The Canadiens were awesome about it. I just told them I had to go see my son and my wife.Just two and a half years later, now with the Minnesota Wild, Dubnyk finds himself just ahead of Price atop the NHL with a .946 save percentage, a lofty perch not based on catching lightning in a bottle but rather a continuation of his technical and mental turnaround that began right after that 2013-14 season.The fun part about it is that it doesnt feel like anything crazy; it doesnt feel like Im hanging on for dear life until something collapses, Dubnyk said of his league-leading save percentage. It just feels like were playing well together as a team, Ive got a great feeling standing back there. ... Theyre letting me make great reads and be patient. Im just really comfortable back there.Confidence, humility, humor, all three resonate during a half-hour interview with ESPN.com Monday evening at the Wilds team hotel in downtown Toronto.However painful that 2013-14 season might have been, it has no doubt forged the person and goaltender that the 30-year-old is today.I always viewed great adversity as a gift, Ive always believed in it,?Dallas Eakins, Dubnyks former head coach with the Edmonton Oilers, said last Friday. I think it makes us better people, better at our jobs, all those things, to go through some nasty, nasty adversity. Probably that time in Edmonton and then going through a couple of organizations very quickly, that was surely very hard on Devan and his family.Former Oilers GM Craig MacTavish says he feels the same way.A lot of times failure is the impetus that spurs development, MacTavish said Monday. I really believe that with Devan. Whether its a mentality change, whether its a commitment change, whatever it is, failure for me leads to opportunity when framed the right way. And I think Devan really framed it the right way.Relayed MacTavishs comment, Dubnyk concurred.You know what, I think hes right. You have to go through these things in life and in your career, he said. Theres no way to know what it is you have to go through. Not everyone has to get traded or go down to the minors like I did.But that was indeed his path.The seeds of that pivotal 2013-14 season were planted at the June 2013 draft in New Jersey when word leaked that the Oilers were trying to acquire Cory Schneider from the rival Vancouver Canucks (which McTavish confirms). Schneider would end up being traded to the New Jersey Devils instead that weekend, but the psychological damage had been done for Dubnyk, who was entering the final year of his contract.It was disappointing, for sure, Dubnyk said. With MacT coming in as a new GM, hes the boss, and he needs to build the team as he sees fit. Cory Schneider is a world-class goalie, so its not like hes out there trying to get some bum to replace me. But I was disappointed because I felt I had shown in the previous year, it was my best season, I had a .920 [save percentage], I didnt understand where it was coming from.What it did is plant the narrative with Oilers fans that their goaltending wasnt good enough.His opening five games were a nightmare, Dubnyk giving up 22 goals. It snowballed from there.I didnt do myself any favors, I wasnt exactly knocking any pucks down, he said. Ill never forget those first 4-5 games. I remember the days between games, I felt sick. Wed be on the road and I would go to a movie to try and just lose myself for two hours. As soon as the movie was over, I felt sick again. That was a really tough couple of weeks to start the season.He actually steadied himself to some degree, but his fate waas set.dddddddddddd The Oilers traded him to the Nashville Predators for Matt Hendricks on Jan. 15, 2014, though Dubnyk played only two games.I remember when we traded him, I was talking to him in my hotel room, said Eakins, now head coach of the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate in San Diego. I was actually really excited for him.When a goaltender is just OK or suffering, a good team is able to forge through and support the goalie. That was the one thing we couldnt do in Edmonton. I felt terrible about it personally. I know the organization didnt feel good about it, either. We werent able to support Dubs on a nightly basis. And man, he was battling hard, he was doing everything he could to try to help us win. I always appreciated that about him and really respected that.Dubnyk has no bitterness toward the Oilers, grateful for them for giving him his start.[But] my journey is that I had to really crash and burn, and it took me to Arizona, he said, where I was just so grateful at that point just to have a job in the NHL.He loved his short time with the Arizona Coyotes, where he signed as a free agent in July 2014. Its where he rebooted his career. Its where he met Sean Burke.He really started it all for me. Burkey just gives you confidence without saying anything, Dubnyk said. You know he thinks youre good. And if youre not doing something right, hes going to tell you. Hes not going to beat around the bush. You know where you stand with him and you know hes got your back.Burke, goalie coach and assistant GM with the Coyotes at the time, had helped resurrect Mike Smiths career as well. He saw another worthy project in Dubnyk.We got him sort of beat up and bruised, Burke, now a Western scout for the Canadiens, said Monday. But I remember thinking it was a good move on our part. Devan was always intriguing to me, a big guy who moved fairly well. He came in with a really open mind. Hes a really nice person. I just remember from the minute I met him that I knew he was going to be a sponge.Dubnyk distinctly remembers after his third game of the 2014-15 season, a 6-5 win Nov. 2 at the Washington Capitals, that Burke took him aside and showed him a video that helped his positioning through more efficient movement.He wanted me to beat the pass on my feet and be set. That was really it, it was pretty simple, Dubnyk said.It just sharpened everything up for me, thats what got everything going for me.With Smith signed long-term and Dubnyk on a one-year deal, Coyotes GM Don Maloney dealt Dubnyk to the Wild on Jan. 15, 2015 -- one year to the day after his trade by the Oilers.The Wild, flailing away on miserable winless streak, saw their season completely turn around after Dubnyks acquisition (for a third-round pick, no less). It proved a good move by Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, who called it an act of desperation at the time. Dubnyk went on a historic run, starting 40 straight games and almost single-handedly pushing the struggling Wild from down the standings to into the playoffs.In the meantime, Dubnyk began forging a very good working relationship with Wild goalie coach Bob Mason. But on top of that he also found another edge in his game after being introduced to Lyle Mast, a goalie guru who had developed a ground-breaking teaching method that focused more on vertical movement than lateral movement while tracking the puck.Mast has worked for years with Los Angeles Kings goalie coach Bill Ranford and netminder Jonathan Quick, as well as other goalie coaches and netminders in pro and junior. Dubnyk talks or texts with Mast around almost every game.But this is more than just a technical revival. This meteoric rise from the ashes of that 2013-14 season is just as much a mental one.Oh, 100 percent, Dubnyk said. Getting to that state of mind of just being grateful to have a job.Seriously, he means that. He got to a point heading into July 1, 2014, with agent Mike Liut when he prepared himself to accept where his career was going.Right before I signed in Arizona, the only thing I did accept just to almost relieve some pressure, I just understood that at my age [28 at the time] and the situation I was going in with Smithy there, is that my window might have passed in terms of being a starter, he said. Just because of the way the league is.Hes now a top-five goalie in the world.Signed to a six-year, $26 million deal with the Wild in the summer of 2015, Dubnyk is in a good place. All around.Minny is such a great place to raise a family, we enjoy it so much there, said Dubnyk, who with his wife has two boys, 3 and 1. I mean, life is great. Gosh, it was so close to being a whole lot different than that ...But its not. Because Devan Dubnyk didnt give up. Because he stayed positive. He rolled up his sleeves and went back to work, just as so many people counted him out. ' ' '