Bewerbungen » while Kuemper has faced them once

The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to pick up where they left off before the Olympic break when they visit the John Tavares-less New York Islanders in Thursdays clash at Nassau Coliseum. Toronto was one of several NHL teams that had hot streaks interrupted by the NHLs Olympic break. The Maple Leafs had won five of six right before the hiatus and the club is 11-2-1 over its last 14 games. With 70 points, the Maple Leafs are currently holding on to the seventh of eight playoff spots in the East. Toronto also is just one point in back of both Tampa Bay and Montreal for second place in the Atlantic Division. The top three teams in each division get an automatic bid to the postseason. Toronto is aiming to qualify for the postseason for the second straight spring. Last season the Leafs halted the longest playoff drought in franchise history by making the postseason for the first time since 2004. The Maple Leafs emerge from the break with a road-heavy schedule ahead of them over the next few weeks. Toronto, which is just 11-12-5 as the away club this season, will play two straight and eight of its next 10 on the road. The Islanders, meanwhile, get to continue a five-game homestand on Thursday, but theyll do so without the services of captain and star centerman Tavares. Tavares helped Team Canada win the Olympic tournament, although he missed the semifinals and gold medal game after suffering a partial tear in the MCL of his left knee. Although the injury was originally feared to be worse, it will still keep Tavares sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. However, he will not need surgery as was originally believed. The culmination of the regular season could mark the end of the 2013-14 campaign for the Islanders, who are already 14 points out of the Easts final playoff berth. Tavares, who expects to miss 8-to-12 weeks while recovering, is New Yorks leading scorer with 66 points and is tied for the team lead with 24 goals. He is also third in the NHL in points. The Islanders lost seven of eight games before the break in a stretch that did serious damage to the clubs postseason chances. Without Tavares, the club expects to have a difficult time getting back into the thick of the playoff race. New York and the Leafs have split two meetings so far in 2013-14, but the Isles are 4-1-1 over the last six encounters between the clubs. Toronto, however, has won three straight and four of the past five games at the Coliseum. The Isles are 8-14-8 as the host team this season. The club is playing the third test of its five-game homestand tonight and will complete the stay on Long Island after welcoming New Jersey and Florida on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Detroit Red Wings at Ottawa Senators The 2013-14 season has largely been a disappointing one for the Ottawa Senators so far, but the club hopes to start anew when it begins the post-Olympics schedule with Thursdays home tilt against the Detroit Red Wings. The Senators, a playoff team in each of the past two seasons, are only three points behind Detroit for the last postseason berth in the Eastern Conference, but Ottawa has struggled with consistency in 2013-14. Ottawa posted a 9-2-3 record during one of its best stretches of the season from Dec. 28-Jan. 30, but the club then went 2-2-1 to begin the month of February. The Sens also ended their pre-Olympics slate by losing 7-2 to the Boston Bruins on Feb. 8. The Sens have one game at home before jetting off to Vancouver, where it will play an outdoor game against the Canucks on Saturday. The game at BC Place, which features a retractable roof, kicks off a four-game road trip for Ottawa. Star defenseman Erik Karlsson is coming off an Olympic run that saw him help Team Sweden pick up a silver medal at the recent Sochi Games, and he is eager to aid the Senators in the push to the playoffs. "Im looking forward to start playing hockey here again," Karlsson told the Senators official website. "It feels like the vibe is good in the room and were looking forward to the last stretch here." Karlsson was a teammate of former Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson at the Olympics and his countryman will play his third career game against Ottawa on Thursday. Alfredsson spent his first 17 NHL seasons with the Senators before leaving to sign with Detroit over the summer. Alfredsson, who was greeted with a standing ovation by the Ottawa crowd when he returned to Scotiabank Place on Dec. 1, has one goal and one assist in his two games against the Senators this season. On the injury front, Ottawa forward Clarke MacArthur and defenseman Chris Phillips headed into the Olympic break with injuries, but both players are expected to be ready to go for Thursdays game. Ottawa is 2-1-0 against the Red Wings this season, but Detroit has won five of the last seven meetings against the Senators overall. The Wings have won three straight, four of five and six of the past eight meetings at Scotiabank Place. The Red Wings earned a victory in their first game after the break, downing the Montreal Canadiens in overtime on Wednesday. Gustav Nyquist scored with just 27.3 seconds remaining in the extra session to help lift Detroit to the 2-1 road win. Detroit allowed the Canadiens to tie the game on Brian Giontas goal with just 28.7 seconds left in regulation but recovered to win the tilt in OT. Johan Franzen, returning from a concussion that sidelined him for 22 of Detroits final 23 contests prior to the stoppage, assisted on Nyquists game- winner as well as Todd Bertuzzis first-period power-play goal. Jimmy Howard stopped 19-of-20 shots to help the Red Wings improve to 4-1-1 over their last six outings. "We played a great game. We didnt give them much room," said Franzen. Detroit is playing the third test of a four-game road trip that began before the Olympics. The Red Wings, who are 16-9-4 as the guest this season, will cap the swing Tuesday in New Jersey. Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers The Minnesota Wild hope to maintain a firm grasp on a playoff spot as they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, when both clubs return to action following the Olympic break. The Wild come out of the hiatus a distant 10 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for third place in the Central Division, but with a five-point edge for one of the two wild card spots in the Western Conference. Minnesota won its final two games before the Olympic break and is 4-1-2 in its last seven games. While Zach Parise and Ryan Suter return from a disappointing showing by Team USA in Sochi, Russia, Mikael Granlund had a solid performance to help Finland win bronze. Granlund, who turned 22 on Wednesday, had three goals and seven points during the Olympics, getting named to the All-Tournament team. "You can tell that theyve been playing at a high speed over there, and I expect them to step right in where they left off," Wild coach Mike Yeo told his teams website of his three Olympians. Minnesota is looking to get healthy for the stretch run and is close to getting forward Mikko Koivu back from a right ankle injury that required surgery. He suffered a break blocking a shot on Jan. 4 and was unable to play for Team Finland. Koivu may return tonight or Friday versus the Vancouver Canucks. Goaltender Niklas Backstrom, meanwhile, has been out since Jan. 30 because of a strained abdominal, but could suit up tonight. If not, John Curry would serve as the backup to Darcy Kuemper. Backstrom is 25-4-1 with a 1.91 goals against average and four shutouts in his career versus the Oilers, while Kuemper has faced them once before. That came this season, a 4-1 home victory on Jan. 16 in which he made 20 saves. Minnesota has won five of six and 14 of its last 17 versus the Oilers, including two straight and seven of eight in Edmonton. With the playoffs about out of reach, the Oilers are looking to finish strong ahead of next season. They are last in the Western Conference with 47 points, 18 out of a playoff spot and five ahead of Buffalo for the fewest in the NHL. Edmonton did win five of seven before the break and kick off a five-game homestand tonight. One thing to watch for the Oilers is the situation in net, where the clubs have a pair of upcoming free agents in Ilya Bryzgalov and Ben Scrivens. Bryzgalov signed with Edmonton during the season, while Scrivens was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. Head coach Dallas Eakins is looking for both to play well and is unsure of how the starts will be split between the two. "Its hard to say. I dont have a crystal ball next to me so itll depend on their play," said Eakins. "It may come down to if Ben plays well and Bryz is playing well, yeah we may give Ben a couple of extra starts. I think Bryz would understand that. Or, we might split it down the middle. I wont know until we get started here." Bryzgalov is 7-8-0 with a 2.64 GAA in his career versus the Wild, while Scrivens faced Minnesota for the first time in his career when he made his Oilers debut on Jan. 16 . He took that 4-1 loss, giving up four goals on 33 shots. Authentic T. J. Carrie Jersey .J. - Pete Carroll is in support of the NFL looking further into whether medicinal marijuana could beneficial for players. Authentic Tavierre Thomas Jersey . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. http://www.cheapbrownsjerseysauthentic.c...ck-chubb-jersey. -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years. Authentic Tyrod Taylor Jersey . The team of Lars Nelson, Daniel Richardsson, Johan Olsson, and anchor Marcus Hellner cruised to victory in the 4x10 km event, winning in a time of one hour, 28 minutes, and 42. Authentic Damarious Randall Jersey . The top-ranked Djokovic also beat Gael Monfils and then routed Roger Federer en route to his first Abu Dhabi title. "Its always great to win a title. This is the best way to start the 2012 season," Djokovic said.CLEVELAND - Hours after the Browns switched starting quarterbacks, Cavaliers superstar LeBron James stood at his locker following a win rocking a Money Manziel T-shirt.You know I know timing, James quipped.The Browns hope theirs is right, too.Johnny Manziel, the stage is yours.The hyped rookie, who depending on whom you talk to is either the NFLs next big thing or everything thats wrong with todays athlete, will make his first career start Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.With their offence sputtering and their playoff hopes wilting, the Browns (7-6) are handing the ball to Manziel.And once hes got it, anything is possible.If something breaks down he runs around and makes a play, Browns Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas said. That can be a huge spark for any team when you have a quarterback who can extend plays the way he does. Im excited to see what he can do. Hopefully he can lead us to where we want to go because I think our goal is still out there.Manziel will take the knowledge he has gathered from spending months learning as a backup behind Brian Hoyer, who helped make the Browns relevant again before it seems the pressure of playing in his hometown, trying to earn a new contract and having Johnny Football over his shoulder became too much.The Browns drafted Manziel with an eye toward the future, and its here.Sure, hes a social media sensation and a star to a young generation of fans, but theres no denying Manziels ability to drop thousands of jaws in a packed stadium and keep defensive co-ordinators up at night.At Texas A&M, he ran a simple offence that consisted of Manziel mostly taking the snap in the shotgun. If his receivers were covered, Manziel would spin, duck, jump, whatever he had to do to buy time until they got open. If they didnt, he took off running to avoid a sack.Browns offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahan is expected to utilize Manziels unique skillset.Im excited to see what he can do, Im not going to lie to you, said Browns defensive co-ordinator Jim ONeil, who has only had to deal with Manziel in practice.Everybody in the building can feel the buzz. Everybody cant wait to get to Sunday. Im glad I dont have to defend it. It can be a major headache.The Bengals (8-4-1) lead the AFC North, but to keep it theyll have to control Manziel, which wont be easy.The challenge is even if you do get a good rush on him, he has the ability to make you miss in the pockeet, Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap said.dddddddddddd King of like (Tony) Romo and some of those guys who are good in the pocket. But at the end of the day, he is still a rookie.Besides Manziel, here are some other things to watch as the Browns go for a season sweep over their Ohio neighbours:WHAT ABOUT ANDY? Bengals QB Andy Dalton had one of his worst games during the 24-3 loss to the Browns on Nov. 6. He completed 10 passes, threw three interceptions and had a career-low passer rating of 2.0. In four games since, he has completed 70 per cent of his passes with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and a combined passer rating of 101.3.JOHNNY TARGET: All the hype about Manziel has made him a marked man.I guarantee that anyone who sacks him will stand over him and give the money sign, Browns coach Mike Pettine said. Thats the price that he has to pay for who he is and the reputation that he brings with him to the NFL. He already got a taste of it in the preseason.During an exhibition at Washington, Manziel flipped his middle finger toward the Redskins sideline in response to their taunts.Pettine said hell remind his quarterback about keeping his composure.TOOTHLESS CATS: Manziel will be making his starting debut against a defence that has only two sacks in the past five games. The Bengals gave up 543 yards against Pittsburgh, the third time this season theyve allowed more than 500 in a game, a franchise record. Theyre on pace to give up 6,000 yards for only the second time in franchise history.ROAD TESTED: The Bengals have won three straight road games since being shut out 27-0 at Indianapolis. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis isnt sure what prompted the turnaround.Whether its home or away youve got to focus in and play, he said. Sometimes, on the road youre mentality just seems as though the focus is good.A.J. AND JOE: Bengals receiver A.J. Green is in one of the best stretches of his career now that hes recovered from an injured big right toe. He had 12 catches during a win at Houston, 11 for a career-high 224 yards last Sunday. The Bengals will try to get him the ball a lot against Cleveland, which has limited him better than any team with cornerback Joe Haden covering him most of the time. In the past two games against the Browns, Green has been held to a total of five catches for 30 yards.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '