s 19th of the season and first since Aug. 6. Los Angeles

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. cheap mlb jerseys . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. nfl jerseys cheap .com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics. http://www.chinajerseysnflcheapwholesale.com/. -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. wholesale jerseys cheap .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. jerseys nfl wholesale . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night.MILWAUKEE -- Los Angeles Angels closer Ernesto Frieri threw pitch after pitch to Jonathan Lucroy with the bases loaded in the eighth inning Sunday, only to watch Lucroy keep fouling them off. Finally, on his 12th delivery, Frieri got Lucroy to swing and miss, ending the long at-bat. Frieri then struck out rookie Khris Davis as well and pitched a scoreless ninth to help the Angels hold on for a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers and a three-game sweep of their interleague series. "(Lucroys) one of the toughest hitters Ive faced all season," said Frieri, who earned his 30th save in 34 chances. "He just kept on fighting and I just kept trying to get a pitch past him." During the at-bat, Lucroy lined one pitch just foul down the right-field line and then the next pitch just foul down the left-field line. If either ball had been fair, the Brewers likely would have tied the score or taken the lead. "The one in right field would have been a triple if it was fair," Frieri said. Angels manager Mike Scioscia called the battle between Frieri and Lucroy "about as good of an at-bat that youre going to see." "That was about as clutch as it gets," Scioscia said. "(Frieri) earned that one." Lucroy said he got himself out by swinging at Frieris pitches out of the strike zone. "I swung at balls and I missed a couple of hangers," he said. "I got myself out, so Im not too happy about it. Its the way the game is. Its baseball. Things happen. Sometimes they fall, sometimes they dont." The other key on the mound for the Angels was C.J. Wilson (14-6), who gave up three runs and three hits over six innings to improve to 10-1 in his last 15 starts. Wilson has gone 10 consecutive starts without a loss, tying his career high set in 2011 with Texas. Scioscia said Wilson wasnt as sharp Sunday as he has been in his past several starts, but was good enough. "He made key pitches when he had to," the manager said. "He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win.ddddddddddddquot; Mike Trout tripled and doubled among his three hits to help the Angels finish an 8-1 road trip. They have won eight in a row against the Brewers in Milwaukee, dating to 1997. J.B. Shuck hit a three-run double that put Los Angeles ahead in the seventh. Kole Calhoun had two RBIs. "Our guys are playing hard and really getting after it every day," Scioscia said. Kyle Lohse went six innings for Milwaukee, giving up one run and seven hits. Rob Wooten (3-1) allowed three runs in relief. Calhouns RBI single in the third gave the Angels a 1-0 lead. Milwaukee tied it in the bottom half. Jeff Bianchi doubled to right and went to third when the ball got by Calhoun for an error. One out later, Lohse bunted in front of the plate and Bianchi was able to slide under the tag of catcher Hang Conger when the toss from Wilson was high. Carlos Gomezs two-run homer in the fourth gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead. It was his 19th of the season and first since Aug. 6. Los Angeles grabbed the lead for good in the seventh by scoring four runs. Conger and Luis Jimenez singled to start the inning. Andrew Romine advanced both runners with a sacrifice, and pinch-hitter Josh Hamilton was intentionally walked. Shuck then hit a grounder down the first-base line that hit the bag. The ball rolled into short right field and by the time Norichika Aoki could get it back in, all three runners had scored. "That was a really big hit for us," Scioscia said. Calhouns RBI double made it 5-3. NOTES: Hamilton was out of the starting lineup for the third straight game. He is battling a sore left shoulder and migraines. ... Milwaukee acquired RHP Michael Blazek from St. Louis as the player to be named in Fridays trade that sent reliever John Axford to the Cardinals. Blazek appeared in 11 games for the Cardinals this season, compiling a 6.97 ERA. ... The Brewers recalled RHP Donovan Hand from Triple-A Nashville. Hand is 0-4 in 21 appearances this season with Milwaukee. ' ' '