dinitis-affected knee on the first game of back-to-backs | Forum

Even with the benefit of a later deadline, Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman and his staff have less than a month to decide on their roster for the Sochi Olympics. Jay McClement Hurricanes Jersey . A week could still make plenty of difference in the long run. Now Canada has until Jan. 7 to name its 25-man group with injury replacements still possible. Another week might not make a huge difference in the case of Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos, who is rehabbing from a broken right tibia. It would make all the sense in the world for Team Canada to name Stamkos to its initial roster in case he can return by early-to-mid-February. Where the extra time could really come into play is in helping some players heal up and others show that slow starts dont matter as much as hot streaks. There might not be room for the hottest Canadian-born player in the NHL come early January, but one or two spots being determined by whos on a roll isnt out of the question. Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers would be well served to pick up his offensive production, even though his rebound from a poor start (five goals and 15 assists in 29 games) has him back in the conversation. Problem for Giroux is, as Dallas Stars coach and Canada assistant Lindy Ruff said, the list of players who could make it is still "pretty long." No one has forced himself into that conversation more so than the Stars Jamie Benn. Playing left wing on the top line alongside Tyler Seguin has brought out the best in Benn, who wasnt invited to Team Canadas Olympic orientation camp in August. Benn said last week in Toronto he naturally used that as motivation, and Ruff said the converted centre was playing "like a possessed player" this season. Benn has seven goals and 19 assists in 28 games, second to only Chris Kunitz of the Pittsburgh Penguins among Canadian left-wingers. Who comes out to make room for Benn might not even be a matter of that player disappointing as much as a numbers game. Kunitzs numbers could have him in the conversation on their own, but his chemistry with Sidney Crosby cant be overlooked. Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks brings versatility and the ability to play all three forward positions, but its easy to see him getting bumped at the last minute — or making it only if Stamkos cant go. Rick Nash of the New York Rangers didnt make the last projection while he was out with a concussion. Assuming he stays healthy through early January, Nash is a strong bet to sew up a spot, in this case knocking out Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins. Jeff Carter of the Los Angeles Kings just returned from an extended absence with a foot injury, so its tough to gauge his candidacy at this point. Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks getting off to such a wicked start helps when Yzerman and Co. look at pure scorers, but it wouldnt hurt to have another one around, especially with Stamkoss status uncertain. On defence, Marc Staals neck injury and what New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault called "symptoms," could ensure he doesnt make it to Sochi to play with brother Eric, who should be a lock after picking up his production. Staal could be the fourth-best left-handed option Team Canada has behind Chicagos Duncan Keith, Jay Bouwmeester of the St. Louis Blues and sneaky-good Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the San Jose Sharks, but that might not be enough because of the depth of righties. Assuming Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators doesnt experience lingering problems from taking a puck to the face, Alex Pietrangelo of the Blues keeps up his impressive play and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings stays healthy, the top three on the right side is set. Dan Boyle of the Sharks could be a good veteran to take for his work on the power play, while risk-reward case P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens might prove too good not to take. That would mean three lefties and five righties, but with the ability to dress seven defencemen there was already going to be some imbalance. The place where theres no real fluidity might be in goal. Montreals Carey Price has a 1.95 goals-against average and .938 save percentage and could be called Team Canadas presumptive No. 1 goaltender. Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks (2.34, .916) doesnt have numbers that jump off the page, but he did win gold in 2010 and has the edge over goalies like Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes and Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks because of that and his body of work. Hurricanes Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Sebastian Aho Jersey . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. http://www.hurricanesfansstore.com/Elias-Lindholm-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St.ORLANDO, Fla. -- During the Magics recent struggles one of the few constants has been the offence provided by Arron Afflalo. The veteran provided another reminder of why hes so indispensable for a young team trying to find itself. Afflalo scored 23 points to lead five Orlando players in double-figures and the Magic snapped a three-game losing streak with a 109-92 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Orlando led the Pistons by as many as 22 points and cruised in the fourth quarter. Afflalo said the victory was one of the most complete efforts the Magic have posted in recent memory. "Its good to get a win at home for once," said Afflalo, who has scored at least 20 points in five straight outings. "I dont think weve won here this month. It was pretty impressive defensively. I thought the bigs did a great job trying to fight their bigs all night rebounding. I thought we shared the ball throughout the game, made the right play. "When we play like that I think were pretty good." The Magics leading scorer this season, Afflalo played eight minutes of the third quarter after lightly turning his left ankle. But after coming out of the game briefly, he was able to finish the period -- scoring six points -- before resting in the fourth. "The ankle, its one of those things where if you can fight through it, you go ahead and play," he said. The victory halted a five-game home losing streak for the Magic, who hadnt won at the Amway Center since the day before Thanksgiving. Nik Vucevic added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie Victor Oladipo finished with 16 points and a career-high 11 assists. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn thought Fridays effort was sparked by what he called a surprisingly "intense" practice for this time of year. "That has to be our signature -- we have to come to work," he said. "I always tell them I dont know what results thats going to lead to wins and losses-wise, but you can look yourself in the mirror and appreciate what you do for a living, and your teammates appreciate you when you come to work." Brandon Jennings had 21 points and Will Bynum added 18 for the Pistons, who had a streak of three consecutive road victories ended. Jay McClement Jersey. "From the start of the game, we just couldnt get anything going. We got a couple stops in the third quarter, but we couldnt score, and it just kept going downhill from there," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We couldnt get anything going offensively, they pushed the ball down our throat defensively, and then we didnt make any shots." The Pistons, who claimed eight of their 14 wins on the road, never found a flow on offence. They shot 41 per cent for the game, and were outscored in the paint 58-48. "We had no sense of urgency and we didnt muster energy at all tonight," Jennings said. "Its got to be a collective unit to try to get it back together, but we didnt have it tonight." In some of their recent losses Orlando had started fast, only to fall apart late in the games. The Magic jumped out to another early lead, but this time were able to sustain it with a variety of scoring bursts that kept the Pistons playing catch up for most of the night. Orlando hovered over 50 per cent shooting throughout and carried a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Magic carved out their early advantage shooting 56 per cent in the opening 24 minutes to take a 55-48 lead into halftime. Glen Davis had eight points in less than five minutes and then yielded to Afflalo, who finished the half with 12 points. Oladipo and Tobias Harris each added 10 points. Afflalo said theres no secret to what it will take for the Magic to have another "good night" like Friday. "Just get after it, man. Theres no mystery," he said. "We know what we need to do -- same focus, same effort. It starts with our preparation in shootaround, our intensity, attention to detail. And keeping our foot on the gas pedal." NOTES: The Magic improved to 5-6 when they score 100 or more points. ... Pistons G Chauncey Billups opted to continue his recent program of resting his tendinitis-affected knee on the first game of back-to-backs. Cheeks said Billups is expected to play when Detroit visits Washington on Saturday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys ' ' '