TORONTO -- Tyler Bozak isnt yet on the cusp of returning.
Wholesale China Jerseys . But when hes eligible to come off long-term injured reserve Dec. 29, the Toronto Maple Leafs centre figures his torn oblique will be
healed up enough to get back into the lineup. "Its still getting better every
day. It feels pretty good now," Bozak said Thursday. "If theres a problem,
maybe, but right now it looks like Ill be back right when IR ends." Bozak has
been out since Dec. 5 and missed Torontos home game Thursday night against
Phoenix. And with the Leafs having placed him on the long-term list, Bozak must
also miss upcoming games against Detroit, the New York Rangers and Buffalo
before being free to return against Carolina three days before the Winter
Classic. The 27-year-old skated with teammates Thursday at the Air Canada Centre
but hes obviously on his own track while the Leafs seek to reverse their
fortunes. After missing 12 games earlier this year with a hamstring injury,
Bozak is dealing with another difficult problem with his oblique. "Kind of like
the same thing last year but a lot worse this year," he said. "I dont know what
it is, to be honest. "I kind of stressed it a lot on faceoffs. I think it
mightve happened on that. I think its just pretty unlucky and nothing you can
get too down on yourself about." Bozaks injury came with the Leafs already
missing centre Dave Bolland, who still hasnt resumed skating after having a
tendon in the back of his ankle severed in late October. The latest injury down
the middle came Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers when impressive
journeyman callup Trevor Smith broke a bone in his right hand blocking a shot.
"I dont know whats going on with us," Bozak said of Torontos injury woes. "I
think its all been pretty unfortunate stuff with Smitty and Bolly, things that
you never want to see happen and they cant really control by any means." Bozak
cant control much right now other than his rehab. Being forced to watch the
Leafs go 3-5-0 without him certainly hasnt helped matters. "Its not fun to
watch, its never fun to watch," Bozak said. "Its not fun to watch if youre
winning or if youre losing. "Obviously you want to be out there helping the guys
and stuff like that." Bozak is used to being able to help, typically as the No.
1 centre alongside roommate and friend Phil Kessel, who had two goals in the
eight games prior to Thursdays contest with Phoenix. Bozak hasnt had any season
like this before and is trying to stay positive. "Ive not really been injured at
all, knock on wood, except for college I had surgery on my one knee the one
year," he said. "My first years here I missed a handful of games each year, but
nothing too serious. "Obviously its been tough, but I hope I can come back
stronger and help the team."
Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys . Mark Teahen scored the go-ahead run in the home seventh on an error by Scott Sizemore, who
had knotted the game with a solo homer in the previous half- inning. Paul
Konerko then hit an RBI single which proved to be the winning run.
MLB Jerseys China .Y. -- AJ Allmendingers journey is almost complete.CALGARY -- Goals by David Krejci and Reilly Smith in a 98-second span erased two bad
periods of hockey by the Boston Bruins. Krejci and Smith scored in the third
period on Tuesday as the Bruins rallied for a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames.
"It was a really tough first two periods," said Smith, who is now tied with
Krejci and Milan Lucic for the team lead with three game-winning goals each.
"Theres no excuse for that. We didnt have enough emotion, didnt have enough
jump. "We made it way too easy on them. We didnt have enough hits. We werent
turning pucks over. There were too many things going wrong to have a good solid
start to the game." After the Bruins (21-8-2) were outshot 22-9 through two
periods, Smith said the players got a stern talking to from the Boston coaching
staff during the intermission. "The coaches came in and I think they did a good
job trying to turn the momentum," Smith said. "We kept things a little simpler,
got pucks behind their D and started playing back to Bruins hockey. The first
two periods everything was going the wrong way, so it was good to see it turn
around in just a couple minutes and be able to change the night around." Shortly
after Krejci scored a power-play goal at 13:49 of the third, Smith skated down
the left wing, cut around Calgary defenceman T.J. Brodie and roofed a shot into
the top corner over the outstretched glove of goalie Reto Berra. "I tried to go
hard to the net and I saw a stick come, so I tried to slip it under and just get
a quick shot and it was lucky enough to find a hole," Smith said. Boston coach
Claude Julien definitely wasnt pleased with his teams play during the first two
periods after which the Flames held a 1-0 lead. "Those first two periods were
really tough to watch," Julien said. "We just couldnt get anything going. Our
true colours came out in the third. Somehow weve got to get our team to play
three periods that way and stop pushing our luck here." The Bruins have now won
three straight games. After skating to a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at
home on Saturday, the Bruins started their four-game road trip in Toronto on
Sunday with a 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs. Jiri Hudler scored the lone goal
for the Flames (11-15-4), who had won three of four heading into the contest.
"Thats a bad way to lose," said Calgary captain Mark Giordano. "We haad the game
under control.
China Jerseys Authentic. We played a great game for two periods and it seemed like in the third, we were afraid to make
plays and (were) giving them the puck pretty much all the time and it cant be
like that. "Teams like that, theyre going to win. Theres a reason they are who
they are. We opened the door a bit and they took advantage." Boston goalie
Tuukka Rask finished with 26 saves to improve his record to 16-7-2. Berra
meanwhile stopped 22 shots. Tuesdays game marked the return of former Flames
captain Jarome Iginla to the Scotiabank Saddledome for the first time since he
was traded last March 27 to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a first-round draft pick
and a pair of college forwards. After playing in 13 regular season games and 15
post-season contests with the Penguins, Iginla signed on as a free agent with
the Bruins in the off-season. The Flames carried the majority of the play in the
opening frame when they outshot the Bruins 11-5. Iginla had two of Bostons shots
and also whistled a one-timer wide of the net during an early man advantage for
the Bruins. Hudler finally broke the scoreless deadlock at 5:17 of the second
period when he snuck a snap shot from the top of the faceoff circle under Rasks
glove and into the net. Mike Cammalleri nearly put the Flames up 2-0 a short
time later but his shot from the slot rang off the right post behind Rask. After
recording just four shots on net in the second period, the Bruins took the play
to the Flames in the third as they outshot them 15-6. "It seems like we just go
into a shell and get away from what got us the lead in the first place," said
Calgary forward Lee Stempniak. "We just chip pucks out and were on our heels and
we lack that aggressiveness that we had at the start." Krejci tied up the game
at 1-1 at 13:49 of the third when he tipped a point shot fired by Torey Krug
past Berra. Notes: Iginlas last game at Saddledome as a member of the Flames was
on March 24 when he scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 triumph over the St.
Louis Blues. Iginla played one more game -- a 2-0 road loss to the Chicago
Blackhawks two nights later -- before being traded to Pittsburgh. a Giordano,
who succeeded Iginla as Flames captain this season, played his fourth straight
game after missing 18 contests with a broken ankle. He recorded an assist on
Hudlers goal to give him 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 12 games.
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