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 Nike Air Max 270 .? It was his second straight start for the Jets; he suffered a 1-0 loss against Minnesota Monday. So this season Hutchinson has now won games in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was perfect three- for-three in the shootout to nail down the win. Fake Nike Air Max 270 . Kyle Shanahan was hired as offensive co-ordinator Monday after spending the previous four years in the same role with the Washington Redskins. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ .C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart. Nike Air Max 270 Outlet .ca. Kerry, I hope you address Ron MacLeans comment during the second intermission of Game 4 in Montreal-Tampa series. Basically, he suggested that the NHL should not have used a referee from Quebec, following the Game 3 disputed non-goal, because the referee could be biased towards Montreal. Nike Air Max 270 Sale .C. -- The Bobcats announced theyve signed centre Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract.Zach Johnson has admitted it was a bittersweet moment when the time came to hand the Claret Jug back to the R&A ahead of The 145th Open at Royal Troon. The defending champion parted company with the most coveted trophy in golf shortly before his noon news conference on Monday, although he will consider himself the Champion Golfer of the Year until Sunday evening. Get a Sky Sports Pass Dont miss The Open. Watch live on NOW TV for ￡10.99. No contract. Johnson, who edged out Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a play-off at windswept St Andrews last year, has enjoyed taking the Claret Jug to various places in his native Iowa, and he revealed he and his friends drank wine from the trophy at their guest house in Ayrshire. After handing the silverware back to R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers, Johnson said: It was something Ill never forget.I kind of parted ways emotionally with it at home, so once I got to the formalities of it, it really wasnt that difficult. Here are all the ways to watch The Open with Sky Sports But it was bittersweet. Bittersweet. More sweet, but the fact that youve got to give it back, you know its coming. I guess a portion of that sweetness is you still have an opportunity to get it back yourself.My thoughts now are 100 per cent positive in the sense that, technically, Im still Champion Golfer of the Year. Ive got to get the Claret Jug back, which I did. It was not pleasant, but theres still an opportunity to go out there and play. Thats what it is. Last year was last year, and now were moving on, shifting on mentally and excited for the week. Open on Sky Ways to watch The Open this week Asked when he last took a drink from the Claret Jug, he added: Im staying in a house with some buddies and we had a glass of wine out of it. Well, we didnt have a glass of wine; we had wine out of it. It is a Claret decanter, so it serves its purpose in that regard!Johnson was famously photographed using the Jug to hold an ear of corn when he returned to Iowa, and he then showed the trophy off at Kinnick Stadium - home of the Iowa University Hawkeyes football team. Johnson jokes about how he used the Claret Jug as a decanter Its been on the football field of Kinnick Stadium in my home state, on the 50-yard line, he added.dddddddddddd Thats probably not normal. My guess is, unless Im lucky enough to do it again, it probably wont ever happen certainly in my lifetime. Hopefully that happens again, but thats a rare viewing, if you will.I probably had the thing for three months, but Ive probably been around it for a lot longer than that because Ive been with it as far as where its been. But at home, it just hasnt been on St Simons Island that long, although when it was there, it was put to great use. Johnson won his second major after a play-off at St Andrews last season Just seeing family and friends and sponsors and fans of golf embrace it has been pretty awesome. That thing has a lot of, well, weight to it in the sense that it represents golf and sports, as far as Im concerned.The stories Ive been getting with the individuals that Ive entrusted it with, its been awesome to receive it, but its been even better to give it back because of the responsibility that comes along with it. And I get it. That makes complete sense. So theyve said that, but theyve also said, Yeah, Ill take it back. Its just so much fun having the ability to have that Claret Jug for a portion of your life.Johnson played in his first Open at Royal Troon in 2004, and he is looking forward to the challenge of defending the trophy on a course in which Americans have triumphed on the last six visits to the Ayrshire links. R&A chief Martin Slumbers takes custody of the Claret Jug from the defending champion The memories were brief because I only played two days, he said. I dont remember every hole, I certainly remember the Postage Stamp and 17 and 18 coming in, and a couple of other shots I remember.I think this tournament magnifies my weaknesses more than any other tournament, but it also magnifies your strengths. And I say that because you have to have every shot. Clearly youve got to hit it low in links golf, but youve got to hit high, too. Youve got to use the wind, and youve got to fight the wind depending on the situation. Also See: Latest Open news First round tee times Ways to watch Get Sky Sports ' ' '