NEW YORK, N.Y. - Already thin down the middle, the Toronto Maple Leafs will now be without centre Nazem Kadri for the next three games. Kadri was suspended by the NHL on Thursday for goaltender interference stemming from his hit on Minnesotas Niklas Backstrom in the Wilds 2-1 shootout win Wednesday night. That compounds Torontos already problematic situation at centre as the club is already missing injured forwards Tyler Bozak and David Bolland. Bozak, the Leafs first-line centre and top faceoff man, has been out since injuring his hamstring in a road game Oct. 25 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bolland, acquired from Chicago in the off-season, had six goals and four assists in 15 games before suffering a severed tendon during a Nov. 2 game in Vancouver. Kadri, along with converted winger James van Riemsdyk, was supposed to fill the void left by the injured centres. But he put his team in a deeper hole when he hit Backstrom in the head in the first period of Wednesdays game at Minnesota. Kadri tipped a Joffrey Lupul shot on goal, then ran into Backstrom while driving to the net after the goaltender made the save. Backstrom stayed in the game briefly before being replaced by Josh Harding. The team says Backstrom has an upper body injury. Kadri received a minor penalty for goaltender interference on the play. NHL senior vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan acknowledged driving the net is part of the game and contact with goaltenders happens as a result. But he said the hit is worthy of a suspension because Kadri was in control when he made contact with Backstrom and didnt make a reasonable effort to avoid the goaltender. Shanahan also noted the hit was a forceful blow to the head that caused an injury. He did agree with Kadri that there was no intent to injure on the play. Later, Kadri received a match penalty for hitting Minnesotas Mikael Granlund in the head. Kadri, who has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 18 games this season, will forfeit US$44,615.37 in salary. . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St. .J. - New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara left Monday nights game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn biceps.
http://www.lightningauthority.com/authe ... ng-jersey/. The injury will keep the Finnish forward out of the Olympics. The 29-year-old has 20 goals and 41 points in 56 games this season, his first with Tampa Bay. . Scolari says that although Brazilians have the right to complain about the government and demand improvements, perhaps the protests wont be coming at the "right time. . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution.SAN DIEGO -- Tweeeeeeet! Gonzaga and Oklahoma State players, coaches and fans no doubt left Viejas Arena with the shrill sound of the referees whistles ringing in their ears Friday. The refs called 61 fouls, which affected the pace and outcome of eighth-seeded Gonzagas 85-77 win against Marcus Smart and ninth-seeded Oklahoma State in the West region of the NCAA tournament. Kevin Pangos scored 26 points, including hitting 12 of 14 free throws, and Gary Bell Jr. added 17 for Gonzaga (29-6), which is in its 16th straight NCAA tournament and moves on to play top-seeded Arizona on Sunday. Pangos made 10 of 10 free throws in the last 1:31. The final 3 1/2 minutes took 24 minutes to play. The 61 fouls were seven off the record for fouls in a tournament game set by Iowa and Morehead State in a regional semifinal game in 1956. The Cowboys were called for 33 fouls, with LeBryan Nash, Kamari Murphy and Leyton Hammonds fouling out. The Zags made 26 of 41 free throws. The Zags were whistled 28 times, with Sam Dower Jr. and Kyle Dranginis fouling out. The Cowboys made only 22 of 37 from the stripe. "Especially at the end, it got a bit choppy," Pangos said. "But it was smart on their part. It prolonged the game, with empty possessions and a weird rhythm. But our team did a great job of pulling through and getting it done no matter how the tempo went." Smart had a big effort in his final college game, with 23 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals for Oklahoma State (21-13). He was 12 of 19 from the line. All the fouling "changed it a bit," Smart said. "I mean, you know, I cant remember the foul count, how many free throws both teams shot, but it was a good amount. And it kind of slowed the game down, gave us a chance to get back in it, but we just fell short." Smart is projected to be a high NBA draft pick. He passed up the NBA draft last year, in large part because the Cowboys lost to Oregon in their NCAA tournament opener. The Cowboys won five of seven games coming in, a run that coincided with Smarts returning from a three-game suspension for shoving a Texas Tech fan. Gonzaga big man Przemek Karnowski hurt the Cowboys inside, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dranginis scored 12. Markel Brown scored 20 for Oklahoma State and Phil Forte had 12. "We knew it wasnt going to be pretty," Gonzaga coach Mark Feww said.dddddddddddd "We knew we were going to have to fight and we talked about being the toughest team on the floor and you know, I think for stretches of it we were, because if you dont match OK States toughness, you dont have a chance." Karnowski agreed. "We knew they are a good offensive team, especially their guards. WE just tried to make their life not easy on offence and just tried to go at them offensively, especially inside." The Cowboys whittled a 10-point deficit down to three with 11:24 to go before Bell hit a 3-pointer for a 56-50 lead with 11:08 to go. Pangos had a steal and a layup, and Brown answered for the Cowboys. Karnowski hit the front end of a one-and-one and Pangos hit a 3-pointer for a 10-point lead with 7:46 left. "They answered every run we made with big plays," Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. "We threw a few punches in the second half and we said to our guys, Lets get aggressive, lets get after it. "Obviously we got in foul trouble which hurt us, especially with LB (Nash) not being in there and playing only 17 minutes," Ford added. "Thats not the greatest scenario for us." Gonzaga led 43-34 at halftime, getting consecutive 3-pointers from Drew Barham and Kevin Pangos in the closing minutes. Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford was whistled for a technical foul with 11.1 seconds left. Pangos missed the first free throw and made the second. Ford had been on the refs ever since the Cowboys were whistled for six fouls and a travelling call in a span of 1:40 midway through the half. "Obviously I was trying to get them going at the end of the first half, trying to get us a little fired up," Ford said. Gonzaga went on an 8-2 run to take a 33-24 lead, making five of six free throws and getting a 3-pointer from Dranginis. Oklahoma State then went on a 9-1 run to pull to 34-33. Smart had two free throws and a jumper. Gonzaga pulled away on an inside shot by Dower, the two 3-pointers and a free throw by Pangos on the technical. Bell made two 3-pointers in the first 50 seconds and hit two other shots to help Gonzaga take a 17-6 lead. Smart started and ended a 10-0 run that pulled the Cowboys within one point. He was fouled by Bell while making a 3-point shot and made the free throw. Murphy hit a jumper and Brown made two free throws before Smart had a tip-in. ' ' '
