Kosmetik » we can take some positives from it.Nelson

TORONTO -- In the moments before the Toronto Raptors took the court for Game 4 in Brooklyn, they huddled in the locker-room and watched footage of their fans gathered back home in Maple Leaf Square. The Raptors went on to win Game 4 and even up the series and say theyve drawn inspiration from the swell of support theyre receiving in their home city. "I told the team, the fans are doing their part, weve got to do our part as a team, as a group of guys to lead the fight on the court, because the fans are behind us 100 per cent and theyre loud and theyre very proud. And they should be," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. The Raptors expect a repeat of Sunday, when a capacity crowd of 2,500 red-clad fans jammed Maple Leaf Square to watch the game on the giant screen outside the Air Canada Centre. Thousands more packed the roads leading up to the ACC in a raucous outdoor celebration similar to the citys playoff party during the Maple Leafs brief run last year. "Oh man, its unbelievable, our fan base," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. "It makes you want to just be a part of it. Things that were doing right now and the way the fan base is going out there, we want to go out there and play hard and give them a reason to keep coming back and packing Maple Leaf Square and packing the ACC. "We need our fans, we love our fans. . . We cant wait to see (Wednesday) night, the vibe and the energy were going to get." The series has been a spirited battle even before the first ball was tossed up, thanks to general manager Masai Ujiris now-famous F-bomb. Its been a fierce fight on the court. Casey said Kyle Lowry looked like hed been through a 15-round bout after Game 4, and the coach expects both teams to come out swinging in Game 5 on Wednesday. "Its not going to be all smiles and bubble gum and fruitcakes. . . Its going to be a street fight," Casey said. "Thats the way weve got to come out, with that mentality." The Raptors, said Lowry, were caught on their heels Game 1 of the series. The less-experienced Raptors -- three of the teams starters had never made a playoff appearance -- werent prepared for how physical post-season action would be. They lost that game. They put up a fight in Sundays Game 4 victory in Brooklyn, holding the Nets to just three baskets in a scrappy fourth quarter. But they were forced to battle back from a lackadaisical third quarter, a bad habit the Raptors havent been able to shake all season long. "Weve got to compete like that for 40-plus (minutes)," Casey said. "The third quarter has been our nemesis. . . thats what we have to remedy, coming out of the locker-room at halftime with that desperate disposition." Despite being the No. 3 seed, the Raptors were considered underdogs in this series based on playoff experience. DeMar DeRozan said theyve played with a chip on their collective shoulder with that underdog mentality all season, so this is nothing new. "We understood coming into this series that people still counted us out, people still doubted us, people said: Brooklyns experience, this, that and the third. . . whatever you want to hear," said DeRozan, who struggled through playoff jitters in Game 1 but has shone for Toronto in the three games since. "Weve been counted out so long, weve got the underdog mentality. I dont think thats going anywhere." Playoff experience was a major theme when this best-of-seven series began. Future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce alone -- with 136 playoff appearances -- had played in almost as many post-season games as the entire Raptors roster combined. None of Torontos starters -- Lowry, DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas -- had ever started in a playoff game. DeRozan, Ross and Valanciunas had never played in the post-season, period. The Raptors say that four games in, experience doesnt mean much anymore. "Its just who wants it more from here on out. Thats what it boils down to now," DeRozan said. Added Casey: "I dont think were as wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as we were in Game 1." Ross remains the one Raptor struggling with the playing on the big stage of the post-season. The athletic sophomore, who poured in 51 points in a game earlier this season, scored zero in Game 4. Casey and the players remain fiercely supportive of the 21-year-old. "Im not going to do anything to crush that young mans confidence or what hes brought to the table thus far," said Casey, pointing out that Ross has done some good things on the defensive end. "And its not about Terrence Ross, its about our entire team," the coach added. "The spotlight should not be on him in any way whatsoever. The reason why we win or lose is not because of what Terrence Ross did or didnt do." Tim Frazier Jersey .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. 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As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The New York Islanders stumbled into Southern California with a three-game skid and a sputtering offence. After back-to-back victories over two NHL powers, its clear the Isles got much more than a tan from their time in the sun.Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen scored in the shootout, and the Islanders emerged with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.Chad Johnson stopped 28 shots and Brock Nelson scored in the first period for the Islanders, who snapped their slump with an overtime win over NHL-leading Anaheim one night earlier. New York then allowed fewer than two goals for the first time all season while shutting down the defending Stanley Cup champions.Thats not a bad bit of work in the Southland.Its tough playing back-to-backs, said Johnson, who turned aside Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter in the shootout. So for us as a group, it was an awesome effort for us to be able to come in here and be able to get four points here against two really good teams. Its a good confidence booster for us.Okposo and Nielsen put nasty shots past Jonathan Quick, who made 25 saves. The Islanders scoring struggles havent evaporated, but their penalty-killing and goaltending was good enough to silence two road crowds in two days.These are two of the hardest buildings to play in on the road, for sure, Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. And obviously, these are two world-class teams. So it was a gutty effort from our guys in both games.New York had lost four straight at Staples Center, but the Islanders young core appears to be learning from its past mistakes.When you lose three games in a row, then you look at our track record in the past, and it hasnt been good, Okposo said. But in this room, we never panicked. We knew what we had, and we know the way we can play.Dwight King scored an early goal for the Kings in their return from a 1-3-1 road trip. Los Angeles had won six straight at home after the longest perfect homestand in franchise history last month.The Kings saw several possitives in their fifth defeat in six games, but realized the champions frequently sputtering offence must improve.ddddddddddddMaybe we took it for granted that they played last night and we didnt come out hard enough, defenceman Drew Doughty said. We were fully prepared. We should have come out better, and we didnt.Neither team generated much offence after the opening minutes in an occasionally tedious game.King put Los Angeles ahead 3:49 in when he deflected Mike Richards shot from the corner at an awkward angle, the puck trickling past Johnson.But Los Angeles couldnt score again in its return from a road trip featuring only nine goals in five games. The Kings lost their first four on the trip before beating Dallas on Tuesday.There were some good spots in the game, King said. We had a lot of good looks. Guys were moving and creating things, so we can take some positives from it.Nelson, who leads the Islanders with seven goals, tied it on a power play late in the first, putting it into a small hole underneath Quicks glove arm at the post.The final two periods featured few genuine scoring opportunities, although Quick denied Nelson in the slot on a great chance in the third. Quick then stopped a point-blank attempt by Lubomir Visnovksy in overtime.Conn Smythe Trophy winner Justin Williams missed his first game for the Kings since the start of the 2011-12 season, sitting out with blurred vision in his right eye after the Stars Brendan Dillon clipped him in the face.Williams had played in 255 consecutive regular-season games for the Kings, winning two of his three Stanley Cup titles along the way. He has scored just one goal in 13 games this season.NOTES: The Islanders scratched defenceman Brian Strait and forward Cory Conacher. Scoreless centre Casey Cizikas returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in Anaheim. ... New York wraps up its five-game road trip Saturday at Arizona. ... Los Angeles hosts Vancouver on Saturday before two Freeway Faceoff games against the Ducks next week. ' ' '