Neues » The Habs core that is still relatively

TORONTO -- Striker Jermain Defoe says he is back to 100 per cent and ready to play for Toronto FC -- and England. Nike Air Max Outlet Belgie . "Its been really frustrating because when you get off to a good start, you just want it to continue as long as possible," said Defoe, who scored three goals in his first two games in Major League Soccer before being sidelined with a hamstring strain in late March. "But it happens. Its football, you get little niggles. Luckily enough it wasnt something that was too serious. It was just a case of resting and doing your rehab stuff. But yeah it feels fine now. I feel 100 per cent. Ive worked really hard. So maybe Ill come back stronger than I was before, which is important for the team." Saturdays game against the visiting New England Revolution (3-3-2) will mark five weeks since Defoe walked off the field favouring his hamstring in the 61st minute of a 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Thanks to a bye, he only missed three games with Toronto (3-3-0) going 1-2-0 in his absence. Defoe, speaking to reporters after practice Tuesday, rubbished the suggestion that the injury layoff may affect his chances at making Englands World Cup squad. England manager Roy Hodgson plans to name his 23-man roster on May 13. "I missed three games. It happens in football, players get injured," said the 31-year-old Defoe, who has won 55 caps for England. "But if you miss three games and that changes the fact that you could, I dont know, go to a tournament, thats crazy." Manager Ryan Nelsen says he has not heard from the English camp. "Not yet," he said. Defoe, for one, does think much talk is needed. "I dont feel like I need to sell myself to anyone because Ill just let my football do the talking. Ive done that since I made my professional debut at 17 ... Im sure the manager knows what I can do." Defoe said not only is he 100 per cent physically, he feels stronger than he did before. Toronto FC officials have said privately they had to put the brakes on Defoe, who has acknowledges he is not known for his patience during injury layoffs. Defoes final days at Tottenham were marred by another hamstring injury. "Its a case of just getting it (the hamstring) strong again. Maybe I didnt do that before," he said. "I think now Ive really given it time to heal," he added. Defoe said his style of plays lends itself to hamstring issues -- "sometimes I go from a standing still position to get up to full speed." Toronto has had a spate of hamstring injuries this season with midfielders Jonathan Osorio, Alvaro Rey and Dwayne De Rosario all missing action. The club has said having to train longer than usual on artificial turf because of the harsh winter has not helped matters. Ironically it would have liked to have been able to practise under the bubble on turf Tuesday because of a downpour. But with the bubble about to come down, the lighting system had been dismantled and so they endured the rain outside. The good news is that the walking wounded are returning after the bye week. Osorio is already back in action while Nelsen says Rey, De Rosario and centre back Doneil Henry (knee) are "very close" to returning. Nelsen says the only player definitely out for this weekends game is midfielder Jeremy Hall (Achilles). Striker Bright Dike (Achilles) is also a long-term injury absence. Star U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley, who has been nursing a variety of ailments, is also doing well. Injuries have hampered Nelsen in blending his squad, which features three new designated players in Defoe, Bradley and Brazilian striker Gilberto and as many as five other new starters since last season. Two weeks ago against Colorado, he was unable to assemble a fully healthy bench. While Toronto has given up seven goals in six games, it has scored just six with Defoe accounting for three of them Toronto is getting healthy at the right time. After three games in April, Toronto has six in May including a home-and-away series with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Amway Canadian Championship. Three of the four league games are at home so May represents a chance to harvest points. With Bradley, Brazilian goalie Julio Cesar and possibly Defoe joining their national teams at the end of May ahead of the World Cup, points may be harder to come by later. While Defoe has not yet heard from Hodgson, Cesar says he reached out to Luiz Felipe Scolari to invite him to Toronto after reading that the Brazil coach had visited players in Europe. "I was a little bit jealous," Cesar said with a smile. Nike Air Max Goedkoop China .ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan. Nike Air Max Aanbieding . Ronaldo failed to connect on an ample number of opportunities at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. But Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez scored in each half for Madrid to come out of the first leg with the firm advantage. http://www.airmaxbelgie.be/ .com) - Delon Wright made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 21 points and six assists as No.TORONTO - The 2014-15 NHL campaign kicks off with the leagues oldest rivalry, as the Toronto Maple Leafs open the season by welcoming the Montreal Canadiens for Wednesdays clash at Air Canada Centre. The NHL regular season gets underway Wednesday with a four-game slate, beginning with another edition of the leagues signature rivalry. The historic foes met five times in 2013-14 with the Canadiens claiming three of the battles. In addition to winning the last regular-season series against Toronto, the Canadiens also made it to the Eastern Conference finals last spring while the Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons. Being the most decorated franchise in NHL history, the Canadiens once deemed a season to be successful only if it ended with a Stanley Cup title. But times have changed thanks to the onset of the salary cap era, so last seasons surprising run to the conference finals made 2013-14 an unqualified success for the Habs. Montreal swept Tampa Bay in the opening round before pulling off a seven-game upset of the Boston Bruins in the East semis. The party ended, however, when the New York Rangers downed the Habs in six games to win the conference title. Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin didnt fiddle with his roster too much this summer, with his biggest move coming in the trade which sent Danny Briere to Colorado in exchange for fellow forward P.A. Parenteau, who is questionable for Wednesdays game with a lower-body injury. Bergevin pulled off another minor move right before the start of the season, acquiring bulky forward Eric Tangradi from Winnipeg on Sunday in exchange for goaltender Peter Budaj and Patrick Holland. Tangradi will begin the season with Montreals AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Montreal ended last season without Carey Price, but the clubs No. 1 goaltender is ready to go for 2014-15 and expects to get the start tonight. Price went down with a knee injury in the conference finals and was sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs. The Habs core that is still relatively young, as a handful of its best players -- P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, to name a few -- enter this season at 25 years old or younger. It will be interesting to see if last springs excursion to the conference finals was a sign Montreal is on the right track, or merely an illusion. Its fun to see the guys loose and excited for the start of the season, but there are 29 other teams that are also anxious to start the season, Subban said on Tuesday. Its a fresh start. Its an opportunity to see progress and have success. While Montreal hopes to prove last season was no fluke, Toronto certainly is aiming for a fresh start after ending 2013-14 with losses in 12 of its final 14 games. The late-season swoon cost the Maple Leafs a shot at the playoffs, and front office upheaval followed the disappointing campaign. Shortly after the season ended, the Leafs named Brendan Shanahan as the teams president and alternate governor. The Hall of Fame winger left behind a job as the NHLs director of player safety to try and help his hometown team get back on the right track. While the Leafs havent made major changes to the look of the team since Shanahans arrival in April, the club did hire 28-year-old advanced statistics wunderkind Kyle Dubas to serve as Torontos assistant general manager, a move that could signal the beginning of the end for current GM Dave Nonis. Head coach Randy Carlyle also could be on borrowed time. With Toronto bringing back most of its roster from last season, the 2014-15 campaign could be one of evaluation for the Leafs as the franchise tries to transition out of its recent downturn. Of course, the Eastern Conference seems wide open at the start of the season, so making the playoffs in 2015 should be within the clubs reach. High-scoring winger Phil Kessel returns for the Leafs after leading the club in both goals and points for the fifth straigght season in 2013-14, notching 37 tallies and 80 points. Air Max Goedkoop. While Toronto doesnt need to worry about Kessels production, the club absolutely needs forward David Clarkson to perform at a higher level this season. Clarkson, a 30-goal scorer with New Jersey in 2011-12, signed a seven- year, $36.75 million deal with the Leafs in the summer of 2013 only to put up an embarrassing 11 points (5G, 6A) in 60 games. Clarksons nightmare season began with him serving a suspension for leaving the bench to join a fight in a preseason game. Although Clarkson broke an orbital bone below his right eye following a fight with Buffalos Cody McCormick during this years preseason, he could be ready to go for tonights season opener. Last year was just something I cant explain to you, Clarkson recently told his clubs official web site. It was the toughest thing and Im ready for whats ahead. Toronto forward David Booth, who was signed to a one-year, $1.1 million deal in the offseason, will not be able to make his Maple Leafs debut tonight due to a fractured foot suffered in the preseason. The injury could keep Booth sidelined until late October. Defenseman Cody Franson also will miss the season opener with a bruised left knee. The Maple Leafs expect to go with Jonathan Bernier over James Reimer in net tonight. Bernier enters 2014-15 as the clear top option in Toronto after going 26-19-7 with a 2.69 goals against average and .923 save percentage. Reimer, meanwhile, is in need of a comeback season following a campaign in which he posted a 12-16-1 record and sported a dismal 3.29 GAA. Bernier, who was acquired from Los Angeles in a trade during the summer of 2013, outplayed Reimer for the starting job early on in 2013-14 before suffering a knee injury in mid-March. Reimer and the Leafs lost the next five games and when Bernier returned on March 25, the club dropped three more in a row. Montreal has won four of six and five of the past eight encounters in the series overall and the Canadiens have taken five of the last seven meetings in Toronto. The Leafs were much better at home than on the road last season, sporting a 24-16-1 record at Air Canada Centre in 2013-14. Montreal had a solid 23-15-3 road record last season. Following tonights season opener, Toronto is off until hosting Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Habs, meanwhile, are scheduled to play the second test of a season-opening four-game road trip tomorrow night in Washington. Line Combinations Toronto Maple Leafs Forwards: van Riemsdyk - Bozak - Kessel Lupul - Kadri - Kozun Winnik - Holland - Frattin Komarov - Santorelli - Clarkson Defence: Phaneuf - Robidas Gardiner - Rielly Percy - Polak Goalies: Bernier - starting Reimer Projected Scratches: Leivo, Ashton, Booth (foot), Franson (knee) TSNs Game Notes: Canadiens at Maple Leafs - 7PM 15th all-time season opener between teams (both teams, first game of season) 6th straight year opening season match up, TOR (4-0-1) won 4 straight MTL 3-2-0 vs TOR last season (TOR 2-2-1) 3 of 5 games between teams decided by 1G in 13-14 (one other game 2G with EN) TOR: 5-0-2 last 7 season openers 3/18 on PP vs MTL last season best home PP last season, 25.2% 2-5-0 final 7 home games in 13-14 Kessel (5G, 10A) PTS in 9 of past 10GP vs MTL Bernier 17-9-1 at home last season, 2.77GAA, .917sv% MTL: Lost 2 straight openers on the road (both vs TOR) 4/16 on PP vs TOR last season 6-1-1 final 8 road games in 13-14, 1/25 on PP Pacioretty (3) tied for lead league in hat-tricks in 2013-14 Price 1-2-0 past 3 starts in TOR, 4.65GAA, .855sv% Cheap Throwback Baseball Detroit Tigers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Colorado Rockies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Houston Astros Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Kansas City Royals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Angels Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Miami Marlins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Minnesota Twins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Mets Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Yankees Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Oakland Athletics Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Diego Padres Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Francisco Giants Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Seattle Mariners Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Texas Rangers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Washington Nationals Jerseys ' ' '