(Sports Network) - A key battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race is on tap tonight in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs host the rival Buffalo Sabres at Air Canada Centre. Buffalo has helped its playoff hopes greatly in recent weeks, posting a 6-1-2 record over its last nine games. As a result, the Sabres are tied with the New York Rangers for the last two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference. Toronto, meanwhile, has lost two of its last three games following a 6-0-3 stretch and is six points out of a playoff spot. The Maple Leafs lost their first three meetings of the season against Buffalo, but finally earned a win over their Northeast Division rivals on Feb. 16. That 2-1 regulation decision was just the second victory for Toronto in its last 15 encounters with the Sabres. The Sabres, who are 19-11-5 on the road this season, have taken nine of the last 10 meetings at Air Canada Centre. Buffalo is coming off a big comeback victory in its last trip to the ice on Thursday. The visiting Sabres trailed Boston by a 2-0 score in the second period, but Buffalo rallied and eventually claimed a 4-3 overtime decision when Brad Boyes scored with 1:16 left in the extra session. Nathan Gerbe set up the game-winner by picking up a loose puck and racing down the center of the ice before ripping a shot from the point. Tim Thomas blocked the initial shot, but wasnt quick enough to prevent the diminutive forward from slipping the puck to Boyes for the open-net tap-in. Tim Connolly, Thomas Vanek and Tyler Ennis also tallied for the Sabres, who are 4-1-1 on a seven-game road trip that ends today. Ryan Miller made 26 saves for the win and is expected to get the start tonight. Following tonights game, the Sabres will return to western New York for a four-game homestand, which will begin tomorrow afternoon against Ottawa. Sabres forwards Patrick Kaleta (knee), Jochen Hecht (upper body) and Drew Stafford (hamstring) are questionable for tonights game. Toronto last played on Thursday, when they were edged in regulation by the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Boucher stopped 27-of-29 shots to help Philly hang on for the 3-2 decision at Air Canada Centre. Mikhail Grabovski and former Flyers forward Joffrey Lupul tallied for the Maple Leafs, while James Reimer stopped 30 shots in defeat. Thursdays setback began a three-game homestand for Toronto, which will complete the residency Monday evening against Tampa Bay. The Leafs are 15-13-7 as the host this year and have lost three of four and five of their last seven home games. cheap jerseys from china .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. wholesale jerseys . As a result, hes 2-0 on the young season and his Cincinnati Reds are back on track after a brief detour. http://www.cheapnfljerseyschinaplay.com/ . Perez says the Colombia striker "wont come during the January transfer window but in June, who knows? Falcao wants to play for Madrid (. cheap nfl jerseys . The traditional pre-Masters event was halted early due to inclement weather. Harrington, who tied for first in 2003 and won in 2004, became the first three-time champion of the event. wholesale nfl jerseys . -- Long after the kids from Kansas have started raking in their NBA bucks, Askia Booker of Colorado will still be talking about the day he struck it big -- the day he made the shot at the buzzer to beat the Jayhawks.TORONTO - Its been almost a full year since Raptors forward Landry Fields underwent surgery to correct a debilitating and somewhat enigmatic injury to his right elbow; an injury that nearly turned him against the game that he loves. For Fields, the road to recovery has been a long and arduous journey, one that continues to this day as the 25-year-old prepares for his fourth NBA season and second with the Raptors. This summer was a time of reflection, a time of change in his life, both personally and professionally. Returning to play in 46 games following ulnar nerve surgery early last season, Fields battled through the aftermath of his injury, a hitch in his shot and the resulting toll it took on his confidence. He had targeted the offseason as a time of reconciliation, a time to reconstruct the shooting mechanics that had been betraying him. It turned out to be more trying than he could have anticipated. "There was a point where I was so frustrated, my dark days basketball-wise," Fields told TSN.ca in an exclusive conversation Tuesday evening. "Even in the summer there was a lot of ups and downs," he admitted. "Its just a continual process really. In my mind I thought I [would have] surgery and boom, Id be back to normal, but clearly [that] isnt the case." First and foremost, as Fields pointed out, the nerve still needed to heal and strengthen. Trying to avoid that temptation to put the cart ahead of the horse was his biggest challenge, as he juggled on-court work with the natural healing process that had to occur first. In an attempt to work around the injury and play through it last year, Fields developed some bad habits including what he called a "weird motion" in his shot. He recalled the "down periods" this summer, when he would be in the gym working tirelessly to hone in on his mechanics as he would lose the strength in his shooting elbow. The injury has forced Fields to reinvent his shot and his game while calling a few unexpected audibles along the way. He even tried to do something that is mostly unheard of at the NBA level, change shooting hands mid-career. "At that point I was like, its early in the summertime what if I just start working with my left [hand for] a couple months and see how far I can go," he said of the short-lived experiment. "It didnt really work as I excepted it. Im right handed, so I got off of that and stayed faithful to the process and what the doctors were saying." Fields was a 39 per cent three-point shooter as a rookie with the Knicks back in 2010-11, a year in which he attempted 219 triples. Last year he made just two of 14 attempts from long range. "In my mind I just wasnt playing with a full deck of cards," Fields said of his first season in Toronto. "I want[ed] to shoot it but I understood that my strength and my sensation and the sensory skills inn my right hand arent nearly what they need to be so I cant really feel when Im going up for a shot.dddddddddddd" "Its almost like Im shooting a ghost ball or something," he joked. "So when thats going on, yeah youre confidence kind of dwindles. Youre like, I cant shoot right now, not because I dont want to but I literally cant. Its physical." Still not 100 per cent, Fields says he can "finally see a light at the end of the tunnel" and is ready to get back to work. Most importantly, he insists the confidence issues that plagued him last year are forever in the past. "You can tell his confidence is at a much higher level," teammate Aaron Gray said of Fields after the first couple days of camp. "He had to deal with so much last year that I hope no player has to do. Just finding your rhythm and your balance between life and basketball, its huge." Finding serenity in his private life, with a marriage and the birth of his first child, has allowed him to find that balance and put basketball in perspective. Although Steve Novak and Austin Daye will compete with Fields for minutes behind Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan at the wing positions, the presence of accomplished shooters could take the pressure off the Stanford grad. "I told him, dont even worry about his shot," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Hes been working his butt off on his shot, his shot has improved but Im not even concerned about that because he brings so many other things to the table." "I think the weight of the world is off his shoulder," he continued. "Hopefully him knowing that we dont need his shooting to give us a chance to win, that takes some [pressure off]." Instead, Fields will be asked to contribute in other areas of the game, areas he has excelled at in the past, making for what should be a natural transition into his new role. At 6-7 Fields is a skilled defender that Casey has used in man coverage on the likes of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. He can handle the ball, move without it and rebound as well as anyone at his position. This will be an important season for Fields as he continues to work his way back from an injury that, at least temporarily, changed the way he approached his job. "Im just trying to go out there and really try to have fun again," he said with a smile on his face. "I think last year with the injury it took away that fun aspect for me of basketball and you never want to go to work and not have fun." "I would still work hard but [when] you dont see the kind of results that youre putting the time in to get, it really starts to play with you. So this year Im not [going] to worry about any of that, just [going to] try to go out there and play for my teammates, play for the city and really have fun with it all." cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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