Scrivens finished with 25 saves. The Canucks return home to

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Jul 1 '2016, 2:57 | By miao1234 | 188

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TORONTO - Fresh off one of his most impressive outings of the season, DeMar DeRozan sat by his locker and spoke about carrying his suddenly injury-ridden team while a small piece of gauze soaked up the blood on the hand he used to carry them. http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c-47-bills-doug-flutie-jersey.aspx . Theres some irony there, somewhere. DeRozan needed "four or five" stitches to close a gash in the webbing of his left hand following Wednesdays surprising 107-103 win over the Houston Rockets. "I didnt even notice," he said. It happened late in the fourth quarter as he tried to rip the ball away from Omer Asik. "I looked down and my whole hand was soaked." "It wouldnt stop bleeding. But its cool." Next to Terrence Ross, the Raptors healthiest starter might be the guy with the bloody mitt. They had been fortunate to avoid the injury bug for most of the season but, as they say, when it rains, it pours. Suddenly, its hit them like a monsoon. Missing Kyle Lowry for the first time this season, out with soreness in his left knee, Toronto lost another indispensable cog when Amir Johnson was removed three minutes into Wednesdays game, having tweaked a lingering right ankle ailment. Just a few minutes later the Raptors fell behind by 12 points. With eight games left in their feel-good, Cinderella season the sky was falling, or so we thought. Fact is, this wouldnt be the first time theyve been written off, left for dead. They havent followed the script to this point, so why would they start now? "Guys stepped up," Dwane Casey said. With Patrick Patterson leading the charge in his second game back from an elbow injury, the second unit immediately captured momentum. John Salmons played his best basketball in months while Nando De Colo and Tyler Hansbrough both gave Toronto a lift with their energy off the bench. Greivis Vasquez, starting in place of the injured Lowry, filled in admirably at the point, recording eight assists without committing a turnover in a season-high 40 minutes of action. But no one was quite as impressive as DeRozan. The all-star guard faced all the additional defensive attention you would expect without Lowry in the lineup but after a 12-minute adjustment period he put the team on his shoulders and got to work. "I had to pick up the slack with [Lowry] out," said DeRozan, making just one of his five shots in the first quarter. "I havent really played without Kyle, hes played every game. It was an adjustment for me tonight but I figured it out there after the first quarter." DeRozan scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the second quarter, connecting on all six of his attempts in the frame, including a 32-foot bank shot to end the half. Rising to the occasion, DeRozan was at his best when his team needed him most; the mark of a true all-star. The Raptors have two players that fit that description. With DeRozan sidelined for a couple games in late February, Lowry led Toronto to a pair of victories, scoring over 30 points in each contest. Now it was his turn to carry the load. "Theyve been doing it the whole year," Vasquez said of the teams star backcourt. "Both [of them]. Its not hidden that theyre our leaders. We go as they go and everybody understands that. This is why we have a healthy locker room. Were not fighting egos. We know whats going on. Those two guys are going to score, those two guys are going to make winning plays for us and weve just got to feed off their energy. Whenever those guys go down weve got their back, thats what this team is all about." Lowry originally sustained the injury colliding with LeBron James in Mondays loss to the Heat. Although there was no structural damage to his knee, it was still swollen on Wednesday and the teams medical staff decided it was best to hold him out, much to the dismay of Lowry, one would imagine. "If it were up to him he would go one leg," Casey joked before the game. "But you dont want to risk his future health for one game." Even in his absence, Lowrys tendencies seemed to rub off on his teammates. DeRozan took a rare charge. Vasquez tried to do the same, though he was called for a blocking foul. "I know he was laughing," Vasquez said of Lowry, who leads the league in drawing charges. "He knows I dont take charges." The good news for the Raptors is that neither Lowrys knee injury or Johnsons bum ankle appears too serious. Both players will benefit from some much-needed rest during Thursdays off day and hope to be ready for Fridays home tilt with the Pacers, Torontos final game against a winning opponent this season. "Weve been very lucky not to have had some major injuries, knock on wood, throughout the year," Casey said. "The little injury bug has hit us a little bit. The schedules not going to stop. Weve got to keep going. Next man up." Casey reaches milestone With the victory, Casey notched his 100th win at the helm of the Raptors, becoming the third coach in team history to reach that plateau, joining Sam Mitchell and Lenny Wilkens. Asked about the accomplishment after the game, the Raptors third-year bench boss shifted the focus to his players, as expected. "All I know is its [win] number 43 for us this year," he said. "Its not about [me]. Its about the team, its about the organization, its about the players that have been here the three years and the process that weve gone through." "To start where we did and kind of build, and were still building, is a tribute to the young guys and the players that have been through here." The stat The Raptors will finish the year with a 16-14 record against Western Conference teams, their first season above .500 versus the West since 1999-00. The quote "Ever since I was in New Orleans I wanted to start my whole career," said Vasquez, who made his second start as a Raptor after doing so in all 18 games with the Kings this season and all 78 he appeared in with New Orleans last year. "But when I came here I really humbled myself and understood that its about winning more than about putting up numbers. I can go out there and play 36 minutes and put up crazy numbers but what about the playoffs? What about making winning plays?" "So Im going to be ready, man. I love this team and Im willing to do whatever it takes." http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c-43-bills-eric-wood-jersey.aspxhttp://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c-25-bills-jerry-hughes-jersey.aspx . The six-year-old Irish-bred took the lead coming off the final turn and never looked back, defending his title at the $1-million Pattison Canadian International on Sunday. EDMONTON -- The Vancouver Canucks didnt need Henrik Sedin or their head coach to hold on for a win over Edmonton on Tuesday. Zack Kassians second-period goal stood up as the game winner as the Canucks won their second in a row, defeating the struggling Edmonton Oilers 2-1. Rookie Kellan Lain also scored for the Canucks (26-16-9), who have won just three of their last 11 games. Goalie Roberto Luongo made 28 saves for the win. The Canucks were without leading scoring Sedin, who missed his first game in close to a decade with an injury, and head coach John Tortorella, who started his 15-day suspension for an altercation during a game against the Calgary Flames on Saturday. "I think we all have to step up," Luongo said. "Its not just one person, thats what good teams do. When theres guys out of the lineup other guys have to step up and those coming into the lineup have to play well. "Good teams find a way to do that and (Tuesday) we played a great game." Canucks assistant coach Mike Sullivan said his teams good start proved essential when the Oilers started to battle back in the third. "I thought we played hard, I thought we played smart, the first two periods I thought we played real well," he said. "We were playing with fire there in the second, they have a lot of skill and their power play was really good. I thought once we killed that off to get out of the second period, the key for us was to make sure we didnt give them another opportunity." Jordan Eberle replied for the Oilers (15-31-6), who have lost five in a row and 10 of their last 12. It was also Edmontons fourth losing streak that has gone five games or more this season. "We could have had two or three goals on the power play, but Luongo made some really good saves," Eberle said. "I thought we played a pretty good game, we just couldnt find a way to score. I think for sure the saves he made on our power plays made the difference." Oilers captain Andrew Ference said some progress was made, but it may have been a case of too little, too late. "We showed some great fight at the end and good pressure and some good chances," he said. "The penalty kill was excellent tonight. It was good, but there was still that extra little bit that everybody feels was left on the table a little bit at certain points in the game." Vancouver got on the board just over five minutes into the game as Oilers starter Ben Scrivens allowed a big rebound on a long shot from Dale Weise. Lain was there to swat at the rebound that glanced off of Scrivens arm and in. It was Lains first career NHL goal in just his second game. "You always dream of playing in the NHL, but you also dream of scoring that first goal," Lain said. "When you get it, its a pretty special moment. I just drove tto the net and the puck just popped out to me. http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c-33-bills-dan-carpenter-jersey.aspx. " Vancouver had nine first-period shots to Edmontons six on Luongo. Shortly after killing off a penalty where Luongo stood tall on several good Oiler chances, the Canucks made it 2-0 eight minutes into the second period as Ryan Kesler spotted Kassian streaking towards the net and fed a pass to set up a floater of a shot that beat Scrivens up high. It was Kassians 10th of the season. Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins was not thrilled with a line of questioning after the game that debated whether or not their should have been an attempt to send a message to Kassian. He was suspended earlier this season after he high-sticked Oiler Sam Gagner in the face in a pre-season game, breaking his jaw. "I saw a talk between a guy on our team that handles that kind of stuff very well and that player, and one player wasnt willing to engage," he said. "So Im not quite sure what else you want us to do. You can go jump him, go slash him, cross-check him in the face, something like that, but Im not sure how that helps us win a close game." Luongo did his part to keep the two-goal lead intact with five minutes to play in the second half as he came across to make a huge blocker save in tight on Eberle with the Oilers on the power play. Eberle, who also hit a post early in the third period, was finally rewarded with five minutes remaining as Gagner crashed the crease and a mad scramble ensued before the puck came loose. Eberle was able to send it through a forest of legs to make it 2-1 and spoil Luongos shutout bid. Edmonton had its chances late in the game with Scrivens on the bench, but couldnt get another goal past Luongo. Scrivens finished with 25 saves. The Canucks return home to start a four-game stand against Nashville on Thursday. The Oilers next game is on Friday, when they play host to the Phoenix Coyotes. Notes: It was the third of five games between the Pacific Division rivals. Vancouver won both of the previous encounters by a combined score of 10-2. The Canucks entered the game having won eight of the previous 11 games between the two squads ... A pair of players acquired during Edmontons four-game road trip made their Oilers debut as the fans got their first looks at forward Matt Hendricks (traded from Nashville) and Scrivens (trade with Los Angeles). Scrivens, from the Edmonton satellite community of Spruce Grove, Alta., was playing his first-ever game in Rexall Place. ... The Oilers were missing forwards Ales Hemsky (foot) and Nail Yakupov (head) and defenceman Philip Larsen (illness). Defenceman Corey Potter returned from missing the last 11 games with a groin injury. ... 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