Releases » New York Islanders in Thursdays clash at Nassau

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to pick up where they left off before the Olympic break when they visit the John Tavares-less New York Islanders in Thursdays clash at Nassau Coliseum.Toronto was one of several NHL teams that had hot streaks interrupted by the NHLs Olympic break. The Maple Leafs had won five of six right before the hiatus and the club is 11-2-1 over its last 14 games.With 70 points, the Maple Leafs are currently holding on to the seventh of eight playoff spots in the East. Toronto also is just one point in back of both Tampa Bay and Montreal for second place in the Atlantic Division. The top three teams in each division get an automatic bid to the postseason.Toronto is aiming to qualify for the postseason for the second straight spring. Last season the Leafs halted the longest playoff drought in franchise history by making the postseason for the first time since 2004.The Maple Leafs emerge from the break with a road-heavy schedule ahead of them over the next few weeks. Toronto, which is just 11-12-5 as the away club this season, will play two straight and eight of its next 10 on the road.The Islanders, meanwhile, get to continue a five-game homestand on Thursday, but theyll do so without the services of captain and star centerman Tavares.Tavares helped Team Canada win the Olympic tournament, although he missed the semifinals and gold medal game after suffering a partial tear in the MCL of his left knee. Although the injury was originally feared to be worse, it will still keep Tavares sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. However, he will not need surgery as was originally believed.The culmination of the regular season could mark the end of the 2013-14 campaign for the Islanders, who are already 14 points out of the Easts final playoff berth.Tavares, who expects to miss 8-to-12 weeks while recovering, is New Yorks leading scorer with 66 points and is tied for the team lead with 24 goals. He is also third in the NHL in points.The Islanders lost seven of eight games before the break in a stretch that did serious damage to the clubs postseason chances. Without Tavares, the club expects to have a difficult time getting back into the thick of the playoff race.New York and the Leafs have split two meetings so far in 2013-14, but the Isles are 4-1-1 over the last six encounters between the clubs. Toronto, however, has won three straight and four of the past five games at the Coliseum.The Isles are 8-14-8 as the host team this season. The club is playing the third test of its five-game homestand tonight and will complete the stay on Long Island after welcoming New Jersey and Florida on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Matt Hunwick Sabres Jersey .com) - The Chicago White Sox have officially announced that the club has agreed to terms with utilityman Emilio Bonifacio on a one-year, $4 million contract that includes a team option for the 2016 season. Scott Wilson Jersey . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. http://www.officialsabresfanstore.com/authentic-derek-roy-sabres-jersey/ . - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards. Rasmus Dahlin Jersey . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Linus Ullmark Jersey . "I only want to go through this one more time," Crosby said Friday. The 24-year-old captain hasnt played since the symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. Doctors allowed him to return to full practice on Tuesday and while Crosby is pleased with the way his body is responding he refuses to put on his return.LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland - About four weeks after winning Olympic gold in the super-G, Anna Fenninger completed her run to the overall World Cup title Thursday by taking second in the same event. The 24-year-old Austrian finished behind Lara Gut at the World Cup Finals but built an unassailable 215-point lead over her Swiss friend with two races remaining this weekend. "Its just, Wow," said Fenninger, the first Austrian woman to win the overall title since Nicole Hosp in 2007. "It means that you are the best skier in the world over the whole season." Fenningers path to Alpine skiings most prestigious honour was made easier when her closest challenger, Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, sustained season-ending injuries after crashing in the downhill on Wednesday. Still, her consistency over a tiring five-month season earned her the honour of becoming the 27th different womens champion since the World Cup launched in 1967. "You cant win the overall because you are lucky," Gut said. "You win the overall because you are the best." Fenninger carried the momentum of her Olympic exploits, including silver in giant slalom, into a surge of points in recent weeks. Her only slip since Sochi was a sixth-place finish in the final downhill on Wednesday, racing minutes before Hoefl-Riesch crashed. "I was so nervous yesterday it was not normal," Fenninger said. "But I learned from yesterday for today and Im stoked that I can show my good skiing again." Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein, who was second in the overall standings heading to Sochi, also wass lost for the season when she crashed in training on the Olympic downhill course.dddddddddddd Starting just before Gut on Thursday, Fenninger punched the air with her right fist after crossing the line, then blew a kiss to the television camera while waiting for her rival in the finish area. Gut then finished in 1 minute, 17.14 seconds on the sunbathed course, 0.61 seconds faster than Fenninger. Tina Maze of Slovenia, the defending overall champion, trailed Gut by 0.95 in third. Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., did not finish. Guts victory, her second straight after her downhill success, clinched the season-long super-G title, a first career World Cup trophy for the 22-year-old Swiss racer. Gut looked up at the giant screens, pumped both fists and basked in a loud ovation from a 5,000-strong home crowd. "Its cool," the 22-year-old Gut said. "Winning it at home and finally bringing a (crystal) globe back to Switzerland, its amazing." Guts seventh World Cup race win this season is the most on the womens circuit, and leaves her third overall. Fenninger, however, won three giant slaloms — including back-to-back races last week in Are, Sweden — and racked up podium finishes. She finished second in the downhill standings, behind Hoefl-Riesch, and in super-G. She also stands second in the giant slalom race behind Jessica Lindell-Vikarby of Sweden. The final GS race closes the season on Sunday. By then, Austria hopes Marcel Hirscher will have clinched the mens overall title to give the Alpine nation its first double success since 2002. ' ' '