Alles Andere » Kvitova committed seven double-faults in just

(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. Koen Casteels Belgium Jersey . In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U. Custom Belgium Soccer Jerseys . “Momentum is only as good as the next days starter,” the long-time Baltimore Orioles manager famously quipped. http://www.belgiumsoccerpro.com/Yannick-Carrasco-Belgium-Jersey/ . The Heat centre scored 10 of his 30 points early in the first quarter to silence the Toronto fans as Miami defeated the Raptors 113-101 on Friday night. Leander Dendoncker Jersey . The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday. Michy Batshuayi Jersey . - The New England Patriots needed help on defence so they added three experienced players at midseason.Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Petra Kvitova became the latest top seed to fall at the U.S. Open on Saturday. American Alison Riske provided the surprising upset with a 6-3, 6-0 rout of the seventh-seeded Czech in third-round action. Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champ, became the second top seed to bow out in the first week as fourth- seeded Sara Errani lost in the second round. Kvitova hasnt fared too well at Flushing Meadows, with a pair of fourth-round results her best finishes in now six trips to the USTA National Tennis Center. Riske, whose lone previous U.S. Open ended in a first-round loss in 2011, gained a measure of revenge after losing to Kvitova in the second round of last weeks tune-up event in New Haven. Kvitova needed three sets to dispose of the 23-year-old Pittsburgh native last week and never found a rhythm on Saturday. Kvitova committed seven double-faults in just eight service games and had 27 unforcced errors overall, compared to just seven from Riske.dddddddddddd Another early winner Saturday was 21st-seeded Simona Halep. The Romanian blasted 14th-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko, 6-1, 6-0, to keep her brilliant summer going. Halep has captured four titles since a first-round loss at the French Open, winning in Nuremburg, Den Bosch, Budapest and last week at New Haven. She beat Kvitova in last weekends final and her lone three losses since Roland Garros have come against Li Na in the second round at Wimbledon, Flavia Pennetta in the second round at Bastad and Serena Williams in the Cincinnati quarterfinals. Shell get another crack at Pennetta in the fourth round, as the unseeded Italian followed her second-round upset of Errani with a 7-5, 6-1 win over 2004 U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova on Saturday. Pennetta, a three-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist, hasnt dropped a set in her three matches this week. ' ' '