versus the Oilers with a 2.06 GAA. He shut the club out for the first time in his career with a 3-0

TORONTO - According to Masai Ujiris wish list, the Toronto Raptors draft picks will be tough, eager to play defence, able to blend in well with coach Dwane Caseys playing style, and one of them will be a shot blocker. The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. "I think probably by (Tuesday), it will be narrowed down to probably five guys (for the No. 20 spot), and that doesnt include guys that could fall," Ujiri said. "And about 600 at 37," he added laughing. Ujiri said part of his pre-draft research is figuring out players who are capable of giving Casey what he wants. "Were an aggressive team, were going to play tough, play hard on the defensive end and stop people, and we are going to play up-tempo on the offensive end," Ujiri said. "We have to bring in those kinds of players, we cant just draft anybody to come here and throw to Dwane Casey, that wouldnt be fair." He and his staff will go for the best player on the board rather than draft specifically for position, although he said hed be happy if a shot blocker happened to be available at one of their three picks. Ujiri, who was still with the Denver Nuggets during last years draft, hasnt entirely ruled out moving up to a higher pick. "(But) I dont do heartbreaks very well," he said. "Those trades and talks, people dont understand, we talk about a hundred trades and maybe two happen. Thats just the nature of our business. "Well be aggressive, but our energy is focused on 20 rather than wasting our time on whats not. If theres anything, I always feel like those kinds of things almost come to you rather than you chase them. If we smell anything anywhere, well be aggressive, but 20 is what were counting on." Toronto didnt have a pick in last years draft. They selected Terrence Ross with their No. 8 pick in 2012. They selected Kareem Rush at No. 20 in 2002 and traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. The previous year, they took Morris Peterson at No. 21. Ujiri said its been a gruelling few weeks of pouring over the specifics of this years draft class. "We do a lot of mechanics, pictures, analytics, background checks, psych tests and all that stuff. When they come for workouts, there are so many things you look at, foot speed, how tall they are, their demeanours, so many things," he said. "Its a huge process for us and just builds and builds and builds. "Now hopefully by Wednesday morning we will have gathered all the information we have. And then mess it up with a trade or something," he added, laughing. The difficult part is judging a players potential — "we have to figure out where the player is now and what he will be in a couple of years from now or four years from now." Point guard Kyle Lowry led the Raptors to their first post-season appearance in six seasons, where they were eliminated by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Lowry becomes a free agent on July 1, but Ujiri said his status wont be a factor in how the Raptors select in the draft. "We are going full force after Kyle Lowry, and if theres a talented point guard in the draft. . . well go for talent in the draft. But Kyle Lowry is our target," he said. Several Canadians have been among the players whove worked out for the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre, including point guard Tyler Ennis, forwards Melvin Ejim and Khem Birch and seven-foot-two centre Jordan Bachynski. There could be as many as five to eight Canadians taken in the draft, led by Andrew Wiggins, the Vaughan, Ont., star whos expected to go No. 1 or 2. Ujiri pointed out that plenty can happen between now and Thursday night. Three days before the NBA draft, there have already been a couple of surprises. Highly-touted prospect Joel Embiid had surgery last week on the stress fracture on his foot. Draft prospect Isaiah Austin has been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a career-ending condition. "I walked into (the office) today and was like Please, no news thats going to throw me off right now. Because it will keep coming, there will be something tonight, tomorrow morning, there will be something, thats just the nature of the draft," Ujiri said. "You love it, thats why we do it, theres always action." Tracy Walker Jersey . I wondered how NHL coaches would feel about a playoff schedule that allowed them to open a best-of-seven series on the road, which many claim to favour, yet still gave them the precious home-ice edge for a seventh game. Christian Jones Jersey . Russia has spent about $51 billion to deliver the Sochi Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23, making them the most expensive games ever, even though as a winter event it hosts many fewer athletes than summer games do. http://www.lionsfanspro.com/Black-DaShaw...l?cat=957."; Argos general manager Jim Barker uttered those words during an interview with TSN 1050 radio just prior to the CFLs annual free agent frenzy. Frank Ragnow Jersey . Brad Malone had the other goal for the Monsters (1-1-0), while Elliott chipped in an assist for a three-point night and the games first star. Bryan Lerg also had two assists. Corban Knight and Max Reinhart scored for the Heat (1-1-0), who opened their season Friday with a 5-2 win over the Monsters in Cleveland. Levine Toilolo Jersey . Griffin scored 13 of his 31 points in the final 7:05 and Dudley got 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter, leading the defending Pacific Division champions to a 112-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. "Dud is a shooter.Flames visit Preds in battle between low-scoring teams (SportsNetwork.com) - The Calgary Flames were again involved in a game in which a team was held scoreless, only this time they came out on the winning side. For one night, continued scoring issues didnt cost the Flames and theyll aim to make it back-to-back wins on Tuesday night when they visit the Nashville Predators. Calgary went into Mondays encounter with the Carolina Hurricanes having been outscored 13-1 over a three-game slide and 26-6 over their previous eight games, a span in which it had been shut out five times while going 1-7-0. The Flames finally found a way to get around those scoring woes by keeping the Hurricanes off the board in a 2-0 win. Karri Ramo stopped all 23 shots he faced for his first NHL shutout. Ramo played 48 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2006-09 and then spent the next four seasons in Russia before the Flames took a chance on the 27- year-old Finn in the offseason. He posted 18 whitewashes for Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League. Mikael Backlund and Sean Monahan scored the goals as the Flames won despite Mike Cammalleri sitting out with a concussion suffered in Saturdays loss to Pittsburgh. "It was probably our best team effort of the season," Calgary head coach Bob Hartley said. "Its a feel-good story, thats for sure. We had an answer for their pressure. We were on our toes, had great support. Guys were going short (shifts), so we had plenty of energy. We were on a mission." Monahan tied Cammalleri for the team lead in goals with 13 as he has three tallies in his past seven games for the struggling offense. The Predators themselves failed to find any offense on Sunday night versus the Minnesota Wild, falling in defeat 4-0. They were shut out for an NHL-leading seventh time this season, but for the first time since Nov. 28. Marek Mazanec made 19 saves, yielding two goals in the first period and another two in the third as the Preds fell to 1-2-1 on a five-game homestand and 3-7-4 in their past 14. "They came out with a lot of juice and got us on our heels in the first," said Nashville coach Barry Trotz. The Predators and Flames are meeting for the first time this season and Nashville has claimed five of the past seven encounters overall. Calgary has lost four straight in Nashville. Sens, Wild collide in Minnesota (SportsNetwork.com) - There is still plenty of hockey left to be played, but that doesnt mean the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild arent keep an eye on the standings. The two clubs look to extend recent surges on Tuesday night with a meeting in Minnesota. The Senators are 5-0-1 in their last six games, climbing to within two points of the final two postseason spots in the Eastern Conference, while the Wild own a four-point lead for eighth place in the Western Conference thanks to a victory in five of their last six. Ottawa wraps a four-game road trip tonight and rebounded from an overtime loss in Colorado to beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday. Both Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored for the Sens in the tiebreaker, while Craig Anderson stopped both skaters he faced. Kyle Turris scored in regulation while Anderson stopped 32 shots through overtime. "You dont want to fall behind. We know were in a lump of a group of teams, but with the games-in-hand and the not-games-in-hand I think its too early to be looking at where you sit," said Spezza. Anderson has not lost in regulation since Dec. 19, going 6-0-2 since. However, he has allowed three goals or more in five of those eight games. Minnesota, meanwhile, has found success despite not having forwards Zach Parise (lower body) and Mikko Koivu (ankle surgery) as well as goaltender Josh Harding (illness) out of the lineup. The Wild also rebounded from a loss to Colorado, besting the hosting Nashville Predators 4-0 on Sunday. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for his first career NHL shutout, while Dany Heatley, Jason Zucker, Matt Cooke and Marco Scandella all had goals. Charlie Coyle, skating on a line with Heatley and Zucker, notched a pair of assists. "I think its also the first time weve had a couple of guys weve played steady together for more than a game or two," Heatley said. "Like I said, that chemistrys a big deal and its going good right now." Kuemper only had to make five saves in the opening period, but turned aside nine in each of the fiinal two frames to finish off the shutout.dddddddddddd He will get the call in net again tonight as he faces the Senators for the first time. Ottawa is 8-3-0 with a tie all-time versus Minnesota and had won six straight in the series before a 4-3 home loss on Nov. 20. Koivu had the winner, Heatley finished with a goal and an assist and Harding made 34 saves. Turris, Zibanejad and Milan Michalek scored for the Senators, while Anderson made 21 saves. Sens backup Robin Lehner is slated to get the start tonight and has never faced the Wild. He has given up five goals in each of his last two starts overall, the most recent on Dec. 27. Ottawa has won three straight on the road in this series and is 4-1-0 with a tie all-time in Minnesota. The Senators announced on Monday that general manager Bryan Murray signed a two-year contract extension and was also named the president of hockey operations. Upon the conclusion of the extension in 2016, Murray will stay on with the team in an advisory role. The 71-year-old Murray has been with the franchise since June 2004 when he was named the teams head coach, then took over the general managers duties on June 18, 2007. Oilers look to halt struggles against Stars (SportsNetwork.com) - A stunning collapse cost the Dallas Stars a chance at snapping their five-game losing streak last time out. The Edmonton Oilers couldnt capitalize on a shocking goal to beat one of the NHLs top teams. The Stars and Oilers both aim to halt their recent struggles on Tuesday night with a meeting in Dallas. The Oilers visited the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and lost a 5-3 decision despite a gift goal in the second period. During a delayed penalty call, Blackhawks goaltender Antti Raanta skated off for an extra attacker as Patrick Kane passed the puck to the point in the Oilers zone. However, there was not Blackhawk there and the puck traveled all the way into the Chicago net, with Boyd Gordon getting credited with a goal despite not even being on the ice. That strange tally tied the game at 2-2 with 8:31 left in the second period, but Chicagos Marian Hossa scored during the 5-on-3 power play just 29 seconds later and Jonathan Toews added another Blackhawks goal before the end of the period. Ales Hemsky had one goal and an assist for the Oilers, while Devan Dubnyk was beaten five times on 41 shots. "We made it pretty easy on them. Against a team like that, theyre going to make you pay," said Edmonton forward Taylor Hall, who scored his 18th goal of the season to make it 4-3 in the third period before Chicago again answered. The Stars and Oilers have split two meetings this season, with each club winning on the road. Dallas has won seven of nine and 12 of the last 15 meetings overall. Edmonton has won back-to-back road games in this series, but has still lost 10 of its last 13 in Dallas. Just minutes away from a victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday, the Stars instead watched as the Isles scored three times over the games final 4:16 to hand Dallas a 4-2 setback. It was the Stars sixth defeat in a row, all in regulation. Ray Whitney and Sergei Gonchar scored in the first period to stake Dallas to a 2-0 lead and Dan Ellis made 27 saves. "When youre struggling as a group, instead of finding ways to win you find ways to lose, and thats kind of where were at right now," said Whitney. The Stars have lost six in a row in regulation for the first time since Dec. 5-15, 1995 and have fallen eight points back of the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Dallas will now try to avoid losing seven straight for the first time since an 0-5-2 rut from March 17-30, 2009 and will do so against an Edmonton club that is 2-4-2 in its last eight games. Ilya Bryzgalov will start tonight for the Oilers and is 13-8-2 with a 2.26 goals against average in 29 games (26 starts) versus the Stars. He made 28 saves in a 3-2 shootout win in Dallas on Dec. 1. Kari Lehtonen is likely to start for the Stars and owns a 10-3-1 lifetime mark versus the Oilers with a 2.06 GAA. He shut the club out for the first time in his career with a 3-0 road decision on Nov. 13, then stopped 30 saves in the loss to Bryzgalov. Former Oilers captain and current Stars forward Shawn Horcoff faces his old club for the third time. He totaled 162 goals, 285 assists and 447 points in 796 games with Edmonton to begin his career and has no points in the two meetings this season. ' ' '