CALGARY -- Lance Bouma continued his unexpected scoring prowess Wednesday night with his fourth goal in as many pre-season games. Gabriel Arsenal Jersey. Now the Calgary Flames prospect will sit back, wait and hope he did enough to make the team. In the Flames final pre-season test, Calgary fell 3-2 in overtime to the Phoenix Coyotes. Defenceman Zbynek Michalek scored the winning goal. Coach Bob Hartley said the Flames will make several cuts Thursday as they get closer to the 23-man roster they will deploy when Calgary opens the regular season one week later in Washington. "I dont want to go down, Ive played in the minors before, I know what its all about," said Bouma, the Flames third round draft pick in 2008. "I know I can play here so I want to be here, for sure." Due to a serious knee injury, Bouma was limited to just three AHL games last season. That came after a 2011-12 season in which he was called up in January and spent the rest of the year with the Flames. He was a good bet to make the club last year but badly injured his knee in October while playing for Abbotsford (AHL) during the NHL lockout. "For a player that basically missed the entire year last year, Lance showed up in great shape," said Hartley. "We saw him work here last year during his rehab. Hes a very committed young man." Known more as a physical player at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, Bouma has just one goal on his NHL resume in 47 games. "After missing almost all of last year, its nice to come in and have success offensively. It gives me more confidence on the ice and in the way in the way Im playing," Bouma said. "I feel confident that Ive showed that I can play here, that my knee is fine and I have confidence in it. Hopefully they have confidence in me." Bouma says he wont let the stats sheet change who he is as a player. "I have to be an energy player," said Bouma. "I need to be as physical as possible and get in and forecheck as much as I can. Thats my game and I have to bring that every night." Boumas goal on Mike Smith from a scramble in front was one of two goals in less than two minutes that suddenly tied the game 2-2 halfway through the third period. It wasnt pretty but Hartley says thats going to be the way it has to be with this team this year. "If we can have scoring throughout the lineup, thats going to be very helpful," said Hartley. "I dont think we have one go-to guy offensively that will get 100, 110 points. If we can get scoring from our support guys that will definitely help this hockey club." The other goal for Calgary (4-2-1) was scored by Corban Knight, another young forward who is on the bubble of making the team. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Shane Doan also scored for Phoenix (3-2-1). The Coyotes finish their pre-season Friday night with a home game against the San Jose Sharks. Mike Smith had 29 saves to get the victory while first-year Swiss goaltender Reto Berra had 22 stops for Calgary. Berra was making his home debut for the Flames. Acquired last year from St. Louis in the package Calgary got in exchange for Jay Bouwmeester, the 26-year-old has played his entire career in Switzerland. He has been locked in a goaltending battle with Karri Ramo and veteran Joey MacDonald. "Its getting better. For sure, the more youre on the ice here, you get more comfortable," Berra said. "I gave everything I had. I think I did pretty good. I think I can play in this league, but its not my decision at the end." Notes: Notable scratches for Phoenix included former Flames David Moss and Derek Morris along with Rostislav Klesla... Not dressed for Calgary were Jiri Hudler (lower body) and Mike Cammalleri (hand), who are both nursing minor injuries. Brian McGrattan also did not play. Hudler and Cammalleri are expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. Laurent Koscielny Jersey . Its what they expected. And now theyll meet in a French Open final with so much at stake for both. Alexis Sanchez Jersey . The steady progress of Devin Harris had a lot to do with the surge. Nowitzki scored 23 points, Harris had a season-high 16 and the Mavericks pulled away from Cleveland 124-107 Monday night, handing the Cavaliers their fifth straight loss.TORONTO - Although no one cared to admit it, on either side, at the outset of the evening, Mondays divisional grudge match in Brooklyn meant more to the Raptors than the game that preceded it or the one to follow. The stakes were higher, the competition more fierce and the atmosphere was that of a playoff game - something the young, upstart Raptors have five weeks to better prepare themselves for or the result will be eerily similar. If they looked out of place in that environment, its probably because they were. Torontos starting five features a fifth-year star that has yet to make a playoff appearance. Theyre the only team currently in a playoff position that starts two sophomores and its been five years since either their point guard or power forward has experienced postseason basketball. Combined that lineup accounts for 24 games of postseason experience. Staring them down in the final minute of a one-possession, high stakes game was a Nets unit that has collectively participated in 268 playoff contests. Paul Pierce alone is responsible for 136 of them while Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko - both out with injuries - would have added another 176. The Nets took a five-point advantage into the fourth quarter and, for all their hardships this season, they had only lost one of 30 games in which they held the lead after 36 minutes. Thats the difference experience makes. The Raptors, despite a valiant effort, showed up to a knife fight armed with plastic forks. "This team here in Brooklyn is a championship-caliber team," Dwane Casey said following his teams 101-97 loss. "They know the plays to make to win games. Weve still got to learn that. Were on our way but we still have some learning to do." Although the Raptors remain the NBAs best fourth-quarter team, outscoring opponents by 158 points in the final frame this season, their late-game execution continues to be a work in progress. When ahead or behind by five points or less in the final three minutes, Toronto shoots 37 per cent, the ninth-lowest mark in the league. Theyre 15-18 in games that come down to that scenario. On Monday, Pierce hit what may have been the biggest shot of the night - a cold-blooded three to break a tie with just over a minute left and the shot clock ticking down - while the Raptors wilted in the moment. Down one, 30 seconds later, Toronto got the stop it needed, leading to a five-on-four break the other way. In the midst of a brilliant second half, Kyle Lowry found DeMar DeRozan in transition, believing he would continue to go hard to the bucket. Danny Welbeck Arsenal Jersey. Met by Pierce in the lane, DeRozan lateraled back to Lowry, who wasnt expecting the pass and turned down the shot. John Salmons, receiving the ball from Lowry, also hesitated on an open look from the elbow, which ultimately led to Terrence Ross fumbling the ball as he looked to salvage the broken play. It was a possession mired in indecision and it sealed Torontos fate. The Nets - 10-for-14 from three-point range after the first quarter - hit big shots and made winning plays. They looked like the desperate team, and rightfully so. Had they won, the Raptors would be sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division, five games up on Brooklyn with the season-series tiebreaker in hand. Instead, Brooklyn has pulled within three games of the division lead. "[The atmosphere] was definitely a notch higher because of what was at stake," DeRozan admitted after the game. "Theyre chasing us and were leading in the division. It was just a big game overall. Theyve been playing well, trying to make a playoff push and were trying to sustain our position so it definitely was a big game." While the loss stings, the Raptors are still in the drivers seat, controlling their own destiny with 20 games to go. "It was a disappointing loss in the fact that theyre a team thats battling us for the division," Casey said. "Theres still a lot of basketball left to play. Weve got to stay positive. Its not the end of the world. We werent going to go undefeated the rest of the way. We knew that." Should Toronto and Brooklyn share the same record atop the Atlantic when its all said and done, with the season series now even, the tiebreaker would go to the team with the most wins within the division. The Raptors are currently 8-3 with five games left to be played against Atlantic opponents while the Nets are 7-5 with four remaining. Each of those games could be crucial - including two meetings with New York in the final week of the season - for the Raptors who are hoping to win their second division title in franchise history. Sink or swim, that will be determined by what theyre able to take out of Mondays squandered opportunity. "Its a learning experience," DeRozan said. "It was a heck of a game that we can learn from and possibly could be a team we could see in the playoffs." Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Authentic China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
