Sabres made it 1-1 on a power-play wraparound goal by Ennis la

The 2014 World Figure Skating Championships begin this week in Tokyo. With Olympic champions in three of the four disciplines on the sidelines for various reasons, it is as though the page has been turned to the next Olympic quadrennial. We will get a glimpse of the future of the sport and meet some of skatings up-and-coming talent like the new world junior champion, 15-year-old Nam Nguyen of Canada while at the same time celebrating some of the sports stars. The setting for this years Worlds is perfect in that Japan is a country that is passionate about its skaters and skating. It is the quintessential skating audience; enthusiastic, appreciative and massive. The Saitama Super Arena just outside of Tokyo holds 18,000 spectators and is predicting sell-out crowds and record-breaking attendances. The only Olympic champion from Sochi that is here is the one that matters most to these fans, hometown hero Yuzuru Hanyu. He, alongside the immensely popular Mao Asada, leads a strong Japanese contingent which could dominate in the mens and ladies competitions. While Yuzuru is the favorite in the mens, his competition is expected to come from his training mate, Javier Fernandez of Spain and his teammate Tatsuki Machida. Asada will face Olympic bronze medalist Carolina Kostner of Italy, Russian teenager and the star of the team event in Sochi, Julia Lipnitskaya, and American Gracie Gold. While there is a lot to get excited about here in Tokyo, Canadian superstars Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir as well as Patrick Chan will sit this one out and be much missed. Even without Tessa, Scott and Patrick, Canada is still in the hunt for three medals. With the Canadian champions out of the dance and mens, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje along with Kevin Reynolds will get their turn to move from the shadows into the spotlight and, they hope, onto the podium. Kaitlyn and Andrew have a clear shot at a medal. In typical Weaver and Poje fashion, they have not let up after the Games and have continued to push themselves and refine their routines. I find their improvement since the Games impressive. With the top two dance teams from Olympics out, Kaitlyn and Andrew are squarely in the mix of five teams for the podium. The race is tight, but a podium finish is in their sights and well within their capabilities. Kevin Reynolds finished fifth at last years Worlds but with injuries and boot problems, he has struggled this year. He did not have his best skates in the individual event in Sochi and finished 15th. We saw what he was capable of during the team competition where he laid down a stellar free skate, playing an integral role in Canadas silver medal win. He has had another month of training under his belt since the Games and he loves to skate in Japan where he has an adoring fan base. I expect that these circumstances will combine to give Kevin an outside shot at a medal. After a frustrating year, Kevin has a chance for redemption and he just may have timed it perfectly to finish on a high. Another Canadian team member who is looking for redemption after a frustrating season is Canadas ladies champion Kaetlyn Osmond, who was plagued by injuries this season. Her break-out year last season culminated in an eighth place finish at her first ever World Championships, a remarkable debut. Her lack of training time has unsettled her this season but I have watched her handle it well with the help of her coach, Ravi Walia. She has a sparkle and exuberance that needs to be strategically disciplined in order to give her the consistency she is looking for without losing the fire. This is something that can only come with time as well as trial and error. When Kaetlyn finds her groove, she can compete with the best of them. A medal may be out of her grasp in Tokyo but there is no doubt in my mind that Kaetlyn can establish herself as one of the contenders in this new Olympic cycle. Canada has two pairs going for the podium. Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moskvitch were fifth at the Games while Megan Duhammel and Eric Radford were eighth. They were third and fourth in the world last year and will look for similar results here. Kirsten and Dylan are known to charm their audiences and if they are to get the results they are looking for, they will have to deliver the technical details while winning over the fans. They can go clean and will need to if they are to medal. Meagan and Eric will try to bring home the hardware by capitalizing on their strengths as individuals, the ability to do difficult side-by-side triples, to give them the edge. They take big risks to maximize points and while it didnt pay off in the individual event in Sochi, it often does and you can expect it will here, too. The Olympic pairs champions are not here but competition will still be fierce with teams from Russia, Germany and China battling the Canadians for the top spots. Wholesale Hydro Flask .com) - Avery Bradley scored 21 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets, 89-81. Hydro Flask Sale . In an interview with La Presse this week, the five-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time NHL scoring leader specifically took aim at wingers Thomas Vanek and Max Pacioretty, saying they cant show up in a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final and come up empty in Game 6. http://www.cheaphydroflaskfreeshipping.com/ . -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. Cheap Hydro Flask Online . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Cheap Hydro Flask Free Shipping . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points.OTTAWA -- Craig Anderson credited a couple bounces among his 40 saves in the Ottawa Senators latest win. His play was the bright spot in a drab 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. "When called upon youve got to be there for them," said Anderson, who earned his ninth win of the season. "(Thursday) was one of those nights where everything kind of went my way. I got the bounces. We did the little things that pay off and end up winning you the game as opposed to looking good on the scoresheet." Like the Senators, Anderson has had his share of struggles this season, but has looked better as of late. "Our goaltender obviously made a conscious decision that he was going to be competitive and gave us a chance to win," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. MacLean has been looking for a more consistent effort from his team and with points in their last four games the Senators are finally showing signs of it. "Weve had a good week, but we cant be satisfied with that," said Anderson. "This week means nothing if we dont continue with the progress for the next game." Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith scored for the Senators (13-14-6), who will look to extend their point streak Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. Tyler Ennis scored the lone goal for the Sabres (7-23-2). Ryan Miller faced 32 shots. This was the second of back-to-back games between the two teams with the Sabres winning Tuesday 2-1 in a shootout. Anderson was solid in the third with the Senators holding a 2-1 lead. He made a big save on Mark Pysyk early in the period and another on Drew Stafford late in the period to preserve the lead. He was called upon yet again in the final two minutes as Milan Michalek took a holding penalty. "I think Anderson played well," said Ennis. "Scoring goals is hard." These two teams have a history of playing a less than exciting style of hockey against one another, which could be the reason for the second smallest crowd of the season with just 15,578 on hand. Smith realized that Thursdays game may not have been the most exciting from a fans standpoint, but hoped that the win more than makes up for it. "Weve struggled to put wins together so when you get four games andd points in all of them its pretty huge," said Smith.dddddddddddd "Its good to get going and get the confidence up." The second period was a struggle for both teams. Ottawa continued to have trouble in their own end, but were fortunate as the Buffalo offence had its own problems. Anderson was also able to make up for any glaring mistakes. Smiths second-period goal at the six-minute mark held up as the winner. Kyle Turris made a nice pass and Smith was the benefactor as the puck bounced off a skate to his stick and he swept it past Miller. Ottawa nearly gave up the first goal -- yet again -- but caught a break when John Scott was called for goaltender interference early in the game. The Senators managed to make the most of the opportunity and scored first as Ryan picked up his 15th of the season midway through the period. Turris made a cross-ice pass to Ryan, who was left all alone in front. Sabres head coach Ted Nolan admitted both goals were just a matter of players breaking down for a couple of seconds. "If you dont turn for one split second its in the net, and thats what happened." The Sabres made it 1-1 on a power-play wraparound goal by Ennis late in the first. "They gave me a lot of time to walk it and take it in front," said Ennis. "I just tried to throw it in and I got a good bounce." It was a special night for Ottawa native Cody Ceci, who was an emergency recall, and made his NHL debut Thursday. Ceci ended up plus-2, played 20:40 and was on the ice in the final minutes as the Senators killed a penalty. "It was definitely a special experience," said Ceci. "Its always nice when the coach shows confidence in you and puts you out in the last minute. For him to pick me was pretty special so I tried to make the most of it and do my best not to let them score." Notes: D Joe Corvo played in his 700th NHL game and D Jared Cowen sat out the first of his two-game suspension. The Senators also recalled C Jean-Gabriel Pageau. D Marc Methot was out with the flu and LW Matt Kassian was a healthy scratch for the Senators. a The Sabres were without top-scoring C Cody Hodgson, who has an undisclosed injury. D Brayden McNabb was a healthy scratch. ' ' '