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TORONTO – Ten years into the NHL career of Joffrey Lupul and it would appear as though a ceiling has not been reached. Trevor Cahill Diamondbacks Jersey . Instead, at the ripe old age of 30, his performance would suggest that he is only getting better with age. Lupul has already scored five times this season, giving him 16 goals in 19 regular season games dating back to the 2013 campaign. His career, once legitimately in doubt because of injuries, has only climbed higher in Toronto. Through 116 games as a Leaf, he has scored 50 goals and 111 points, numbers that quash anything he had accomplished in previous stops with the Ducks, Oilers, and Flyers. So has the seventh overall pick in the 2002 draft reached his ceiling? "No, no, never," he told the Leaf Report, following practice on a quiet holiday Monday. For one, Lupul says, his dedication to the craft has improved substantially with time. Landing in the league as a 19-year-old in Anaheim, "you just have this feeling you made it to the NHL and now youre here and thats kind of where you stop practicing for some reason. Thats one thing Ive figured out, that even as an old guy on this team you can still work on your skills and get better." His back-hand, for example, had once been a source of weakness; he had trouble both making and receiving passes. But with due diligence and attention to detail as far as improvement, that subtle aspect has improved to the point that he now has supreme confidence in it. "Sometimes I look back to when I was younger and just think Man, if I wouldve worked a little harder on this or this or had [skating consultant] Barb Underhill or had the Rapid Shot machine. If I wouldve done stuff like this when I was younger how much better would I be now? Maybe not at all, maybe a bit, you never know." Lupul was forced to confront the state of his career when lingering back injuries nearly put an end to it four years ago. He realized at that precarious stage that his dedication to the game would have to rise to a "new level". He would practice differently, train differently, scrutinize video differently, do everything with greater diligence and attention, all of this with a new team in Toronto. "When I first came back after the injury I wasnt sure, to be honest, if I was going to be able to do it at the NHL level anymore," said Lupul, who missed 80 games with the Ducks following multiple back surgeries. "It was a long time off and obviously a pretty devastating injury so I didnt know." Upon his return, Lupul "wanted to see how good of a player I could be in this league because I didnt really know. I knew I could be a solid second line player, but I wanted to see if I could take that jump. A lot of it came because of getting traded here." Made a Leaf in Feb. 2011, he quickly got the opportunity to take that jump. Short on wingers of his size and caliber, then-head coach Ron Wilson asked Lupul if he could play the left side, running shotgun with Phil Kessel on the top line. "It was an easy decision," Lupul recalled with a laugh. "Do you want to play with Phil? Sure." The results were career-changing. Thrust into the spotlight of Toronto in a marquee position, Lupul would score nine goals and 18 points alongside Kessel in 28 games, returning the following season with 25 goals and a career-high 67 points in 66 games. He was a staple amongst the league leaders in scoring before a shoulder injury ended his season. "And then I realized that I could be a top-level player in this league," he said. Injuries have remained the only hurdle to Lupul entrenching himself in that conversation; he missed all but 16 games last season because of a fractured right forearm and subsequent concussion. His role, though critical to the Leafs attack, has also shifted. He no longer runs on the top unit alongside Kessel – 24-year-old James van Riemsdyk manning such a spot – nor on the first power-play unit. Instead, Randy Carlyle has aligned him with Nazem Kadri, hoping the two can connect for bursts of offence, thus offering greater balance throughout the lineup. Lupul has additionally put his own best interests to the side in the interim, back to playing right wing with David Clarkson suspended and Nik Kulemin hurt. "Obviously I prefer left, I think Im a better player on the left, but we have two right-wingers down right now so its important that someone fills that role and its something I take pride to be versatile and do different things." And though his minutes have dipped, from a career-high of nearly 19 minutes in 2011-12 to about 17 this season, his responsibilities have increased. An alternate captain once more this season, Lupul has been employed by Carlyle in the last minute of periods and late in games to protect leads, something he hadnt done previously. Now a 10-year veteran, Lupul heads into a Tuesday night affair against the Minnesota Wild with at least a goal in four straight games. He leads the 5-1-0 Leafs in scoring at this early stage in the season and is currently nestled amongst the league leaders with eight points. Fittingly with age though, those things no longer seem to matter as much. "Obviously from the day you start playing the Stanley Cup is your goal, but earlier in your career when youre trying to establish yourself ... it was always 30 goals, 30 goals, I want to get 30 goals," he reflected. "And now I really couldnt care less. Obviously I want to score every game – I love scoring goals – but I just want to do whatever the team needs me to do. "Earlier in my career I probably used to set goals as far as goals, assists and points. Right now, I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win. Winning the Stanley Cup is the only goal I have now." Custom Diamondbacks Jersey . A few changes have been made this year, as RDS will no longer be producing it. Instead, the Canadiens have hired their own team of creative masterminds to produce the reality series. Trevor Cahill Authentic Jersey . It offers no assurances and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. Last year, this method forecasted the first round at a 7-1 clip; this year it was 5-3, with losses on Columbus, Colorado and San Jose. SALT LAKE CITY -- Stephen Curry threw up some improbable 3-point shots just to see if he still had it. "I call them heat checks," Curry said. The Golden State Warriors needed all of Currys continued hot shooting against the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Curry scored a season-high 44 points, including eight 3-pointers, to lead the Warriors past Utah 95-90 on a night the Jazz honoured former coach Jerry Sloan. One game after shooting 8 of 10 in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Curry said, "Every time I have a clean look, I feel like its a good shot. I have the confidence of everybody in the locker room. So if its time to score and Im feeling the moment, I got to rise up." Curry had 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors came from nine points behind to win on back-to-back nights. "He got hot. He was shooting it from deep. He would come down in transition, guys running at him and he was still making them," said Utah coach Ty Corbin, who tried switching defences and doubling Curry to no avail. Andrew Bogut had 16 points, 17 rebounds and five assists to help overcome the loss of David Lee (shoulder, hip) and a horrendous shooting night from backcourt mate Klay Thompson, who was 3 of 20 for 11 points. "I just let the game come to me. I got some open looks from Steph because he was on fire out there. Thankfully I made them, but we won this game defensively in the fourth in my opinion," Bogut said. Reserve guard Alec Burks had 26 points on a variety of jumpers and acrobatic drives, but it wasnt enough for Utah, which dealt with injuries to three frontcourt players. The Jazz played without starting forward Marvin Williams (heel), centre Derrick Favours (hip) and starter Jeremy Evans had 10 points before leaving the game in the second quarter after a scary fall. In a halftime ceremony, the Jazz honoured Sloan, their former Hall of Fame coach. They raised a banner at EnergySolutions Arena featuring the number "1223," which represents the combined number of Sloans regular season (1,127) and playoff (96) victories in his 23 years as head coach of the Jazz from 1988-2011. Karl Malone, John Stockton, long-time assistant Phil Johnson andd Utah owner Gail Miller were among those who spoke during the festivities, which brought long periods of sustained ovations. Patrick Corbin Jersey. "I feel like I was the luckiest coach in basketball to have these players and the organization I had here," said Sloan, who won more games with one franchise (1,127) than any other coach. More than a dozen of his former players joined him on the court, The Jazz led 77-68 early in the fourth quarter, but the ragtag Jazz lineup collapsed against the onslaught of Currys 3-pointers and Boguts inside play during a 12-0 run that allowed the Warriors to reclaim the lead with 6:55 to play. Burks made a layup for Utahs final lead at 88-87 with 2:17 remaining. Curry responded with a shot in the lane to spark a spurt of eight straight points to clinch the win for Golden State. "The good teams, they play their best after they play their best. The challenge was for us to respond after a big win against the Clippers and put forth the same type of energy and effort," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. The Warriors have struggled since a 10-game winning streak in December and January, unable to string two wins together until the past two. "This was a huge game for us, and we were dealing with fatigue, and playing without D-Lee so for us to overcome a second-half deficit like that and find a way to get it done . we knew a win tonight would validate last nights win and get us over the hump and get some momentum going," Curry said. Evans was undercut on a rebound and landed on his back with 3:15 left in the first half. He was still for a couple minutes and then gingerly walked to the locker room with assistance. Diagnosed with a bruised tailbone and right elbow, he missed the rest of the game. NOTES: In one of many tributes to Sloan on the video board, Charles Barkley joked, "Do you know how good you could have been if you had a real power forward?" The camera then panned the stands to a laughing Karl Malone, who received a standing ovation from the crowd. . Malcolm Thomas, who was signed on Jan. 15 by the Jazz, had his first action as a Utah player but did not score in 11 minutes. . On his first shot, Curry reached 6,000 career points. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
