Willkommen » approach with head coach and Sudbury, Ont. native Rand

The Winnipeg Jets will do all they can to spoil a big unveiling as Marian Gaborik makes his Los Angeles Kings debut at MTS Centre on Tursday night. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg starting at 6pm ct/7pm et. Unlike the Kings big splash, the Jets opted to stand pat at Wednesdays trade deadline, but Winnipeg did make news of both the good and bad varieties. Winnipeg began Wednesday with bad news by announcing center Mark Scheifele will miss a significant chunk of time after suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament in one of his knees. Scheifele suffered the injury in the second period of Tuesdays 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Islanders in a collision with Isles defenseman Calvin de Haan. Estimated recovery time for the injury is expected to be 6-to-8 weeks, but Jets head coach Paul Maurice stated that it will not require surgery and Scheifeles status will be updated in a few weeks. The 20-year-old, who was taken with the seventh-overall pick in the 2011 draft, has totaled 13 goals and 34 assists in his first full NHL campaign. Later on Wednesday, the Jets signed defenseman Mark Stuart to a four-year contract worth $10.5 million for the duration. Stuart, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, has skated in 50 games and posted two goals, nine points and 81 penalty minutes. In addition, the 29-year-old leads the club in hits (163) and blocked shots (118). Winnipeg, which is one point behind Dallas for the last playoff spot in the West, lost for the third time in five games in Tuesdays outing against the visiting Islanders. However, the Jets have lost just once in regulation over the past eight outings, going 5-1-2 during that stretch. Michael Grabner split two defenders on a mad rush to the net in overtime and went top shelf to lift the Islanders to the 3-2 win on Tuesday. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 24 shots for the Jets, who had a two-game winning streak snapped despite Andrew Ladds two goals. Tuesdays tilt began a three-game homestand for Winnipeg, which is 15-11-5 as the host this season. Winnipeg notched a 5-3 win over Los Angeles back on Oct. 4 in the first of three scheduled meetings between the clubs this season. The Jets have won both of their meetings against the Kings since the franchise relocated from Atlanta to Winnipeg prior to the 2011-12 campaign. Gaborik, a speedy winger prone to injury, has the ability to help the low- scoring Kings add some offense to their arsenal. A seven-time 30-goal scorer, the 32-year-old Slovakian has battled injuries this season but still had six goals and eight assists in 22 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013-14. The Kings, who are ranked 27th in the NHL with an average of 2.32 goals per game, acquired Gaborik from the Blue Jackets for forward Matt Frattin and two draft selections prior to Wednesdays trade deadline. The picks are conditional (second-round pick and a third-round slot if the Kings win a first-round playoff series or re-sign Gaborik) and Columbus has agreed to keep a portion of Gaboriks salary on the books. Despite its scoring issues in 2013-14, L.A. enters Thursdays tilt on a five- game winning streak. The club is currently sitting third in the Pacific Division and is eight points ahead of Dallas for the last of the divisions three automatic bids to the playoffs. Los Angeles has won four in a row since the NHL returned from its Olympic break and Darryl Sutters team is coming off Mondays 2-1 victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Jonathan Quick made 17 saves to help the Kings edge the Habs at the Staples Center. "We didnt give up much," Quick said. "We didnt give up many opportunities. We want to stick to playing that way. It was a big win but weve got to move on now." Jeff Carter and Jake Muzzin each had a goal for the Kings. L.A. is beginning a three-game road trip on Thursday. The Kings, who are 16-12-3 as the guest this season, also will visit Edmonton and Calgary before returning the City of Angels for a five-game homestand. Lonnie Johnson Texans Jersey . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. Tytus Howard Youth Jersey . The deal will pay Hainsey $3 million for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and $2.5 million in 2016-17. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Deshaun-Watson-Jersey/ .C. -- After turning Tobacco Road into "Raleigh Top," Tennessee is headed to the round of 16. DeAndre Hopkins Youth Jersey .Y. -- Cory Schneider has to make the most of his opportunities to guard the New Jersey Devils net to earn more playing time. Arian Foster Jersey . -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.TORONTO – Dave Bolland did not hesitate when asked who would win on Friday. "Canada," Bolland said with a smile. "Is that a question?" One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament. "I want to say Canada, but to be honest with you, the U.S. looks better," Kadri, a native of London, Ont., said. "We dont know if Naz is Canadian or American," Bolland, from Mimico, Ont., said with a chuckle. "We dont know what he is or who hes cheering for. He could be cheering for the Belarusians." Roommate Turmoil The North American rivalry has many fault lines throughout the Leafs dressing room even though a vast majority of the players – 20 in total – are Canadian. The issue: two of the key players on Team USA are also two-thirds of Torontos top line: Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. The man who centres that line in the NHL, Reginas Tyler Bozak, may be the Leaf who is most torn. After all, Bozak is close friends with Kessel and actually lives with the Leafs leading scorer. "Thats a tough question for me to answer," Bozak admitted when asked where his loyalties lie. "Ive got my two wingers on the U.S. and Im Canadian so I guess Im cheering for both. I just hope Phil and JVR play really well and maybe Canada wins. I dont know. "Its going to be an exciting game to watch, for sure. I really cant make any predictions. I dont know. The U.S. has been playing great. Canadas kind of snuck by with a few wins, buut every games different and it should be a fun one to watch.dddddddddddd" Another set of roommates are also at odds over the game and are actually putting their money where their mouthes are. Defencemen Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, from Vancouver and Minnetonka, MN respectively, have placed a friendly wager on the game. "I cant tell you what it is," Rielly said. "Hes overconfident. I think Team Canada will be fine." Most Leafs, however, were trying to take the diplomatic approach with head coach and Sudbury, Ont. native Randy Carlyle, acknowledging the semi-final showdown "was pulling your heart strings in different directions." The Diplomatic Approach "We hope and wish our players all the luck in the world as far as an organization," said Carlyle, "but I am Canadian." "I hope that Phil and JVR do well," said captain Dion Phaneuf, who hails from Edmonton and was invited to Hockey Canadas orientation camp in the summer, "so Im in the middle, thats for sure. Any time you have teammates competing, you want them to do well, but Im Canadian and I have lots of respect for Hockey Canada." What everyone can agree on is that Kessel and van Riemsdyk are having a much better Sochi experience than Nikolai Kulemin, who was the other Leaf taking part in the Winter Games. "Nobody asks questions about how youre going to feel about Nikolai Kulemin coming back and thats a tough one," said Carlyle. "Host country and the way their tournament unravelled, hes part of our hockey club and weve got to find a way to build him back up and get him going again." ' ' '