ty reckless, attacking the rim with reckless abandon," Batt

Good games for Brassard, Tavares, Tokarski among others; lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Derick Brassard – The Rangers’ centre scored the overtime winner and added an assist in a 4-3 win over the Red Wings. He’s second on the team with 11 points in 12 games and also has a 53.6% Corsi, his best since 2008-2009, despite – in the absence of Derek Stepan – starting fewer shifts in the offensive zone. Brassard Possession Stats YEAR CORSI% OZ START% 2007-08 54.4% 72.2% 2008-09 58.1% 64.1% 2009-10 48.4% 63.6% 2010-11 51.1% 60.5% 2011-12 47.4% 50.7% 2012-13 47.3% 47.2% 2013-14 53.5% 60.2% 2014-15 53.6% 51.7% John Tavares – The Islanders’ franchise player scored twice, including the overtime winner, in a 3-2 win at Anaheim. He’s tied for ninth in the league with 14 points in a dozen games and the Isles are getting 53.3% of the shot attempts during 5-on-5 play. Dustin Tokarski – The Canadiens’ backup might have expected an easier night in Buffalo, but ultimately he stopped 31 of 32 Sabres shots to earn the shootout win. ZEROES Cal Clutterbuck – The Islanders’ right winger was one of several Isles on the wrong end of the possession game, but allowing 30 shot attempts against (13 attempts for, 30.2%) in 14:53 at even strength, stood out for the wrong reason. Chris Kreider – Coming off a strong game, the Rangers’ left winger was on the wrong end of play (8 shot attempts for, 21 against, 27.6%) for much of the night against Detroit. He did have an assist, but didn’t register a shot on goal in 15:30 of ice time. Patrick Maroon – Left without Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, Maroon struggled possession wise (13 for, 27 against, 32.5%) against the Islanders. It’s not altogether surprising going from the top line to spending most of his time on a line with Nate Thompson and Tim Jackman. SHORT SHIFTS Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall had outstanding possession stats (28 for, 7 against, 80.0%) in the loss at the Rangers …Red Wings D Jakub Kindl had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 loss at the Rangers…Rangers RW Martin St. Louis had a goal and an assist in the win…Islanders RW Kyle Okposo had a goal and an assist, and 70.7% possession in a 3-2 overtime win at Anaheim…Canadiens LW Max Pacioretty had eight shots on goal and game-best possession (25 shot attempts for, 10 against, 71.4%) at Buffalo… Islanders LW Matt Martin had seven hits in 9:21 of ice time, but spent most of his night in the Islanders’ end of the rink (4 shot attempts for, 14 against, 22.2%)…Sabres G Michal Neuvirth stopped 31 of 32 Canadiens shots. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW The Ducks were missing both C Ryan Getzlaf and RW Corey Perry, as both had the flu. Ryan Kesler (21:27) and Andrew Cogliano (17:42) were the top ice time forwards for Anaheim. Canadiens RW Jiri Sekac returned to the lineup for Montreal’s win in Buffalo, after being a healthy scratch for four games, replacing Rene Bourque, who was a healthy scratch. Red Wings G Jonas Gustavsson suffered a dislocated shoulder, so Petr Mrazek is on his way from the AHL to back up Jimmy Howard. Rangers D Matt Hunwick recorded a couple of assists and played 21:40 – ranking third among New York blueliners – in the win over Detroit. FIRSTS Dan Cleary – The veteran winger played his first game of the season for the Red Wings, scored a goal and had solid possession stats (11 shot attempts for, 3 against, 78.6%), in the loss to the Rangers. Eric Boulton – The Islanders’ enforcer dressed for his first game of the year, playing 7:48 in Anaheim. FANTASY FOCUS A couple players active tonight that are worth keeping an eye on: Matt Read – It’s been a slow start for the Flyers’ winger, as he has just one goal in 12 games, but he’s also generated just 15 shots on goal, so some of that lack of production is justified. Nevertheless, with Michael Raffl out, there is room for someone to move up the Flyers’ depth chart and that could be an opportunity for Read to get on track. Nino Niederreiter – Already off to a decent start, with four goals and six points in 11 games, Niederreiter has only been playing 13:34 per game for the Wild. With Zach Parise sidelined by a concussion, though, there could be a few more minutes of ice time available. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Air Max 270 Scontate . -- Marty Havlat scored three goals for the first time in nearly nine years, and the San Jose Sharks prevented Colorado from clinching the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the Avalanche on Friday night. Air Max 270 Outlet Italia . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4. http://www.airmax270outlet.it/ . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Air Max 270 Saldi . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Air Max 270 Prezzo Basso . - The Detroit Lions have placed tight end Brandon Pettigrew on injured reserve, ending his season.TORONTO - The Raptors (2-1) face their toughest test of the young season Tuesday when the defending champion Miami Heat (2-2) visit the Air Canada Centre, still looking for their first road win. You can catch the action live at 7pm et/4pm pt on TSN2 and on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto. After splitting a back-to-back set on the road this weekend, the Raptors return home hoping to steal a win from a team thats had their number since LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined forced in 2010. Miami has outscored Toronto by an average of 13.3 in 10 meetings - all wins - since their talented trio came together. The Heat have won 11 straight in the series overall, Torontos longest active losing streak against any opponent. "Theyre champions twice for a reason," Dwane Casey said of the Heat after shoot around Tuesday morning. "This is an opportunity for us to come in and see what were made of against the two-time champions in our house. Were not going to out-talent them but theyre not going to outwork us, thats the mentality weve got to have. "The Heat bounced back after suffered consecutive loses, their first two road games of the season, with a decisive 103-93 home win over the Wizards on Sunday. Their Big Three combined for 69 points, each of them scoring 20 or more, and shot 61 per cent from the field. "What we have to this year is the same thing we last year, we have to reinvent ourselves," said veteran forward Shane Battier. "We cant assume that what worked last year is going to work this year. Thats the fun part of the journey." The defending champs will be a man down Tuesday with Bosh back home following the Monday morning birth of his second child, a daughter, Dylan Skye. Click here to listen as Josh Lewenberg and Duane Watson preview the Raptors match-up with the Heat and look back at the first week of the season in TSN 1050s Raptors Report podcast. Despite shooting just 40 per cent, the Raptors came away with a much-needed 97-90 victory in Milwaukee on Saturday, thanks in large part to their improved defensive approach from the night before - a disappointing loss in Atlanta - and a dominant performance on the boards. "Theyve improved this offseason and part of it is just having a young team together, the core players and you add another year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Raptors. "Theyre extremely athletic, theyre long [and] they have size at all the positions." Trends and Tidbits Although the Raptors have made a concerted effort to get Jonas Valanciunas involved early in the first three games, he has not had a major impact after the opening period. The sophomore centre, whos played fewer than 18 minutes in each of the last two games, has not been on the floor much down the stretch, as Casey still feels more comfortable with Amir Johnson anchoring the small lineup hes been using. Per NBA.com, Valanciunas has attempted 14 shots in 25 first-quarter minutes but has taken just seven in 40 minutes after the opening frame. The Raptors most efficient offensive spurts (106.1 points per 100 possessions) have come when playing in their small lineup, according to NBA.com. The last time Toronto was two games over .500 was Jan. 27, 2010 following a 111-103 win over Miami. Chris Bosh had 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Raptors in that game, months before leaving to join the Heat as a free agent. Miami has trailed by at least seven in the opening minutes in each of their first four games; Chicago led 9-2 in the opener, Philadelphia had a 19-0 advantage early, Brooklyn had an 11-3 lead and Washington was up 9-2 early. James double-digit scoring streak has reached 499 straight regular-season games, dating back to January of 2007. His teams - the Heat and Cavaliers - hold a 363-136 record in those contests. "We dont want to put a ceiling on him," Spoelstra said of the four-time MVP. "And even at the level he played last year hopefully he can reinvent himself and take us to a different level." What to Watch For Disrupting Miamis rhythm Now four years into the Big Three era, the Heat have become a well-oiled machine on both ends of the floor, specially offensively where they move the ball as well as any team in the NBA. Their pristine spacing and ball movement was on display in Sundays victory over Washington, registering 32 assissts on 37 made field goals.dddddddddddd The Heat are 54-3 when collecting at least 25 assists since the start of the 2010-11 season. In order for the Raptors to have a fighting chance against a far more experienced and superior offence, theyll have to take Miami out of its comfort zone - easier said than done - or catch them on a rare off day. Keeping them inside the arch Three-point shooting continues to be a big part of what makes the Heat so dangerous, aided by their excellent ball movement. Miami shot 11-for-27 from three-point range on Sunday and the Raptors hope to force them to settle for long twos in Toronto. "You cant take away everything from them," Casey cautioned. "When you try to take away everything, you take away nothing. One thing we do want to do is make them take tough twos [and] try to limit the number of threes they get. They have to have the three to be successful so we want to run them off the three-point line." After adding Ray Allen a year ago, the Heat finished the 2012-13 season shooting 40 per cent from long range, good for the second best mark in the league. Control the boards Unexpectedly the Raptors strength through three games has been on the boards, where they struggled through most of the preseason. They havent just been impressive rebounding the basketball, theyve been dominant, which could present a problem for a small Heat team if it carries over into Tuesdays game. The Raptors have out-rebounded opponents 150-108 through three games, including a 47-20 advantage on the offensive glass, a category in which they lead the league early in the campaign. Nearly a quarter of Torontos points (22.5 per cent) have come off second-chance opportunities. Miami was last in the league on the boards a year ago and will be without their leading rebounder with Bosh unavailable Tuesday. Who to Watch For Rudy Gay The Raptors forward has struggled with shot selection and offensive efficiency early in the season, shooting just 33 per cent from the field and leading the team in turnovers. Coming off one of his worst games as a Raptor in Fridays loss to Atlanta, Gay had a better night in Milwaukee 24 hours later. Despite another rough evening in the shooting department (4-of-14 from the field) and some careless ball handling down the stretch, Gay contributed in other areas, grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds, getting to the line 10 times and playing inspired defence. Gay will be counted on as both a scorer and a defender in Tuesdays match-up against James. Gay always relishes the opportunity to face the leagues premier players at his position and has played the reigning MVP competitively in the past. Offensively, Gay also rose to the occasion against the Heat last season, averaging 25.7 points on 48 per cent shooting in three games. "Rudy is a scorer," Battier said of his former Grizzlies teammate. "Any given night hes capable of putting big numbers on the board. I think hes settled a little more now [in Toronto]." Dwyane Wade On the wrong side of 30 and having battled a series of knee injuries over the last couple years, Wade has been forced to adapt and change his game. "He used to be pretty reckless, attacking the rim with reckless abandon," Battier said of the 31-year-old Wade. "When you get over 30 you cant do that as much, you need to pick your spots." Even without his trademark explosiveness, Wade is still an elite player at his position and always seems to have big nights against the Raptors. Coming off the most efficient season of his 11-year career, shooting 52 per cent, Wade has averaged 28.0 points on 62 per cent from the field in the last seven meetings with Toronto. Hes smarter," said Casey. "He lets the game come to him. Hes a very wise veteran. People dont even talk about [him], everyone talks about LeBron but hes the wise old owl sitting back and waiting for you to make a mistake." Injury Report Steve Novak, who has been inactive over the last two games battling a sore back, could be available for Tuesdays game. Casey said hes doing better and the team will decide on his status prior to the game. Bosh will miss Tuesdays game against his former team, still with his wife after the birth of their daughter and Greg Oden will continue to be inactive for Miami rehabbing back from his knee injury. ' ' '