Talk » be ready for Wednesdays playoff opener.

ATLANTA - The Raptors will be without their sixth man for at least another week, they learned on Tuesday. After a re-evaluation of the ulnar collateral sprain in his right elbow on Monday, Patrick Patterson, who has missed the teams last five contests, was ruled out of game action for another seven days, though he will be able to return to limited basketball activity. Patterson, wearing a supporting brace on his injured elbow as he got some work in during Raptors shootaround, was disappointed to hear the news. "[Its] more bad news than good," he admitted ahead of Tuesdays game in Atlanta. "I had hopes that I would be able to come out here and participate with the team and get back to basketball." The Raptors versatile back-up said hes experiencing very little pain in his right arm, just discomfort, one of the reasons why he had hoped to be back on the court by now. "From when it initially happened up until now I had pain, constantly, on the court, certain types of movements or certain types of contact would aggravate it," said Patterson, who leads all Toronto reserves in scoring, averaging 9.7 points along with 5.2 rebounds since being acquired from Sacramento on December 9. "But now, today, theres very little pain. All the movements that hurt before dont hurt now. In my mind, Im thinking I can [play] just going off that pain factor, but doing the ultrasound and seeing the images and seeing how far its come along to today, Im definitely happy to know how soon I can return." Its not clear exactly how Patterson initially sustained the injury. He believes it originally occurred in a game against the Wizards back in February and he aggravated it in a win over the Kings on March 7. "It is frustrating," he said, not being able to pinpoint exactly how he hurt his elbow. "If I knew what happened, hopefully I could prevent it from happening again." Patterson had become one of the teams most valuable and consistent contributors, anchoring a second unit that has been much improved since his arrival in December. In his absence, Dwane Casey has used the trio of Steve Novak, Chuck Hayes and Tyler Hansbrough as stopgaps off the bench. Unlike Patterson, a well-rounded, two-way player, his three replacements are best suited in situational roles. Each forward has stepped up to some degree, but Pattersons shoes have not been easy to fill. Without Patterson in the lineup over the previous five games, the Raptors bench has been outscored by a total of 50 points. The oppositions reserves have bested them by 65 alone over the last two contests. "At least we have to hold serve," Casey said of his second unit. "Weve got to find a go-to player or a guy that can produce for us, point-wise, with that second unit. Pat was giving us some points or at least spacing the floor for us where it did give [Greivis Vasquez] opportunities to drive to the basket." Casey would not call the latest news on Pattersons injury a setback. The team was not expecting him to be able to return right away. The Raptors forward will be assessed again after this seven-day period and if the new timetable holds true he should miss another four-to-six games. "It could be worse, thats the way I always look at it," said Patterson. "Thats what my team and the training staff is telling me, it could be worse, but youre in a positive situation, at least you know where you stand and how soon you can come back." Matteo Guendouzi Arsenal Jersey . Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer. Rob Holding Jersey . His right arm rested in a sling and was encased in a cast from above the elbow to his hand. "Im excited," Fernandez said with a grin. http://www.arsenalsoccerproshop.com/Authentic-Aaron-Ramsey-Arsenal-Jersey/ . Hoffman, the former star closer, will evaluate and help co-ordinate all pitchers at Double-A, Triple-A and the big league team. Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Jersey . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. Shkodran Mustafi Arsenal Jersey . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Penguins are ready for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Ottawa Senators arent headed to the post-season, but captain Jason Spezza wanted to make sure his team finished the season strong. Spezza scored in the shootout to help the Senators beat the Penguins 3-2 on Sunday night and stretch their season-ending winning streak to five games. "We wanted to play for each other," said Spezza, who finished his first season as captain. "We talked about it a lot down the stretch, how it would be easy to let up, and I thought the group showed good character by finishing hard and winning these games." The teams were tied 2-2 after two periods and didnt score in the third or overtime. Spezza, who scored the lone goal in Ottawas win Saturday against Toronto, stopped at the circle during his shootout attempt, stickhandled around goalie Jeff Zatkoff, and scored. Kyle Turris added a goal in the shootout for the Senators. Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner stopped Beau Bennett and Jussi Jokinen to seal the win. Turris scored his 26th goal in regulation, and Mark Stone had his fourth for Ottawa, which will miss the playoffs for the second time in six years and first since 2011. "We believe in this group, that its a good group and very close to being a good team," Senators coach Paul MacLean said. "We have work to do and we have to come to training camp in September prepared to do the work and make changes to our game thats going to make us successful." Jokinen scored on the power play in regulation, his 21st of the season, and Lee Stempniak added his 12th for the Penguins, who rested captain Sidney Crosby and several others for their final game before the playoffs. No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury also sat out along with Brandon Sutter, Matt Niskanen, Robert Bortuzzo and Deryk Engelland. "I think weve gone through quite a bit with this group in terms of different lineups, different injury situations," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said of his team, which led the NHL with 521 man-games lost. "I think weve done a better job of being able to shut teams down and limit opportunities, but now we have to do that in the playoffs." The Penguins will face Columbus in the first round of the playoffs. The series begins Wednesday in Pittsburgh. It will be the first post-season meeting between the teams, separated by a four-hour drive. The perennial-contending Penguins have lots of star power and three Stanleyy Cup titles.ddddddddddddColumbus, during its first season in the Eastern Conference, secured its second playoff berth and first since the 2009 season. "Theyre skilled, they have great goaltending and they played fast," Penguins forward James Neal said. "We had a good year against them. Theyre going to come hard. Its the playoffs and everyone has a chance now." Despite missing the finale, Crosby won his second scoring title — topping Anaheims Ryan Getzlaf. Crosby, who finished with 36 goals and 104 points, outscored Getzlaf by 17 points to win the Art Ross Trophy for the first time since the 2006-07 season, his second in the NHL. The seven-year gap is the second-longest span between scoring titles. "Sid, I think, to get over 100 points ... to have the lead as he does over Getzlaf by that many points is pretty amazing to see," Bylsma said. Pittsburgh hopes to have former NHL MVP and two-time scoring champion Evgeni Malkin back for the playoffs after he missed the final 11 games of the regular season because of a foot injury. Malkin skated with teammates Chris Conner (foot) and Joe Vitale (upper body) on Sunday, but Bylsma didnt say whether they would be ready for Wednesdays playoff opener. "I like the way were getting healthy and I like the way were playing," Neal said. "This year is a little different than others. Were playing good hockey at the right time and thats big for us." Jokinen opened the scoring Sunday with a power-play goal with 5:14 left in the first period. His centring pass deflected off Eric Grybas skate and trickled between Lehners pads. Turris tied it later in the period, scoring in the final seconds of a power play when he sent a shot past Zatkoff from the left faceoff dot. Stempniak put the Penguins ahead 2-1 when he tipped Bennetts shot behind Lehner at 5:16 of the second. Stone tied it with Ottawas second power-play goal at 17:14 from the top of the crease, whacking in a rebound of Patrick Wierciochs point shot. NOTES: The Penguins played their fourth straight overtime game. ... Pittsburgh finished the season with 109 points, the second-highest total in team history. A Penguins player has won the scoring title in 15 of the last 26 seasons. ... Crosby and Malkin are the fourth set of teammates to win multiple scoring titles while playing together and the first since Bostons Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr between 1969-75. ... Ottawa scratched Jared Cowen, Matt Kassian and Mika Zibanejad. ' ' '