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ORLANDO - Magic centre Nikola Vucevic was a wide-eyed 18-year-old when he first met college teammate DeMar DeRozan. Born in Switzerland and raised in Belgium, Vucevic had been in the U.S. for just over a year and spoke very little English as he and DeRozan began their freshman season - DeRozans lone season - at the University of Southern California. When he was at SC, he was young, DeRozan said of seven-footer. He was coming over, just learning the game. Everything was so new to him. But was he any good? He barely played, DeRozan joked. Vucevic missed the first eight games that year, waiting to have his amateur status confirmed by the NCAA. Logging just 11 minutes per game the rest of the season, he averaged just 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds. So, no. He wasnt all that good. Not yet. Meanwhile, DeRozan went on to star for the Trojans, alongside Bulls forward Taj Gibson. The Raptors would draft DeRozan ninth overall that coming summer. Vucevic entered the league two years later, a 16th overall pick by Philadelphia, later flipped to the Magic in a four-team deal that included Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bynum. Again, he was an afterthought. On Saturday they squared off in Orlando. Faces of their respective teams. Two teams going in opposite directions. DeRozan, an All-Star. Vucevic, still a couple years behind, a budding star and the recipient of a brand new four-year, $53 million contract extension. Vucevic threw the first punch, scoring six of his teams first 11. One of the premier rebounders in the NBA, the 24-year-old has diversified his game. His first bucket was a smooth 15-foot jumper. He followed it up with a put-back layup and a dunk. By the time intermission rolled around, Vucevic had his Magic were ahead by three, shooting a sparkling 52 per cent. He had the Raptors on the ropes. What did Dwane Casey have to say at halftime? I can’t repeat it, he said after the game. But it was one of those things where we had to remind them: If we’re serious about being a playoff team you come out and have a serious, business-like approach each and every night. I don’t care if you’re playing a junior high team, you come out and perform. Message received. On the back of DeRozan, the Raptors scored 38 points in the third quarter. Their All-Star guard poured in half of his game-high 26 points. I knew I was bigger than [Evan Fournier] and I knew I could get in the post, he said following his teams decisive 109-95 win Saturday. As long as I could get my shot off I feel like every shot I take will be a good shot, and I was just trying to take advantage of that. Bouncing back from a 4-of-16 performance in Wednesdays opener, DeRozan took control. He was responsible for 10 of Torontos impressive 48 free-throw attempts, logging just 29 minutes in the contest. His crafty up and under move put the Raptors up by 10, their largest lead at the time, with just under three minutes left and they never looked back. DeMar did a heckuva job in the post against Fournier, Casey said. And that was the difference in the ball game. As per usual, Vucevic was quietly dominant. He finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth. He was frustrated, but such is life for the emerging star. His Magic have now dropped eight straight to the suddenly red-hot Raptors, yet to break 100 points in any of those meetings. Theyve started the season 0-3 for the first time in nine years. On the other end of the spectrum you have DeRozans Raptors. 2-0 for the first time since 2008, the year DeRozan and Vucevic shared the court at USC. Meeting with NBA royalty Even for those with the immense talent and good fortune required to play basketball at the highest level, its not everyday you come face-to-face with a legend in the sport. Shortly after the Raptors arrived in Orlando Friday afternoon, players were surprised to learn that Oscar Robertson, Hall-of-Famer and one of the all-time greats, would be a guest speaker at their team meeting. Setup by senior consultant Wayne Embry, also an NBA icon and longtime friend of the Big O, the historical significance of this meet and greet was not lost on Caseys young team, despite the fact that none of his players were alive to watch Robertson play live. Thats the great thing about the computer, said the Raptors coach. We have some students of the game. We have some sharp young man from that standpoint. They werent around to see him play and most of their parents probably barely saw him play, but hes the history of the league and before you can go forward you gotta know what came behind you. Im always preaching that and that was a good example. Its always great talking to one of them legends, one of them pioneers that shaped the way the league is today, said DeRozan, who admitted he was a bit starstruck after meeting Robertson for the first time. It was just great to hear from him, ask him a couple questions and get his input on playing back then and how much the game has changed. So you definitely gain more of an appreciation for the love of basketball. Robertson, 75, is a 12-time All-Star, an MVP and NBA champion. His 14-year career came to an end in 1974. He averaged a triple-double in his second season, hovering around one throughout most of his time in the league. Heres a man that was 6-foot-5, Casey said of Robertson, who attended Saturdays game, in town to promote prostate cancer awareness. He was LeBron-size back in the day, before weight training was big and did a lot of the same things. We just didnt see a lot of it. [The players] were in awe of how big he was, how he spoke about competing, how he spoke about being a good teammate and doing things as a team. When he throws out the names of players that he played with it definitely gives you goosebumps, DeRozan said. Guys who came way before we did. Weve got to appreciate them. They played in a different era and they played in a lot worse conditions than us. Sometimes we forget about what they went through, with all the luxuries we have now and everything. So its definitely, definitely humbling when you talk to somebody like that. Robertson and Embry were teammates in Cincinnati before Embry became a general manager and signed Robertson to the largest contract of his playing career with the Bucks. That was a lot of history sitting in the room last night, Casey said. I hope the players took a lot out of. Clyde Drexler Jersey . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. C.J. McCollum Blazers Jersey .C. -- Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross is saying goodbye to the NFL after 11 seasons. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Anfernee-Simons-Blazers-Jersey/ .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday. Custom Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season. Terry Porter Jersey . Chris Capuano. Shane Greene. And now, Esmil Rogers.ST. LOUIS – On the heels of their best game all year came one of the worst. The Maple Leafs were blasted 6-3 by the Blues at Scottrade Center on Thursday night. It was Torontos eighth loss in the past 10 games (2-6-2), 13th in the past 19, and a drastic reversal in course from an inspired home loss to the Kings one night earlier. "Tonight it looked like we were totally brain-dead in a lot of areas," said Randy Carlyle, following the defeat. All the persistence, feistiness and energy of their effort against Los Angeles deteriorated in a hurry against the Blues. St. Louis buried three goals on its first 15 shots in a dominant opening frame – chasing James Reimer from the crease – before adding a goal in the second and a pair in the third. "It just looked like we werent there mentally at the start," said Carlyle. It was a stinging return to the inconsistent, chaotic hockey which has plagued the group for the better part of the season. Most baffling, however, was the dramatic shift in performance from the night previous. Though they ultimately fell 3-1 to Los Angeles at the ACC on Wednesday night, the Leafs were the superior team and played their most complete game of the season. The starting point they hoped to gain from the effort – a largely stingy defensive effort – never materialized against the Blues, dominant with 21 wins in 30 games this season. "Even though we lost that game [against the Kings] it was something to build on," said Carl Gunnarsson, "and tonight its like it was all gone." Concern has to be inching ever upward with the mounting losses and little to no sustained improvement. The Leafs have just two regulation victories since the start of November and face the defending Stanley Cup champs at home on Saturday. "Our concern has been very high for a while here," said Carlyle. "We thought with our performance [Wednesday] night it would be something we could build on, but we just didnt have any kind of an energy to be able to put forth an effort that was needed." Five Points 1. Defensive Issues In describing his team as "totally brain-dead", Carlyle was referring mostly to the areas in which St. Louis managed to score. David Backes opened the scoring untouched from just outside the slot. Jaden Schwartz had two whacks just outside the blue paint for the second St. Louis goal. Derek Roy pranced in untouched through the slot on the third. Chances and opportunities of that kind continued throughout the night. "I dont know any other way to describe it from a standpoint of where the goals were being scored from again," said Carlyle. "We have systems that our coverage has to be in place and if you vacate those critical areas youre going to give up quality scoring chances." Revealingly, the Leafs have allowed three goals or more in 13 of the past 19 games, losing all but one. "They had a lot of freedom in our zone," said Carlyle of the Blues. "Look where they scored the goals from." 2. In Need of Urgency Carlyle has been beating the drum of urgency from the opening days of the season when his team won games on the shoulders of terrific goaltending and special teams. But at this point in the year, more than a third of way through but with plenty of time still remaining, the urgency level appears mixed in the Toronto dressing room. A clear understanding of just how long this skid has lingered seems lost. "Theres lotts of time," said Nazem Kadri.dddddddddddd "Fifty games left, theres no reason to panic. Its just something weve got to figure out in the dressing room." "We started off playing terrific," he said later of the teams start to the season. "Obviously some things made us take a couple steps backward with injuries and things like that. Its tough to be mentally and physically prepared when things like that just keep happening. But its up to us. Were professionals. We do have a good team inside this dressing room. We believe we can win and were confident still, weve just got to figure out ways around these games." 3. Urgency v. Intensity James Reimer had interesting insight on the need for urgency amid a skid thats lingered for more than a month and longer than that if you include October. "Sometimes its hard to differ between urgency and intensity," he said. "If you get tense thats the worst-case scenario. If you can get some urgency in your game without squeezing your stick then thats important. But in the market we play in the biggest key is keeping the pressure off and trying to stay as loose as possible. Thats the main thing. Its really easy to get too intense. Do we need some more urgency? Probably. But you have to be careful when you start going down that path." 4. Reimers Quick Night Reimer got the hook after third Blues goal. He allowed three goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Jonathan Bernier. "Too many goals," Reimer said of the performance, coming on the heels of a 47-save effort in Ottawa. "I felt good out there, felt good in warm-up, felt like I was seeing the puck. But just a couple got by, obviously a couple too many. "I felt like I was on my game, pucks just found a way in." "Im not blaming the goaltending specifically," said Carlyle. "I just think it was part in parcel with our hockey club." 5. Western Exposure The Blues were the fourth Western Conference team on the Leafs docket in the first two weeks of December with Chicago and Phoenix lying ahead in the days to come. "Guys say its more defensive in that conference," Jake Gardiner said prior to the loss to St. Louis. "I was talking to [former Leaf] Matt Frattin and he said the same thing. He said its a lot harder to score and get points and get production. Yeah, definitely noticed a difference." (Frattin had seven goals and 13 points in 25 games with the Leafs last season, but has just two goals and six points with similar ice-time through the same number of games with the Kings). "Theres definitely a different style," said Jay McClement, who spent all but his last two seasons in the West. "Theres obviously a lot of big, strong teams out here." The Leafs are now 7-7-1 versus the West this season. Stats-Pack 13 – Losses for the Leafs in the past 19 games. 13 – Number of times in those 19 games that the Leafs allowed three goals or more, losing all but one. 7-7-1 – Leafs record versus the Western Conference this season. 14 – Goals for James van Riemsdyk this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 23.3 per cent (4th) PK: 3-3Season: 77.2 per cent (27th) Quote of the Night "Tonight it looked like we were totally brain-dead in a lot of areas." -Randy Carlyle, following the loss to St. Louis Up Next The Leafs host the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks at the ACC on Saturday evening. ' ' '