TORONTO - Quietly, the Raptors went about their business on Tuesday, practicing in their own gym for the first time in over two weeks. Just outside the door, a few stray reporters waited for the morning session to let out as a much larger media contingent swarmed the Maple Leafs locker room four floors below. The hockey club, co-tenants with the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre, had fired their head coach hours earlier. Dwane Casey knew that he and his team were not making headlines in the city on this day. Content with just getting back to work at home after a long road trip, the Raptors coach wasted little time in reestablishing the defensive principles that have been slipping away. It started with defence, he said. Its one of those things that slips when you go for a long period of time without practice. Today was more of a training camp-type practice, which we need more of. Guys responded, had a good day of practice but weve got to carry that over to the games, he continued. And like I challenged the guys today, we should get more emphatic and more upset and [just as] teed off against the other team as we do against each other. If we compete in the games the way we compete in practice, wed be a much better defensive team. So we have to carry that over into game situations. The Raptors, a team that ranked 10th in defence last year and ninth through the first month of this season, have fallen a long way in that category. Only the lowly Knicks and Timberwolves allow more points per 100 possession since the end of November. I think its going to be the emphasis for the next couple of weeks for us with the way coach has been talking and preaching to us, Kyle Lowry said Tuesday. I think were all on the same page where we understand thats how were going to win. Seemingly, the teams improved offence has come at the expense of their defensive prowess, but Casey points to a more specific cause - the noticeable decline that coincides with DeMar DeRozans 18-game absence. Since DeMar has gone down our offensive style has changed a little bit in that were more of a running team, we play a little bit faster, Casey stated. I think that affected our defence somewhat. We had to survive and our offence stepped up and carried us in the games we won on the road trip and the games before we went on the trip, the coach went on. We had to adjust and the way we adjusted was to play a little bit faster, which, in turn, I really know affected our defence. According to NBA.com, the Raptors have actually played at a similar, and even slightly slower pace since DeRozans injury, but theres no question his time away has shuffled the deck enough to hurt them in various areas on both ends of the floor. Lowry, one of their hardest working defenders, has been overworked, evident in a pair of lopsided defeats to Golden State and Phoenix at the end of an already tiring road trip. At times during Sundays 16-point loss to the Suns, Casey hid Lowry on P.J. Tucker while combinations of Terrence Ross, Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez handled the responsibility of guarding Phoenixs talented backcourt duo of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. This time home will do me good, Lowry said. Get back in our whirlpools, our treatment centres. We get a chance to be home, relax a lot more, get some good food, not eat hotel food all the time. So its good. Its going to be good for me. Although a 2-4 record is nothing to be ashamed of, given the high degree of difficulty on their recent road trip, those last two losses have left a sour taste in everyones mouth. No, Lowry said emphatically when asked if hes satisfied with the result of the trip. No, not at all. We had a losing record. If you have a losing record on a road trip or in general, its not successful. We won a couple games on the trip, but we wanted more. We wanted to win em all. Emotional, physical or whatever fatigue you have, the league doesnt feel sorry for you, Casey added. Those are the situations we faced in there but theres no excuses in this league. We got our butts whooped, now weve got to come back here and regroup, refocus, especially on the defensive end and get our act together. DeROZAN ON TRACK FOR RETURN Although DeRozan was not present at practice on Tuesday, he remains on track to return later this week. The Raptors guard had been scheduled to undergo a series of routine scans on his healing groin injury. The results of these tests will help determine when hes able to get back on the court - likely on Thursday at home to Charlotte, the teams next game, or Saturday at home to Boston. Its been nearly six weeks since DeRozan sustained his injury, tearing his left adductor longus tendon in a loss to the Mavericks on Nov. 28. Accompanying the team on their recent road trip, he was able to get in a couple full practices last week and should be back in the gym on Wednesday. Hes getting there, Lowry said of his teammate. Hes getting better. So today and tomorrow will be big days for him. I think hes going to come back aggressive whenever he comes back. We cant force feed him. We have to be patient with him. San Jose Sharks Jerseys .ca NHL Power Rankings, finally overtaking the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, who rank second and third this week. Erik Karlsson Sharks Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/customized/ . Olsen, who is 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, can play either centre or guard. The 25-year-old Olsen played 16 games and made four starts in 2012 with the New Orleans Saints. Tomas Hertl Jersey . Hawkins severely sprained his left ankle while making a diving catch during training camp and went on injured reserve with a designation he could return midway through the season. He was back at practice Wednesday. Marcus Sorensen Jersey . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right.(SportsNetwork.com) - Fresh off earning his second Olympic gold medal, Sidney Crosby will get back to work for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday when they host the Montreal Canadiens at CONSOL Energy Center.Crosby famously delivered the overtime game-winner for Team Canada in the 2010 gold medal game against the United States, but unlike four years ago in Vancouver the Canadians didnt need a dramatic finish to repeat as Olympic champions.Canada won all six of its games at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and earned shutout victories in the last two outings, beating the U.S. 1-0 in the semifinals before downing Sweden 3-0 in the battle for gold. Crosby, who captained Canada in Sochi, posted a goal and two assists en route to another Olympic title.Crosbys fellow Penguins star Evgeni Malkin and Team Russia did not fare nearly as well at the 2014 Olympics, as the host country was eliminated by Finland in the quarterfinals.Sochi didnt end in glory for Pens head coach Dan Bylsma either. He had Team USA off to a 3-0 start in the tournament before the loss to Canada in the semifinals and a subsequent defeat at the hands of Finland kept the Americans off the podium.You have to put (the Olympics) behind you, Bylsma recently told the Pens official website. The task at hand is coming back here and playing for the Penguins. Thats the best way to put it behind you.Pittsburgh returns from the break with a healthy 16-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division, but the club still has injury concerns to deal with. Defenseman Kris Letang is still out due to a stroke suffered prior to the Olympics. Fellow blueliner Paul Martin is out for at least a month after injuring his hand while representing thee U.ddddddddddddS. in Sochi.The Pens were 4-1-1 in their final six outings before the Olympics. The clubs next game will be played outdoors when Pittsburgh visits the Chicago Blackhawks for Saturdays game at Soldier Field, home of the NFLs Chicago Bears.Montreal will try to bounce back from a loss in its first game after the Olympics. The Canadiens were handed a 2-1 overtime loss by visiting Detroit on Wednesday to have a three-game winning streak halted.The Habs did not have No. 1 goaltender Carey Price for their first game back after he suffered a lower-body injury at practice on Wednesday morning. Price, who also will miss tonights game, anchored Team Canada in its gold medal run in Sochi, posting a 5-0 record, a 0.59 goals against average and .972 save percentage.Peter Budaj started on Wednesday and he stopped 28 shots before allowing Detroits Gustav Nyquist to score with just 27.3 seconds remaining in OT.The Canadiens still managed to notch a point thanks to Brian Giontas game- tying tally with just 28.7 seconds left in regulation.In the third we started to pressure their D a little more and it paid off in the end, Gionta said. In the first two periods, they were able to come through out of their zone quite easily.Budaj could get another start tonight for the Habs. Montreal also recalled Dustin Tokarski from its AHL affiliate in Hamilton on Wednesday to take Prices place on the roster.The Canadiens and Penguins have split a pair of games so far this season, but Pittsburgh has won four of five and seven of its last nine meetings with Montreal.The Habs, who are playing five of their next six games on the road, have dropped five straight in the Steel City. ' ' ' Memorial Cup Tournament. Brossoit was originally selected by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round, 164th overall in the 2011 draft. Hes in his first professional season. ' ' 's not sure when his next throwing session would be after making his first rehab start at Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday. ... Seattle RHP Taijuan Walker (shoulder) is scheduled to make his first rehab start on Wednesday at Tacoma. ' ' '