DENVER -- Jorge De La Rosa grabbed his glove and headed onto the field for batting practice as though it were another day at the ball park. Brian Gibbons Jersey . Only, this wasnt just another day for the Colorado Rockies hard-throwing left-hander. De La Rosa is still trying to come to grips with the news that he has a season-ending injury to his left elbow. The team placed him on the disabled list Wednesday, a day after he tore a ligament in the third inning against Arizona. He will have Tommy John-style tendon replacement surgery when the swelling goes down, possibly next week. The procedure will sideline him for a year. Even 24 hours later, De La Rosa was still digesting the stunning results. "I never really had problems with my arm. This is the first time, but theres nothing I can do," he said in a subdued voice as he sat in front of his locker following batting practice. "Its been very tough. Ive just got a lot of things on my mind right now. Well see what happens." With all-star Ubaldo Jimenez struggling this season, De La Rosa has stood out as the backbone of the staff. He was 5-2 with a 3.51 ERA. "We just lost not only a good pitcher, but weve lost a great kid for an extended period of time," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Our tents arent going to fold." The Rockies now have to adjust their rotation on the fly. The immediate plan is to bring up righty Juan Nicasio from double-A Tulsa and have him make a spot start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. However, the rotation remains in flux. There is help on the horizon with Aaron Cook (fractured finger) set to come off the 60-day DL on May 30. The Rockies want him make his final rehab start Saturday with triple-A Colorado Springs before he rejoins the team. Cook, the teams all-time leader in wins, is eager to get his season started. The sinkerball specialist arrived at spring training needing a strong showing to secure the fifth starters spot, but he was slowed by a sore shoulder and then broke the tip of his right finger in a spring-loaded door in mid-March. "I just want to come in and give us a chance to win ball games," Cook said Tuesday. Clayton Mortensen has made a strong case for staying in the rotation, and the Rockies recently recalled fellow right-hander Greg Reynolds, who pitched 3 2-3 effective innings in relief of De La Rosa on Tuesday. But that stint pretty much knocked Reynolds out of consideration for a start Saturday, leading the team to turn to Nicasio, a lanky 24-year-old whos caught the eye of Rockies management. "Hes got a good arm. Hes got an Ubaldo-type arm," Rockies Vice Chairman Dick Monfort said. "Hes pitched well." Nicasio is 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA for Tulsa this season. He has 63 strikeouts and 10 walks in 56 2-3 innings. "Its an opportunity to give him a little taste and see what this is all about," Tracy said. "Weve seen this happen before: Guys like this take a walk up here and pitch a game ... and who knows maybe hell force us to the drawing board some more." The Rockies arent interested in exploring a trade to acquire another starter just yet. Theyre quite content with seeing what the pitchers in the organization can do first, especially since Esmil Rogers (strained back muscle) will soon come off the disabled list. General manager Dan ODowd just tested the market as he looked into deals for struggling relievers Franklin Morales and Felipe Paulino. Morales was sent to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later last Thursday, while Paulino was designated for assignment Saturday. "I have a pretty good feel for where clubs are at. Its just too early for clubs to do a whole lot right now," ODowd said. "Well look inside to begin with and adjust accordingly." To take De La Rosas spot on the roster, the Rockies recalled right-handed reliever Bruce Billings from Colorado Springs. Billings has never pitched at the major league level. "Very surprised," Billings said of receiving the news. "Its been no sleep and lots of smiles ever since." For De La Rosa, its just a matter of returning as soon as possible after undergoing the procedure. "Ill work hard and try to do everything they tell me to do to get better," De La Rosa said. "Thats all I can do now."Christian Ehrhoff Jersey . With four remaining Olympic berths up for grabs, Canadas Peng Peng Lee, Kristina Vaculik, Victoria Moors, Talia Chiarelli, Brittany Rogers and Madeline Gardiner finished second overall with a combined 221. Jussi Jokinen Jersey .Y. - Henrik Lundqvist wasnt happy going into Game 6 against Montreal.Three Game Sevens provide thrilling moments and three heartbroken teams. Notes on Carcillo, Mason, Heatley, Niederreiter, Kopitar, Thornton and more. RANGERS GET PAST FLYERS One night after getting soundly beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Rangers bounced back with a 2-1 win in Game Seven, giving the Blueshirts the victory in the first-round series. With the series on the line, it wasnt the big names getting the job done. The Rangers first goal came from Daniel Carcillo, back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for a couple games. Carcillo, who had four goals and an assist in 57 regular season games, picked up two goals in three games for the series. The Blueshirts other goal in Game Seven was provided by Benoit Pouliot, who contributed two goals and four points in the series. New Yorks third defence pairing -- John Moore and Kevin Klein -- were on for more than 70% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts in Game Six and Seven. They were getting chewed up early in the series, but were much more effetive later in the series. Philadelphias only goal of the deciding game came from rookie RW Jason Akeson, his second of the series. G Steve Mason was terrific for the Flyers, stopping 31 of 33 shots in Game Seven, giving him a .939 save percentage for the series. Tough to end up on the losing side with those numbers, but Mason didnt appear until Game Three because he was recovering from a concussion suffered late in the season. For all the trials he has endured throughout his career, this has been the best year of Masons career and if the 25-year-old has found a new level of play, then thats a win for the franchise going forward. Of course, well only have some idea if this improvement is legit when we see how Mason plays next season. In the end, the Rangers held the puck possession edge and, even though he didnt score a goal in the series, Rick Nash was at the forefront of driving play. The Rangers deserved their win, though the strong goaltending performance by Mason made it a close series. The Rangers move on and ought to have a fair chance against a Pittsburgh team that tends to rely on their high-end talent to carry the day. WILD FINISH Despite losing their starting goaltender, Darcy Kuemper, to what looked like a knee (and possibly head) injury and facing a deficit four different times in Game Seven, the Minnesota Wild ultimately prevailed with a 5-4 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps the most remarkable story for the Wild in Game Seven -- well, aside from G Ilya Bryzgalov getting credit for the win after stopping one shot -- is that Minnesotas offence was driven by the supporting cast. Kyle Brodziak, Dany Heatley and Nino Niederreiter each had three points, with Niederreiters second goal of the game counting as the game-winner in overtime. Heatley, whose career has been on a steep decline in Minnesota and was scratched early in the series, finished the series with five points for the Wild, while Brodziak, also a healthy scratch, finished with five points in the series. Those are valuable contributions from players that might not be expeccted to do all that much. The tying goal, which forced overtime, was buried by D Jared Spurgeon, from Niederreiter and Brodziak, with just 2:27 remaining in the third period. Colorado didnt get that same contribution from the supporting cast. Paul Sttastny, who scored in Game Seven, finished with 10 points, tied with rookie Nathan MacKinnon and Wild LW Zach Parise for the playoff scoring lead. Robert Bortuzzo Jersey. Avalanche veteran winger Maxime Talbot had a rough go in the possession game. With Talbot on the ice at 5-on-5, the Avs had 49 shot attempts for and 113 against with Talbot on the ice (30.8%). Without Talbot on the ice, the Avalanche had 45.3% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts -- not great, but clearly better. This series had the most lopsided possession stats of any first-round series, with the Wild getting 61.3% of unblocked shot attempts when the score was close (within a goal in first two periods, tied in the third). The Avalanche, as they had all season, relied too much on G Semyon Varlamov, who had an ordinary game at the worst possible time. Now the Wild get to increase their level of difficulty in Round Two, facing the defending-champion Chicago Blackhawks. ROYAL RALLY Facing a three-games-to-none deficit, the Los Angeles Kings chipped away at the San Jose Sharks lead and, by the time Game Seven arrived Wednesday night, there was little doubt that the Kings could complete the improbable comeback. This doesnt mean it was a sure thing -- the Sharks scored first in Game Seven -- but the Kings were poised to make this rare comeback. Then D Drew Doughty tied the game, and C Anze Kopitar gave the Kings the lead, then it was Tyler Toffoli and the outcome was become evident. With a pair of points, Kopitar moved into a tie for the playoff scoring lead, with 10 points. Toffoli (57.4 Corsi%) and Doughty (54.8 Corsi%) had the best possession stats on the Kings. Another Kings rookie, in addition to Toffoli, LW Tanner Pearson, picked up a goal and an assist in the clinching game. Blowing a 3-0 series lead will hit the Sharks hard. They were, undeniably, a Stanley Cup contender stuck with a very difficult first-round opponent. The main criticism will fall on C Joe Thornton and LW Patrick Marleau because it always does, but also because theyve been around a while, through all the previous disappointments. Shut out in the deciding game, Thornton finished the series with three points in seven games, while Marleau led the Sharks with seven points. On the other hand, the Sharks fourth line ran into trouble. There were times when their physical play seemed to be helpful but, in the bigger picture, they werent effective. LW Raffi Torres, for example, was one for 41 shot attempts for and 69 against (37.3%). With Torres off the ice, the Sharks got 50.7% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. On the Kings fourth line, by comparison, they frequently had C Mike Richards running with the fourth line and Richards had eight shots on goal in Game Seven. The difference in the series, between two dominant possession teams, was expected to be in goal and thats how it turned out. Jonathan Quick got lit up early, but he stopped 130 of 135 shots (.963 SV%) in the final four games to lead the Kings comeback. While the Sharks ponder this crushing defeat, the Kings move on to take on Anaheim, a good rivalry series, though one in which the Kings, a superior possesion team with a more experienced goaltender, should be favoured. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. cheap jerseys' ' '
