left the game with a lower body injury, the Marlies also lost forwar

TORONTO -- An injury to Spencer Abbott in the second period forced Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott to move Brandon Kozun to the top line. The promotion paid off as Kozun picked up the insurance maker and the Marlies defeated the reigning Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins 4-1 on Friday, "It was nice that we could slot him right up there and that was a huge goal because Grand Rapids was coming late," said Spott. "That seemed to quiet them a little bit because the fire power, the ability to turn over pucks in transition, theyre going to come at you hard and that was a big goal by Brandon. "I know he needed it personally, its good for his confidence and it was a timely goal for our team." Kozun restored Torontos two-goal lead at 12:05 of the third period, beating Mrazek stick-side for his 13th of the season. The goal was Kozuns third and seventh point in eight games since he was acquired from the Manchester Monarchs. "Well when (injuries) happen, everyones got to step up their game, play together as a team, I think this team has been doing it all year and youve got to play as a team to beat a team like that," said Kozun. "Theyre obviously the reigning champions and everyone came to play tonight and it was a good one. T.J. Brennan, Josh Leivo and Jerry DAmigo had the other goals for the Marlies, who won for the third time in four games. The win moves Toronto (28-15-4) two points back of the second-place Griffins (29-15-4) in the AHLs Western Conference. Landon Ferraro replied for Grand Rapids, which has just one win in the last five games. Grand Rapids out-shot Toronto 34-12 in the final 40 minutes, but could not get another one past Drew MacIntyre, who made 41 saves for his league-leading 21st win of the season. Petr Mrazek made 23 saves for the Griffins. "Youre playing the reigning Calder Cup champions and you know theyre going to come, youre up two goals, you lose arguably your best forward in Spencer Abbott and a great shutdown player in Tyler Biggs so there is absolutely nothing left in the tank," said Spott. "We have to go easy (Saturday) and weve got to find a way to, with our tank almost on E, to get another 60 minutes out of these guys on Sunday. Theres not a lot left." Brennan opened the scoring with his 20th goal of the season on the power play at 1:17 of the second period, beating Mrazek with a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle. With the goal, Brennan became the first defenceman to score 20 goals in a single season since Johnny Boychuck did it with the Providence Bruins in the 2008-2009 season. The Marlies added to their lead at 4:01 of the period when Leivo stepped out of the corner and beat Mrazek from the slot for his 10th. Ferraro pulled the Griffins to within one as he one-timed a Jeff Hoggan pass past MacIntyre at 8:20 of the second period DAmigo added an empty netter for his 10th of the season with 1:09 remaining. In addition to Abbott, who left the game with a lower body injury, the Marlies also lost forward Biggs. Spott said he would have a better idea on the condition of both players Saturday. Toronto was already without forward Sam Carrick, who sustained an upper body injury in Wednesdays shootout win over the San Antonio Rampage. Archie Manning Jersey .This one was bigger than most.Ben Roethlisberger and LeVeon Bell came up big in a game that Pittsburgh had to win Sunday, leading the Steelers to a 42-21 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals that left the AFC North race wide open. Custom New Orleans Saints Jerseys .J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/Eli...-Saints-Jersey/. At quarterback, all agree that Andy Dalton has been a wonderful surprise, but to truly progress he has to play his best in the playoffs. The two losses in the wildcard rounds keep the evaluation on Dalton open -- just like it did for Peyton Manning many years ago and Matt Ryan until last year. Morten Andersen Jersey .com) - Ben Lovejoy tallied a goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks cruised into the All-Star break with a 6-3 victory against the Calgary Flames. Sam Mills Jersey . - The Toronto Blue Jays have optioned pitchers Kyle Drabek, Chad Jenkins and Sean Nolin to triple-A Buffalo.LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday and is expected to be out four to six weeks. Ellis had a 20-minute operation performed by Dodgers physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache to repair the medial meniscus in his knee. Ellis is expected to rejoin his teammates on Wednesday and begin rehabilitation. The club recalled catcher Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Albuquerque and started him against Detroits Max Scherzer in the opener of a two-game interleague series. Drew Butera was Federowiczs backup. "A.J. is the kind of guy that from a preparation standpoint has been what weve asked -- to know what hes doing when he puts the fingers down, to know why, to understand our pitchers and all the matchups and everything else," manager Don Mattingly said. "We ask a lot of our catchers, and A.J. has bought into that. So were going to miss that, no question. But hes going to be back here tomorrow, and hes the kind of guy that will be doing everything to help Fed and Drew out and still be a part of what were doing. Ellis injured his left knee Saturday while rounding third base and trying to score from second on a single by Andre Ethier. Ellis underwent the same procedure on his left knee following the 2012 season. "I know he felt a misstep the other dayy and kind of felt it right then.dddddddddddd And it was really sore after that," Mattingly said. Ellis joined Clayton Kershaw, setup man Brian Wilson and Chad Billingsley on the disabled list, and Yasiel Puig sat out his second game because of a swollen left thumb. Puig was hurt when he made a headfirst slide into first base on an infield hit during Saturdays 7-2 loss to San Francisco. Federowicz appeared in 56 games with the Dodgers last season, hitting four home runs and driving in 16 runs, and he has played in 66 big league games with Los Angeles since making his big league debut in 2011. He was optioned to Albuquerque on March 22, but remained with the big club on its extended roster for the two-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Australia. Los Angeles kept Butera on the active big league roster because he could be sent to the minor leagues without clearing waivers -- unlike Federowicz. "I think it just tests our depth," Mattingly said. "We feel like Fed and Drew are capable to get through this stretch with out A.J., the same as our bullpen without Brian. We cant really say its going to be good getting through this stretch without Clayton, because theres nobody quite like him. But I do think were capable of winning games and doing what we have to do." ' ' '