TEMPE, Ariz. - Carson Palmer said Wednesday that his injured shoulder is feeling no negative reaction to the previous days throwing session and the Arizona Cardinals quarterback said he hopes to be able to go through a full practice by Thursday or Friday.Whether he will be able to play Sunday when Arizona is home against Washington remains to be seen.Ive just got to be able to throw a ball, let loose and throw hard, Palmer said before Wednesdays practice. Thats basically it.Palmer has been out since the season opener with a dead nerve in his throwing shoulder. He finally made progress in bringing the nerve back to life in sessions with a specialist in Colorado last week. He said he probably would fly back to Denver to see the specialist on Friday.Coach Bruce Arians said Palmers backup, Drew Stanton, who sustained a concussion in Sundays loss at Denver, would be doing light tosses on Wednesday.He still has not gotten through the (concussion) protocol but hes cleared to throw, Arians said, so well keep our fingers crossed there.Palmer and Stanton were throwing short passes in the portion of Wednesdays practice that was open to reporters.Rookie Logan Thomas is taking reps with the first team in the absence of Palmer and Stanton. Thomas played the final quarter against the Broncos after Stanton a€” the starter for three games following Palmers injury a€” was knocked out of Sundays 41-20 loss. Thomas was 1-for-8 passing but the one completion, to Andre Ellington, went 81 yards for a touchdown.Its a blessing, its an honour and Im very thankful for it, Thomas said of his chance to play in a regular-season game. Im not thankful for the way it happened, obviously, but it was good to get my feet wet.In case Palmer and Stanton cant play, the Cardinals signed Dennis Dixon to the practice squad on Tuesday. Dixon, who would back up Thomas if necessary, was with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2008 through 2011, when Arians was the offensive co-ordinator, so hes familiar with the coachs system.The second I actually got the call I already knew some of my go-to plays if I was to get in the game, he said.Arians said Palmer threw about 40 passes on Tuesday. Palmer said he was throwing at 35 to 40 per cent of his full strength.I try to ramp it up a little bit every day, he said.Asked if he would press himself harder to play if he knows Stanton cant go, Palmer said, I really havent thought of it like that.Im just worried about feeling comfortable with the game plan, he said, knowing what were doing, why were doing it and trying to get as many throws in as I can to get comfortable and make sure the nerve stays on in my shoulder.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Custom Buffalo Sabres Jerseys . Four years after winning gold on home ice in Vancouver, the Canadians will get a chance to make it two in a row Sunday against Sweden after beating the United States 1-0 in the Olympic semifinals Friday at Bolshoy Ice Dome. Buffalo Sabres Pro Shop . We wonder if the price of a Roberts rookie card has at least gone up a few cents? Tribute Tweets #Padres Tony Gwynn had 287 career plate appearances against #Braves trio of Maddux, Glavine, & Smoltz, he hit . https://www.cheapsabres.com/ . McCutchen hit his first home run in over a month, doubled twice and scored two runs to help the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Sunday and take three of four from the defending NL West champions. Buffalo Sabres Gear . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them. Sabres Jerseys China .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Watch the Kings vs. Maple Leafs live tonight on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto hopes to rebound after having a three-game winning streak halted in its last outing. The Maple Leafs were pounded 6-2 by the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, losing one night after beginning a five-game road trip with a 3-1 win in Anaheim. Jake Gardiner registered both Toronto tallies in Tuesdays loss, while James Reimer allowed all six goals on 48 shots for the Leafs. "I thought we did a lot of things that gave them a lot of opportunities, specifically turning the puck over," said Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle. Toronto, which fell to 13-13-7 as the road club this season, is still in second place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are one point ahead of Montreal and three in front of fourth-place Tampa Bay. L.A. has won two straight and three of the last four meetings against the Maple Leafs overall, but Toronto has claimed the past two encounters at Staples Center. The Kings have won eight games in a row and seven of those victories have come after the Olympic break. The time off in February apparently was productive for Los Angeles, which had dropped nine of 11 games before the league went on hiatus for the Sochi Olympics. Another victory tonight would give L.A. its first nine-game winning streak since Jan. 21-Feb. 6, 2010, but a former teammate could prevent that from happening as Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier gets set to make his return to the Staples Center. Bernier, who served primarily as Jonathan Quicks backup during his time with the Kings, was dealt to Toronto last summer in exchange for forward Matt Frattin, goaltender Ben Scrivens and a seecond-round draft pick.dddddddddddd Frattin and Scrivens have since been traded by L.A., while Bernier is having a terrific debut season with the Leafs, going 25-16-7 with a 2.59 goals against average and .926 save percentage in 49 games. Originally a first-round pick of Los Angeles in the 2006 draft, Bernier had a 29-20-6 career record with six shutouts and a 2.36 GAA in 62 games with the Kings. He expects to get the start tonight and has a chance to end the Kings recent hot streak. Thanks to the recent surge, the Kings are sitting comfortably in third place in the Pacific Division, nine points ahead of Phoenix for the last of the divisions three automatic bids to the playoffs. L.A. is still nine points behind San Jose for second place and 11 points behind Anaheim for the top spot. The Kings are back home on Thursday after a perfect three-game road trip. Los Angeles is beginning a five-game homestand tonight and is 19-10-3 at Staples Center this season. The club capped its recent swing with Mondays 3-2 regulation win at Calgary. Anze Kopitar scored the eventual winner in the third period as Los Angeles survived a late push from the Flames to pick up the win at the Saddledome. Trevor Lewis and Justin Williams scored for the Kings, while Martin Jones made 24 saves in the win. "Good way to finish off the trip. We did what we wanted," said Los Angeles head coach Darryl Sutter. "If you score three on the road you should win the hockey game." Quick expects to get the start for L.A. on Thursday. The Kings No. 1 backstop is 2-1-0 with a 2.62 goals against average and .910 save percentage in three career games against the Maple Leafs. Kings forward Jordan Nolan is eligible to return tonight after sitting out the last game due to a suspension. Nolan earned the one-game ban for a sucker punch on Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu on Sunday. ' ' '