TORONTO - The Raptors learned a little bit about themselves in a narrow defeat to the Chicago Bulls Wednesday, a game with playoff-type intensity and their third consecutive against an opponent directly behind them in the standings. On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. They have navigated through early-season tank speculation, theyve come together after a momentum shifting seven-player deal and they continue to block out the noise emitting from the incessant batch of rumours surrounding their starting point guard. At 3:00 PM et Thursday afternoon all that noise will be muzzled until the offseason, all the uncertainty finally put to bed. Finally, they will all know where they stand, at least for the next couple months. So, with the big day rapidly approaching, will Kyle Lowry - the primary subject of trade speculation - be losing any sleep on the eve of the deadline? "Nope," scoffed the Raptors point guard, as that question was posed following his teams 94-92 loss to the Bulls. "Not at all." "Any other questions about that," he asked, daring the hoard of local media to try their luck again. There were no more questions. It was worth a try, after all, its the question thats on everyones mind. Will Lowry be wearing a Raptors jersey when the team hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday? Still, it was a futile attempt to get a rise out of a player who has been relatively unshakable all season. Lowry, like the rest of his teammates, is fully aware of whats at stake as he waits to learn his fate. The upcoming deadline has been on the their minds, whether they care to admit it or not, but its not a subject thats welcome for discussion in the locker room. "Thankfully on this team, no, no ones talked about it, no ones mentioned it," said Patrick Patterson, ahead of the teams win in Washington Tuesday. "The only thing Ive seen is just stuff on Twitter, the internet, Bleacher Report, whatever, yada, yada, yada, rumours but as far as this group of guys from the coaching staff on down to each player on the roster, no one has mentioned anything." Patterson arrived in the trade from Sacramento on Dec. 9, along with Kings teammates Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes. Since then, this team has gelled in a way that no one could have possibly imagined, going 22-12 with the new additions in uniform. Chemistry is a word thats been used to describe this group both on and off the floor and, as Ujiri has insisted, its something the Raptors general manager values above all else. Ujiri, in conversation with TSN.ca over the weekend, expressed a reluctance to disrupt that newfound chemistry unless the right deal comes along. Hes not alone. Dwane Casey wouldnt mind seeing 15 familiar faces in the locker room when he comes into work on Friday. "I like our guys," Casey said. "I know Masai is working 24/7 on the phones and looking at different scenarios. We talked a long time today. But I like our guys. If we (bring) our team back Im happy." "I always said since I came (here), the players will dictate where we go and the team will dictate where we go," Ujiri told TSN.ca on Sunday. "Thats kind of how its been." The players have spoken. The Raptors hold third place in the Eastern Conference, a 1/2 game in front of the fourth-seeded Bulls after Wednesdays loss. They were outplayed on both ends of the floor in the second night of a back-to-back. It was a brutally physical and fiercely competitive game in which seven technical fouls were handed out. The Raptors were down and out early but they fought back, as they have done time and time again, showing mental and physical toughness. Theyre a resilient bunch, theyve proven that, and they believe theyve earned the right to see this thing out. "I believe that nothing will (happen Thursday)," Patterson predicted. "No trades will be made due to the success that weve had since the (Sacramento deal)." "Why break up something thats been going so well," he asked, rhetorically. "None of us are talking about trades, none of us are talking about wanting to leave and everyone is happy with the current situation." Yusei Kikuchi Mariners Jersey .com) - Tonight will go a long way in determining the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. Ricardo Sanchez Mariners Jersey . - The RBC Canadian Open will return to Glen Abbey Golf Club next year, marking the 27th time that the national open championship will be played at the Oakville, Ont. https://www.cheapmariners.com/905k-taylo...y-mariners.html. Goldeyes third baseman Ryan Pineda drove in three runs and the pitching staff didnt allow an earned run, as Winnipeg downed Kansas City 6-3 in American Association exhibition action at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas. Pat Borders Mariners Jersey . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Dan Altavilla Jersey . Osasunas Alvaro Cejudo drove the ball onto the crossbar in the fifth minute and his team squandered several long-range strikes before he was denied one-on-one by goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez in the 50th.Bobby Ryan cant help but worry sometimes. In just his second game with the Ottawa Senators, he made a mistake on the power play and envisioned the consequence as he skated back to the bench. "OK, thats your last opportunity and good luck on another unit," he told himself. Its a mentality that comes from playing parts of five seasons under coach Randy Carlyle. Since then, Ryan has run the gamut on coaching personalities through his time with Bruce Boudreau and now Paul MacLean. Going from one extreme to the other, Ryan adjusted on the fly as he came into his own as an NHL scorer. "With Randy you had a hard-pressed, aggressive coach and then you went to Bruce, who was fairly lackadaisical in, I wouldnt want to say his approach to the game, but his systematic plays," Ryan said. "He was different like that, but he gave you opportunities to really create offensively. And then I think Macs kind of that hybrid in between both of them. He gives you space to make plays and do things, but hes also demanding. You have to stick to the structure, and if you stick to those Xs and Os thats where he lets the skill come through." Skill has never been a question for Ryan, a four-time 30-goal scorer whos off to the best start of his NHL career and should be a lock for the U.S. Olympic team in Sochi. It has been more a question of how three coaches approached managing his talent. Ryan scored 112 goals in the 274 games Carlyle spent behind the bench. Before the Ducks fired Carlyle in late November 2011, a strained relationship with Ryan had the winger on the trade block. "Everybody knows my history with Randy," Ryan said this week while making it clear that Carlyle was always fair to him. Before the Senators faced the Toronto Maple Leafs during the pre-season, Carlyle was effusive in his praise. "I think Bobby was a young kid that had a different body make-up from what he is now. He put (in) a lot of time and effort, and its a tribute to him to get himself in the type of condition that he is now versus where he came out of junior," he said. "Bobbys growing into a pretty mature hockey player both on and off the ice." Carlyles heavy-handed style played a role in that growth, but Ryan got more freedom under Boudreau, who learned a little about handling star scorers from coaching Alex Ovechkin with the Washington Capitals. "Really great players — Ovi, Bobby Ryan, the Jason Spezzas, the (Ryan) Getzlafs — if you try to tell them how to be creative, its not a smart move because they see things that you cant see," Boudreau said. "Its like they got another sense about them when people are around or where people are or stuff like that. You just have to give them a lot of offensive-free latitude." But thats not to say Boudreau gave Ryan a free pass. He asked him to try playing centre when the Ducks were weak there and came away impressed with how the young star handled that and other suggestions. "Bobby was really easy, and he was also very acceptable in anything I asked him to do," Boudreau said. "Id have him in my office just because I talk to the players a lot, but Id have him in and hed be very receptive to any ideas I had. I listened to him on any ideas he had and I thought I was receptive to thhem.dddddddddddd I thought the relationship was pretty good." That relationship ended July 5 when the Ducks traded Ryan to the Senators following an 11-goal, 48-game season. His days of playing Boudreaus fire-wagon style of up-tempo hockey were over, but MacLean continued the trend of instilling more confidence and trust in Ryan. The 26-year-old already faced his former team this season and will see Boudreau and the Ducks again Friday in Ottawa. Ryan saw similarities in Boudreau and MacLeans interactions with players, but not their approaches to hockey. Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award in 2007-08 based on offence and an incredible Capitals turnaround, while MacLean won it last season for leading the Senators to the playoffs amid injuries to Spezza, defenceman Erik Karlsson, goaltender Craig Anderson and others. "Obviously you dont win the Jack Adams Award by not being able to speak to your players and get through to your players," Ryan said. "Im looking forward to having a relationship like that and being able to build on that throughout time." It has started well as Ryan has six goals and three assists in nine games. That mistake Ryan made on the power play earlier this season didnt cost him another chance, and as a result hes not playing scared. "You dont have to tighten up or whatnot and you can let it go and play," he said. "Theres been situations on the ice where Id like to have things back, but weve had a lot of good talks between us about that kind of stuff. Hes given me the confidence to let me know that theyre going to put me right back out and get me right back into the situation again." Ryan is still adjusting to differences in Eastern Conference play compared to the West, like how much extra space he has to gain the offensive zone when hes carrying the puck. But across the spectrum of his play, the transition to Ottawa has been "fairly seamless." Since seeing Ryan in camp, MacLean never worried about that adjustment and praised his consistency along the way. MacLean wants Ryan to play with a sense of freedom, but hes not giving him special treatment. "I think its our job to not just coach Bobby Ryan. We have 23 guys that we have to coach, and thats the same with all of them," MacLean said. "We really believe in the young players, when they get the opportunity to play you have to play them and when theyre playing well you have to get them out there and let them play. Bobbys no different than the rest of them as when hes playing well, well get him out there, and when hes not, we wont." Ryan has learned that lesson under each coach and is thankful for the extra chances that have followed when he faltered. He doesnt like the comparisons to Daniel Alfredsson — who signed with Detroit the same day Ryan was dealt to Ottawa — which will undoubtedly linger, but filling that role as a scoring winger suits him well. "Theyre giving me an opportunity to, I guess, be one of the top players, one of the go-to guys and putting me in situations where they feel like I can have success," Ryan said. "Thats all I really wanted and thats the opportunity that I think I knew I was going to be given." ——— Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at @SWhyno ' ' '