ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- From his catchy nickname to his sturdy performance on the field, Calvin Johnson often seems indestructible. So it was a bit startling when the star wide receiver was limited by injuries toward the end of last season, finally sitting out the finale after his Detroit Lions were eliminated from playoff contention. Johnson had surgery in the off-season on a knee and a finger, both of which caused problems for him in 2013. He still put up terrific numbers for the Lions, but he was held under 100 yards in the last three games he played and couldnt prevent the collapse that kept Detroit out of the post-season. On Tuesday, "Megatron" was out on the practice field, preparing for what he hopes will be a healthier, more successful season. "It feels great to be out here playing with the guys," Johnson said. "I missed a lot of practice time last year before games. You definitely feel like you need that practice time before a game, just to get on one accord with your quarterback." Johnson caught 84 passes for 1,492 yards last season -- great stats for almost any player, but his worst output in both categories since 2010. It was never entirely clear how much Johnsons knee was bothering him, but then-coach Jim Schwartz conceded in late December that the star receiver was nowhere near 100 per cent. "It was bad enough where I had to get it drained every week," Johnson said. "The finger, it was stuck at 90 degrees. Its good to have those things freed up." The Lions fired Schwartz and replaced him with Jim Caldwell in the off-season, meaning Detroit is implementing a new offence. Quarterback Matthew Stafford will be under pressure to limit the mistakes that plagued him last year -- and he should have an easier time if Johnson is back at full strength. Although Johnson missed only two games last season, he wasnt able to practice all that regularly. That time is valuable even for a veteran who will turn 29 in September. "You kind of lose your wind a little bit. You know the plays, but I feel that you have to go out there and practice to be able to play at your best," Johnson said. "Im a firm believer in that. I had experience in the offence, therefore I was able to go out there and still play, but Im a firm believer that being out there during the week definitely improves your performance on Sunday." With Nate Burleson no longer on the Lions, Johnson is now the elder statesmen of Detroit wide receivers, and hes always led by example. Its easier to do that, of course, when hes healthy enough to practice. "Its nice to have him back and working at full strength. Im so happy for him," centre Dominic Raiola said. "The guys so tough. Its hard to get him out of there. Hell play through anything. For him to be healthy right now and being out there with the team, thats big time." NOTES: Caldwell said injured CB Chris Houston has been excused from practice. Rookie WR T.J. Jones, the teams sixth-round draft pick, was also excused Tuesday. ... Caldwell joked a bit about his reputation for remaining even-keeled. "Theres no need for a whole lot of cussing, screaming, yelling and all that kind of stuff," Caldwell said. "Its a mini quiz out here. I never had any of my professors yelling in my ear when I was sitting at the desk filling out those multiple-choice questions." http://www.hockeycanadiensnhl.com/authentic-alexei-emelin-canadiens-jersey/ .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. http://www.hockeycanadiensnhl.com/authentic-david-desharnais-canadiens-jersey/ .J. -- Pete Carroll said it was the suspension of linebacker Bruce Irvin last spring that finally got the attention of the rest of the Seattle Seahawks that they needed to be taking their commitment to the team more seriously. http://www.hockeycanadiensnhl.com/authe ... -jersey/.A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award. http://www.hockeycanadiensnhl.com/authentic-andrei-markov-canadiens-jersey/ . The Rays hope to stay alive for the postseason and salvage the finale of this series Sunday at Rogers Centre, where they dropped a 7-2 decision Saturday. Chris Archer lasted 2 1/3 innings in the no-decision, charged with a run and five hits, and Alex Torres suffered the loss in relief. http://www.hockeycanadiensnhl.com/authentic-andrew-shaw-canadiens-jersey/ . Terry came from Boston along with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce but has appeared in just 35 games after a knee injury, averaging 4.5 points on 36 per cent shooting. Evans was a favourite of fans but not coach Jason Kidd, who used him in just 30 of their 51 games.TORONTO -- James Reimer wanted to keep things simple. It had been a while since he started a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his return came against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the potent Pittsburgh Penguins. "Maybe there was some circumstances surrounding the game, but honestly I didnt really pay much attention to them or think about them much," Reimer said. "It was just the Toronto Maple Leafs playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I was trying to get in the way of pucks." Reimer got in the way of a lot of pucks Saturday night as he was the backbone of the Leafs 4-1 victory over the Penguins at Air Canada Centre. The 26-year-old made 37 saves to give Nazem Kadri the chance to score the game winner, and many of his stops came when the majority of the action was in the Leafs zone. "You dont win in this league without goaltending that gives you a chance, and Reims gives us a chance," coach Randy Carlyle said. Reimer hadnt started since Oct. 17 when he left 32 seconds into Torontos game against the Carolina Hurricanes after a collision with winger Josh Leivo. The long layoff didnt bother him. "I felt normal right from the get-go," Reimer said. "I didnt feel any uneasiness or uncertainty, really. The puck dropped, and I was ready to stop it." Reimer gave up a power-play goal to Kris Letang, the Penguins defencemans first of the season, 6:52 in but shut the door from there. One of his more memorable saves came on Malkin a few minutes later, and Dave Bolland went right down the ice and tied it up for the Leafs shorthanded. But Reimer was really tested in the second period when the Penguins turned up the heat on him and outshot the Leafs 16-4. He made a couple of stops on two-on-one rushes, denied Crosby of a one-timer goal at the side of the net and flashed his glove against Matt DAgostini to the delight of many of the 19,539 fans in attendance. "I thought he was outstanding," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "There was flurries and pucks around his net he was strong on. ... He certainly was the difference in the second period." Had Reimer cracked even once, the Penguins mightve been able to ride some momentum and cruise past the Leafs. Instead, Toronto still had hope at the second intermission. "I think thats been the story of our season, for the most part," said James van Riemsdyk, who assisted on Kadris goal and Phil Kessels later in the third. "Theres been stretches where we get outshot, but our goaltending is making big saves for us. Theyve gave us a chance allmost every night.dddddddddddd Thats all you can ask for out of your goalies." All Reimer and Jonathan Bernier seemingly need is a little goal support. Reimer got it Saturday night in the form of a strong third period led by the new-look first line. Kadri replaced Tyler Bozak between van Riemsdyk and Kessel, and Carlyle said after the victory that Bozak would miss at least 7-10 days with a lower-body injury. Kadri beat Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 1:26 into the third after smart passes from van Riemsdyk and Kessel but took more pride in stopping Malkins line. "Were all on the same page offensively. It was great," Kadri said. "Its not just the offensive side of things, we took care of the D-zone. We were able to shut down a few of their key players." Bolland, David Clarkson and Mason Raymond also did a good job against Crosby, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. Malkin finished the night with a minus-3 rating, while Crosby was a minus-2. As much credit as captain Dion Phaneuf and those forwards got for their defensive play, it eventually came down to Reimer, who didnt fold under a lot of pressure. "James played great. Both tenders all season have been unbelievable," Clarkson said. "Its always good when you can have that confidence in your goaltending. No matter who goes in net there we have confidence that if were getting outshot or outplayed, then we know what we can do." Reimer frustrated the Penguins all night and improved to 4-0-2 in his career against Pittsburgh. But he wasnt crowing about that success. "They have arguably the best players in the world, and they bring it every time they come and play," Reimer said. "Im just lucky enough to have teammates step up and play big games. I dont know if it has much to do with me more than the guys in front of me working their butts off. Again tonight I thought they worked as hard as they could, and they really earned it." Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at (at)SWhyno NOTES -- A CT scan revealed Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul did not have a fracture in his right foot and he will travel with the team on their Western Canadian road trip, according to Carlyle. The team hopes Lupul, who has missed two games after taking a shot off the foot in practice Thursday, will be able to play Tuesday at the Edmonton Oilers. ... Penguins defenceman Rob Scuderi left the game with a lower-body injury late in the first period after taking a hit from Clarkson along the boards. Bylsma did not have an update, saying only that Scuderi would be re-evaluated Sunday. 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