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TORONTO – It was a taste of karma for the Leafs. Brandon Carr Womens Jersey . A night that began with James Reimers scary exit in the Toronto crease would end in that very spot with a puzzled Jonathan Bernier ceding the awkward game-winner. Considering mounting flaws and stretches of incomplete hockey amid a (seemingly) scorching 6-1-0 start, the Leafs may have gotten what they deserved on a strange Thursday night at the ACC. "I think the hockey gods got back at us tonight," grinned Randy Carlyle following a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes, the head coach predicting such a fate only days earlier. Pressing hard for improvements after a misleading 4-1 victory against Minnesota on Tuesday – they were outshot 37-14 – all appeared well for Carlyles club in the opening stages of the middle frame on this night. Josh Leivos first career goal would stake the Leafs to a sturdy 2-0 lead – Joffrey Lupul notching his sixth of the season moments earlier – one that would deteriorate in a matter of seven minutes on a pair of odd bounces in the third. The first would see a Ryan Murphy point shot carom off the stick of Dave Bolland and through Bernier, the 20-year-olds first career marker cutting the deficit to one. Less than four minutes later, Carl Gunnarsson would block the shot of Justin Faulk, the puck careening to an always lethal Eric Staal in the high slot. Just like that, the 2-0 third period lead had vanished. "Two-goal lead going into the third feels good and then maybe we sat back a bit too much and they got the momentum," Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report afterward. "They were going and we were a bit on our heels trying to defend that lead. Tough to turn that around." Fate would deliver its final sucker punch off the tape of Ron Hainsey. Lingering 174 feet from the Toronto goal, the Hurricanes defender would launch the puck off the wall at centre-ice. A foot race between 19-year-old Morgan Rielly and 36-year-old Radek Dvorak would ensue, only by the time linesman Don Henderson had waved off this instance of hybrid icing, the puck had caromed weirdly off the end-boards and through the legs of a stunned Bernier. "It was just a bad mistake on my part," said the 25-year-old, who believed the play would be whistled for icing. Ultimately, it was a bounce gone wrong after so many gone right early this season. Despite increasingly wobbly play through the first seven games, the Leafs had picked up all but two of a possible 14 points, held up by terrific special teams, a potent offence and sturdy goaltending. Sensing the frailty of his teams hot start, Carlyle predicted an impending reversal of fortune and on this night he and his team got it. "Its almost karma for the way weve been playing," Cody Franson observed afterward. "[Expletive] like that happens sometimes," Gunnarsson said of Hainseys unlikely game-winner. "Im not going to blame [the loss] on bad bounces or anything; we probably couldve done something better in situations before the goals, so weve got to look at that. "But karma? Absolutely." Five Points 1. Reimer Injury Only 32 seconds had elapsed on the clock before Reimer would crumble to the ice. Bobbling the first shot of the game from Jordan Staal, the 25-year-old would attempt to smother the puck, only to be run awkwardly in the neck area by the right leg of his teammate Leivo. Assisted by the team trainer, he would leave the game in favour of Bernier moments later. "I kind of tried jumping over and landed on my chin," Leivo said regretfully afterward. "Its a bad play, wish it never happened." The collision was eerily similar to one Reimer endured nearly two years earlier at the Bell Centre. In that instance on Oct. 22, 2011, he was stung in the head area by Montreal captain Brian Gionta. Reimer would battle "concussion-like symptoms" throughout the course of that season, the injury later deemed to be neck-related. "Youre always concerned when any player gets pulled out of a hockey game due to injury," Carlyle said. "This one, there is a history there so you have to worry about it for sure." According to Carlyle, Reimer suffered just a headache from the incident and was expected to participate in practice on Friday. The Leafs had scrounged up Brett Willows from the University of Toronto to act as a contingency in the event that Bernier also went down with injury. "Fortunately warm-up wasnt too long ago so Bernie was still somewhat warm," Cody Franson smirked later. 2. Hainseys odd winner Thinking the play would be whistled as a result of the new hybrid icing, the Leafs were surprised when Henderson waved off the play at the very last instance, in fact at the very same moment the puck landed behind Bernier. "Thats the new rules and thats where its difficult from our standpoint because theyre making a decision at the dot," Carlyle said. Though he conceded that Dvorak was a "foot ahead" of Rielly, Carlyle felt his defender was in line to play the puck when it rung around the boards. Instead, the puck banked off those very same boards and trickled behind Bernier, who had "misjudged" it. "Short-side goals are bad goals in the NHL," laughed Carlyle afterward. "As crazy as it sounds it went short-side. What are you going to do?" "It wasnt my favourite one, thats for sure," said Bernier of the goal. "It wasnt pretty." 3. Bozaks struggles on the draw Tyler Bozak took 1063 face-offs last season, more than every NHL centre but Claude Giroux. Despite actually leading that category in the opening weeks this season – 204 to date – he has struggled to win more than his fair or perhaps, expected share. The 27-year-old finished 13-27 against the Hurricanes (48 per cent), his overall mark now at 48.5 per cent for the season (tied for 62nd-overall.) A year ago, he wrapped as the 25th-most successful face-off artist with a 52.5 per cent success rate. Interestingly, Bozak has actually been more effective on the road than at home - 45.3 per cent at the ACC vs. 54 per cent everywhere else. Because he is used more often by his team in the face-off circle (39.1 per cent) than every centre save the aforementioned Giroux and Sidney Crosby, the Leafs have, as a team, struggled, sitting 25th-overall after Thursday night (45.5 per cent.) 4. JVR Remains Out James van Riemsdyk missed his second-consecutive game with what Carlyle revealed to be back spasms. Following an off-day for the team this past Sunday, the 23-year-old reported to work on Monday morning suffering from the ailment. He missed practice that day and could skate only sparingly over the course of the next two days, remaining "stiff" with little improvement after 35-40 minutes of practice on Wednesday. "Were not going to put him on the ice in a situation where we think were going to possibly have him have any setback," Carlyle said. According to Carlyle, van Riemsdyk has no history of back issues and is considered day-to-day. He joins a list of injured Leafs that includes Frazer McLaren, Mark Fraser and Nik Kulemin. The Leafs have totaled 22 man-games lost due to injury thus far. Stepping into his place onto a top unit that includes Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak, Mason Raymond would clock a career-high of nearly 25 minutes against the Hurricanes. 5. First goal The night proved bittersweet for Josh Leivo. There was the unintentional collision with Reimer on the opening shift and a sour defeat for his team by the time the night was through. But the third-round selection from the 2011 Draft did manage his first NHL goal in what was his fourth NHL game. With just six games of AHL experience to his name, the 20-year-old Leivo would burst in with linemate Jay McClement, picking the short-side high corner to beat Cam Ward. "Im just getting a little bit more confidence every game and obviously Randys showing it by playing me a little bit more," Leivo told the Leaf Report before the game, totaling nearly 12 minutes on Thursday. Stat-Pack 38 – Total shots for the Hurricanes. 8 – Number of times the Leafs have allowed 30-plus shots in eight games this season. 24:49 – Ice-time for Mason Raymond on Thursday, a career-high. 39.1 – Percentage of face-offs Tyler Bozak has taken for the Leafs this season. Bozak trails only Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux in that category. 20:09 – Ice-time for Nazem Kadri on Thursday, a season-high. 2 – Games in which the Leafs have not managed a power-play goal, both losses. 17 – Goals for Joffrey Lupul in 21 regular season games dating back to last season. 204 – Total face-offs for Bozak this season, first among all NHL centres. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4 PK: 3-4 Quote of the Night "[Expletive] like that happens sometimes." -Carl Gunnarsson on Ron Hainseys strange game-winner. Up Next The Leafs visit the defending Stanley Cup-champion Blackhawks in Chicago on Saturday. Jeremy Mincey Womens Jersey . Switzerland is an overwhelming favourite against Serbia, last years finalist and the 2010 Davis Cup champion, which will be without Novak Djokovic and two other of its top players. The second-ranked Djokovic decided to rest after losing to Wawrinka in the Australian Open quarterfinals, while Janko Tipsarevic is nursing a heel injury and Viktor Troicki is serving a 12-month doping suspension for failing to appear at a test. Doug Free Cowboys Jersey .Va. - New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith is eager to work with Michael Vick, even if it means a hotly contested competition for the starting job. http://www.footballcowboysgear.com/authentic-daryl-johnston-cowboys-jersey/ . That is, how does he keep the red hot bat of Juan Francisco in the lineup when first base is taken by Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind is back as the designated hitter? "Maybe Francisco can play second," joked Gibbons.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel welcomed the opportunity to watch Ben Roethlisberger practice this week, certain he could glean something from the way Pittsburgh star goes about his job. Apparently, theres still much to learn. For Manuel and his rebuilding club both, particularly if they have to carry on without Sammy Watkins. Manuel passed for 148 yards in a half of work but failed to lead the Bills to the end zone yet again in a 19-16 loss to the Steelers on Saturday night. Watkins, the fourth overall pick in the draft, left in the first quarter with a rib contusion and did not return. Buffalo coach Doug Marrone declined to elaborate on the former Clemson players status. The Bills (1-2) host Tampa Bay next Saturday. "Theyre going to run tests and everything and well see how he is," Marrone said. With Watkins sidelined, the Bills were given a somewhat sobering glimpse of what they might look like without the fourth overall pick in the draft. Manuel completed 17 of 27 passes with an interception as Buffalos first-string offence continued to have trouble turning yards into points. Four times the Bills drove into Pittsburgh territory in the first half only to come away with a pair of Dan Carpenter field goals and two failed fourth-down attempts. "The whole night I thought we were moving," Manuel said. "We had long drives, 86-yard drives. We just didnt capitalize in the red zone." Something thats become an alarming trend with the preseason more than half over. Marrone abandoned his original game plan in hopes of getting something going. He kept the starters in the entire first half looking for a spark. Hes still waiting. So are his players. "We just have to finish," tight end Scott Chandler said. "We have to get in the end zone." Manuel played well during a pair of joint practices with the Steelers this week and some of it carried over under the lights. Buffalo (1-2) moved the ball with relative ease during a half in which the first-string offence racked up 212 total yards. All those first downs, however, translated into just six points. "In the two games that weve lost this year, weve had a lot of opportunities," Marrone said. "We have to be able to scoore more and not give up the big plays early on. Cowboys Jersey. " Roethlisberger, working with an offence he insists can be one of the more explosive in the league, threw a pair of touchdowns in just over a quarter of play. He hit Brown in stride on Pittsburghs second play from scrimmage and the Pro Bowl receiver ran away from a pair of defenders on his way to a 76-yard score. "It was a great read by Ben," Brown said. "The defensive back got caught up with another guy. Ben hit me in the spot and I was able to get up to speed and turn the corner." The Steelers (1-1) got the ball back moments later when rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier — who missed the preseason opener with a right knee injury coach Mike Tomlin called a "boo boo" — showcased why Pittsburgh took him with the 15th pick in the first round. Shazier stepped in front of Manuels pass intended for Chandler and returned it 27 yards to the Buffalo 37. The play highlighted a breakout night for Shazier, who finished with 11 total tackles in addition to his pick. Working almost exclusively out of the no huddle, the Steelers took advantage. Facing third-and-11 at the Buffalo 16, Roethlisberger waited for Wheaton to beat Stephon Gilmore to the left corner. Wheatons hauled it in before tumbling out of bounds to make it 13-3. Roethlisberger played one more series before giving way to the backups. "The communication was what I wanted to work on, and we didnt have mental errors of what I saw so far," Roethlisberger said. "It was a good start to the no huddle." The Bills operated at nearly the same pace, just without the same result. Twice Marrone had his starters go for it on fourth down in Pittsburgh territory in the first half. And twice they came up short. Manuels pass to T.J. Graham on fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 21 was knocked down by defensive lineman Cam Heyward. Manuel returned for one final drive at the end of the half and moved the ball to the Pittsburgh 3 only to see his fourth-down throw to Chandler batted away by Robert Golden. "It would have been good if we would have finished with a touchdown on one of those drives," Chandler said. "Wish we would have made it on that last one." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
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