Training » MVP runner-up, wasnt in the starting lineup for th

TORONTO – James Reimer chose his words carefully, but made no secret of his unhappiness. Ndamukong Suh Rams Jersey . “I dont know if theres a goaltender in the league thats happy when they get pulled,” said Reimer following an eventual 5-4 shootout loss to the Red Wings on Saturday night. The 25-year-old got the hook after just 20 minutes at the ACC – in yet another sloppy first period for the Leafs – yielding three goals to the Red Wings on 12 shots. It was the fourth time in 18 starts that Reimer has been pulled and clearly it stung. “Obviously I didnt want to get pulled,” he said. “Thats the last thing I wanted. I wanted to hang in there. But thats Randys decision. And I respect what he decides. I may not like it, but thats irrelevant. Hes the one who makes those decisions.” Randy Carlyle sensed something amiss with his starting goaltender on the very first shot of the game, one that he says bounced in and out of Reimers glove. “I thought the rebounds were bouncing away from him,” added Carlyle. And though the first goal was a strike of brilliance from Pavel Datsyuk – opposite Torontos fourth line no less – he felt the final two markers were stoppable. The first, a wraparound from Joakim Andersson, was one Reimer admittedly wanted back. The second saw Tomas Jurco camped all alone in front of the net – Jake Gardiner falling down in the corner – able to tuck a backhand through the Leafs netminder. “When a goaltender is in the zone, pucks usually dont go through him,” said Carlyle, “and their third goal went through him.” Two minutes still remained in the period when Jurcos goal made it 3-1 for the Red Wings, but it was at that moment that Carlyle decided to start Jonathan Bernier in the second frame. He told Bernier as much as the team exited the ice after a disappointing opening frame. “When you do that you do that based upon not specifically the individual thats getting pulled,” Carlyle explained, “you do it for your team, that somehow you can get a spark for your team and I thought Bernier came in and did that for us.” The Leafs scored twice in a resilient second period before snatching a temporary 4-3 lead in the third on David Clarksons first goal since Nov. 23. Tomas Tatar would even the action at four with less than seven minutes to go – capitalizing on a turnover by Gardiner along the wall – before Daniel Alfredsson iced the first meeting between the two clubs in a shootout. Though Bernier stepped in and stopped 25 of 26 shots, thus backstopping the comeback, one could understand Reimers displeasure with the quick hook. First, the team in front of him was admittedly far off-point early, standing around, in the words of Carlyle, as Detroit strangled hold of the action. And then there was the effort of the Manitoba native just two nights earlier, his 34 saves effectively carrying the Leafs to an eventual two points against Phoenix. Throw in the fact that Reimer has been pulled four times already versus zero for his counterpart in Bernier (despite entering the night with slightly better numbers) and its easy to understand where some frustration might lie with the lack of rope from the head coach. “I dont know if I want to really get into that,” said Reimer, who was making three consecutive starts for the first time all season. It was Joffrey Lupul after the game against the Coyotes who observed that “the one thing we know we can count on Reims for is compete level and battle.” And on this night Reimer was not given that opportunity to battle and perhaps thats what stung most of all. “I think thats what any goaltender wants,” said Reimer. “You want that chance to get in there and fight and battle for your teammates and try and get a win. Obviously Randy had other thoughts and hes the coach and hes the one who makes those decisions. I dont. I just try and stop pucks.” Five Points 1. Glass Half-Empty The Leafs actually scored first for the 22nd time this season – Cody Fransons second of the year – but the lead evaporated less than two minutes later on the goal from Datsyuk. “Obviously we didnt have a very good first period,” said Carlyle. “We score the first goal and then we basically stood around for the rest of the period and watched them do their thing. They out-competed us badly in the first period. We thought that there was no way that we could duplicate that period again. We found a way in the second to get our game going.” “We dug ourselves a hole and it takes a toll on you trying to dig out of a two-goal hole like that,” said Lupul, who scored the third Toronto goal on a power-play. “If we take one thing from the game its probably get off to a little better start.” Toronto has been outscored 31-23 in first periods this season, capturing the lead just 10 times in 38 games. 2. Glass Half-Full “If were looking at positives, its the way we battled back in the second,” said Lupul. Just as he did on the opening goal from Franson, it was the effort of Peter Holland on the forecheck that spurred the Leafs second goal and subsequent comeback. Holland freed the puck from Kyle Quincey behind the Detroit goal before it eventually found its way to Dion Phaneuf for a one-time blast. Quincey was then whistled for a high-stick on Kadri later in the period propelling Lupuls game-tying power-play marker, his 11th this season. Clarkson gave the Leafs a brief lead in the third, crashing the crease of former Leaf Jonas Gustavsson, who made 19 saves. “Coming back against a good team like this it should be a huge confidence [boost],” said Bernier. Toronto has outscored the opposition 44-33 in second periods this season and has led 16 times after 40 minutes. 3. Clarkson Snaps Drought Clarkson had gone 12 consecutive games without a goal and had just one assist in that span, but he broke the spell with his third this season against Detroit. Earlier in the day he remarked on his struggles to generate offence. “A lot of athletes go through a lot of ups and downs no matter what sport it is,” he said. “Youll see a guy hit well for a long time and all of a sudden hes on a lull.” Just as he had against the Coyotes, the 29-year-old remained in a shutdown role against the Red Wings. Paired with Jay McClement and Nik Kulemin, Clarksons line was pegged to play up against Detroits top unit of Datsyuk, Todd Bertuzzi and the aforementioned Tatar. Datsyuk did find the scoresheet, but managed to do so with the Leafs fourth line and third defensive pairing on the ice. “Youre pleased when you win,” said Clarkson, asked if he was happy to find some offence. “Its not an individual game or an individual effort.” 4. Kadris struggles on the Draw Of the 88 centres who qualify for the league faceoff crown, only four have been worse this season than Nazem Kadri, who sits 84th overall. Kadri, who finished 4-14 on the draw against the Red Wings, has won only 42.3 per cent of the 494 faceoffs hes taken this season. The 23-year-old is down slightly from the 44 per cent mark he posted last season. Jerred Smithson, a career 55 per cent marksman, said the biggest lesson hed offer to a young centre in need of advice is “compete level”. “Its just wanting to win the battle more than that other guy,” he told the Leaf Report. “Thats the biggest thing for me anyway. You know theres always different techniques, but just the will and the compete going into the circle and wanting it just that much more.” Smithson acknowledges that different tricks and techniques also make a difference, but notes that “if youre going to start with one thing its just the battle. For me its so much harder when I know a guys coming in there and hes going to battle his butt off to win that draw. For me, that would be the starting point.” 5. Kadri on the Top Line Kadri had a pair of goals against Dallas on Dec. 5 when he replaced an injured Tyler Bozak on the Leafs top unit. But since that point, the 23-year-old has been quiet offensively alongside Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, totaling just three points over the next nine games. “Youre asking a young player in Kadri to fill some shoes of a veteran player,” said Randy Carlyle of the shift from Bozak to Kadri. “Hes a young player still cutting his teeth to become a higher level first line, second line centre, whatever word you want to describe an offensive player. Were asking a lot of a young player right now where last year we were able to use Nazzie more as a third line option and protect him from having to play up against the top two lines of other hockey clubs.” Squaring off mostly against third and fourth lines, Kadri had 14 goals and 35 points through the first 34 games last season. Through the same number of games this season, matched mostly against first and second units, he has 10 goals and 22 points. Bozak is due to return from an oblique injury on Dec. 29. Stats-Pack 4 – Number of times James Reimer has been pulled this season. 31-23 – Deficit for the Leafs in first periods this season. 3-10-1 – Leafs record when trailing after the first period. 44-33 – Advantage for the Leafs in second periods this season. 12-8-1 – Leafs record on home ice this season. 4-14 – Nazem Kadri in the faceoff circle against the Red Wings. 3 – Goals from Dion Phaneuf this season. Phaneuf snapped a 25-game drought with the Leafs second goal on Saturday. 4-5-2 – Leafs record versus the Atlantic division. 34-16 – Shot advantage at even-strength for Detroit. 17 – Number of times in the past 24 games that the Leafs have allowed at least three goals. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-4Season: 23.1% (4th) PK: 1-1Season: 77.8% (27th) Quote of the Night Up Next The Leafs visit the Rangers at MSG on Monday night, their final game before the Christmas break. Brandin Cooks Rams Jersey . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. Brian Allen Jersey . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks. http://www.authenticramsfansclub.com/Black-Friday-Sam-Shields-Jersey/ . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizonas offence was disjointed, the shots werent falling, the free throws clanging one after another. Playing without injured forward Brandon Ashley for the first time, the second-ranked Wildcats looked out of sorts on the offensive end, leaving them in jeopardy of their first losing streak of the season. Good thing they know how to play defence, particularly when the game is on the line. Digging in over the closing minutes, Arizona overcame a rough shooting night to win in their first game without Ashley, grinding out a 67-65 victory over Oregon on Thursday night. "Our defence down the stretch is what we rely on," said Nick Johnson, who led Arizona with 18 points. "We have all year." The Wildcats needed it against Oregon. Coming off its first loss of the season, Arizona (22-1, 9-1 Pac-12) laboured offensively without Ashley, who is out for the season with a foot injury suffered last Saturday in a loss at California. The Wildcats went 4 for 16 from three-point range, missed 16 free throws and had a tough time even getting into their set plays. They turned up the pressure with the game on the line and, as they have for much of the season, found a way to make the big plays when they needed to. Point guard T.J. McConnell missed seven of his first eight shots before dropping in a three-pointer with 90 seconds left to give Arizona the lead. Johnson went 5 of 16 from the field, but kept fighting his way through it and hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 47 seconds. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson provided the Wildcats with a big lift, too, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and all kinds of not-in-the-box score contributions with his hustle in his first start in place of Ashley. "Our offence was a little out synch play-wise, but we battled back," McConnell said. "Weve done that so many times this year, been in games like that before, so I think were a battle-tested team." Oregon (15-7, 3-7) held its composure in one of college basketballs toughest road arenas, keeping the Wildcats at bay well into the second half. When Arizona turned up the pressure and the fans in the McKale Center turned up the noise, the Ducks had no answer. Oregon had a couple of key turnovers late and missed 3 of 4 free throws while shooting toward the raucous Arizona student section in the final 23 seconds. Joseph Young and Jason Calliste had 14 points eaach and Damyean Dotson added 12 for the Ducks in another oh-so-close loss. Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys. "Theyre hurting," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "This is their third two-point loss. I just told them weve got to be resilient. It hurts having an opportunity and not being able to finish." Arizona had to shuffle its lineup with Ashley out, moving Hollis-Jefferson into the starting lineup and long-range shooter Gabe York into his sixth-man role. The new-look rotation was solid early, dropping in 3-pointers and flying in for dunks while Kaleb Tarczewski had his way inside for 10 points and five offensive rebounds. After that, it was a struggle. With the Ducks double-teaming Tarczewski in the post and McConnell out with his third foul late in the first half, Arizona could only find an offensive rhythm in stretches. The Wildcats didnt help themselves at the free throw line, either, making 11 of 19 in the first half. Arizona got off to a slow start in the second half and trailed most of the way as the shots continued to bounce away. The Wildcats have proven to be strong-minded most of the season -- their only loss was on a last-second shot by Cal -- and again found a way to pull out a not-so-pretty victory. "Tonights game is a real tribute to the team that we have in that it took a lot of resiliency on our part, a lot of belief and toughness because things werent going our way," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. Oregon, the defending Pac-12 tournament champion, has been in a downward spiral since conference play started, losing five straight after being ranked as high as 10th. The Ducks bounced back with two wins in their previous three games, but still needed to start winning to have a chance at returning to the NCAA tournament. After a slow start, Oregon started dropping in shots to lead 38-37 at halftime. The Ducks pushed the lead to seven points midway through the second half, but faltered down the stretch. Oregon fell behind by four after a shot-clock violation and a wild three-point attempt by Young, yet still had a chance in the closing seconds. The Ducks pulled within 64-62 on Dominic Artis shot in the lane, but he missed two free throws and Calliste hit 1 of 2 as Arizonas fans waved wildly in the background. "I thought we were in pretty good shape, but didnt finish it," Altman said. Arizona did, just as it has most of the season. 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